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154

READINGS
ON
THE PURGATORIO OF DANTE

Dante by Giotto
after a drawing, now in the possession of Lord Vernon
by Baron Seymour Kirkur made before the restoration of the thesco in 1841.
"Vincent Brooks, Day & Son, Chromo-lith.

Vernon, How, William Justru Borlaze-Warren-Ve
U Code
READINGS
ON THE 79526
PURGATORIO OF DANTE
ON THE
CHIEFLY BASED ON
THE COMMENTARY OF BENVENUTO
DA IMOLA
BY THE
HONBLE. WILLIAM WARREN VERNON M.A.
With an introduction
BY THE
VERY REV. THE DEAN OF ST. PAUL'S
MOMUNIV
RARI
IN TWO VOLUMES
VOL. I.
London
MACMILLAN AND CO.
AND NEW YORK
1889
The Right of Translation and Reproduction is Reserved.

DRYDEN PRESS:
J. DAVY AND SONS, 137, LONG ACRE, LONDON, W.C.
О
Тони А.
ПРОСТОИ ОЛ

Dedication.
To my old and esteemed friend
SIR JAMES PHILIP LACAITĀ, K.C.M.G.
SENATOR OF THE KINGDOM OF ITALY,
I Dedicate these Readings on the Purgatorio, in
grateful recognition that it was from him that I
learned to love the peculiar beauties of this second
Cantica of the Divina Commedia, also in affectionate
remembrance of his share in editing my father's
work on the Inferno (1862-68), as well as the first
publication of the Commentary of Benvenuto da
Imola (1887).
WILLIAM WARREN VERNON.
nr
ist October, 1889.
3 un 90-71-9


PREFACE.
so i
bobr.
DHE following “Readings on the Purga-
po | torio of Dante ” were first undertaken
6253) about two years ago, for a few inti-
mate friends at Florence, without any idea
on my part of doing more than reading and
translating a Canto aloud, and explaining the
difficulties in it, so far as I was able. A
short time before, I had enjoyed the in-
estimable privilege of being one of those
permitted to be present at the private weekly
readings given by one of the greatest Dantists
of his time—the late Duke of Sermoneta.
Blind as he was, he would recite a Canto of
the Divina Commedia, following it by an inter-
pretation so lucid, and in language so beautiful,
as literally to entrance his hearers.
In the earlier days of my Dante meetings,

viij
Preface.
I used to select passages at discretion from
any part of the Divina Commedia, but even-
tually I settled down into a regular course of
reading the whole Purgatorio, to which my
attention was first particularly directed more
than thirty years ago by Sir James Lacaita,
who had recently, in a lecture delivered at
the Royal Institution, pointed out that most
foreigners and many Italians confined their
study of Dante to the Inferno, as the finest
of Dante's works.
Throughout my readings, I have based them
upon the framework and divisions that are
found in the recently published Commentary
of Benvenuto da Imola; which were delivered
in the form of lectures on the Divina Com-
media at Bologna in 1375. He was the first
public lecturer on Dante at Bologna, as was
his friend Boccaccio at Florence, and I have
found much interest in making large use of
the commentary of one living in the times of
men who had known Dante himself.
With the exception of a few disputed
readings I have followed the text of Scar-
tazzini, and have derived much information
Preface.
ix
from that learned critic's encyclopædic edition
of the Divina Commedia. I have the pleasure
of acknowledging my special obligations to my
friend Dr. Moore, Principal of St. Edmund's
Hall, Oxford, and to the valuable translations
and commentaries of Cary, Wright, Pollock,
Longfellow, Butler, Plumptre, Hazelfoot, Frati-
celli, Lubin, Lamennais, Ozanam, and others.
I must here take the opportunity of testifying
to the great advantage my work has derived
from its revision by Mr. H. R. Tedder, the
accomplished Librarian of the Athenæum Club.
He has throughout given me advice, assistance,
and encouragement, for which I can never
thank him sufficiently.
It is difficult for me adequately to express
my gratitude to the Dean of St. Paul's. It
would ill become me to pass an opinion on
the noble words which form his Introduction,
but I feel that I have earned some title to
the thanks of all lovers of Dante for having
been the means, however unworthy, of
making the author of the Essay on Dante
speak once more. The value of his Intro-
duction to my work is simply priceless.

Preface.
I have never hesitated to substitute para-
phrase for absolutely literal translation, in
passages where the latter did not seem to
me to convey the full sense, and I have
freely borrowed words, expressions, transla-
tions and notes, from the works of men
more learned than myself; and so far from
feeling any shame for having done so, I
rather take pride in it, and would say to one
and each of them :

“Voi mi date a parlar tutta baldezza,
Voi mi levate sì, ch' io son più ch' io."
Par. xvi. 16.
WILLIAM WARREN VERNON.

6000
ATTI
UVI
oooo.

INTRODUCTION.
T R. VERNON'S Preface explains sufficiently
IVAN how the following work originated. It was
244 not intended in the first instance for publi-
cation, but grew out of the studies of a private
class. But when it had made some progress, the
utility of the method followed by Mr. Vernon, as an
introduction to the study of a difficult book, became
apparent; and it was thought that the “Readings”
might be welcomed as a help by others who were
desirous to become familiar with the structure as well
as with the details of the Divina Commedia.
Such works have been published on some of our own
older writers, on Chaucer, on Spenser, on Bacon; and
have been found of advantage by students. Even in
the case of Shakespeare, we need not be ashamed of
the pleasure and instruction derived from Charles
Lamb's Tales from Shakespeare. Mr. Vernon's work
presents more definitely in its original form and shape,
the kind of lecture which a teacher would give to

xii
Introduction.
his class. He gives the text in portions, and with it a
free but full and careful translation, in words chosen
for the most part with accuracy and taste. He gives,
either in the text or in notes, the necessary explana-
tions, using the copious stores of illustration which
have been gradually accumulating in the copious
Dantesque literature of recent years. So far there is
nothing to distinguish it from any new translation or
new apparatus of notes. What is distinctive is the
manner in which Mr. Vernon presents his material.
He recognises the difficulty, which many beginners
find, of keeping in mind the thread, the steps, and the
connexions of the poem : its plan, and the relations of
the parts : and it is in this that these “ Readings ” will
be found of material assistance to one who wishes to
comprehend the poem as the writer meant it to be
taken in, as a whole. And this comprehensive mastery
over the whole is just what a learner, struggling with
the difficulties of translation, and the perpetually
recurring interruption and entanglement of notes, so
easily loses. Striking or hard passages arrest or
interest him; but the transitions are so abrupt, and the
explanations are so condensed and concise, that he
often finds it a hard matter to follow the continuous
line of the poet's thought. But Dante certainly did
not intend to be read only in fine passages : with his
immense and multifarious detail, he meant us to keep
in view the idea which governs the whole from the first
Introduction.
xiii
part to the last. The special feature of Mr. Vernon's
work is that he continually reminds us of this, and
helps us to recognise the carefully arranged order and
development of the story.
Mr. Vernon has chosen the Purgatorio, as the subject
for his mode of illustration : and he has chosen wisely.
Readers of our day at least are likely to be drawn to
the Purgatorio more than to the other two portions of
the poem. For the Purgatorio is more human. In
spite of famous episodes, the eternal memorials of the
world's sin and woe, we shrink from the relentless
and hopeless terrors of the Inferno, from its audacities,
from its grotesque brutalities, of which perhaps a keener
sense of the realities conveyed by words makes us more
severe judges than the generation before us, who were
simply overmastered and carried away by the tremen-
dous power and deep tragedy of the scenes. And,
with all the serene splendour of the Paradiso, most
readers, at least most beginners, find it more difficult
to enter into than even the Inferno. It is possible to
follow in imagination the miseries of those who suffer ;
but who can divine or conceive what is thought or
felt by spirits on the other side of death, beyond
temptation and weakness and pain, glorified and made
perfect? But the Purgatorio is a great parable of the
discipline on earth of moral agents, of the variety of
their failures and needs of the variety of their remedies.
We understand the behaviour of those who are under-

xiv
Introduction.
going their figurative processes of purification. They
labour as men do who feel the influence of the Spirit of
God striving with their evil tendencies and lifting them
up to purer and nobler things. We understand their
resignation, their thankful submission to the chastise-
ment which is to be the annealing to strength and
peace. We understand their acquiescence and faith in
the justice which appoints and measures their “majestic
pains." We understand the aim and purpose which
sustain them, the high-hearted courage which endures,
the steady hope which knows that all is well. There is
nothing transcendental in all this; nothing but what ex-
perience helps us easily to imagine; nothing but what
good men, always on the way to be better, have gone
through on the scene of life. And these various trials,
which represent the stages by which human character is
strengthened where it is weak, and refined where it is
selfish and poor, are touched with all the poet's tender-
ness, and insight and sympathy. The Purgatorio is
full of the shadows and figures and divinations which
beset all serious minds, in the hours when they steadily
confront the thought of what is to befall them when
they pass into another state of being ; the overpower-
ing interest of it, and the little they can really know
of it; the certainty that their own characters, however
sincere and consoling may be the witness of a good
conscience, are still far from having duly profited by
the discipline of life, are still lamentably short of what

Introduction.
XV
they ought to be, so as to be fit for the new scenes in
which they expect to take their part. We know not,
we cannot conceive, whom we shall meet, what we
shall do, the moment the last breath has passed our
lips, and we part from all that we are accustomed to;
we know not in what company, under what conditions,
subject to what laws, we shall find ourselves—the selves
which we have known so long and so well; but anyhow
we cannot but wish, that we could feel more sure than
we do, that our will and affections and aims had issued
from the training and trial of this mortal state, stronger,
deeper, purer, more self-consistent. No one, probably,
who can think at all, but must ask himself with anxiety
and wonder, what is to come next. The thrill which
passed through the mind of the Greek philosopher : *
ανθρώπους μένει αποθανόντας άσσά ούκ έλπονται ουδε
dokéovol—“Things await men when they are dead
which they expect not nor think of,” is not abolished
by the Christian's hope and light. The Purgatorio,
in emblem and image, is a reflection of this awful
misgiving, with its consolations and its warnings,
which must come over us, when we honestly think
with ourselves what it must be to die.
Nor does his force fall short of the other two can-
tiche. Nowhere, in the whole poem, was Dante's eye
and sense more keen than in the passages which

* Heracleitus of Ephesus: quoted in Clem. Alex. Strom.
iv. c. 22. §. 144. (Dind.)
xvi
Introduction.
tell of the aspects and sights of his first morning and
evening on the sea-girt land of holiness. Nowhere
has the rapture of long-waited-for joy been told in
such swift and piercing accents, as in the story of the
moment in which Beatrice reveals her presence-
"Guardami ben — ben son, ben son Beatrice." In
another way also the Purgatorio is more human in
its interest than the Inferno and the Paradiso. It
abounds with local touches, reminiscences of actual
places and scenes, which had impressed themselves
on the mind of a man who had travelled much and
observed keenly the features of a landscape, the
circumstances of a perilous adventure, the enjoyment
of an interesting or happy day. Such touches are
indeed wanting in none of the books, but they are
more frequent in the Purgatorio. Each of the Cantos
which describe the climbing of the sacred mountain,
or the wanderings along its ledges, show some special
mark of the experience of a man, who was familiar
with the rough and dangerous paths by which travel-
lers had to cross Alps or Apennines ; who had noted
their characteristic appearances and difficulties : the
soft falling of the accumulating snow, the apparently
hopeless steepness of some sheer precipice barring
the way ; who had been surprised far from shelter by
the night; who had woke up by sea-shore or moun-
tain to the gradual glories of the dawn ; who had
been excited and cheered by the sudden meeting with


Introduction.
xvii
fellow-travellers on his desolate road. He delights to
recall, by name or place, some scene which dwells in his
memory: the valley of the Casentino, the course of
the Arno, the steeps of Noli, Turbia, Bismantova, the
“beautiful stream” that flows between Sestri and Chia-
vari. He likes to recall some perhaps momentary
thrill, such as that which pierces the voyager who has
just parted from his friends, when he hears at sea the
evening bell over the waters, “Seeming to mourn the
day which is dying.” In the Purgatorio the poet
finds companions who are neither below him, nor
hopelessly estranged from him, as in the Inferno,
nor far above him, as in the Paradiso : they are
still almost creatures of flesh and blood, certainly
human characters, capable of effort, pain and self-
command, going through their training as he is going
through his, though on a higher level, having in view
the aim and hopes which lead him on, praying the
prayers which he prays, singing the psalms which he
sings, receiving the absolution which is vouchsafed to
him. For reasons like these, the Purgatorio seems
especially fitted for a beginning in studying Dante.
It is less strange than the other Cantiche in its scenery
and design ; and in truth it lies at the foundation of
the ideas on which the whole poem is constructed.
Mr. Vernon calls especial attention to the observa-
tions of one of the old commentators—Benvenuto da
Imola. We owe to Mr. Vernon's zeal for the studies

xviii
Introduction.
with which the name of his house is connected, and
to his own liberality, the recent publication in full of
these important commentaries, which were before
known only either by reference and extracts, or by a
worthless Italian translation. They are very volu-
minous, discouraging by their bulk ordinary pub-
lishers, but more than one plan was thought of for
publishing them. At length the work was taken up
in earnest; Sir James Lacaita prepared an edition of
the original Latin text; and it was printed at Florence
and published at the expense of Mr. Vernon, who had
inherited from his father and brother the interest in
Benvenuto's work. The commentaries consist of a
complete set of Latin lectures on the Commedia, by a
scholar who filled one of the chairs for the exposition
of Dante, which became common in Italy soon after
the poet's death. The first of these was filled by
Boccaccio, part of whose work remains. Benvenuto
was a friend and follower of Boccaccio, and wrote
towards the end of the fourteenth century. His work,
though not the earliest commentary, is, perhaps, the
most important. It is unequal in the illustrations
which he inserts, and the explanation he gives of diffi-
culties ; but it contains a great mass of useful and
curious information, much of it collected from per-
sonal knowledge, or intercourse with those who, like
Boccaccio, preserved the traditions, more vague and
uncertain than we should have expected, about Dante
U
Introduction.
xix
and his life and purposes. To comment adequately
on the Commedia was beyond the power of those who
in the fourteenth century undertook to do so. To
comment worthily a man must have something of the
deep and serious temper of the writer, and this was
not the spirit of Boccaccio, who set the fashion of
lecturing. Benvenuto is a scholar with a good deal
of classical reading, a man of Italian good sense,
Italian humour, and in considerable proportion,
Italian cynicism. He will go as far as knowledge
and a sensible view will carry him; his humour and
cynicism will sometimes find kindred materials in his
subject, and sometimes will be out of place: but the
awful and solemn depths of a soul, which had dwelt
for years in the presence of the eternal world and had
all but seen it, were beyond his capacity. Still, he is
very instructive. He tells a great number of things
which we should not otherwise know. He often
shows good sense in his explanation of a passage
or choice of a reading. He knows what others have
said about his subject, and supplements or corrects
them. He shows how the book impressed the Italians
of the time. And he takes great pains to mark dis-
tinctly the order and method of the story. In this
point, Mr. Vernon has made much use of him. His
divisions, in the analysis which he gives of each canto,
are those of Benvenuto.
I cannot help hoping that Mr. Vernon's book, so

62
XX
Introduction.
modest, but the result of genuine and careful work,
of much honest labour, may give a fresh impulse
among English students to serious and painstaking
reading of the famous poem — the only reading
which it ought to have. I can only say for myself
that I have gone through his pages with the kind of
pleasure with which one talks over well-remembered
and long-known passages of a great book with a
friend. It is the old familiar thing: but the talk has
elicited a new freshness and spirit in one's thought
and feelings about it. But, at any rate among be-
ginners, I think that it is probable that there will
be many who will be glad to have such a companion
as Mr. Vernon has offered them. It will help them
to understand the spirit of the Purgatorio, as well
as to make out the perplexities and difficulties, which
the strange and terrible writer, full of the mysteries
and enigmas of heaven and earth, and hurrying on
in the pursuit of his purpose, did not mind leaving
in the path of those who read him.
R. W. C.

Deanery, S. Paul's, April 1889.

PRELIMINARY CHAPTER.
T
AT WHAT DATE THE PURGATORIO WAS WRITTEN.
THERE is every reason to suppose that the Purga-
torio was written before the end of 1314. Philippe le
Bel, King of France, died 29th Novr., 1314, and is re-
ferred to as still living in the last Canto (XXXIII, 34).
“ Sappi che il vaso che il serpente ruppe
Fu e non è, ma chi n'ha colpa, creda
Che vendetta di Dio non teme suppe.”
This passage, which is intended to censure Cle-
ment V and Philippe le Bel for having transferred the
Papal Throne to Avignon, would seem to show that
Philippe was not dead when these lines were written,
and, as they occur in the last Canto of the Purgatorio,
that Division of the Divina Commedia must have been
written previously to November, 1314.
In the twenty-fourth Canto an allusion is made to
Dante falling in love with Gentucca at Lucca, which
we know cannot have happened earlier than 1314, as
it was only on the 14th June, 1314, that Uguccione
della Faggiuola made himself master of Lucca, which

xxii
Preliminary Chapter.
city, up to that time, had been bitterly hostile to
Henry VII, as well as to the Ghibellines and the
Bianchi. The twenty-fourth Canto, in which Lucca
is mentioned, could not have been written earlier than
June, 1314, and the thirty-third or last Canto could
not have been written later than November, 1314.
Thus within six months Dante must have written at
least ten Cantos. The invectives against the Emperor
Albert, in the Sixth Canto, appear to have been written
before his successor visited Italy in 1310. It would
seem therefore that the composition of the Purgatorio
must have occupied five years, from 1310 to 1314, or
even six years. Cesare Balbo thinks it probable that
Dante began it in 1309, during his quiet residence in
Paris, that he continued it in 1310 amid his first hopes
of Henry's visit, and then paused : that he resumed it
with fresh vigour after that Emperor's death, and
finished it during the last months of 1314. Witte
(Dante-Forschungen) does not think that the Purga-
torio was finished before 1319. Dean Plumptre is of
opinion that the Purgatorio was the most rapidly
written of all the three parts of the Divina Commedia,
and that the period of its composition embraced the
years 1308-12, in which Dante was watching with hope
the election of Henry VII to the Imperial Throne,
and the preparations for the Italian expedition.
Preliminary Chapter.
xxiii
NATURE OF THE PURGATORIO AS COMPARED WITH
THE INFERNO.
Cesare Balbo says “the Purgatorio, taking it alto-
gether, is perhaps the most beautiful part of the
Divina Commedia, or that at least which exemplifies
the best, the most beautiful part of Dante's character,
his love." After passing through the Inferno, “Dante
had now issued from the gloom of the infernal abyss,
into the light, and sun, and hopes of Purgatory; in
his real existence he had abandoned the thoughts of
his ungrateful country and her factions, and was
cherishing hopes of peace and repose, as is natural to
an exile treading a foreign land. Thus, in the first
verses of the Purgatorio, he enters on a new song of
love, assumes a new style, full of joy and light, which
he continues with some few exceptions to the end of
his poem."
In the Inferno all is gloom and darkness ; the indi-
cations of the time of day are invariably given by
allusions to the position of the Moon; the Sun is
never alluded to from the moment when Dante has
passed within the gates of Hell, until the point when,
after the Poets have passed the centre of the Earth,
and are about to commence the ascent to the Southern
Hemisphere, Virgil indicates the hour to Dante by a
reference to the sun:
“E già il Sole a mezza terza riede” (Inf. XXXIV, 96).


xxiv
Preliminary Chapter.
As soon as the Purgatorio is entered, Dante makes
us feel the sun's actual presence.
The episodes in the Purgatorio are continually
recurring, and are of great beauty and interest.
While out of a whole so harmonious and perfect it
is difficult to select passages for marked preference,
we may nevertheless dwell upon a few of unsur-
passed excellence. These are: The description of
the Southern Cross and the sweet colour of Oriental
sapphire in Canto I. The sunrise, and the approach
of the Angel in the vessel which he propels by his
wings, and the singing of Casella in Canto II; the
Conversations with Manfred in Canto III; Belacqua
in Canto IV; Buonconte da Montefeltro, and Pia de'
Tolomei in Canto V; the outburst of indignation
against the feuds and factions of Italy in Canto VI;
the night in the flowery valley, and the souls of the
great in Canto VII; the Compline Hymn, Nino
Visconti di Gallura, the serpent driven away by the
Angels, and the noble words that pass between Dante
and Conrad Malaspina in Canto VIII; the Gate of
Purgatory, and Dante's admittance within it in
Canto IX; the sculptures and Trajan in Canto X;
the Lord's Prayer and Oderisi d' Agobbio the minia-
ture painter, in Canto XI; Sapia of Siena in Canto
XIII; Guido del Duca's invective against the cities
of Tuscany in Canto XIV; the conversation with
Marco Lombardo in Canto XVI; the interviews with
Preliminary Chapter.
XXV
Adrian V, the good Pope, in Canto XIX, and with
Hugh Capet in Canto XX; the appearance of Statius
in Canto XXI; the description by Statius of the
early Christians in Canto XXII; Forese Donati
in Canto XXIII; and then the beautiful picture
of the Terrestrial Paradise and the appearance of
Matelda in Cantos XXVII and XXVIII; and last
of all, the three allegorical Cantos, XXIX, XXX,
and XXXI, when Dante again meets Beatrice after
a lapse, according to the fiction, of ten years, but
in reality of twenty-four years since her death.
Another peculiar feature in the Purgatorio, as in
contrast to the Inferno, is the numerous appearances
of Angels. There is only one Angel mentioned in
Hell, he who came down to open the gates of
the City of Dis, and to rebuke the demons for their
presumption in daring to close them, but even the
identity of this personage with one of the angels of
God is disputed by the late Duke of Sermoneta.
In the Purgatorio, however, angels are continually
encountered, and on the appearance of the first one
Virgil says to Dante:
“Omai vedrai di sì fatti ufficiali.”—Purg. II, 30.
The Purgatorio closes with a prophecy by Beatrice
of the advent of a mysterious personage, whom she
styles the “ Five hundred, ten, and five.” This is
usuallyinterpreted to denote the three letters, “D.X.V.,"
which when inverted form the word“ DVX,” “Leader,"


xxvi
Preliminary Chapter.
and evidently mean some great Ghibelline Cap-
tain of the time, but whether Can Grande della
Scala, or Henry VII of Luxembourg, or Uguccione
della Faggiuola, is a matter that will in all probability
never be finally determined. I have followed Scar-
tazzini in thinking that Can Grande della Scala is
the DVX, whose coming was to make the enemies of
the Church tremble.
THE PRINCIPAL DIVISIONS OF THE PURGATORIO.
The Mountain of Purgatory,* as described by Dante,
is an immense truncated cone, rising out of the midst
of the sea in the centre of the Southern Hemisphere,
which, according to the Ptolemaic system of Cosmo-
graphy, consisted, with the exception of the Mountain
in question, of a vast Ocean. Purgatory is supposed
to be situated at the exact antipodes to Jerusalem,
and to have been formed by the earth which fled from
Lucifer, who, according to Dean Plumptre, “ fell from
Heaven on the side of the water-hemisphere; the
earth's contents fled before him, and appeared above
the waters, while the land, disturbed as he fell, rose
to form the island-mountain, and left the cavernous
opening through which the pilgrims wound their way
upwards."
Let us bear in mind that Dante supposes our first
* The supposed appearance of the mountain is represented
in the woodcut prefixed to p. 1.
Preliminary Chapter.
xxvii
parents to have lived in innocence in the beautiful
region on the top of the mountain of Purgatory, and
when, in consequence of their sin, they were driven
forth from Paradise, they had to take up their abode
in the Northern Hemisphere. The Mountain of
Purgatory is described as having three principal
Divisions : the Antipurgatorio; the Purgatorio proper ;
and the Post-Purgatorio, usually called the Terrestrial
Paradise.
The Antipurgatorio is the lower region at the foot
of the mountain, in which are found the spirits of
those who from indolence delayed repentance, or died
in contumacy of Holy Church, and are doomed, as
Manfred tells Dante (Canto III, 136-141), to remain
outside the gate of Purgatory for a period of thirty
times the length of the time that they delayed their
repentance, unless the term were shortened in answer
to the prayers of virtuous persons on earth. It will
be noticed throughout the Cantica, with what earnest-
ness nearly all the spirits that Dante meets beseech
his kind intervention with their relations, to urge them
to dedicate prayers for the acceleration of their passage
through Purgatory. Even in the Paradiso, Cacciaguida
tells Dante that his son, Dante's great-grandfather,
has been for a hundred years encircling the Cornice
where pride is punished, and that Dante ought to
shorten his prolonged sufferings by his good offices
on behalf of his ancestor.

xxviii
Preliminary Chapter.
-
“Ben si convien che la lunga fatica
Tu gli raccorci con le opere tue.”—Par. XV, 95-96.
The Antipurgatorio is described in the first nine
Cantos. In Canto IX Dante falls into a deep sleep,
and is carried by an eagle to the gate of Purgatory,
into which he is admitted by an angel, who, with his
sword, inscribes upon his brow seven P's representing
the seven deadly sins, which will have to be erased in
succession, as each is purged in its corresponding
Cornice.
The Purgatorio proper.—Within the gates are the
seven cornices or terraces just mentioned, each being
in width about three times the length of a man's body.
These cornices run right round the mountain, and, at
the end of each, a hollow stairway, cut out of the solid
rock, leads straight up to the next cornice. At the
entrance to each stairway stands the Angel of the
Cornice, who, before permitting the penitent to quit it,
effaces with the point of his shining wing, the P (out
of the seven marked on his brow) which denotes the
sin that has been purged away in that Cornice. When-
ever the pilgrims reach the summit of a stairway they
turn to the right, whereas, on entering each circle of
Hell, they had turned to the left. Another peculiarity
to be noticed in Purgatory is that, when night falls,
they must perforce delay their further progress until
the sun-rise of the ensuing day. We learn too from
Canto XXI, 70, that, whenever a soul has completed

Preliminary Chapter.
xxix
its penance and purification, the mountain thrills with
joy, and all the other souls burst out into a Gloria in
Excelsis. Above the level of the Gate of Purgatory
all atmospheric influences, such as rain, wind, hail,
snow, frost, etc., entirely cease. Higher up, in the
Terrestrial Paradise, there is indeed a wind which
moves the leaves of the forest, but that is supposed to
be produced by the rapid movement of that Sphere of
Heaven, denominated the Primo Mobile.
The Terrestrial Paradise, or Post-Purgatorio.—The
penitents who have gone through all the seven cornices,
when they leave the last one, have to pass through the
purifying fire, and then ascend by a lofty stair to the
summit of the mountain. They here find themselves
in the ancient Garden of Eden, the Terrestrial Paradise,
which, lovely and deserted, has remained in its pristine
beauty since the expulsion of our first parents, with
its luxuriant herbage, its spreading trees whose leaves
are gently moved by a warm and perfumed air, its
flowers of many colours, and its warbling birds.
The wind and the water of two streams, Lethe and
Eunoe, which flow through the Terrestrial Paradise in
opposite directions, are produced from supernatural
sources, the first-named river being endued with power
to take away the memory of sin, but only of sin; the
other, to call every virtuous deed to mind.
The Antipurgatorio is described in Cantos I to IX.
The Purgatorio proper in Cantos IX to XXVIII.

Xxx
Preliminary Chapter.
The Terrestrial Paradise, or Postpurgatorio in Cantos
XXVIII to XXXIII. At the end of the last Canto
of the Purgatorio Dante says:
"piene son tutte le carte
Ordite a questa Cantica seconda."
In the divisions of his poem Dante scrupulously
observes the rules of symmetry. Each of the three
Cantiche has thirty-three Cantos, inasmuch as the first
Canto of the Inferno must be considered as the Intro-
duction or Preface to the whole poem. And in fact,
in the Inferno, the Invocation is not in the first Canto,
as it is in the Purgatorio and Paradiso, but in the
second.
The hundred Cantos of the Divina Commedia con-
sist of 14,233 verses, of which
The Inferno has 4,720 verses.
The Purgatorio 4,755 verses.
The Paradiso 4,758 verses.
A parallel case is noted by Professor Charles Eliot
Norton, as regards the poems in the Vita Nuova, which
Dante has constructed with the most perfect symmetry,
namely: 10 Minor poems, i Canzone, 4 Minor poems,
I Canzone, 4 Minor poems, i Canzone, 10 Minor
poems.

Preliminary Chapter.
xxxi
THE TIME OCCUPIED IN PASSING THROUGH THE
PURGATORIO, AND THE SUPPOSED DATE OF THE
VISION.
Dr. Moore observes that the date 1300 has been all
but universally accepted, from the time of the earliest
Commentators down to the present day.
There are four passages which strongly support this
argument.
First.—In the opening line of the Inferno Dante
speaks of himself as being half-way through the path-
way of his life. In Convito, IV, 23, he states definitely
that human life is like an arch, whose highest point is
35 years; and for this reason it was the will of Christ
to die in his 34th year, so that His Divinity might not
be on its decline (stare in descensione). Dante then has
interpreted the first line of the Inferno as meaning that
he was 35 years old, and, as he was born in the year
1265, he would consequently be of that age in the
year 1300.
Second.—Guido Cavalcanti is known to have died in
the winter between 1300 and 1301. In Inferno, X, 110-
II1, Dante informs Guido's father that he was alive.
Third.—In Purg. II, 98, Casella tells Dante that
the Indulgence, connected with the Jubilee of Boni-
face VIII, began just three months before, and that he
and other spirits, delayed at the mouth of the Tiber,
had felt the benefit of it. This Indulgence was pro-
claimed on the 22nd February, 1300, but its privileges


xxxii
Preliminary Chapter.
v
were antedated in the Bull itself from the Christmas
Day preceding. This, as Dr. Moore points out, ne-
cessitates the spring of 1300.
Finally Dante relates all events that had happened
before 1300 as past, but speaks prophetically of all
that occurred after 1300 as future events.
Throughout the Purgatorio Dante gives continual
indications of time, and we are thus able to trace his
progress through it far more closely than in the
Inferno, which he took 25 hours to traverse.
He is four days going through the Purgatorio.
In the Antipurgatorio one day, Easter Day.
(Canto I, 19, to Canto IX, 9.)
In Purgatory proper two days, namely, Easter
Monday (Canto IX, 13, to Canto XVIII, 76), and
Easter Tuesday (Canto XIX, 1, to Canto XXVII, 89).
In the Terrestrial Paradise one day, Easter Wed-
nesday (Canto XXVII, 94, to XXXIII, 103).
Although there is much dispute as to the day of
the week, or month, on which the journey through
Purgatory is supposed to take place, and also as to
some of the hours indicated on several days, there
is no doubt about the aggregate of time allowed.
There are as many as thirty definite references to
time. The last is in Canto XXXIII, 103, and refers
to the hour of noon on Easter Wednesday, 13th April,
I 300.
ERRATA.
VOL. I.
Page 18 (line 15). For“Ante-Purgatorio” read "Anti-Purgatorio."
, 31 (line 14 and footnote). For “ Balances” read “Scales."
32 (footnote). For “Lamenais” read “Lamennais”
,, 44 (footnote). For “Bocca degli Albati” read “Bocca
degli Abati.”
, 47 (line 4). Delete quotation marks after “purgation."
,
550 (line 2). For “occupied their minds: they had lost,
&c.," read “occupied their minds. They had lost,
&c."
, 67 (footnote). For “papel” read “Papal.”
, 74 (line 4). For “unless” read “if.”
, 77 (footnote). For “Haselfoot” read “Hazelfoot.”
,, 96 (line 19). Instead of “from v. 64 to v. 85" read “from
v. 64 to v. 84," and line 22 instead of “from v. 86
to v. 136” read “from v. 85 to v. 136.”
,, 248 (line 16). Delete “and.”
„, 249 (footnote). For “Cacciagnida” twice, read “Caccia-
guida” twice.
253 (line last but one). For "104" read “ 106."
,,254 (line 12.) Delete “and."
„ 294 (footnote). For “Lamenais” read “Lamennais."
,, 300. For "Alcmeon” in three placés, read “Alcmæon" in
E three places.
„, 308 (bottom of page). Delete quotation marks after “ease."
,,318 footnote). For “Haselfoot” read “Hazelfoot."
,,341 (line 2). For "interceded God” read “interceded with
God."
„, 355 (line 2). For "Pelorum” read “Pelorus."
,,387 (line 1). For “line” twice, read “angle” twice.


„ 398 (line 15.) For “Anger” read “Envy."
, 403 (line 18). Add “yet” before “none."
,,416 ( footnote). For "verse 45” read “verse 42."
,, 421 (line 3). For “volentem trahunt” read “nolentem
trahunt.”
,, 437 footnote). For “Riccardo de Camino" twice, read
"Riccardo di Camino" twice.
,, 441 (line 1). For "it” read “them.”
,, 442 (line 14 of footnote). Delete "and."
,, 453 (footnote).
For “alza le leve” read “alza le vele."

Purgatorio Anti-Purgatorio
EWIE
Terrestrial
Paradise
The Luxurious
The Gluttonous
The Avaricious and ]
i The Slothful
2012
SEX The Angry
The Envious
The Proud
The Flowery Valley
TIR
Sed
INA
PLAN OF THE PURGATORIO.

ce
THE PURGATORIO.
VOL. I. CANTO I.
THE INVOCATION.
CATO OF UTICA.
THE FOUR STARS.
GENVENUTO DA IMOLA* says that this first
introductory chapter, or Canto, which is as
noble as it is difficult, may be briefly divided
Goog into four general parts.
The First Division, from v. I to v. 12, is simply
the poet's proposition of the matter to be treated, and
his Invocation.
In the Second Division, from v. 13 to v. 48, he
describes his delight at beholding the beautiful sun-
rise, and the appearance of Cato of Utica, the venerable
guardian of this sacred region.
In the Third Division, from v. 49 to v. 84, he
relates how Virgil satisfied the interrogatories of Cato.
In the Fourth Division, from v. 85 to v. 136, he
relates how Cato sanctioned their entrance into the
Ante-Purgatory, and how Virgil, by Cato's order,
washed from Dante's cheeks, with dew off the fresh
* Benvenuti de Rambaldis de Imola, Comentum super Dantis
Aldigherii Comediam, nunc primum integre in lucem editum.
Sumptibus Guilielmi Warren Vernon curante Jacobo Philippo
Lacaita. Florentia, 1887. 5 vols. large 8vo.

2 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto I.
grass, the gloom that the shades of Hell had left upon
them, and how he afterwards took him down to the
sea-shore, and girded him with one of the rushes that
grew there, as a token of Dante's humility.
Division 1. Dante's opening words show with
what an intense sense of relief he leaves behind him
the gloomy scenes, that he has witnessed during the
twenty-five hours he spent in Hell.
Per correr miglior acqua alza le vele
Omai la navicella del mio ingegno,
Che lascia dietro a sè mar sì crudele.
E canterò di quel secondo regno,
Ove l' umano spirito si purga,
E di salire al ciel diventa degno.
To run over better waters (i.e. to treat of a subject
that is less gloomy and repulsive) the little vessel of
my genius (the little bark which is sufficiently large
to carry all the genius that I can boast of) now hoists
her sails as she leaves behind her so cruel a sea (i.e.
Hell). And I will sing of that second realm, in
which the human soul is purified, and becomes
worthy to ascend to Heaven.
Benvenuto wishes us to observe that the “prima
acqua,” the first subject treated by Dante, was good,
as far as justice goes, and that Dante does not draw
the contrast of saying: “The last subject I treated
of was bad, this one shall be good ;” but, rather he
would say: "My last subject was good for me, and
for those for whose benefit I write my poem ; but the
present subject-matter, inasmuch as it speaks of
holier things, is better.”
Dante now, having laid the plan of his poem before
his readers, proceeds to make his invocation, as he
Canto I. Readings on the Purgatorio.
had done in the second Canto of the Inferno, to the
Muses in general (Inf. II, 7), only here he further calls
on one in particular.*
Ma qui la morta poesì risurga,
O sante Muse, poichè vostro sono,
E qui Calliopè alquanto surga,
Seguitando il mio canto con quel suono,
Di cui le Piche misere sentiro
Lo colpo tal, che disperâr perdono.
But here (in this second Cantica of the Purgatorio),
O sacred Muses, let the poetry that was dead (because
in the first Cantica, the Inferno, it treated of those
who were dead to grace), rise again, since I am your
devoted follower, wholly dedicated to the study of
poetry, and let Calliope here (in this Cantica), rise
again for a while, accompanying my verses with that
melodious song, whereof the ill-fated Picæ felt the
power to be so great, that they, from the moment they
heard it, despaired of pardon ; that is, lost all hope of
recovation of their doom.
f
Dante invokes Calliope to rise again for a while to
a somewhat greater height, and he lays stress on qui,
meaning, that in this second Cantica he is singing in

* It is somewhat remarkable, and fully bears out what has
been noted as a special characteristic of Dante, the perfect
symmetry with which he brings in comparisons or contrasts.
We have noticed in the introduction, that Canto I of the Inferno
was only an introduction to the whole poem, and that Canto II
is really the first Canto. Now in Inf. II, and at line 7, we find
the invocation to the Muses, which here in the Purgatorio occurs
in precisely the same line :-
“O Muse, o alto ingegno, or m' aiutate !”—Inf. II, 7.
† The Picæ were the nine daughters of Pierius, King of
Thessaly. They challenged the Muses to a trial of skill in
singing, and chose to sing the praises of the Titans who warred
B 2
Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto I.
a more elevated style than he was, when singing of
Hell, and he calls upon Calliope to help him further
than before, but only to a limited extent, as, in the
third Cantica, the Paradiso, he will invoke her to rise
to her full height.

Division II. Here begins the Second Division of
this first Canto, in which Dante, having uttered his
noble invocation to the Muses, proceeds to enter upon
his subject matter, and first describes under how lovely
an aspect of nature (says Benvenuto), he commences
his most beautiful work.*
Che s'accoglieva nel sereno aspetto
Dell' aer, puro infino al primo giro,
Agli occhi miei ricominciò diletto,
Tosto ch' i' uscii fuor dell' aura morta,
Che m' avea contristato gli occhi e il petto.
A lovely hue of Oriental sapphire, that was diffused
through the serene aspect of the atmosphere, and was
Wa
against Jupiter. Being vanquished, they were changed into
magpies, and the Muses assumed their name of Pierides.
See OVID, Met. V, Maynwarding's Translation.
“Beneath their nails
Feathers they feel, and on their faces scales;
Their horny beaks at once each other scare,
Their arms are plumed, and on their backs they bear
Pied wings, and flutter in the fleeting air.
Chattring, the scandal of the woods, they fly,
And there continue still their clam'rous cry :
The same their eloquence, as maids or birds,
Now only noise, and nothing then but words."
* He describes the beauty of the dawn, Benvenuto adds, first
by its effect, viz., the brightness and purity of the atmosphere :
Canto I. Readings on the Purgatorio.
the Moon, now brought back to my eyes the old
delight, which I had not enjoyed since my entrance
into Hell, so soon as I issued forth from the atmos-
phere of deadly gloom, which had filled my eyes and
my breast with sadness.
Dean Plumptre* says that the first circle was that of
the Moon as nearest the Earth, and that the whole
scene is that of a cloudless Eastertide morning on the
Mediterranean. He says the Oriental sapphire was
that which was held by jewellers in higher esteem
than others. Its colour was recognized as a symbol
of Hope. Hence, perhaps, it was chosen specially for
Bishops' rings. Compare Ex. XXIV, 10, and Ezekiel
I, 26. He describes the planet Venus as being the
cause of this serene appearance of the firmament-
Lo bel pianeta che ad amar conforta,
Faceva rider tutto l'orïente,
Velando i Pesci ch'erano in sua scorta.
That beautiful planet that incites men to love, that
is, the planet Venus, was making the whole East to
beam forth into a radiant smile, veiling the Con-
secondly, from its cause, the apparition of “Lucifer," the
morning star, the harbinger of sunrise.
Benvenuto explains that this briefly implies that, while in Hell,
Dante had been seeing a murky, foetid atmosphere, ever unquiet,
threatening thunder, lightning and tempests ; but now that
he is entering into Purgatory he finds an atmosphere full of light
and purity, “and his soul exults in its recovered freedom,” says
Dean Plumptre, “in its old joy, in itself a purifying joy, in light
and the fresh breeze of dawn." He had entered into Hell as the
shades of night were closing around him, he enters into Purga-
tory in all the brightness of returning day.
* The Commedia and Canzoniere of Dante Alighieri. A new
translation by E. H. Plumptre, D.D., Dean of Wells. London,
1886.

20

Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto I.
stellation of the Pisces that were in its escort ; that
is, by its superior brilliancy, dimming their lustre.*
He then proceeds to describe how he saw the four
stars of the Southern Cross.
Io mi volsi a man destra, e posi mente
All' altro polo, e vidi quattro stelle
Non viste mai fuor che alla prima gente.
* Dr. Moore says? : “Our first reference is an hour or so
before sunrise on Easter morning, April 1oth. The only point
calling for notice here is the curious piece of hypercriticism on
the part of some ingenious persons, who have discovered by
computation that “Lo bel pianeta che ad amar conforta," i.e.
of course Venus, was not actually a morning star in April, 1300,
but rose after the sun. But it is evident that Dante wishes to
describe the hour before sunrise under its most familiar, and,
so to speak, its typical aspect in the popular mind, and
with that hour the brilliant morning star is generally asso-
ciated. We may add, too, that if it were actually visible at that
season, it would of course be associated (as Dante has with
a realistic touch indicated) with the constellation Pisces, the sun
being in the next following sign of Aries. This is an illustration
of the principle that I have already contended for, that Dante, in
his astronomical allusions, does not feel bound to sacrifice poetic
effect, or a picture that strikes vividly on the popular imagina-
tion, to the exigencies of strict scientific (shall I not rather say,
pedantic?) accuracy. You might as well object to a landscape
painter that he had slightly altered the actual position of a tree or
a house, as tested by the results of mensuration or trigonometry.
Precisely the same question arises in Purg. XXVII, 94-6,
when the hour before dawn is again described in similar lan-
guage.” (Time References, pages 64, 65)
Dean Plumptre too says on this passage-
"It is scarcely worth while to examine the Poet's description by
the test of science.”.
1 The Time References in the Divina Commedia, and their
bearing on the assumed date of the vision, by the Rev. Edward
Moore, D.D., Principal of St. Edmund's Hall, Oxford, and
Barlow Lecturer on Dante in University College, London. 1887.

Canto I. Readings on the Purgatorio.
Goder parea il ciel di lor fiamelle.
O settentrional vedovo sito,
Poi che privato sei di mirar quelle!
I turned me to my right hand, and gave my atten-
tion to the other, the antarctic pole, and saw four stars
which none but the earliest race of mankind had ever
before then looked upon. The whole heaven seemed
to be lit up with gladness by their flaming rays. O
regions of the North, how widowed are ye, seeing that
ye aré debarred from gazing on such stars as these. *
48
* On v. 22 to 24. Both in the Northern and in the Southern
Hemispheres, whoever turns his face to the East has the
Antarctic pole on his right.
Quattro stelle. The Southern CrossPhilalethes says that
Dante may have heard of the existence of this constellation
from Marco Polo, who in 1295 was in Venice after his return
from his voyage, which he had pushed as far as Java and
Madagascar. ... Perhaps Dante only heard of the four stars
without knowing precisely their position in the heavens, or the
hours of their rising and setting.
By la prima gente must be understood Adam and Eve, not as
inhabiting, according to our view, the Terrestrial Paradise in
a region near to the Euphrates valley, but as, according to
Dante's fiction, inhabiting the Terrestrial Paradise on the sum-
mit of the Mountain of Purgatory, which he describes as in the
centre of the Southern Hemisphere, where of course the Southern
Cross is visible.
But there is no doubt, says Scartazzini, that these four stars have
an allegorical meaning, and represent the four cardinal virtues.
In this Canto, at verse 37, he calls them luci sante.
In Canto XXXI, 106. Noi siam qui ninfe, e nel ciel siamo stelle.
Canto VIII, 91. Le quattro chiare stelle
Che vedevi staman son di là basse, would point to
their being real stars that Dante wishes to describe.
1 Scartazzini, G. A. La Divina Commedia di Dante Alighieri.
1874-82.

Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto I.
And now Dante, having described the purity of the
atmosphere, and the beauty of the heavens, goes on to
speak of the venerable old man who was the Guardian
of the place. This was Cato of Utica, who was born
B.C. 95 and died by his own hand B.C. 46. "The
choice of him as the Warder of Purgatory," says Dean
Plumptre, “seems strange enough. As a virtuous
heathen, he might have been placed with his wife,
Marcia, in the Limbo; as a suicide, he might have
been doomed, like Pier delle Vinee, to the seventh
circle of Hell; as an enemy of Cæsar, he might have
gone yet lower down. Lucan however, (probably also
the single reference in Æn. VIII, 670), had obviously
impressed Dante's mind with a profound admiration
for Cato as one of the great heroes of the ancient
world. He had chosen death rather than loss of
liberty (Mon. II, 5.). He was (quoting from Dante,
Conv. IV, 28) worthy more than any man, to be a type
of God, whose call he obeyed even in the manner of
his death.” In the Convito IV. 27, Dante relates the
whole history of Cato, and compares the return to
him of his divorced wife Marcia (after the death of
an intermediate husband) as the return of the soul
to God.
He was held by all writers of antiquity as the most
perfect type of the free citizen, and therefore Dante
seems to have considered him as the most appropriate
guardian of the souls in Purgatory who are endeavour-
ing to regain their true liberty.
Com' io dal loro sguardo fui partito,
Un poco me volgendo all'altro polo,
Là onde il Carro già era sparito,
30
Canto I. Readings on the Purgatorio.
veren
Vidi presso di me un veglio solo,
Degno di tanta riverenza in vista,
Che più non dee a padre alcun figliuolo.
When I had withdrawn myself from gazing upon
them, the four stars, turning myself a little towards
the other, the arctic pole, on my left, from which point
the Wain was no longer to be seen, I beheld close by
me an old man alone, worthy in his aspect of so much
reverence, that no son owes more to a father.
We may remember in verse 19 that Dante had
turned to his right, which made him face the antarctic
pole, and catch sight of the Southern Cross; he now
turns back somewhat towards the arctic pole.
Lunga la barba e di pel bianco mista
Portava, a' suoi capegli simigliante,
35
De quai cadeva al petto doppia lista.
He wore his beard long, and mingled with white
hair like unto the tresses on his head, of which a
double fold fell upon his breast.
Li raggi delle quattro luci sante
Fregiavan sì la sua faccia di lume,
Ch' io 'l vedea come il sol fosse davante.
The beams of the four holy stars, which symbolized
the four cardinal virtues, so adorned his face with
light, that I saw him as though the sun were striking
in my face. *
We now learn how Cato put three questions to
Dante and Virgil. First. Whether they are lost souls
who have escaped from Hell. Secondly. If so, who
* Benvenuto says that it seemed to Dante as though it were
bright daylight, which it was not as yet, but the brightness of
Cato's face eked out the dawning day, and rendered himself
clearly visible.


10
Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto I.
has guided their steps. Thirdly. If they have not
escaped from Hell, whether there has been any special
indulgence of Divine grace shown to them.
“ Chi siete voi, che contro al cieco fiume
Fuggito avete la prigione eterna ?”
Diss' ei, movendo quell' oneste piume.
“Who are ye that have escaped from the eternal
prison, Hell, coming up against the course of the
dark, subterranean rivulet” (alluding to that, along
whose banks the poets had come since they left
Lucifer, and journeyed up to Purgatory), said he,
with a movement of his venerable locks ?*
Chi v' ha guidati ? o chi vi fu lucerna,
Uscendo fuor della profonda notte
Che sempre nera fa la valle inferna?
“Who has guided you ? or who has been the lantern
unto your steps as you issued forth from that profound
night which makes the Abyss of Hell for ever black ?”
Son le leggi d'abisso così rotte ?
45
O è mutato in ciel nuovo consiglio,
Che, dannati, venite alle mie grotte ?
* Cato must have been standing close to the cavern by which
the poets issued from Hell; for as soon as Dante had taken
in all the beauty of dawning day, and of the Southern Cross,
he turned back towards the North and became aware that
Cato was standing by him. Cato may have seen them come
forth from the subterranean passage, and have come to the
very natural conclusion that they were lost souls trying to
escape their doom. Or he may have taken it for granted that
they had come that way, if he was watching on the sea shore
and not seen any vessel arrive with its angel pilot, such as is
described in Canto II. He certainly could have no doubt on
the subject, by noticing on Dante's face that sudiciume, grimy
mist, which (in 95-6) he orders Virgil to wash away.
Canto I. Readings on the Purgatorio.
II
“Are the laws of the pit to be thus broken? or has
some change caused new counsels to be brought in
Heaven, that ye, being damned, come to my caverns ?”
By the latter Cato means his seven kingdoms, or
seven Cornices of Purgatory.*

Division III. This is the Third Division of the
secondly, begged for Dante's admission with himself
into Purgatory.
He first describes how Virgil, on seeing the vener-
able old man, compelled Dante to pay him an imme-
diate act of respect.
Lo duca mio allor mi diè di piglio,
E, con parole, e con mani e con cenni, (50)
Riverenti mi fe' le gambe e il ciglio.
My Leader then laid hold on me, and both by
words of command, with his hands, and with signs
(or, as Benvenuto says, in every way that he could at
such short notice), he made me reverent both with
my legs and my brow, that is, he forced me to bend
my knees, and to incline my head.t
It is worth noticing that on Dante's entrance into
* The laws of Hell ordered the lost souls who entered into
it to abandon all hope. Cato asks whether any new law has
been passed in Heaven, which would permit souls in Hell still to
hope for Redemption, and issue forth from Hell.
+ We learn from verse 109
“Così sparì ; ed io su mi levai
Senza parlare," that Dante continued kneeling
during the whole interview.

12 S Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto I.
Hell, he finds himself in presence of an old man,
Charon, whose weird appearance and excited manner
contrast remarkably with the calm, collected, dignified
manner of Cato. In both cases is Dante summoned
to account for his presence, by Charon in Hell and by
Cato in Purgatory. In both cases does Virgil reply:
to Charon by a simple assertion of Divine authority;
to Cato by the most courteous and full explanation.
Benvenuto says that Virgil commences, by replying
to Cato's second question as to who had guided their
steps thus far.
Poscia rispose lui :-“Da me non venni ;*
Donna scese del ciel, per li cui preghi
Della mia compagnia costui sovvenni.
* How like Dante's reply to Farinata degli Uberti-
“Da me stesso non vegno
Colui che attende là per cui mi mena.”
Inf. X, 61-2
Scartazzini says that before answering the question “Who are
ye?” Virgil tries to calm Cato's indignation by answering first
his other question: “Who guided you hither?” Upon this
speech of Virgil to Cato, Dr. Barlow (Study of Dante) remarks :
........ “Virgil's speech to the venerable Cato is a perfect
specimen of persuasive eloquence. The sense of personal
dignity is here combined with extreme courtesy and respect,
and the most flattering appeals to the old man's well-known
sentiments, his love of liberty, his love of rectitude, and his
devoted attachment to Marcia, are interwoven with irresistible
art : but though the resentment of Cato at the approach of the
strangers is thus appeased, and he is persuaded to regard them
with as much favour as the severity of his character permits, yet
he will not have them think that his consent to their proceeding
has been obtained by adulation, but simply by the assertion of
power vouchsafed to them from on high. In this also the con-
sistency of Cato's character is maintained; he is sensible of
the flattery but disowns its influence.”
Canto I. Readings on the Purgatorio.
13
Then he answered him :—“I came not of my own
free will; a Lady, Beatrice, descended from Heaven,
in obedience to whose prayers I have aided this one,
meaning Dante, with my company.” Beatrice's visit
to Virgil in Limbo is related in Inf. II, 52-75. Before
answering Cato's first question, Virgil premises by
a full acknowledgment of Cato's right to question
them.
Ma da ch'è tuo voler che più si spieghi
55
Di nostra condizion, com'ella à vera,
Esser non puote il mio che a te si nieghi.

“But since it is thy will that more should be
explained of our condition, what it really is (which
is not that of souls escaped from their doom in
Hell), my will cannot be, that this due explanation
should be denied to thee.” And he proceeds to give
it-
Questi non vide mai l'ultima sera,
Ma per la sua follia le fu si presso,
Che molto poco tempo a volger era.
era.
60
“This man, Dante, never saw the last evening of
life (i.e. he is not yet dead), but, through his own folly
and sin, had approached so near to it, the last evening,
that there was very little time to revolve before he
would actually have died.”
Buti says that Dante here speaks of the death of
the body in the literal sense, and that one must also
understand allegorically the spiritual death. Compare
also Convito, IV, 7.*
* Follia, compare Inf. I, 3:
“Chè la diritta via era smarrita.”

14
Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto I.
Sì com' io dissi, fui mandato ad esso
Per lui campare, e non c'era altra via
Che questa per la quale io mi son messo.
Mostrato ho lui tutta la gente ria ;
Ed ora intendo mostrar quegli spirti
. 65
Che purgan sè sotto la tua balìa.
“As I have said, I was sent unto him for the purpose
of saving him, nor was there any other way of doing
so than this way to which I have betaken myself (i.e.
there was no other way of saving him than by taking
him to see the kingdoms of death, and the conse-
quences of sin). I have shown him all the multitudes
of the lost (lit. the guilty race), and it is my present
purpose to show him those spirits who are going
through their purgation under thy jurisdiction."*
Virgil excuses himself from giving Cato a detailed
account of their journey.
Come io l'ho tratto, saria lungo a dirti :
Dell' alto scende virtù che m' aiuta
Conducerlo a vederti e ad udirti.
“How I have brought him it would be long to tell
thee: but there is power descended from on high which
is aiding me to lead him to see thee and to hear thee”
(so that he may learn from thy lips how he must
prepare himself to pass through the regions of Pur-
gatory). Virgil wishes to show that without divine
* Balia: bailiwick, jurisdiction, from balire=reggere, maneg-
giare. Thomas Aquinas says in the Summa: “La potestà del
balio è governato da quella del re." Therefore the word balla
distinctly defines what Cato's jurisdiction is, viz., authority
delegated to him by God over “i sette regni,” his seven pro-
vinces, meaning the seven cornices of Purgatory, which are
under his superintendence,
Canto I. Readings on the Purgatorio.
15
aid he would not have been able to perform his
mission.
Virgil now makes his petition to Cato to admit
Dante, inasmuch as, like Cato himself, he is an
enthusiast for liberty.
Or ti piaccia gradir la sua venuta :
Libertà va cercando, che è sì cara,
Come sa chi per lei vita rifiuta.
“Now may it please thee to look favourably on his
entrance (here): He comes in search of liberty, which
is so dear, as knows he (i.e. Cato), who for the sake
of it, renounced his life.”
Fraticelli contends that the sense is allegorical.
Dante says in the Convito that liberty is free course
given to the will to fulfil the law; free will is the free
judgment of the will; and the judgment is free, if it
is the first to move the appetite, and is not to be in
any way forestalled by the appetite. Dean Plumptre
explains that the liberty which Dante was seeking
was spiritual ; that for which Cato died political ; but
here, also, the two thoughts overlap one another.
Cato had lived, not for himself, but for the whole
world. (Conv. IV, 27. Mon. II, 5).*

* Scartazzini quotes from St. John VIII, 36:-
“ If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free
indeed."
And 2 Cor. III, 17 :-
“Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty."
And Rom. VIII, 2 :-
“The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me
free from the law of sin and death."
Scartazzini observes that what Dante is in search of are :

16
Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto I.
And what Dante has followed after with the aid of
Beatrice, was not the liberty of Italy, but the freedom
from the slavery of his own passions and from sin.*
Virgil next alludes to the fact that Cato sacrificed
his life for liberty's sake.
Tu il sai ; chè non ti fu per lei amara
In Utica la morte, ove lasciasti.
La vesta che al gran dì sarà sì chiara.
75
“Thou know'st thyself; for death for the sake of it
(liberty), was not bitter to thee in Utica, where thou
didst leave the garmentt (that is, thy body, the
garment of thy soul), which at the last great day of
Judgment shall shine forth so gloriously.”I
Virgil now proceeds to answer Cato's third question
as to whether the laws of Hell had been altered or
violated.
“I dolci pomi”—Inf. XVI, 61.
“Quel dolce pomo che per tanti rami
Cercando va la cura de' mortali. . ."
- Purg. XXVII, 115.
* See Par XXXI, 85, where he says to Beatrice:
“Tu m' hai di servo tratto a libertate
Per tutte quelle vie, per tutti i modi,
Che di ciò fore avean la potestate.”
+ vesta, plural veste; and veste, plural vesti, were equally used
by old writers both in prose and verse.
Compare Petrarch:...“Ove la bella vesta
Presse delle terrene membra
La donna ...."
I chiara :
Compare Dan. XII, 3: “They that be wise shall shine as the

Canto I.
Readings on the Purgatorio.
Non son gli editti eterni per noi guasti :
Chè questi vive, e Minos me non lega;
Ma son del cerchio ove son gli occhi casti
Di Marzia tua, che in vista ancor ti prega,
O santo petto, che per tua la tegni :
Per lo suo amore adunque a noi ti piega.
“The eternal edicts, the immutable laws of God,
have not been violated by us : for this man, Dante, is
alive, and Minos does not bind, has not condemned,
me, to any of the circles of the damned ; but I am
an inmate of that circle, viz. Limbo, where dwell the
chaste eyes of thy Marcia,* who still seems to pray
thee, O sacred breast (blessed spirit), that thou
wouldest hold her for thine own: For her love then
incline thyself to us, to the petition that I now am
about to make to thee on our behalf.”
In Conv. IV, 5, Dante writes, “O sacratissimo
petto di Catone, chi presumerà di te parlare ? ”
Virgil makes his special petition to Cato, saying:
brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to
righteousness as the stars for ever and ever."
And Matt. XIII, 43. “Then shall the righteous shine forth
as the sun in the kingdom of their Father."
And Par. XIV, 43.
“Come la carne gloriosa e santa
Fia rivestita, la nostra persona
Più grata fia, per esser tutta quanta."
Scartazzini says that the expression used by Dante here,
meaning vesta ... chiara, compared with the biblical passages
on which it is evidently founded, excludes all doubt of his
meaning to say that Cato will, in process of time, be saved.
Benvenuto devotes 12 pages to Cato alone, exclusive of the
text. His admiration for him appears to equal that of Dante.
* Marcia was the daughter of the Consul L. Martius Philippus,
and wife of Cato of Utica, who gave her up to his friend Hor-

18
Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto I.
Lasciane andar per li tuoi sette regni :
Grazie riporterò di te a lei,
Se d'esser mentovato laggiù degni.
“Grant us permission to pass through thy seven-
fold kingdom: the seven cornices of Purgatory: I will
carry back to her the thanks we owe to thee, at least
if thou deignest to be mentioned there below."
The Ottimo paraphrases this passage: “This ser-
vice which thou will render us is deserving of praise;
and we will speak thy praises to her.” Cp. Inf. II,
73, 74.
Division IV. We now enter upon the Fourth and
concluding Division of the Canto, in which Dante re-
lates how Cato sanctioned their entrance into the
Ante-Purgatorio and how, in obedience to his direc-
tions, Virgil washed from Dante's cheeks the gloom
of Hell, and girded him with a reed. Cato says to
tensius the Orator. On the death of the latter Marcia inherited
his wealth, and then Cato took her back again to be his wife.
Lucan makes out that Cato did so at Martia's earnest request.
LUC. Phars. II, 341, Rowe's Trans.
When lo the sounding doors are heard to turn,
Chaste Martia comes from dead Hortensius' urn.
Forth from the monument the mournful dame
With beaten breast and locks dishevelled came ;
Then with a pale, dejected, rueful look,
Thus pleasing to her former lord she spoke.
. . . .
At length a barren wedlock let me prove
Give me a name without the joys of love ;
No more to be abandoned let me come,
That Cato's wife may live upon my tomb.

Canto I. Readings on the Purgatorio. 19
Virgil that though he admits them into the Anti-
Purgatorio, he does so in deference to the wishes of
a lady from Heaven, and not from any influence that
the mention of the name of his heathen wife Marcia
could have over him.
“Marzia piacque tanto agli occhi miei,
85
Mentre ch' io fui di là,"—diss' egli allora,
-“Che quante grazie volle da me, fei.
Or che di là dal mal fiume dimora,
Più mover non mi può, per quella legge
Che fatta fu quando me n'uscii fuora.
.90
“Marcia,” said he thereupon, “was so pleasing unto
that all the favours she wished to have from me, I
performed. But now that she dwells on the far side
of the evil stream, of Acheron, she can no longer move
me, by that law which was made when I issued forth
from thence, i.e. from the circle of Limbo, where Cato
remained for 80 years, t until Christ withdrew him
Ma se donna del ciel ti move e regge
Come tu di', non c'è mestier lusinghe :
Bastiti ben che per lei mi richegge.
“But if, as thou sayest, a Lady from Heaven moves
and rules thee, that is, has caused thee to come here,
and is guiding thy steps, no flattering speech is
* Benvenuto takes di là to mean Limbo.
+ per quella legge. The law that absolutely separates the
damned from the blessed.
The “law” implied, says Dean Plumptre, “seems to be that
which separated Cato from the other souls, who, on the descent
into Hades, were placed in the Limbo, while he was made
warder of the Mountain of Cleansing, to which none, before that
date, had been admitted. The husband and the wife, in the in-
tere
as
C 2

20
Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto I.
necessary to influence me: let it be quite sufficient for
thee that thou makest thy request in her name.”
Benvenuto remarks that it appears but empty
flattery to make a request to a very grave old man in
the name of the empty love of a woman whom he may
have loved in former years. Cato now formally sanc-
tions their admission.
Va dunque, e fa che costui ricinghe
D'un giunco schietto, e che gli lavi il viso,
Sì che ogni sudiciume quindi stinghe :
Chè non si converria l'occhio sorpriso
D'alcuna nebbia andar dinanzi al primo
Ministro, che è quei di Paradiso.
“Go then, and see that thou gird this man with a
smooth rush, and that thou wash his face, so that thou
mayest efface from it (quindi), all foulness: for it would
not be fitting that he should go into the presence of
the first Angel, who is of those of Paradise, with his
eyes dimmed by any of the mist remaining in them
from Hell," and, in the allegorical sense, with any
remains of the recollection of all the evil that he has
una
LIO
scrutable decrees of God, had to remain in the place assigned
to each, and the ties that had united them were broken.
Me n' usciï fuora. Buti, Landino, Vellutello, Costa, Giuliani,
Camerini and others think this means “when I died ;” but in
Inf. IV, 63, we are expressly told that before the descent of
Christ into Limbo “spiriti umani non eran salvati.” When Cato
died, eighty years before the death of Christ, there was no law
forbidding the redeemed to retain any affection for those “di là
del mal fiume.” That law, Scartazzini says, was made when
“that Mighty One descended into Limbo (Inf. IV, 53) and took
from thence the spirits of the Patriarchs, “e molti altri,” among
whom must have been Cato. Besides, “ne,” in v. 90 must refer
to il “mal fiume,” which is in the same terzina, and not to
“di là” in v. 86.
Canto I. Readings on the Purgatorio.
21
been contemplating, which would be injurious to the
purity of his soul, and to the clearness of vision which
is the condition of seeing God (Plumptre).*
Cato then tells Virgil where he will find the rushes
on the sea shore
Questa isoletta intorno ad imo ad imo,
100
Laggiù colà dove la batte l'onda,
Porta de' giunchi sovra il molle limo.
Null' altra pianta che facesse fronda,
O indurasse, vi puote aver vita,
Però che alle percosse non seconda. 105
“This little island round about its lowest base
down yonder where the waves are plashing on the

* Richegge-ricinghe-stinghe are the ancient forms of the
present subjunctive for richegga-ricinga-stinga.
Schietto means smooth, deprived of its leaves.
The rush, is, according to some commentators, a symbol of
simple humility. Dante in v. 135 of this Canto calls it “l' umile
pianta."
Benvenuto's explanation is very interesting.
He notes that Cato says
“ fa che costui ricinghe D' un giunco schietto"
and says ricinghe means that Dante was to be girded over
again, because in Inf. XVI, 106-117, we read that he had a cord
girded round his waist, with which at one time he had thought
to capture the panther, by which he intended to say that
formerly, by donning the garb of St. Francis he had hoped
to have conquered the concupiscence of the flesh. This cord
covered with knots, says Benvenuto, was taken from him by
Virgil, and cast down to Geryon into Malebolge; and therefore
Dante must now be regirded with a giunco schietto, a rush with-
out knots, a sign of humility.
Primo Ministro. By this Dante evidently intends to signify
the angel who sits as the Guardian of the Gate of Purgatory,
(Canto IX, 78.) The first Angel he saw was the one in the boat
mentioned in the next Canto, but he never looked at Dante and
Virgil, but “sen gì come venne veloce.”

22
Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto. I.
shore, produces rushes in the soft ooze. No other
plant that puts forth leaves, or that hardens from
mature growth, can live there, because it does not
yield to the shocks of the surf."*
Cato's concluding words are:
Poscia non sia di qua vostra reddita ;
Lo sol vi mostrerà che surge omai,
Prender lo monte a più lieve salita.
“After that thou shalt have girded and washed Dante,
let not your return be this way; the sun which is on
the point of rising will direct you how to take the
mountain by an easier ascent.”+
Cato now disappears.
Cosi sparì ; ed io su mi levai
Senza parlare, e tutto mi ritrassi
ΠΟ
Al duca mio, e gli occhi a lui drizzai.
With these words he vanished; and I rose from my
knees without speaking, and drew myself more closely
up to my leader, and fixed my eyes upon him, as a
sign that I gave myself up completely to his will.
Ei cominciò :-“Figliuol, segui i miei passi :
Volgiamei indietro, chè di qua dichina
Questa pianura a' suoi termini bassi.”—
* Benvenuto sees an allegory running all through these last
lines. Dean Plumptre puts them in a very concise form.
“The natural man prides himself on resisting the adverse
blasts of fortune (as Dante himself seems to do), but true
humility sees in them the discipline appointed by the Divine
will and submits.” Par. XVII, 23.
+ Lo Sol vi mostrerà: the Sun would direct their steps, for, as
we learn in Inf. I, 18, it is that planet “Che mena dritto altrui
per ogni calle.” The conversation with Cato and the moments
occupied in looking around them, had made the time pass so
quickly that dawn had already commenced, and sunrise was not
far distant. (Antonelli.)
Canto I. Readings on the Purgatorio.
23
He began:-“My Son, follow in my steps: Let us
turn back towards the shore, for, from where we are
now standing, this plain slopes down to its lowest
boundaries.” They were facing the abrupt ascent of
the mountain, but had been ordered first to go down
to the shore for which purpose they turned back-
wards.
Dante next describes how the day was breaking.

1 ora mattutina*
115
L'alba vinceva l’ôra mattutina*
Che fuggía innanzi, sì che di lontano
Conobbi il tremolar della marina.
The dawn was overcoming the breeze of early
morning, which was retreating before it, so that even
from afar I could see the ruffling that it caused on the
surface of the sea. Dr. Moore describes this as an
exquisite picture of the breeze that precedes sunrise.
In Canto II, 1, we have the sun actually on the
horizon.
* L'ôra mattutina for aura. Dean Plumptre says that the
ôra of the Italian stands for “aura," not "Hora.” The dawn
scatters the early mist and shews the trembling of the waters.
Line 117 is an echo of the “splendet tremulo sub lumine pontus”
of Æn. VII, 9, which Conington translates:
The breezes freshen towards the night,
Nor doth the moon refuse
Her guiding lamp: its tremulous light
The glancing deep bestrews.
Some understand “ora”=hour, as do Benvenuto and Buti,
others
“ora”=shade.
Scartazzini agrees with Dean Plumptre. Jacopo della Lana,
who does not comment on the word, writes it with a circumflex
over ôra, so that one may take it for granted that he understands
“aura."

24 | Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto I.
Noi andavam per lo solingo piano
Com'uom che torna alla smarrita strada
Che infino ad essa gli par ire in vano.
120
We began walking along the solitary plain (un-
tenanted save by Cato, and he too had vanished) like
a man that turns to seek the way that he has missed,
and, until he has found it, he thinks he is walking to no
purpose.
Dante tells us how Virgil, in obedience to Cato's
commands washed his face.
Quando noi fummo dove la rugiada
Pugna col sole, e per essere in parte
Ove adorezza, poco si dirada;
Ambo le mani in su l' erbetta sparte
Soavemente il mio maestro pose;
Ond' io che fui accorto di su'arte,
Pôrsi vêr lui le guance lagrimose :
Quivi mi fece tutto discoverto
Quel color che l'inferno mi nascose.
125
As soon as we had reached a spot where the dew yet
strives with the sun, and from being in a place where
it is shady, evaporates but little; my Master gently
and gracefully spread both his hands upon the herbage;
on which I, becoming aware of his intention, extended
towards him my cheeks still covered with tears (which
had flowed during my passage through Hell at the
sufferings I witnessed in it): and there he brought
thoroughly to light again that colour which Hell had
covered up in me, that is, by washing my cheeks with
the dew, he washed from them the traces of tears
upon them, and restored to them their rosy hue.
The place to which Virgil brought Dante was probably
on the south side of the mountain, where the Sun, says
Canto I. Readings on the Purgatorio.
25
Mr. Butler, has least power, and the dew can resist its
influence.*
In conclusion Dante describes how Virgil girded
him with a rush, and the spot where the rushes grew.
Venimmo poi in sul lito diserto,
130
Che mai non vide navicar sue acque
* Uomo, che di tornar sia poscia esperto.
Quivi mi cinse sì come altrui piacque :
O maraviglia ! che qual egli scelse
L'umile pianta, cotal si rinacque
135
Subitamente là onde la svelse.
After this we came down to the lonely shore, which
never yet beheld man sail upon its waters, and after-
wards have experience of return.t
Here did he gird me as that other one, Cato, had
willed; O wonderful to tell! that just like unto the
humble rush that he selected and pulled up, so there
sprang up another straightway in the spot from which
he had plucked it forth; meaning that divine grace is
inexhaustible, and never diminishes. I

END OF CANTO I.
* Scartazzini says: “The rays of the rising Sun reach the
lowest base of the island later than the upper parts of the moun-
tain, and therefore the dew lasts there longer."
† On the powerlessness of man to navigate the waters of the
sea surrounding the hill of Purgatory, see the account given to
Dante by Ulysses in Inf. XXVI, 142, of his ill-fated voyage and
death.
# rinacque subitamente, &c. Compare Æneid VI, 144.
“ Primo avulso non deficit alter
Aureus; et simili frondescit virga metallo.”
Conington's translation gives it :

Readings on the Purgatorio.
DIGRESSION ON THE ACCOUNT OF THE SUN-RISE
IN CANTO II, 1-9. CANTO III, 25. CANTO IV,
138-9. CANTO V, 1-6. CANTO XXVII, 1-6.
From Dr. Moore's Time References in the Divina
Commedia (p. 66).
“ The next passage (II, 1-9) is one of a group of
five or six similar in character, which may therefore
conveniently be considered together, since the key to
their explanation is the same. To understand them,
a brief exposition of the rude system of geography
adopted by Dante here and in the Convito is necessary.
It was in fact the same as was current in his day, and
its main features are to be found in such writers as
Orosius, Isidore, and Brunetto Latini (with all of
whom Dante was acquainted), and in almost any of
the old Mappa Mundi, such as that of Hereford
“Yet none may reach the shades without
The passport of that golden sprout :
For so has Proserpine decreed
That this should be her beauty's meed.
One plucked, another fills its room,
And burgeons with like precious bloom.”
[To burgeon, v. n. to bud, from the French bourgeonner. See
WEBSTER's Lexicon.]
Readings on the Purgatorio. 1 . 27
Cathedral, and many others which are given by
Lelewel in his Géographie du Moyen Age. The
habitable world was of course confined to the Northern
Hemisphere, the other was the “ mondo senza gente,"
of Inf. XXVI, 117. The Southern Hemisphere in
fact contained no land excepting the Mountain of
Purgatory, and the belief in the possibility of Anti-
podes would no doubt have been held, as by St.
Augustine (De Civ. XVI, 9) to be unscriptural. The
Northern Hemisphere was symmetrically divided into
two parts, Asia in the East, and Europe and Africa
in the West. Asia in which Egypt was included (see
Br. Latini, Tes. III, c. 2), was held to be equal in size
to Europe and Africa together; this being sometimes
accounted for by the a priori consideration that it was
the inheritance of Shem, the first born, who had con-
sequently a double portion !
Gervaise of Tilbury and Fazio degli Uberti in the
Dittamondo both make this statement. “Europe and
Africa were again symmetrically sub-divided by the
Mediterranean, which (as we learn from Par. IX,
84-87) was regarded by Dante as reaching half-way
across the hemisphere, and thus extending over ninety
degrees of longitude. His words are that from the
Ocean which surrounds the world
“ Contra il sole (i.e. eastwards)
Tanto sen va, che fa meridiano
Là dove l' orizzonte pria far suole." Par. IX, 87.
Jerusalem was in the system of Dante, as of the
other authors we have referred to, and, indeed, in
general medieval belief the, ομφαλός της γης, and this
is, therefore, the “Greenwich,” so to speak, of Dante's
computations of longitude, and consequently of time.


28
Readings on the Purgatorio.
On either side of Jerusalem, at the distance of
ninety degrees, were the Ganges on the east, and
the Pillars of Hercules on the west, this limit being
also variously indicated by Dante as Spain, the Ebro,
Seville, Gades, or Morocco. Half-way between Jeru-
salem and Spain, and, therefore, in the centre of the
Mediterranean, and at about 45 degrees west longi-
Finally, the direct antipodes of Jerusalem, and,
therefore, at 180 degrees either east or west longitude,
was the Mountain of Purgatory. We find this dis-
tinctly expounded in Purg. IV. 67-71."
TABLE.
Purgatory.
Spain.
Italy.
→ Jerusalem.
India.
Purgatory.
>
->
7-
180°
90°
90°
180°
45° 0°
LONGITUDE.
W.
A reference to the annexed Table and Diagram,
constructed to illustrate this, will make it clear at a
glance.
As 15 degrees of longitude=1 hour, :: 45 degrees=
3 hours, and 90 degrees=6 hours; and of course (as
in the case of the antipodes) 180 degrees=12 hours
difference of time.
Readings on the Purgatorio.
20
DIAGRAM.

AM
PM
Ć XI.NOON 7
II.
III. IV
ML. IX. X.
ITALY
JERUSALEM
V.
1. VI. VII. VI
SPAIN
GANGES
VI. VII
PURGATORY
TODOS
LAI 'TILIL
1. VIII. IX.
X
I MIDNTI
AM
IX
PM
It follows at once from this simple and symme-
trical system of geography that if it be, for example,
noon at Jerusalem, it will be 6 a.m. at Spain (i.e.
roughly speaking, sunrise at the time of the Equinox);
9 a.m. in Italy; 6 p.m. (or Sunset) in India, and mid-
night in Purgatory.

30
Canto II.
Readings on the Purgatorio.
CANTO II.
THE DAWN.
THE ANGEL PILOT.
CASELLA.
As in the preceding Canto, which was an introduc-
tory one, Dante stated his proposition, made his
invocation, and described how, by means of Cato,
he entered into Purgatory, and was washed and
girded by Virgil, he now proceeds in the present
Canto, to treat of those who delayed their repentance
until their death, and are on that account relegated
to the Ante-Purgatory.
The Canto may be divided, according to Benvenuto,
into four Divisions :-
In the First Division, v. I to v. 9, he describes
the time and the place in beautiful language...
In the Second Division, v. 10 to v. 51, he describes
how an Angel brought a band of spirits to Purgatory
in a boat.
In the Third Division, v. 52 to V. 105, we hear
of Dante's interview with the Spirits, among whom
he recognizes his old friend Casella, the musician.
In the Fourth Division, v. 106 to v. 133, Dante
persuades Casella to sing, but his minstrelsy is inter-
rupted by the severe censures of Cato.
Division 1. The first three lines, says Dr. Moore,
describe sunset at Jerusalem ; it was consequently
sunrise at Purgatory.

Canto II. Readings on the Purgatorio.
I
5
Già era il sole all'orizzonte giunto,
Lo cui meridžan cerchio coverchia
Jerusalem col suo più alto punto :
Now had the sun reached the horizon of that
hemisphere, the northern, whose meridian circle
hangs, at its most elevated point, above Jerusalem.
By horizon understand that point of the horizon.
E la notte, che opposita a lui cerchia,
Uscia di Gange fuor colle bilance,
Che le caggion di man quando soverchia.
And the night, which describes her circle in the
opposite direction to him, the Sun, who was in the
constellation of Aries, was coming forth from the
Ganges with the Balances (that is, the constellation
of Libra, exactly opposite to that of Aries), which
fall from out of her hand, that is, she departs from
that constellation when the night predominates over
the day. *
Let us again follow Dr. Moore here. Dante de-
scribes “Sunset at Jerusalem : it was consequently
sunrise in Purgatory,— La dove io era' (v. 8)—and
UUT
* Giuliani (Metodo di commentare la Commedia di Dante,
Florence, 1861) comments: “Now had the sun reached the
horizon of the Hemisphere, beneath whose highest point, which
is the summit of the Meridian circle, stands Jerusalem, where
“l'Uomo che nacque e visse senza pecca (Inf. XXXIV, 115)
sparse il suo sangue.” Purg. XXVII, 2.
And the night, which like unto a “pianeta oscuro," circles in
direct opposition to the sun, was issuing forth from the Ganges
· SLibra
in the sign of
Çfrom which constellation she de-
the balances s
parts, to descend into that of the Scorpion, when the sun mounts
up into another constellation beyond Aries. From this we may
determine that the sun was just touching the West of Jerusalem,
and was about to show himself in the East of Purgatory.

32
Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto II.
midnight on the Ganges : for night, here and else-
where, when spoken of generally as being in any
spot, naturally stands for midnight, as its central
point. In passing, a word on the obscure lines 5 and
6 may not be amiss. The Sun being in Aries, the
night revolving exactly opposite to him, is considered
to be in Libra (le bilance), and the Scales are said to
fall from the hand of night when night overcomes the
day (soverchia), i.e. becomes longer than the day.
This, of course, it does after the autumnal Equinox,
and since the Sun then enters Libra, that constella-
tion ceases to be within the range of night, and so
the Scales are poetically said to fall from the hand
of night.” (Dr. Moore, Time References, p. 70).
He describes how the colours of sunrise were be-
coming more glowing.*
Sì che le bianche e le vermiglie guance,
Là dove io era, della bella Aurora,
Per troppo etade divenivan rance.
So that the white and the vermilion cheeks of
beautiful Aurora, at the place where I was, through
too much age, that is, as the dawn changed more
into day, were taking an orange tint.†
* Lamenais (La Divine Comédie de Dante Alighieri, Paris,
1855) says: “Le Poète indique ici les trois couleurs diverses
dont le ceil se nuance avant le lever du soleil, le blanc de
l'aube, le vermeil de l'aurore, et l'orangé qui précède un peu
le Soleil.” Scartazzini uses exactly the same words in Italian.
+ The Rev. Henry Francis Cary (The Vision of Dante
Alighieri, London, 1886) quotes a parallel passage from the
Decam. of Boccaccio : “L'aurora già di vermiglia cominciava
appressandosi il sole a divenir rancia.” In a note on Inf. XXIII,
101, Cary says: “It is observed by Venturi, that the word 'rance'
Canto II. Readings on the Purgatorio.
33
Division II. Here commences the Second Division
of the Canto, in which Dante speaks of an Angel,
whose duty it is to transport spirits to Purgatory.
Benvenuto says: “As the text here is difficult, and
the meaning obscure and far fetched, I wish you to
know, that the poet means to say that while he and
Virgil were still standing on the shore, thinking of
which way to go, he saw on a sudden an exceedingly
bright dazzling light coming over the sea, glowing
red like the planet Mars, and moving with surprising
velocity; and the nearer this light approached, the
more powerful it became. This was an Angel, who
in a very light bark was conveying to that shore a
band of spirits who were to be purged.”
Dante first describes how he and Virgil were stand-
ing:
Noi eravam lunghesso il mare ancora,
Come gente che pensa a suo cammino,
Che va col cuore, e col corpo dimora:
We were still on the sea-shore, like unto people
who are thinking of the way they will go, who move
on with their heart, but in body remain where they
are, from indecision.*
They were standing on the shore at the place where

IO
n
does not here signify rancid' or 'disgustful,' as it is explained
by the old commentators, but ‘orange-coloured,' in which sense
it occurs in the Purgatory, Canto II, 9." By the erroneous
interpretation Milton appears to have been misled : “Ever
since the day peepe, till now, the sun was grown somewhat
ranke.” MILTON, Prose Works, Vol. I, p. 160, ed. 1753.
* Giuliani quotes a parallel passage from the Vita Nuova,
§ XIII. "E ciascun pensiero mi combatteva tanto, che mi
facevan stare come colui che non sa per qual via pigli il suo
cammino, che vuole andare e non sa onde si vada.”
D
34
Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto II.
Virgil had pulled up a rush wherewith to gird Dante.
They were anxious to move on, but knew not in which
direction to turn their steps. They now catch the
first sight of the Angel in the far distance.
In Conv. II, 14, Dante mentions that fiery vapours
in the form of a cross were seen near the planet Mars
at Florence in the beginning of her troubles.
Ed ecco qual, sul presso del mattino,
Per li grossi vapor, Marte rosseggia
Giù nel ponente sopra il suol marino; 15
Cotal m'apparve (s' io ancor lo veggia!)
Un lume per lo mar venir sì ratto,
Che il mover suo nessun volar pareggia.
And lo! just as the planet Mars, sul presso del
mattino=sull' ora presso del mattino, at the hour when
morning is at hand, grows fiery red through the thick
vapours down in the West over the ocean floor, i.e. on

SUO n
over the sea ; so there became visible to me (and may
God grant that I may so see it a second time) a light
coming over the sea with so swift a motion, that no
flight of bird could rival such speed.*
* In Par. XXII, 104, Dante reverses the phrase and says he
ascended into the sign of Gemini with such speed that never
down here in the world was there in nature so quick a flight of
wing that could compare to this.
- “Naturalmente fu sì ratto moto,
S'io ancor lo vegga:=so may I see it once more!
Dante wishes to see the same light again after his death,
being certain in that case of eventually arriving among the
Blessed.
On the various readings of “sul presso del mattino,” Mr.
Butler (The Purgatory of Dante, London, 1880), says:.
“ Witte writes sorpreso dal, to which it is reasonably
reas
Canto II. Readings on the Purgatorio. 35
He next describes how the light kept increasing in
size and brilliancy.
Dal qual com' io un poco ebbi ritratto
L'occhio per dimandar lo duca mio,
Rividil più lucente e maggior fatto.
20

From which, whilst for a moment, I had withdrawn
my gaze, to ask my guide as to what this might be,
I saw it, this same light, already increased both in
brilliancy and in size ; so much nearer to us had the
extreme rapidity of its motion brought it to us.
Dante's eye begins to discern the details of the
form of the approaching Angel.
Poi d'ogni lato ad esso m' apparìo
Un non sapëa che bianco, e di sotto*
A poco a poco un altro a lui n' uscio.
Then (poi), a second or two afterwards, I began to
see appearing to me, something, but what I knew not,
objected that to speak of a setting planet as surprised by the
rising Sun, is not a very good image. Scartazzini prefers 'suol
presso del,' which will not construe, for his theory that roseggia is
the infinitive is untenable. Dante did not write in Piedmontese.
'Sul presso del' is the only reading which gives a good sense;
and to Fanfani's objection that this substantial use of presso is
not old, it may be replied that Bembo and Landino presumably
knew their own language. Bianchi compares such phrases as
all'incirca, nel mentre.”
I may mention that in my father's Quattro Edizioni I find
all four editions give “sol presso," the only difference being that
Foligno and Mantua have 'sol presso del mattino,' while Jesi
and Naples have 'sol presso dal mattino. Jacopo della Lana,
Benvenuto and Buti ‘su 'l presso del mattino.'
* Of the first four editions Mantua reads “Un non sapëa che
biancheggiar di sotto," the other three read“ bianco, e di sotto.”
D 2

36
Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto II.
of white, something indistinct, projecting from either
side of the figure (these were the Angel's radiant
wings), and, little by little, another something of in-
distinct white, which was the vessel guided by the
Angel, loomed out from under it.*
Virgil, as soon as he finds out the sacred character
of the pilot, bids Dante kneel down, and fold his
hands.
25
Lo mio maestro ancor non fece motto
Mentre che i primi bianchi apparser ali:
Allor che ben conobbe il galeotto,
Gridò:-“Fa, fa che le ginocchia cali;
Ecco l' angel di Dio: piega le mani:
Omai vedrai di sì fatti uficiali.
30
My Master had not as yet uttered a word, until
the first-mentioned white objects appeared as wings:
then, as soon as he recognized the sacred pilot, he
cried out : “See, see that thou bend thy knees; be-
hold the Angel of God: fold thy hands: from now
henceforward thou wilt see these kind of ministers
and messengers of life eternal” (as Dante calls them
in Purg. XXX, 18).
* Scartazzini and Giuliani think the white underneath was
the angel's shining raiment, but I have adopted Benvenuto's
interpretation, that it was the vessel, brilliantly white, and
directed and propelled by the Angel's wings.
+ Benvenuto comments on (v. 30) that as Dante had been con-
tinually seeing in Hell evil Angels, terrible, horrible dark, fero-
cious, armed, yelling, threatening, and dragging men (homines)
to the tortures of the damned; so now in Purgatory he would
see good Angels, bright, shining, sweet, gentle, ever singing, and
directing men to salutary penance. And as, at the entrance
to Hell, Dante describes the ferryman who had to carry over
Canto II. Readings on the Purgatorio.
37
Virgil points out to Dante in what a marvellous
way the celestial pilot was propelling the vessel.

Vedi che sdegna gli argomenti umani,
Sì che remo non vuol, nè altro velo
Che l' ale sue, tra liti sì lontani.
Vedi come le ha dritte verso il cielo,
Trattando l' aëre con l'eterne penne
Che non si mutan come mortal pelo.
35
"See how he scorns all human instruments, so that
he seeks not oars, nor any other sail than his own
wings to propel the vessel, and that between shores
that are so far apart as 'the shores of Purgatory and
the mouth of the Tiber (whence, as we shall see, the
Angel had come). See he holds them pointed up
towards heaven, beating the air with those everlasting
feathers, that do not undergo any periodical change,
as does the mortal plumage of birds."
Benvenuto particularly points out that mortal pelo
must not be taken to mean the changes that human
hair is subject to, as some try to make out, but the
whole comparison is between the Angel and a
bird. The more a bird is favoured with feathers,
and not hampered with too much flesh, the more
it can soar up in the air, the lighter it is, the better
it can fly. Benvenuto thinks Dante is right in de-
picting the Angel with wings, to denote his rapid
movements, and the speed with which he performs
his duties.
the river Acheron all the spirits of the doomed in a boat; so now
he introduces a ship master (patronum), who has to transport
to Purgatory in a ship all the spirits that have to go through
purgation.

38
Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto II.
Next Dante shows how the more quickly the Angel
drew near, the more intense was the radiance that
his presence exhibited.
Poi come più e più verso noi venne
L'uccel divino, più chiaro appariva;
Per che l'occhio da presso nol sostenne:
Ma china 'l giuso. E quei sen venne a riva
Con un vasello* snelletto, e leggierot
Tanto, che l'acqua nulla ne inghiottiva.
40
And then, as the Bird of God came nearer and
nearer towards us, the more radiant he appeared; so
much so, that mine eye could not endure the sight of
him near: but I had to cast it, my eye, downwards.
And he approached the shore with a small vessel,
swift, and so light, that the water swallowed naught
of it ; that is, the vessel, though it had more than a
hundred souls on board, was so light, that it floated
right on the top of the waters. The Angel, as the
Commander of the vessel, stands on the poop.
Da poppa stava il celestial nocchiero,
Tal che farìa beato pur descripto;
E più di cento spirti entro sediero.
45
The heavenly pilot stood on the poop, and was of
such an appearance, that not only to behold him, but
even to attempt to describe him, would make blessed
him who would do so, or, was of such an appearance,
that he seemed to carry his blessedness written on his
* Vasello occurs in the Inferno, Canto XXVIII, 79.
“Gittati saran fuor di lor vasello "
+ Leggiero tanto: in Inf. VIII, 29, we read just the contrary.
“Secando se ne va l'antica prora
Dell' acqua più che non suol con altrui."
Canto II. Readings on the Purgatorio.
39
brow ;* and more than a hundred spirits sat within
the vessel.
In eaitu Isrdel de Ægypto
Cantavan tutti insieme ad una voce,
Con quanto di quel salmo è poscia scripto.
They were all singing together in unison, “In exitu
Israel de Ægypto” (when Israel came out of Egypt),
with all the rest of that psalm. I
The angel then dismisses the spirits with the sign
of the Cross, as a farewell benediction.
Poi fece il segno lor di santa croce;
Ond 'ei si gittâr tutti in su la piaggia,
Ed ei sen gìo, come venne, veloce.
Then he made them the sign of the holy Cross; on

50
* The reading “farea beato pur descripto” is adopted by
Scartazzini, Giuliani, Witte, whereas for the reading “parea
beato per iscritto," I find the following authorities: Mantua,
Naples, Foligno, Jacopo della Lana, Benvenuto, Buti, Camerini,
Fraticelli, and both the Aldine editions. Talice da Ricaldone
reads “tal che farìa beato per iscritto." The Jesi "tal che faria
beato pur iscritto."
Dean Plumptre says of “farìa beato pur descripto," that it
"gives the suggestive thought that even to hear the report
of the angel's majesty would be as a foretaste of the blessedness
of Heaven.”
+ Benvenuto remarks that Charon carried many more than a
hundred spirits at a time in his ferry boat, since for one spirit
that turns to penitence there are thousands that turn to sin.
I In exitu Isrdel de Ægypto. These words are in the first
verse of Psalm CXIV, which in ancient times was sung by the
priests while carrying the dead into the Church. Dante, in his
letter to Can Grande, comments on this Psalm himself, saying
that, if we look at the spiritual sense, it typifies the depar-
ture of the sanctified soul from the slavery of this corruption,
in order to pass over to the liberty of eternal glory.

40
Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto II.
which they all cast themselves upon the shore, eager
to commence their work of purgation, and he, the
Angel, departed as swiftly as he had come.
Division III. In the Third Division of the Canto,
which begins here, Dante describes the band of spirits
conveyed by the Angel, and among them he recog-
nizes the soul of a much beloved friend. He first
speaks of their wonder at the spot to which they
have been brought, and their hesitation as to what
they have to do next.
La turba che rimase lì, selvaggia
Parea del loco, rimirando intorno
Come colui che nuove cose assaggia.
The throng that remained there on the shore, after
the departure of the Angel, appeared to have no
knowledge of the locality, and, stupified with wonder,
gazed around them like one who is gaining his first
experience in matters which are new to him.*
Before describing what took place between the
spirits and the two poets, Dante wishes us to under-
stand that it was now bright day, and the sun well
up above the horizon.
* Giuliani compares
“Non altrimenti stupido si turba
Lo montanaro, e rimirando ammuta,
Quando rozzo e salvatico s'innurba."
Purg. XXVI, 66.
“Just in the same way the mountaineer stands confused in
stupified wonder, and gazing round is dumb, when, rough and
rustic, he comes into the town.”
Canto II. Readings on the Purgatorio.
41
Da tutte parti saettava il giorno
Lo sol, ch' avea colle saette conte
Di mezzo il ciel cacciato il Capricorno,*
Quando la nuova gente alzò la fronte,
Ver noi, dicendo a noi :-"Se voi sapete,
Mostratene la via di gire al monte.”- 60
On every side the sun was now darting forth the
day, the sun, that with his radiant shafts had chased
the sign of Capricorn from the mid-heaven, when the
spirits who were but newly arrived lifted up their
faces towards us, saying: “If ye know it, show us the
way to approach the ascent of the mountain.”
E Virgilio rispose :—“Voi credete
Forse che siamo esperti d' esto loco;
Ma noi siam peregrin, come voi siete.
Dianzi venimmo, innanzi a voi un poco, .
Per altra via, che fu sì aspra e forte, I
Che lo salire omai ne parrà gioco.”
and Virgil answered :-"You imagine perchance that
we are well acquainted with this place; but we are
just as much strangers here as you yourselves are.
We arrived here just now, only a little while before
you did, by another way, that was so rough and

Se:
65
* Di mezzo il ciel cacciato il Capricorno. The sun had driven
the sign of Capricorn beyond the meridian. Dr. Moore says
that, if Capricorn had cleared the meridian, Aries would have
cleared the horizon. Della Valle considers that the sun would
be precisely nine degrees above the horizon, which would repre-
sent about forty minutes after sunrise, and if so, about 6 a.m.
+ Dante, in the Vita Nuova, $ 41, says:
“Peregrino dicesi chiunque è fuori della patria sua."
| Aspra e forte. Compare Inf. I, 5:
“Questa selva salvaggia ed aspra e forte."

42
Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto II.
70
difficult, that the ascent that is now before us will
seem to us but child's play compared to the other.”
The spirits now become aware of Dante being a
living man from observing his respiration,* and ac-
tually turn pale with wonder.
L' anime che si fur di me accorte,
Per lo spirar, ch' io era ancor vivo,
Maravigliando diventaro smorte.
The spirits, who had begun to notice me, and, by
seeing me breathe, perceived that I was yet alive,
turned pale with awe and astonishment. Dean
Plumptre says: The newly arrived souls gaze on the
living man whom they see on landing, as the crowd
at Florence gaze on a messenger of good tidings
bearing on high a branch of olive.
E come a messagier, che porta olivo,
Tragge la gente per udir novelle,
E di calcar nessun si mostra schivo;
Così al viso mio s' affisar quelle,
Anime fortunate tutte quante,
Quasi obbliando dire a farsi belle.
75
And like as people throng round a messenger
who bears the olive branch as a token of peace,
so that they may hear intelligence, and no one
shows himself shy of crowding ; so every one of
those happy spirits fastened their eyes on my coun-
tenance, almost forgetting to go onwards to render
themselves beautiful by purgation and absolution.f
* Compare Inf. XXIII, 88:
“Costui par vivo all'atto della gola.”
+ Quasi obbliando. Compare Inf. XXVIII, 52, where the
spirits in Hell, from wonder, almost forget their torments :
“Più fur di cento che, quando l' udiro,
S'arrestaron nel fosso a riguardarmi,
Per maraviglia obbliando il martiro.”
m
W
Canto II. Readings on the Purgatorio.
43
One of the spirits now recognizes Dante.
Io vidi una di lor traersi avante
Per abbracciarmi con sì grande affetto,
Che mosse me a far lo simigliante.
I saw one of them dart forward to embrace me with
such a demonstration of affection, that it moved me
to do the same thing. Dante had not as yet recog-
nized the spirit. The spirit and Dante had both of
them now cause for wonderment—the spirit, at find-
ing that Dante was alive, and Dante, at finding the
impossibility of embracing the shadowy form.
O ombre vane, fuor che nell'aspetto!
Tre volte dietro a lei le mani avvinsi,
E tante mi tornai con esse al petto.
O shadows that are empty except in outward ap-
pearance! Three times did I twine mine arms, and
clasp my hands behind that form, and as many times
did I return with them to my own breast. *

* In Purg. XXI, 132-136, Statius is dissuaded by Virgil from
embracing his feet, seeing that they are both shadows. Statius
answers-
“Or puoi la quantitate
Comprender dell' amor che a te mi scalda,
Quando dismento nostra vanitate
Trattando l'ombre come cosa salda.”
In Inf. VI, 35, Dante says they were walking upon the unsub-
stantial bodies of the gluttonous.
“e ponevam le piante
Sopra lor vanità che par persona.”
In Virgil Æneid, VI, 699, Æneas in vain attempts to
embrace his father Anchises.
Ter conatus ibi collo dare brachia circum:
Ter frustra comprensa manus effugit imago,
Par levibus ventis, volucrique simillima somno.
Which Conington translates:

44
Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto II.
Dante tells us that he changed colour with awe.
Di maraviglia, credo, mi dipinsi;
Per che l'ombra sorrise e si ritrasse,
Ed io seguendo lei, oltre mi pinsi.
Soavemente disse ch' io posasse:
- 85
Allor conobbi chi era, e pregai
Che per parlarmi un poco s'arrestasse.
I think my face must have changed colour (as
Dante says in Vita Nuova, S XV, Mostrando ivi lo
color del core); for the spirit smiled at my disappoint-
ment, and drew back, and I pursuing it, pressed
farther forwards. Gently it bade me desist from
my vain endeavours to embrace it: and then I knew
who he was, and begged him to tarry a while and
converse with me. Dante had now recognized the
spirit of Casella, who had been a Florentine mu-
sician and a friend of the poet. Casella complies
with the request, and tells Dante why he does so.*
Thrice strove the son his sire to clasp;
Thrice the vain phantom mocked his grasp,
No vision of the drowsy night,
No airy current, half so light.
Dante was carried by Virgil on his shoulder. He was able
to tear out the hair of Bocca degli Albati, to push Argenti
back into the mud, but here he fails to embrace Casella. Yet
Virgil and Sordello embrace each other, and Matelda draws
both Dante and Statius through Lethe. Scartazzini thinks that
Dante makes the spirits in Purgatory of forms sometimes pal-
pable and at others impalpable, but the spirits of the Lost
always palpable.
* Casella. I gather from Dean Plumptre and Scartazzini
that there is in the Vatican library a madrigal of Lemmo da
Pistoja (who flourished about 1300) with this inscription,
“ Casella diede il suono;" meaning that the words of Lemmo

Canto II.
Readings on the Purgatorio.
Risposemi:—“Così com' io t 'amai
Nel mortal corpo, così t'amo sciolta;
Però m 'arresto: ma tu perchè vai?”
90
He answered me:-“Just as I loved thee in my
mortal body, when I was alive, so do I love thee, now
that my soul is loosed from its earthly tabernacle;
and therefore I tarry as thou desirest; but why dost
thou, alive, go upon this journey that is usually only
travelled by the dead?”
Dante answers in the most affectionate terms, stat-
ing that he journeys with the intention and object
of thereby avoiding damnation, and so to be able to
return to Purgatory a second time after his death.
Scartazzini says these words are of the highest im-
portance in deciding what was the fundamental con-
ception of the poem.
“ Casella mio, per tornare altra volta
Là dove io son, fo io questo viaggio," —
Diss' io;—“ma a te com'è tant ora tolta ?"*
had been set to music by Casella. Very little is known of him.
Milton alludes to him in his sonnet to Mr. H. Lawes:-
.“ Dante shall give Fame leave to set thee higher
Than his Casella, whom he woo'd to sing
Met in the milder shades of Purgatory.""
Scartazzini gives the following quotation from L'Ottimo :-
“Fue Casella da Pistoja grandissimo musico, et massimamente
nell' arte dello' ntonare; et fu molto dimestico dell' Autore, però
che in sua giovinezza fece Dante molte canzone et ballate, che
questi intonò; et a Dante dilettò forte l' udirle da lui, et mas-
simamente al tempo ch'era innamorato di Beatrice.”
* Berlan, La più belle pagine della Divina Comedia, has the
following explanation of “ Com’e tant ora tolta ?” which I trans-
late :—“According to the Poet, they who die reconciled to God,
in order to pass to Purgatory, assemble at the mouth of the

46 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto II.
“O my Casella," said I,“I am performing this journey
in order to avoid damnation, and to be able to return
after death to this place, Purgatory, where I now am,
though alive ;- but how has so much time been taken
from thee? i.e. how is it that thou hadst been kept
waiting so long before coming here?” Casella hastens
to assure Dante of his complete submission to the
will of God, and at once disclaims any right to com-
plain of the delay he has had to undergo.
Ed egli a me:-“Nessun m'è fatto oltraggio,
Se quei, che leva e quando e cui gli piace,
Più volte mi ha negato esto passaggio;
Chè di giusto voler lo suo si face.
Veramente da tre mesi egli ha tolto
Chi ha voluto entrar con tutta pace.
And he to me: “No wrong has been done me,
if he, the Angel, who takes off in his vessel, both
those he may select, and at what time he may deem
best, has several times refused me this passage;
for the will of the Angel (lo suo voler) is made,
is derived di giusto voler from the righteous will of
God. Notwithstanding which, during the last three
months, he has taken off in his bark, con tutta pace,
without making the slightest difficulty, all those
Tiber; but the angel destined to transport them in his bark takes
those whom he will, first, and, at his discretion, leaves others
for another time. Casella had been denied a passage several
times, but at last, at the time of the Jubilee, the angel having
granted the favour to whoever asked it of him, took him also
on board, as he stood gazing earnestly at the sea. The fiction
of the delay is taken from mythology, where it is admitted that
souls are more or less delayed on the banks of the Styx before
being ferried over to the other bank, towards which they eagerly
stretch their hands."
ea.

Canto II. Readings on the Purgatorio.
47
spirits, who having made their peace with God, have
earnestly desired to enter into that bark which was
to convey them to the region of penitence and pur-
gation.”*
Casella tells Dante how he was allowed to take
advantage of the Indulgence granted at the Jubilee.
Ond' io che era ora alla marina volto,
de Dove l'acqua di Tevere s'insala,
Benignamente fui da lui ricolto
A quella foce, ov'egli ha dritta l'ala:
Però che sempre quivi si ricoglie,
Qual verso d' Acheronte non si cala."
IOO
So that I, who at that time, was waiting on the
shore, where the waters of the Tiber become salt
by entering the sea (or, according to Benvenuto,
Scartazzini and others=intrat salum, flows into the
sea) at Ostia, was by him graciously taken on board,
and conducted to that river's mouth (quella foce), to
which he, the Angel, has now directed his wing (on
his return voyage to fetch off more spirits), for it is
always there that are taken off those who do not
descend to Acheron,"meaning, all, except those who
are doomed to Hell, inust make the mouth of the
Tiber their starting point for Purgatory. This is
perhaps a symbol of the dogma “extra Ecclesiam
nulla salus.”
* Da tre mesi. This means since Christmas 1299, at which
time the Jubilee commenced. “Dante," says Dean Plumptre,
“wonders that Casella is among the new arrivals. The explana-
tion is that he might have stayed still longer but that the Indul-
gence proclaimed for the year of Jubilee had led the Angel to
bring all who sought to come.

48
Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto II.
Division IV. This is the Fourth and Concluding
Division of the Canto, in which we learn how Dante
persuaded Casella to sing, and how his singing was
interrupted by Cato.
Dante has some doubts as to whether Casella may
not be prevented by some new law of this land of
spirits from practising or even remembering his powers
of singing, recollecting that a few minutes before Cato
had professed utter indifference to Marcia, whom he
had so loved in life. Nevertheless he asks him to
sing. *
Ed io:—“Se nuova legge non ti toglie
Memoria o uso all' amoroso canto,
Che mi solea quetar tutte mie voglie,
Di ciò ti piaccia consolare alquanto
L'anima mia, che con la sua persona
Venendo qui, è affannata tanto."
And I:—“If no new law deprives thee, in thy
present existence, of the recollection and power of
ΙΙο
* Scartazzini, quoting from Giuliani, says the nuova legge was
Dante has some doubts as to whether a new law or decree
of Heaven may not have taken from Casella the memory or
practice of his songs of love.
Boccaccio, in his life of Dante, particularly states how he
used to delight in songs of love, and what pleasure he took in
the society of those who could compose or sing them.
In Convito II, 14, he speaks of music as drawing to itself
human spirits, which are chiefly vapours of the heart, so
much so, that they almost cease from whatever work they are
performing; so intent is the soul on sweet harmony, when it
hears it, and the faculties of all others seem to run towards the
sensitive spirit that receives the sound.

Canto 11. Readings on the Purgatorio. 49
were wont to soothe all the passions that used to
agitate my soul, may it please thee now to give there-
with some comfort to my spirit, which is so sorely
troubled at coming here with the mortal body be-
longing to it;" by which he means that had he come
after death, without his mortal body, his salvation
would be already assured, whereas now he has after-
wards to return to the world, and may have to go
through many years of trials and temptations before
he will be able to make his calling and election sure.
Benvenuto notices the prompt kindness with which
Casella at once complied with Dante's request, and
did not hesitate or refuse, as is the common vice of
all singers, when invited to sing.
“Amor che nella mente mi ragiona,"
Cominciò egli allor sì dolcemente,
Che la dolcezza ancor dentro mi suona.
"O Love, that with my soul dost converse hold,”
he then began so sweetly, that the soft melody still
resounds within me.*
Casella's hearers listen with enraptured attention.
115
Lo mio maestro, ed io, e quella gente
Ch'eran con lui, parevan sì contenti,
Come a nessun toccasse altro la mente.
My Master, Virgil, and I, and those people who
were with him, that is the band of more than a
hundred spirits who were with Casella, appeared to
* Amor che nella mente mi ragiona. This is the first verse
of a Canzone of Dante, of which he has himself written a long
and philosophical interpretation in Convito III, 2. Probably
Casella had set it to music.

50
Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto II.
be as delighted, as if no other care or thought oc-
cupied their minds: they had lost all recollection of
the mountain that was before them, and which they
had to ascend.
Cato now interposes, and breaks in upon the min-
strelsy that was riveting their attention, severely
censuring them for their negligence.
Noi eravam tutti fissi ed attenti
Alle sue note; ed ecco il veglio onesto,
Gridando:—“Che è ciò, spiriti lenti?
120
Qual negligenza, quale stare è questo ?
Correte al monte a spogliarvi lo scoglio,
Ch' esser non lascia a voi Dio manifesto."
We were all standing motionless, and eagerly drink-
ing in every note, when lo! the venerable old man,
Cato, came upon us crying out :-“What is this, lag-
gard spirits ? What means this negligence, this halting
by the way? Hasten to the mountain, there to get
stripped from your eyes those scales, which are still
dimming their power of beholding the manifestation
of God.”* The spirits hasten away, at the command
ed
* Benvenuto draws attention to the consummate art with
which Dante has first of all described his delight, and then the
bitter censure of Cato. Benvenuto thinks that, notwithstanding
the warm praise Dante has bestowed upon the music, it is quite
right that he should be censured by Cato; first, because he was
no longer young; secondly, because he was again beginning to
take interest in songs of love, which in former days had had
too fast a hold on him; thirdly, as he was entering on a course
of penitence, it was better for him now to attain happiness
weeping, than while singing “come to grief.” (Benvenuto's
words are:-Quam cantando pervenire ad planctum.) Ben-
venuto adds that, while serious and well governed measures
produce excellent results, music that is enervating and sensuous
is just the contrary. He says that Plato, who was a great musi-
Canto II. Readings on the Purgatorio. 51
of Cato, like a flock of pigeons rising suddenly from a
field.
Come quando, cogliendo biada o loglio,
Gli colombi adunati alla pastura,
| 125
Queti senza mostrar l' usato orgoglio,
Se cosa appare ond' elli abbian paura,
Subitamente lasciano star l'esca,
Perchè assaliti son di maggior cura:
Just as when a flock of pigeons gathered toge-
ther at feeding time stand picking corn or tares,
from the ground, quiet, without showing their
wonted pride of manner; should anything show
itself, of which they have fear, such as a hawk,
or other bird of prey, immediately they take to
flight, and desert their food, because they are assailed
by a matter of greater need, viz. to escape from
danger:
Così vid' io quella masnada fresca
130
Lasciar il canto, e gire in vêr la costa,
Come uom che va, nè sa dove riesca.
Nè la nostra partita fu men tosta.
In the same way did I see this newly arrived com-
pany turn instantly away from listening to the song,
and flee towards the hillside, as a man who goes
straight ahead, and does not know at what point his
path will bring him out. Nor was our departure (that
of Virgil and myself) one whit less prompt.
END OF CANTO II.

cian, would only allow boys to be instructed in music that was
simple and manly, such as the Spartans used in Greece, and
the Romans in Italy, to instil into the minds of young men
love of war, and disposition to work; but he set his face against
effeminate music which enervates manliness.
E 2

52
Canto III.
Readings on the Purgatorio.
CANTO III.
THE ANTI-PURGATORIO.
SOULS OF THE EXCOMMUNICATED.
MANFRED, KING OF SICILY.
In the preceding Canto we read Dante's description
of the first class of spirits, whose entrance into Pur-
gatory is withheld for a time, because they delayed
their repentance until their death.
In the present Canto he treats of the second class of
those who are shut out from Purgatory, because they
died excommunicated, in wilful contumacy of the
Church.
The Canto may be divided into three parts :-
In the First Division, from v. I to v. 45, Virgil
answers a question of Dante's as to the kind of body
spirits have—shadowless, and yet capable of bodily
sufferings.
In the Second Division, from v. 46 to v. 102,
another band of spirits is seen and described.
In the Third Division, from v. 103 to v. 145,
Dante is accosted by the spirit of Manfred (natural
son of the Emperor Frederick II), King of Sicily, and
a great Ghibelline leader ; a conversation then takes
place between them, in which Manfred informs Dante
of the penance required of those who die in contumacy
of Holy Church.
Division 1. Dante first relates how, after the cen-
sures of Cato had caused the band of spirits to hurry
away scattered over the plain, he did not mix with
Canto III. Readings on the Purgatorio.
them, but drew close up to Virgil who was hastening
towards the mountain.
Avvegna che la subitana fuga
Dispergesse color per la campagna,
Rivolti al monte ove ragion ne fruga:
Io mi ristrinsi alla fida compagna.
E come sare' io senza lui corso ?
Chi m' avrìa tratto su per la montagna ?
Notwithstanding the sudden flight of the spirits
had scattered them asunder over the plain, turned
as they were towards the mountain where divine
justice searches us out and chastens us, I drew close
up to my faithful comrade, Virgil. And how should
I have sped without him? Who would have led me
up over the mountain ? *
Virgil is somewhat abashed at having allowed
Dante to tarry by the way.
Ei mi parea da sè stesso rimorso.
Oh dignitosa coscienza e netta,
Come ť è picciol fallo amaro morso!
He seemed to feel the sting of remorse and self-

* Ragion ne fruga. Scartazzini says ragion is la divina
giustizia; and cites a perfect mass of commentators, including
Lana, Benvenuto, Ottimo, Velutello, Tommaseo, Witte, Fraticelli,
and Ozanam, besides many others. Buti, Biagioli, Philalethes,
Camerini, Giuliani, and Blanc understand : “The reasoning
faculty, free from the illusions of the senses, urges us forward
to the Mount of Purgatory to penitence;” but Scartazzini says
that frugare does not mean stimolare, but pungêre, punire ;
besides which it would be contrary to Christian doctrine that
human reason should urge man to penitence. Tommaseo notes
that Dante frequently uses ragione in the Convito in the sense
of diritto or giustizia.
Tratto su per la montagna. Compare Purg. XXVII, 130,
where Virgil, at the close of his mission, says to Dante:
“Tratto ť ho qui con ingegno e con arte.”

54 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto III.
IO
reproach. O noble and stainless conscience, how
bitter a sting is a small failing to thee! Benvenuto
says that Virgil's error here was a very small one,
namely, to have run too little (cucurrisse parum);
but in the same page, he goes on to say that Virgil's
little fault was his undignified haste.*
Dante then shows that as soon as Virgil had sub-
sided into a more dignified pace, he recovered himself
and gave his mind to ascending the mountain.
Quando li piedi suoi lasciâr la fretta,
Che l'onestade ad ogni otto dismaga,
La mente mia, che prima era ristretta,
Lo intento rallargò, sì come vaga;
E diedi il viso mio incontro al poggio,
Che inverso il ciel più alto si dislaga. o 15
As soon as his, Virgil's, feet had desisted from that
haste which mars the dignity of all one's movements,
my mind, that hitherto had been absorbed in one idea
(probably about Casella, his singing, and Cato's re-
proof), allowed its thoughts to take a wider range, as
if desirous of knowing more ; and I raised my eyes
towards the steep ascent of the mountain that rises
highest into space out of the expanse of waters.f
* Benvenuto, speaking of undignified haste, says: “For as
gravity and modesty beseem the wise man in his words and
actions, so also in his gait. For haste is more fitting for mer-
chants and traders than for philosophers and poets; and, in
truth, to see Virgil running over that plain, and Dante after
him with his long robe, must have afforded food for mirth even
to that stiff old Cato” (et vere videre Virgilium currere per illam
planitiem, et Dantem post eum cum sua ampla toga, debebat
præstare materiem risus etiam illi rigido Catoni).
+ Dislaga: which uplifts itself in the middle of the great
lake, the sea of the southern hemisphere, higher than any other
mountain.
Canto III. Readings on the Purgatorio.
55
Dante now, seeing his own shadow only, fears that
Virgil has vanished, but is reassured by the latter,
who tells him why his form casts no shadow.
Lo sol, che dietro fiammegiava roggio,
Rotto m'era dinanzi, alla figura
Ch' aveva in me de' suoi raggi l' appoggio.
The sun, which was blazing red behind us, was
broken in front of me with a shape similar to that
which the stoppage of its rays had in me. This means
simply that the shadow had the form of a human body.
Scartazzini says that the older commentators have
one and all shirked interpreting this passage.*
Io mi volsi dallato con paura
D'esser abbandonato, quand' io vidi
20
Solo dinanzi a me la terra oscura.
I turned me to one side, in fear lest I had been
abandoned (by Virgil), when I saw the earth darkened
by a shadow in front of me only.t
Benvenuto says that Dante was terrified by this phe-
nomenon, because in Hell he had never seen his own
shadow, with the contrast of Virgil without one, for
the simple reason that in Hell the sun does not shine.
Virgil reassures him—
E il mio Conforto :-“Perchè pur diffidi?”
A dir mi cominciò tutto rivolto;
“Non credi tu me teco, e ch' io ti guidi?
* Lo Sol . . . . fiammeggiava roggio. Dr. Moore says this
phenomenon does not generally last more than one hour after
sunrise.
† Ozanam (Le Purgatoire de Dante, par A. F. Ozanam.
Paris, 1875) says: “Ceux qui peuplent ces régions mélancho-
liques s'y montrent revêtus de corps subtils, impalpables, échap-
pant à qui les veut embrasser, n'interceptant point la lumière,
et toutefois organisés pour que la souffrance soit possible au
dedans et visible au dehors."


56
Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto III.
Vespero è già colà dov'è sepolto
- 25
Lo corpo dentro al quale io facea ombra:
Napoli l' ha, e da Brandizio è tolto.
And Virgil, who (Inf. IV, 18) was wont to be my
comforter in every doubt, turning quite round to me
began to say: "Why dost thou still mistrust ? Dost
thou not believe that I am with thee, and that I am
guiding thee? It is already the hour of Vespers there
in Italy where lies buried the body within which I
cast a shadow: Naples now has it, and it was taken
from Brundusium.*
Benvenuto says that Virgil clears up Dante's doubts,
and tells him that in reality he himself has got no
body of flesh with him, for he has left it buried in the
northern hemisphere; and the separated soul is a
substance that is simple, incorporeal, spiritual, having
no density which could oppose an obstacle to the
rays of the sun.
* Virgil died at Brundusium A.D. 19. His body was after-
wards transferred to Naples. The supposed tomb is situated
on the promontory of Posilipo, overlooking the Bay of Naples.
The following inscription is upon it: -
|Mantua me genuit: Calabri rapuere: tenet nunc
Parthenope: cecini pascua, rura, duces.
It is much doubted whether the tomb is really that of Virgil. In
the following verses, taken from a hymn said to have been
sung up to the end of the XVth century at Mantua, at the
Mass of St. Paul, mention is made of the Apostle going to
Naples to visit Virgil's sepulchre.
Ad Maronis mausoleum
Ductus fudit super eum,
Piæ rorem lacrimæ:
Quantum, inquit, te fecissem,
Vivum si te invenissem,
Poetarum maxime !
Daniel, Thesaurus Hymnologicus, 534.
Canto III.
57
Readings on the Purgatorio.
He goes on to say, that, like as the various spheres
of heaven are transparent, and throw no shadow, so is
it with his spiritual form.
nail
ne
Ora, se innanzi a me nulla s' adombra,
Non ti maravigliar più che de' cieli,
Che l' uno all' altro raggio non ingombra.
30
Now, that no shadow is cast in front of me ought
not to cause any greater astonishment than, in the
spheres of Heaven, the fact that the light of one
sphere does not obstruct the light of another sphere.
Which, Mr. Butler says, means that Virgil's spiritual
form no more hinders the passage of the Sun's rays
than does one of the spheres, which compose the
universe, hinder the rays which proceed from another
sphere.
A sofferir tormenti, caldi e gieli
Simili corpi la virtù dispone,
Che, come fa, non vuol che a noi si sveli.
The Omnipotence of God renders corporeal forms,
like this one which clothes my soul, capable of ex-
periencing bodily sufferings, both of heat and cold,
and it wills not that the manner of its operation be
revealed to us.*

* Human reason cannot take in any departure from the
usual routine of nature; but we read in the I Cor. XV, that
there are celestial bodies and bodies terrestrial, and the same
chapter tells us that God giveth a body as it hath pleased him.
There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. There-
fore Virgil is explaining to Dante that the Almighty is perfectly
able to give him a form capable of experiencing bodily suffering,
which is, at the same time, transparent and impalpable.
St. Thomas Aquinas writes: “Alii dixerunt, quod, quamvis

58 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto III.
Virgil next urges mankind to abstain from proud
curiosity, and not to attempt, by natural reasoning, to
investigate the hidden mysteries of God.
Matto è chi spera che nostra ragione
Possa trascorrer la infinita via,
Che tiene una sustanzia in tre persone.
.
35
Insane is he who hopes that our reason can travel
over the boundless space that is held by One Substance
in Three Persons; meaning that the human intellect
cannot penetrate the incomprehensible mystery of
the Trinity.*
Mankind must acquiesce in the fact that these
mysteries exist, without seeking to learn the reason
why, and bring their minds into subjection to simple
faith.
State contenti, umana gente, al quia;
Chè, si potuto aveste veder tutto,
Mestier non era partorir Maria.
Rest satisfied, 0 human race, with the 'quia'
(with the fact); be content to know that such is,
and seek not to know the 'propter quid,', the reason
why; for, if, with your human finite intellects, you had
been able to see all, to penetrate all these mysteries,
then there was no necessity for Mary to bring forth,
ignis corporeus non possit animam exurere, tamen anima appre-
hendit ipsum ut nocivum sibi, et ad talem apprehensionem
afficitur dolore.” Sum. Theol. P. III, Sup. 83. See also
Isaiah LV, 8: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither
are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.”
* Scartazzini says that Dante here reminds one very oppor-
tunely of the incomprehensibility of the Divine Essence itself
when wishing to prove the incomprehensibility of its operations.
Canto III. Readings on the Purgatorio. 59
(that is, for the Incarnation of Jesus Christ).* Reve-
lation would have been unnecessary; men could have
done without the Light of the World.
Virgil next says, in confirmation of his argument, that
if it had been possible for human reason and acquired
knowledge to comprehend these divine mysteries,
certainly such men as Aristotle and Plato, whose grief
in Limbo is their unslaked desire after such know-
ledge, would have been the first to comprehend them.
E disïar vedeste senza frutto
Tai, che sarebbe lor disio quetato,
Ch' eternalmente è dato lor per lutto.
Io dico d' Aristotele e di Plato,
E di molti altri:”—e qui chinò la fronte;
E più non disse, e rimase turbato. LA 45
And, in proof of what I say, I will remind thee
that thou hast seen desiring, and desiring in vain, a
deeper insight into the hidden things of God, men of
40

* “Quia” in Mediæval Latin is the same as “quod," and states
a fact, without asking a reason. In Aristotle the ori(=the fact)
is contrasted with the dióti ( the reason why).
Dean Plumptre says: “Had man's intellect not been finite
and clouded, there would have been no need of the Incarnation.
Reason must be content to receive the revealed truth in the
lowliness of faith.” [N.B. Benvenuto uses the same expression,
“in obsequium fidei.”] It was through the limitations of their
intellect that the wisest of the heathens (and in the many
others” Virgil sorrowfully includes himself) failed to attain
to the knowledge of God, the absence of which kept them
in the outer limbus of unsatisfied desires. Benvenuto says
that if God had wished man to know everything, He would not
have forbidden our first parents to touch the Tree of Knowledge
of Good and Evil. If they had not disobeyed, the human race
would not have been doomed, and there would have been no
need of the Incarnation of Christ, and the Redemption of Man.

60
Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto III.
such sublime intellects, that, had they been able to
penetrate all these things, their present unslaked thirst
after such knowledge (which is given them as their
eternal sorrow in Limbo), would have been satisfied.
I speak of Aristotle and of Plato, i . . . and .... of
many others: ”—and here he bowed his head; and said
no more, but remained much moved, choked with
emotion. Virgil was evidently alluding to himself,
remembering that (as he had said in Inf. IV. 39), he
was himself one of those placed in Limbo.
Division II. In the Second Division of the Canto,
which begins here, Dante describes a second company
of spirits compelled to remain outside Purgatory.
He first speaks of the place which they were ap-
proaching as being exceedingly lofty and steep.
Noi divenimmo intanto a piè del monte :
Quivi trovammo la roccia sì erta,
Che indarno vi sarien le gambe pronte.
Meanwhile, during the above mentioned explana-
tion given by Virgil, we had reached the lower slopes
at the foot of the mountain : here we found the cliff
so precipitous, that nimble legs would there have
been of no use. That is, not even the most agile
and practised mountaineer would have succeeded in
climbing up there.
Benvenuto compares the lowest slopes of the moun-
tain, so difficult to ascend, with the difficulty expe-
rienced by a sinner in first returning to the path of
virtue. He also compares the inaccessibility of the
mountain of Purgatory to the difficulties that beset
Canto III. Readings on the Purgatorio.
61
the path of him who travels between Nice and Spezzia;
and one can well imagine that in the time of Dante,
before the Corniche Road was made, they must have
been very great.
Tra Lerici e Turbía, la più diserta,
La più romita via è una scala,
50
Verso di quella, agevole ed aperta.
Between Lerici near Spezia, and Turbia near Nice
(the East and West points respectively of the Italian
Riviera), the most deserted, the most sequestered path
would have been an easy and open staircase compared
to this.
—“Or chi sa da qual man la costa cala,”—
Disse il maestro mio, fermando il passo,
—“Sì che possa salir chi va senz' ala ? "-
"_Who knows now on which side the cliff slopes,
(that is, is least precipitous), and more accessible,”—
said my Master, checking his steps,—" so that any one
less agile than a bird can ascend it?”—(lit; so that
one who goes without wings may ascend there).
And now, while Virgil is absorbed in thought, with
head cast down, Dante looks up at the cliff above him
and sees another band of spirits moving slowly to-
wards them, but a considerable distance off. (See
V. 67.)
E mentre che, tenendo il viso basso,
Esaminava del cammin la mente,
Ed io mirava suso intorno al sasso,
Da man sinistra m' apparì una gente
D'anime, che moviéno i piè vêr noi,
E non parevan, sì venivan lente.
60
And while he, Virgil, with downcast eyes, was
racking his thoughts as to where the way should be,
and I was looking upwards round the cliff, there came


62
Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto III.
into view on my left hand a troop of spirits, who were
moving their feet towards us, and yet hardly appeared
to be doing so, so slowly did they come on. These
were the souls of those who died excommunicated,
and Benvenuto thinks that their slow movements
were symbolical of their having put off their repen-
tance till the time of their death.
Dante points out the new comers to Virgil—
-“ Leva,”—diss'io,-“maestro, gli occhi tuoi :
Ecco di qua chi ne darà consiglio,
Se tu da te medesmo aver nol puoi.”—
“Raise thine eyes, O my Master,' said I :—“See !
there are some yonder, who can give us information
about the way to go, where the mountain inclines
most, if thou canst not have it from thine own self.”
Virgil cheerfully takes the hint.
Guardò allora e con libero piglio
Rispose:—“Andiamo in là, ch' ei vegnon piano; 65
E tu ferma la speme, dolce figlio."
He looked up as I had asked him to do, and then
with cheerful mien answered :—“Let us go there, for
they are coming on but slowly, and we must not
waste time in waiting for them to come to us, my
gentle son, be of good cheer, and sustain thy
hopes.”
Dante and Virgil advance towards the spirits, but
do not get within speaking distance of them until
they have walked a thousand paces.
Ancora era quel popol di lontano,
Io dico, dopo i nostri mille passi,
Quanto un buon gittator trarría con mano,
Quando si strinser tutti ai duri massi
Dell' alta ripa, e stetter fermi e stretti,
Come a guardar, chi va dubbiando, stassi.
70

Canto III. Readings on the Purgatorio. 63
This people was still so far off from us, I mean
after we had walked a thousand paces nearer to them,
as a good thrower might throw with his hand, when
they all drew back to the massive crags of the lofty
wall of rock overhanging their path, and stood still
all gathered up together, like one who hesitating as
to his way, stops short to look for it. Their astonish-
ment was caused by seeing that the two poets, violating
all the rules of Purgatory, were walking the opposite
way to themselves, and, as we shall see in verse 101,
were walking away from the Gate of Purgatory.
Virgil enquires the way from them-
_“O ben finiti, o già spiriti eletti,”—
Virgilio incominciò,—“per quella pace
Ch' io credo che per voi tutti si aspetti, 75
Ditene dove la montagna giace,
Sì che possibil sia l'andare in suso ;
Chè perder tempo a chi più sa più spiace.”—
"Oh spirits who died in the grace of God, and
elect already to eternal salvation,”—Virgil began,-
“in the name of that peace which is, I believe,
awaited by you all, tell us where the mountain is
least precipitous, so as to make it possible for us to
ascend, for loss of time is most felt by the man who
has most learnt, and who best knows the value of it.”*

* Dante says, in the Convito IV, 2—“Tutte le nostre
brighe, se bene vegnamo a cercare i loro principii, procedono
quasi dal non conoscere l'uso del tempo." Benvenuto says of
v. 78 that this is a maxim sanctioned and endorsed by all wise
men, and that Virgil has himself expressed the same opinion
in Æn. X, 467.
Stat sua cuique dies ; breve et irreparabile tempus,
Omnibus est vitæ ; sed famam extendere factis.
Hoc virtutis opus.

64 · Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto III.
Dante now describes, by a well-known simile, the
effect that Virgil's address had upon that band of
spirits, by showing that they acted just like a flock of
sheep, who, in all their movements, do precisely what
the first one does. If it delays, the others hesitate
and delay, if it moves on, the others follow, but they
know not how, when, or wherefore they go.
80
Come le pecorelle escon del chiuso
Ad una, a due, e tre, e l'altre stanno
Timidette, atterrando l'occhio e il muso;
E ciò che fa la prima, e l'altre fanno,
Addossandosi a lei s' ella s' arresta,
Semplici e queti, e lo ’mperchè non sanno:
Sì vidio muovere a venir la testa
Di quella mandria fortunata allotta,
Pudica in faccia, e nell' andare onesta.
85
Like sheep come forth out of the fold, by ones, and
twos, and threes, and the others stand timid, turning
their eyes and noses down to the earth; and what-
ever the foremost one does, so the others do, huddling
close up to it if it stops, simple and quiet, and do not
know any reason for what they do: so did I see the
front ranks of that fortunate flock (fortunate in not
having died in the wrath of God) then move forward
to draw near to us, modest in looks, and dignified in
their gait.
Dante says in the Convito I, II,“ Se una pecora
si gittasse da una ripa di mille passi, tutte l' altre
ľ andrebbono dietro; e se una pecora per alcuna
cagione al passar d' una strada salta, tutte le altre
saltano, eziandio nulla veggendo di saltare. E io ne
vidi già molte in un pozzo saltare, per una che dentro
vi saltò, forse credendo di saltare un muro ; non
Canto III. Readings on the Purgatorio.
Tolla
ostante che il pastore, piangendo, e gridando colle
braccia e coll petto dinanzi si parava.—Convito I, 11.*
The company of spirits had stopped short when
they had seen that Dante and Virgil were walking in
the opposite direction to themselves, but when they
perceived that the former had a shadow, they started
back altogether in fear and astonishment.
Come color dinanzi vider rotta
La luce in terra dal mio destro canto,
Sì che l'ombra era da me alla grotta,
Restâro, e trasser sè indietro alquanto,
E tutti gli altri che venieno appresso,
Non sapendo il perchè, fenno altrettanto.
When those who stood in the foremost rank ob-
served the light of the sun interrupted on the ground
on my right side, so that the shadow from me was
cast upon the overhanging wall of rock, they stopped
short, and drew themselves a little backward, and all
the others who were coming behind them, without
knowing why or wherefore, did the same.

9o
* Benvenuto says: “This simile is wonderfully apt to the occa-
sion, for as a flock of simple, quiet sheep blindly follow their
leader, so did this band of ignorant spirits follow the spirit of
King Manfred who was preceding them. How many thousands
of men, in ignorance and stupidity, followed that reigning king,
although he was in great error, and now they follow him when
he is righteously pressing forward to penitence. Truly the
greater part of the human race sit in a boat with an ignorant
helmsman, and perish with him ..... and under this simile
of the sheep, the Poet wishes to express that the greater number
of men in the world live like inconsiderate sheep, without choice
or reason, doing just what they see the rest of the world do,
whether right or wrong, but chiefly do they follow their leaders ;
and as Claudianus says: “Mobile mutatur semper cum principe
vulgus."

66
Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto III.
Dante and Virgil had turned to their left to go
towards the spirits; they had the sun on their left,
and the wall of rock on their right; Dante's shadow
therefore was cast on his right. Virgil, fully aware of
the reason of their astonishment, without waiting to
be asked, tells them the reason of the shadow.*
-“Senza vostra dimanda io vi confesso
Che questo è corpo uman che voi vedete, 95
Per che il lume del sole in terra è fesso.
“Without your asking, I own to you that this is a
human body that you see here, on account of which
the sun's light is parted on the ground; (or, in other
words) He whom you see here, Dante, is a living
man, and therefore his body casts a shadow.”
Non vi maravigliate; ma credete
Che, non senza virtù che dal ciel vegna,
Cerchi di soverchiar questa parete.”—
Do not marvel at it; but believe, that, not without
* Mr. Butler has an excellent note here. He says : “It is
still early morning, for but just now the sun was shining red ;
and it is not till after some time that he has gone through 50
degrees of arc. Dante has therefore his left side towards the
east, and these approaching folk are approaching from the south,
(see v. 58). The general direction of the course through Purga-
tory is with the sun, i. e. from east to west, by the North (see
IV, 60). By the first evening they have got somewhat to the
north, but not enough to see the setting sun (VI, 57). On the
second evening they have the sun full in their faces (XV, 9-141),
and the next morning they start with the sun at their backs
(XIX, 39), i. e. they are on the north side of the mountain. On
the last evening they sleep on the west side, as appears from the
fact that, when they reach the summit, Dante has the morning
sun full on his face (XXVII, 133). It must be remembered that
the time is just after the equinox."
Canto III. Readings on the Purgatorio.
67
a power which comes from Heaven, he seeks to sur-
mount this wall of rock.” Benvenuto, by “parete,"
understands the whole mountain of Purgatory.
The spirits, on hearing this explanation, point out
the way.
Così il maestro. E quella gente degna:
100
-“Tornate”—disse,—"intrate innanzi dunque,”—
Coi dossi delle man facendo insegna.
Thus spoke my Master. And those spirits, who
had been deemed worthy of entering Purgatory,
replied:—“Turn back then”—said they—“and walk
on before us:” and, as they said this, they made the
sign of bidding us turn back with the backs of their
hands waved towards us.

Division III. Here begins the Third and conclud-
ing Division of the Canto, in which Dante describes a
conversation that he has with Manfred.*
* For a description of Manfred I copy Dean Plumptre's note:
“Manfred, a natural son of the Emperor Frederick II, born in
Sicily, 1231. Villani speaks of him as inheriting both the
accomplishments and the nobleness of his father. Their papel
enemies charged Manfred with being an epicurean, like
Frederick, and with indulging in the same license, and accused
him of having caused the death of his brothers, Conrad and
Henry, and even of his father. He was excommunicated by
Innocent IV, and was still under that sentence when he fell in
1266 at the battle of Benevento. His body, after being carried
through the streets of that town on an ass, was brought before
Charles of Anjou. Even the French nobles begged that it
might have Christian burial, but the King refused, on the ground
that he was still excommunicated, and the body was buried
under a cairn of stones at the foot of the bridge of Benevento.
F 2

Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto III.
Ed un di loro incominciò :—“Chiunque
Tu se', così andando volgi il viso,
Pon mente se di là mi vedesti unque.”— 105
And one of them (the spirit of Manfred) began:--
“Whoever thou art, turn thy face round this way,
and continue to walk on before me so as not to lose
time, and consider whether thou ever sawest me in
the world (di là).”
Manfred died at the age of 35, and we know that
Even this, however, did not satisfy the hatred of his Papal foes,
and Clement IV sent the Cardinal Archbishop of Cosenza to
urge that the body should not be allowed to pollute a land which
belonged to the Church, and so the corpse was disinterred and
found a final resting-place on the banks of the Verde, identified
by some writers with the Liris or Garigliano, on the confines of
Apulia and the Campagna. We note once more as in the case
of Francesca and Ugolino the creative insight of Dante's
psychology. No historian records Manfred's penitence: no
one had been present to report his last words in the heat of
battle. Historians represent him as being licentious and irre-
ligious. But what Dante had heard of his character, perhaps
also what he had heard of the expression of his face, led him
to feel that, in the absence of the unbelief which placed his
father in Hell, such a one must have repented. A Sicilian
chronicle describes him as "Homo firmus amoena facie, aspectu
placabilis, in maxillis rubeus, sidereis oculis, per totum niveus,
statura mediocris."
His mother was a beautiful woman of the family of the
Marchesi Lancia of Lombardy. Benvenuto draws attention
to the fact of his being perfectly silent about his father
during this interview; for Manfred being (according to Benve-
nuto) reconciled to the Church at his own death, would feel
compunction of speaking of Frederick II, who was the con-
tinual scourge of the Church. He mentions his own name
and that of the Empress Constance, his father's mother, but
not that of his father.
Canto III. Readings on the Purgatorio. 69
Dante was 35. The apparent similarity of their ages
must have deceived Manfred, who evidently forgot
that he had been wandering about in the Anti-
Purgatorio for 34 years, and had died when Dante
was only nine months old.

Io mi volsi vêr lui, e guardail fiso:
Biondo era, e bello, e di gentile aspetto;
Ma l'un de cigli un colpo avea diviso.
I turned round towards him, and looked at him
attentively: he was fair-haired, beautiful, and of noble
aspect; but a gash had divided one of his eyebrows.
This wound is one of the two mortal wounds, of which
he speaks in v. 119.
Buti draws a conclusion, from Manfred's showing
this scar, that the corporeal forms of the spirits in
with what their bodies were on earth at the time of
their death.
Quand' io mi fui umilmente disdetto
D'averlo visto mai, ei disse:-“Or vedi: "- IIO
E mostrommi una piaga a sommo il petto.
When with great reverence I had disclaimed ever
having seen him before, he said: “Now behold !” and
showed me a wound in the upper part of his breast.
This was the second of the two mortal wounds.
Poi sorridendo disse:-“Io son Manfredi,
115
Ond' io ti prego che, quando tu riedi,
Vadi a mia bella figlia, genitrice
Dell'onor di Cicilia e d'Aragona,
E dichi a lei il ver, s' altro si dice.
Then he said with a smile: “I am Manfred, grand-

70 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto III.
son of the Empress Constance:* therefore I beg
thee, when thou returnest to the world, to go to my
beautiful daughter, mother of the honour of Sicily
and Aragon, and tell her the truth, viz. that thou hast
seen me in a state of salvation, in case the contrary
may have been said of me, viz. that, having died ex-
communicated by the Church, my soul is among the
Lost.”+
Then he tells Dante how it happened that he made
his peace with God.
Poscia ch' i' ebbi rotta la persona
Di due punte mortali, io mi rendei
Piangendo a Quei che volentier perdona.
After that I had had my body pierced with two
mortal wounds, I yielded myself weeping with con-
trition for my sins to Him who pardons willingly.
120
* Benvenuto adds that Manfred does like the mule, who,
on being asked by the lion whose son he was, answered:
"I am grandson of the horse," although he was the son of the
ass. Constance, daughter of Roger, King of Sicily, was the
wife of the Emperor Henry VI, the father of Frederick II
See Par. III, 118.
+ v. 116, Onor di Cicilia e d' Aragona. This refers to the
daughter of Manfred, another Constance, wife of Pedro III,
King of Aragon, and after the Sicilian Vespers, King of Sicily.
She bore him three sons:
Alfonso, died young in 1291.
Frederick, King of Sicily (onor della Cicilia)
and Jacopo, King of Aragon (onor dell’ Aragona)
It is worthy of notice that although Dante, both in Purg. VII,
and in Conv. IV, 6, speaks very disparagingly of these princes,
yet he makes Manfred, who was their grandfather, allude to them
as the honour of their respective realms, and discreetly reticent
as to their shortcomings.

Canto III. Readings on the Purgatorio.
71
Orribil furon li peccati miei ;
Ma la bontà infinita ha sì gran braccia,
Che prende ciò che si rivolge a lei.
My iniquities had been awful; but the infinite
goodness of God has such wide-opened arms, that
it embraces whosoever turns to it in penitence.
Manfred then speaks of the implacable hatred with
which he was persecuted even after death by the
Roman Hierarchy.
Se il pastor di Cosenza, che alla caccia
Di me fu messo per Clemente, allora
125
Avesse in Dio ben letta questa faccia,
L'ossa del mio corpo sarieno ancora
In co' del ponte presso a Benevento,
Sotto la guardia della grave mora.
If the Pastor (the Archbishop) of Cosenza,* who
was sent by Pope Clement IV to hunt me down,
had read faithfully in the word of God, this passage
(lit. page) to which I have just referred as to the
Infinite Goodness and Mercy of God, the bones of
my body would still be resting at the Bridge-head,
near Benevento, under the guard of the heavy
cairn.”
enza.
* Il pastor di Cosenza was Cardinal Bartolomeo Pignatello,
Archbishop of Cosenza. According to Villani, Charles of Anjou,
not allowing the body of Manfred, who was slain at the battle of
Benevento, to be interred in consecrated ground as he had died
excommunicated, caused it to be buried in a pit at the head of
the bridge at Benevento, and every soldier of the army cast a
stone upon it until a great cairn was formed above it. Mora
was the word then used to express a cairn. According to
Villani, the Archbishop, by order of the Pope, had the bones
exhumed from this spot, as it was within the States of the Church,
and removed to the banks of the river Verde, or Gariglano.
wa
LU
SS.
cairn

72
Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto III.
views
Or le bagna la pioggia e move il vento
130
Di fuor del regno, quasi lungo il Verde,
Dov' ei le trasmutò a lume spento.
Now the rain drenches them, and the wind scatters
them about as they lie unburied outside the confines
of the Kingdom of Naples, hard by the river Verde,
whither he, the Archbishop, transferred them with
extinguished tapers.*
Manfred then anticipates a question which Dante
might have put to him : “Can, then, the souls of those
who die excommunicated be saved ?" And he says
“Yes, they can be saved ; for unless a man dies har-
dened and impenitent, the excommunication of a
prelate cannot prevent his being saved.”
Per lor maladizion sì non si perde
Che non possa tornar l' eterno amore,
Mentre che la speranza ha fior del verde. 135
The Eternal Love of God is not so completely
lost through the maledictions of them, the Popes
and Prelates, that it cannot return, so long as
hope retains any of its greent-meaning for so
* Pietro di Dante says that Clement IV. ordered the Arch-
bishop of Cosenza to have the bones of Manfred cast out of
the kingdom. Hence with extinguished tapers and tolling of
bells, after the custom of the Church, the Archbishop had the
bones, as those of an anathematized heretic, cast down by the
river Verde, which is the boundary between Apulia and the
Marche. Landino says that the Legate had sworn to drive
Manfred out of the kingdom, and, as he could not do so when
he was alive, he cast out his body when he was dead.
+ Scartazzini says that fior is not a noun substantive, but an
adverb here, and means so long as hope has “anything of”
green. See Fanfani's Dictionary on fiore adverb=un poco.
Canto III. Readings on the Purgatorio. 73
long as man is still in life, and has yet time to
repent and turn himself to God. Benvenuto says
that although Dante makes out that Manfred re-
pented at his death, he certainly could not know it,
for we know that he died in the thick of the fight,
and his body was not found for three days; but
Benvenuto says that he has seen, in several letters of
Manfred's, that he made overtures to the Church and
to Charles of Anjou, but that the Pope forbad peace
being made with him.*
Manfred then anticipates another supposed ques-
tion of Dante's: “What reason, then, is there to fear
excommunication by the Church? What harm can
it do?” Manfred replies that the excommunicated
soul is farther removed from God, and has greater
difficulty in returning to Him.
Ver è che quale in contumacia muore
Di santa Chiesa, ancor che al fin si penta,
Star gli convien da questa ripa in fuore
Per ogni tempo ch' egli è stato, trenta,
In sua presunzïon, se tal decreto
Più corto per buon preghi non diventa.
True it is that whosoever dies in contumacy of
Holy Church, that is, who dies without being recon-
ciled to it, even though he repents of his sins, and
turns to God for forgiveness in his last hour, yet is he
obliged to remain excluded from these precincts of

140
* The same may be noticed about Dante's circumstantial
account of the death and the carrying away by the inundated
Archiano of the dead body of Buonconte da Montefeltro. All
that was really known was that he died fighting gallantly in the
thick of the fight, and nothing more was heard of him, as his
body was never found.
ore W

74
Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto III.
Purgatory for a period of thirty times as much as the
period that he remained in his presumption, i. e., that
he was excommunicated and under the ban of the
Church, unless this decree become not shortened by
the prayers of righteous people on earth.* Manfred
concludes his address to Dante by entreating him to
ask his daughter to pray for him, and to inform her
that he is not amongst the lost.
Vedi oramai se tu mi puoi far lieto
Rivelando alla mia buona Gostanza
Come m'hai visto, ed anco esto divieto.
Chè qui per quei di là molto s' avanza.”—
145
See now if thou canst make me glad by revealing
to my good Constance in what condition thou hast
seen me (that is that I am not among the damned),
and also tell her of this interdict which keeps me
for so long a time in outer Purgatory. For in this
region we can derive great benefit by the prayers of
those who remain alive on earth.”+
END OF CANTO III.
* Compare Par. XV, 91.
Quel, da cui si dice
Tua cognazione, e che cent anni e piue
Girato ha il monte in la prima cornice,
Mio figlio fu e tuo bisavo fue ;
Beu si convien che la lunga fatica
Tu gli raccorci con le opere tue.
and Purg. VIII, 70.
Quando sarai di là delle larghe onde,
Di' a Giovanna mia, che per me chiami
Là dove agli innocenti si risponde.
+ Observe that Manfred, who is in Purgatory, alludes to it as
qui, and to the earth as di là, whereas Dante's own allusions
are always just the contrary.
Canto iv.
75
Readings on the Purgatorio.
CANTO IV.

DIFFICULT ASCENT TO THE FIRST OUTER
CIRCLE OF THE ANTIPURGATORIO.
THE INDOLENT, AND BELACQUA.
In the preceding Canto, Dante described the Second
Class of Spirits whose entrance into Purgatory is de-
layed, because they died in contumacy of Holy Church.
In the present Canto are mentioned those, who,
through sheer indolence of character, ceased from
active works of virtue until their death.
Benvenuto divides the Canto into three parts.
The first Division, from v. I to v. 51, contains
Dante's description of the concentration of his mind
on the one thought of conversing with Manfred, and,
when he had shaken off that absorption, the difficulty
he found in commencing the ascent of the mountain.
In the second Division, from v. 52 to v. 84, Virgil
explains to Dante the reason of the sun being on
his left hand, and the general disposition of the
heavenly bodies in the Southern Hemisphere.
In the Third Division, from v. 85 to v. 139, Dante
relates how they met a third company of spirits,
whose repentance having been delayed till death from
indolence, are, like the others, relegated to Outer
Purgatory.*
* Benvenuto remarks that this Canto is no less elevated in its
matter than the preceding one. He says, the First Division is
natural; the Second, astrological; the Third, moral.

76
Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto IV.
Division 1. Benvenuto says that in this first part
Dante wishes briefly to say that he had been listening
to Manfred's discourse with such concentrated atten-
tion that a considerable time had passed, without his
being aware of it. And to show this, he first describes
that abstraction which at times lays hold on the mind
notice anything else; as may happen in excessive
joy or excessive grief; or it may be so absorbed
by the sound of song or of weeping, that it does not
seem to perceive anything that is passing around it.
Benvenuto adds that the text here is no less intricate
than the abstruse opinions concealed in it.*
Quando per dilettanze ovver per doglie,
Che alcuna virtù nostra comprenda,
L'anima bene ad essa si raccoglie,
Canto, Dante solves a doubt that certain philosophers had, viz.
whether man has four souls (1) the vegetative; (2) the sensitive;
(3) the imaginative; (4) the reasoning. Dante contends that
were this the case, man would be able to give his attention to
various things at the same time, which is manifestly impossible.
He then touches on two of the principal passions that move
the human soul, Joy and Grief, which are caused as follows:--
Present good causes Joy; Present evil causes Grief. In the
same way—Future good causes Hope; Future evil causes Fear.
We cannot in the same moment apply
a Our sentiment to one thing.
B Our imagination to a second thing.
y Our reasoning to a third.
If Dante had had all these souls in him, he would not, through
absence of mind, have talked so long to Manfred as to let the
time slip away without noticing how it was passing. Both his
sensitive soul and his reasoning soul would have recalled his
attention to the fact.
Canto IV. Readings on the Purgatorio. 77
Par che a nulla potenza più intenda;
E questo è contra quello error, che crede
Che un' anima sovr' altra in noi s'accenda.
Whenever, through a feeling of delight or of pain,
that lays powerful hold on any faculty of ours, the
mind concentrates itself wholly on that faculty, it
seems to give no heed to any other of its powers;
and this is a proof of the erroneousness of that belief
which some have held, that one soul above another is
enkindled within us. This refers to Plato's doctrine
of three souls; the Vegetative in the liver; the Sen-
sitive in the heart; and the Intellectual in the brain.
Dante mentions this in Convito, IV, 7.
Benvenuto says that the next three lines show the
effect of what he speaks of before:
E però, quando s' ode cosa o vede,
Che tenga forte a sè l' anima vôlta,
Vassene il tempo, e l' uom non se n'avvede:
Ch' altra potenza è quella che l' ascolta,
10
Ed altra è quella che ha l' anima intera :
Questa è quasi legata, e quella è sciolta.
And hence when any particular thing is heard
or seen, which keeps the soul intently bent upon it,
the time passes, without one being aware of it: for
one faculty is that which listens, and quite different is
that faculty which retains the exclusive attention of
the soul, and is not in contact with external objects;
the one faculty is, as it were, fast bound, and the
other in a state of activity.*

* V. 10-12. Mr. Haselfoot says in a note: “It appears to me
that the meaning is: The power which listens is one, and the
power which the soul keeps entire, i. e. which exists in the soul,
but is in no way brought into exercise, is another. One (the

78
Canto IV.
Readings on the Purgatorio.
Di ciò ebb'io esperïenza vera,
Udendo quello spirto ed ammirando:
Chè ben cinquanta gradi salito era
15
Lo sole, ed io non mi era accorto, quando
Venimmo dove quell' anime ad una
Gridâro a noi :-“Qui è vostro domando.”—
Of this I had a very striking proof, while listening
to the discourse of that spirit, Manfred, and marvelling
at all his revelations about himself, and at what he
had said of the mercy of God: for the sun had
ascended full fifty degrees in the heavens above the
horizon, and I had not observed it, when we reached
a point where all those spirits, as with one voice,
called out to us: “Here is what you were asking for,”
referring to Virgil's request to them in the last Canto,
v. 76, that they would tell him where the mountain
was least precipitous, so that they could best com-
mence the ascent.*
power that is in abeyance) is in bonds ; the other (the power
that listens) is free from bonds, because it is in full activity.”
This is Bianchi's explanation-Hazel foot's Trans. 1887.
* Dr. Moore says that the sun being fully 50 degrees above
the horizon means about 33 hours since sunrise, or 21 hours
since the last time given: and that the hour would be from
about 8.45 to 9 a.m. Some commentators have made a difficulty
that this gives more than two hours for the colloquy with
Manfred in the previous canto ..... but we know that
(1) Dante apologizes, so to speak, in the lines preceding this,
for the lapse of so much time wasted ; (2) the whole of the
intermediate time is not devoted to the interview with Manfred,
since some time may probably have been lost in hunting for the
road in which both Virgil and Dante are represented as occupied
in III, 52-57 ; and also (3) after that they are expressly stated
to have walked a mile.
Canto IV. Readings on the Purgatorio.
79
od
20
The two poets now come to an opening in the rocky
cliff, through which an exceedingly steep path leads
upwards. Dante compares the opening to a very
small gap in a hedge.
Maggiore aperta molte volte impruna,
Con una forcatella di sue spine,
L'uom della villa, quando l'uva imbruna,
Che non era la calla, onde salìne
Lo duca mio ed io appresso, soli,
Come da noi la schiera si partine.
Often does the villager block up, with a small fork-
full of his thorns, a wider gap in the hedge, at the time
when the grapes are turning brown, than was the
entrance to the way upwards, from which my leader
ascended, and I after him, after that the troop of
spirits had parted from us, and left us by ourselves.*
Benvenuto thinks the narrow gap in the hedge is a
simile of Dante's difficulty in passing from vice into
the cultivated vineyard of virtue, the entrance into
which is beset with thorns, that is, with the besetting
sins which so hinder man from drawing near to God.
He also wishes us to note that this point is the first
entrance to the mountain, and comparison shows that,
difficult as the entrance to a vineyard is through a
gap in a hedge at the time of the vintage, the access
to the mountain was far more so, and the ascent
infinitely more steep than any of the most precipitous
heights in Italy that were known to Dante.

* Benvenuto reminds his readers that the band, among whom
was Manfred, parted from Dante and Virgil when they had
pointed out the entrance to the ascent, because they themselves
could not pass through it, but had to continue wandering round
and round the base of the mountain.

80
Canto IV.
Readings on the Purgatorio.
Vassi in Sanlèo, e discendesi in Noli:
25
Montasi su Bismantova in cacume
Con esso i piè; ma qui convien ch' uom voli ;
Dico con l' ali snelle e con le piume
Del gran disio, diretro a quel condotto,
Che speranza mi dava, e facea lume.
30
One clambers up to San Leo,* and scrambles down
to Noli.t One ascends to the summit of Bismantova
with the aid of one's feet alone (con esso i piè); but to
climb this steep one literally needs to fly; I mean
with the swift wings and plumes of earnest will that
and
* San Lèo: formerly called Città Feltria, a little town in the
ancient Duchy of Urbino, not far from San Marino, and situated
on the ridge of the precipitous Montefeltro.
Noli: a small township in Piedmont, on the Riviera of
Genoa, at the foot of the well-known headland Capo di Noli.
Though at the present time it is situated on the Corniche Road,
and is passed by all who travel that way, in the time of Dante
it could only be reached either by sea, or by most precipitous
steps cut in the rocks, by which one descended to it from the
perpendicular amphitheatre of hills that surrounded Noli, and
separated it from the rest of the world. Benvenuto says that
Noli rightly seems to say to the descending traveller “ Noli ad
me accedere."
I Bismantova is a lofty rocky height in the mountains of
Reggio di Modena, which overtops all the neighbouring peaks.
It has a circular road running round it which is the only access
to the summit, and Benvenuto says that a few resolute men
could defend it against the whole world ; on the top there is a
flat table-land, which can be cultivated when necessary to supply
a garrison, and all the surrounding country is wild and woody;
so that in war time it provides a refuge for the inhabitants of the
plain. When Henry VI, being in alliance with Ghiberto of
Gortz, attacked Reggio, the nobles of Reggio retired there.
Benvenuto thinks that the hill of Bismantova may have suggested
to Dante the idea of the Mountain of Purgatory.
Canto IV. Readings on the Purgatorio.
animated me, conducted, as I was, and following be-
hind him, my leader Virgil, who comforted me with
hope, and gave light unto my path. Having described
the entrance to the way, he now describes the way
itself.
Noi salivam per entro il sasso rotto,
E d'ogni lato ne stringea lo stremo,
E piedi e man voleva il suol di sotto.
We commenced mounting through the fissured rock
by a hollow way, whose walls pressed close upon us
on either hand, and the ascent was so steep that the
ground beneath us required that we should use our
hands as well as our feet.
Poichè noi fummo in su l orlo supremo
Dell' alta ripa, alla scoverta piaggia :
—“Maestro mio”—diss' io—"che via faremo ?”
When we had got up to the highest ridge of the
lofty cliff, and had come out of the hollow way to
where the level plateau opened out: I said: "My
Master, which way shall we take now?"*
Ed egli a me—“Nessun tuo passo caggia;
Pur su al monte dietro a me acquista,
Fin che n'appaja alcuna scorta saggia"-.
And he to me: “Do not let a single step of thine turn
to the right or left, but continue to gain ground up
the mountain behind me, until there appear to us
some practised guide."

35
* che via faremo? Scartazzini says that Dante was beginning
to find out that some new rule prevailed in Purgatory. In Hell
they had always, as a matter of course, turned to the left, and we
read in Purg. III. 58, that when they saw the spirits on their
left they turned naturally towards them. Virgil did not as yet
appear to know if he was to turn to the right or to the left. -

82
Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto IV.
Dante now shows how steep was the side of the
mountain.
Lo sommo er' alto che vincea la vista,
40
E la costa superba più assai,
Che da mezzo quadrante a centro lista.
The summit was so elevated that it rose higher than
my eye could reach, and the scarp of the mountain
was considerably steeper than a line drawn through
the centre of a right angle.* He means that they
were scaling the side of the mountain, the slope of
which was at a sharper angle than 45 degrees.
After a few minutes of so much exertion, Dante is
overcome by fatigue.
Io era lasso, quando cominciai :
-“O dolce padre, volgiti, e rimira
Com' io rimango sol, se non ristai.”— 45
I was exhausted, when I began to call out to Virgil:
“O my gentle Father, turn round, and look how much
I am left behind alone, unless thou stoppest."
Virgil does not comply with his request, but urges
him to persevere until he shall have reached a point
higher up.
-“Figliuol mio,”—mi disse, “infin quivi ti tira," —
Additandomi un balzo poco in sue,
Che da quel lato il poggio tutto gira.
“My Son,” said he to me, “ drag thyself on up to
here," pointing out to me a terrace a little above me,
* Benvenuto remarks that in Hell, when the Poets come to
places that were impassable, Virgil carried Dante up or down
them, as in Inf. XIX, 34 and 43, but in Purgatory this never
occurs.
Canto IV. Readings on the Purgatorio. 83
which, starting from that side, winds all round the
mountain.
Sì mi spronaron le parole sue,
Ch' io mi sforzai, carpando appresso lui, 50
Tanto che il cinghio sotto i piè mi fue.
These words of his so stimulated me (lit. spurred
me on), that I renewed my exertions, clambering up
behind him, until the encircling ledge lay under my
feet; that is, until at last I stood on the ledge that
Virgil had pointed out to me.

Division II. Here commences the Second Division
of the Canto, in which Virgil explains to Dante the
reason of the sun being on his left hand, and the
general disposition of the heavenly bodies in the
Southern Hemisphere.
Having reached the terrace or ledge of rock,* the
Poets sit down and begin to look round them, and,
as Benvenuto quaintly puts it, Dante gives himself up
to resting his body, and working his mind.
A seder ci ponemmo ivi ambedui
Vôlti a levante, ond' eravam saliti;
Chè suole, a riguardar giovare altrui.
There we both sat down, turned towards the
East, whence we had ascended with our faces turned
towards the West; and we gazed at the way by
which we had come; for all travellers, on reaching
the summit of a hill, like to look back.
* This ledge of rock would appear to be one of the ripiani, or
balzi, terraces that encircled the base of the Mountain, or
Ante-Purgatory, and these ripiani, &c., are not to be confounded
with the cornici, cornices of Purgatory proper.
G 2

84 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto IV..
Benvenuto says that at this point Dante turned his
attention to the shores of Purgatory, now lying far
below him, so as to rest his eyes, in order that he
might the better endure to gaze on the sun, and one
can well imagine that, as he looked down on the place
where his face had been washed with the dew, he said
within himself: “If I had not so much humiliated
myself down there, I should not now be so much
exalted up here."
Gli occhi prima drizzai a' bassi liti;
Poscia gli alzai al sole, ed ammirava
Che da sinistra n'eravam feriti.
I first directed my eyes towards the low shores;
then I raised them to the sun, and I marvelled to see
that we were struck by his rays on our left side, so
that my shadow was cast on the right.*
Ben s' avvide il Poeta che io stava
Stupido tutto al carro della luce,
Ove tra noi ed Aquilone intrava.
The poet, Virgil, fully perceived that I (not knowing
that we were at the Antipodes) was standing stupified
with astonishment to see the chariot of light, i.e. the
sun, because it had risen between where we were
standing and the north.
Benvenuto says that Virgil now proceeds to explain
how it is that the Sun rises in one way in that hemi-
sphere, and in another way in ours.f.
60
* In our Hemisphere when one turns towards the East the
sun is on one's right, and one's shadow is projected on one's left.
+ Benvenuto gives a very full description of the heavens, the
equinox, the tropics, the signs of the Zodiac, and the heavenly
bodies, too long to quote here.
Canto IV. Readings on the Purgatorio.
Ond 'egli a me:-“Se Castore e Polluce
Fossero in compagnia di quello specchio
Che su e giù del suo lume conduce,
Tu vederesti il Zodiaco rubecchio
Ancora all’Orse più stretto rotare,
65
Se non uscisse fuor del cammin vecchio.
Then he said to me: “If Castor and Pollux (the
constellation of Gemini)* were in company of that
bright mirror which reflects the light of God, and
which carries the benefits of its light both up in the
Northern, and down in the Southern Hemispheres in
due rotation, thou would'st see the Zodiac, fiery with
the rays of the sun, revolving still more closely to
the Greater and Lesser Bears, that is, nearer to the
North Pole than Aries, in which we now are, always
supposing that it, the sun, does not diverge from its
accustomed path, i.e. the ecliptic.
Some commentators take rubecchio to be a substan-
tive with the meaning of a cog-wheel, and Zodiaco
as an adjective. It would then be translated “the
Zodiacal cog-wheel,” the teeth of the wheel repre-
senting the signs of the Zodiac.t

* Dante was himself born in Gemini, and it was considered
a propitious constellation, which is perhaps the reason he so
often speaks of it.
† There were six Northern Signs of the Zodiac, viz.—
(1) Aries—11 Montone.
(4) Cancer.
(2) Taurus-
(5) Leo-
(3) Gemini—Castore e Polluce. (6) Virgo-
And we on earth have summer and heat when the sun is in those
signs, and strikes more directly upon us.
The other six are called the Southern or Austral signs as they
look to the south, viz.:

86 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto IV.
In the verses that follow, says Della Valle,* Dante
desires to show how it is that in Purgatory one always
sees the sun in the north while at Sion or Jerusalem
it is always seen in the south. He says, however, that
the two places have but one horizon and different
hemispheres, and therefore are antipodes to each other.
But these two conditions are not sufficient for the
above view, because if the two places were within the
two Tropics, or in the circle of the Ecliptic, it is clear
that they might be antipodal, without one of them
always seeing the sun in the north, and the other in
the south. It stands to reason then that they must
both be outside of the Tropics, and of the ecliptic.
Dante does not express such a condition, but implies
it; and, as it is Virgil who is speaking, he also supposes
it in Dante's mind. Virgil cannot believe that Dante
should not know that Jerusalem is on this side of the
Tropic of Cancer, and should not consequently take
for granted that the Mountain of Purgatory is equally
as far beyond the Tropic of Capricorn, after he has
declared to him that the two are antipodes to each
other. These ideas Dante supposes in his readers,
just as Virgil supposes them in him, since Dante
cannot and ought not to pre-suppose in whoever reads
his poem, says Della Valle, ignorance of the most
elementary knowledge of astronomical geography.
(7) Libra—Le Bilance.
(10) Capricorn-
(8) Scorpio-Il freddo animale. (11) Aquarius-
(9) Sagittarius-
(12) Pisces-
When the sun is in these latter signs, it strikes us obliquely
and causes winter on earth.
* Della Valle. Il senso Geografico-Astronomico dei luoghi
della Divina Commedia (Faenza, 1869).
Canto IV. Readings on the Purgatorio.
75
Come ciò sia, se il vuoi poter pensare,
Dentro raccolto immagina Sion
Con questo monte in su la terra stare
Si, che ambedue hanno un solo orizzon,
E diversi emisperj ; onde la strada,
Che mal non seppe carreggiar Feton,*
Vedrai come a costui convien che vada
Dall' un, quando a colui dall'altro fianco,
Se l' intelletto tuo ben chiaro bada.”—
If thou wilt only try to think out how it is that this
happens, that the sun passes between us and the
north, collect thy thoughts, and picture to thyself
Mount Sion, Jerusalem, standing on the earth in
relation to this Mountain of Purgatory, in such wise
that both have one common horizon and distinct
hemispheres, (i.e. are antipodes to each other); whence,
if thy intellect really considers it closely, thou wilt see
that the road, on which Phaethon, to his own destruc-
tion (mal), knew not how to drive, must perforce pass
by.this Mountain of Purgatory on the one side (a costui),
while on the other side it passes by Jerusalem (a colui).
Dante admits to Virgil that he could not by any
possibility have had a more lucid explanation of what
had been a complete puzzle to him before.
—“Certo, maestro mio,”—diss'io,—“unquanco

Non vid' io chiaro sì, com' io discerno,
Là dove mio ingegno parea manco.
* Che mal non seppe carreggiar Feton. Phaethon, son of
Apollo and Clymene, begged his father to allow him to drive the
chariot of the sun for one day. Neglecting Apollo's directions
he let the horses drag the chariot out of its regular course, and
already heaven and earth were threatened with a universal
conflagration, when Jupiter struck Phaethon with a thunderbolt,
and he fell into the river Po.

88
Canto IV.
Readings on the Purgatorio.
80
Chè il mezzo cerchio del moto superno,
Che si chiama Equatore in alcun' arte,
E che sempre riman tra il sole e il verno,
Per la ragion che di', quinci si parte
Verso settentrion, quanto gli Ebrei
Vedevan lui verso la calda parte.
“Truly, my Master," said I,“ never did I see any-
thing more clearly than I now discern this thing, in
which before my intelligence seemed to fall short, for,
from the reason that thou hast given me, (viz. that the
two hills of Sion and Purgatory are antipodes to each
other), the mid-circle of the highest and most remote
of the heavens which move round, which circle is,
in a certain art (the science of astronomy) called the
equator, and which ever remains between the tropic,
where the presence of the sun makes it summer, and
the tropic, where the absence of the sun makes it
winter, retires from this mountain towards the North,
to exactly the same distance as the Hebrews (when
they used to inhabit Jerusalem) were wont to see it
(lui), that is, the sun, towards the warm quarter (the
South).”
Division III. We now reach the Third and con-
cluding Division of the Canto, which, Benvenuto says,
not only contains the moral, but is the most beautiful
part of it, in which Dante gives a description of the
slothful in general, and of one of them in particular.
Before, however, they reach the spot where they meet
with the spirits, Dante has a conversation with Virgil
as to the nature of the mount and its attributes. He
begins by saying :
Canto IV. Readings on the Purgatorio.
89
Ma se a te piace, volentier saprei
. 85
Quanto avemo ad andar, chè il poggio sale
Più che salir non posson gli occhi miei.”—
But if it please thee, I should be very glad to know
how far we have to go, for the mountain soars on high
far beyond what my eyes can attain.” *
Virgil answers him allegorically, comparing the
difficulty of commencing the ascent of Purgatory to
the hard task of entering into a life of virtue, but
that the more one perseveres therein the more the
difficulties disappear.
Ed egli a me:“Questa montagna è tale,
Che sempre al cominciar di sotto è grave, :
E quanto uom più va su, e men fa male.”— 90
And he to me: “This mountain is of such a nature
that it is always more difficult and toilsome for those
who ascend it at the commencement, but the higher a
man goes up, the less it pains him.
Però quand' ella ti parrà soave
Tanto, che il su andar ti sia leggiero,
Come a seconda giuso andar per nave;
Allor sarai al fin d' esto sentiero;
Quivi di riposar l' affanno aspetta.
Più non rispondo; e questo so per vero.”—
When therefore it shall appear to thee so pleasant
that the ascent will be to thee as easy as going down
the current in a skiff, then thou wilt have reached the
end of this path, and wilt have gained the summit,
where is the Terrestrial Paradise ; there thou mayest
hope and expect to repose thyself from thy weary

95
* Il poggio sale più, &c.; compare v. 40: “Lo sommo er'
alto che vincea la vista.”

90
Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto Iv.
task. I do not answer more of thy question, but this
much which I have told thee I know to be true.”
Benvenuto says that here Dante cleverly introduces
one of the slothful spirits, whose voice, just when
Virgil has been stimulating Dante to fresh exertions,
is heard trying to dissuade him from the same.
E, com'egli ebbe sua parola detta,
Una voce di presso sono:“Forse
Che di sedere in prima avrai distretta.”—
And as he finished speaking these words, a voice
sounded close to us, which said : “Perchance before
thou reachest that same spot, where the end of this
path is, thou wilt first have need to sit down.”
Al suon di lei ciascun di noi si torse,
100
E vedemmo a mancina un gran petrone,
Del qual nè io nè ei prima s' accorse.
At the sound of this voice we both turned round,
and beheld on our left hand a great stone, which
neither Virgil nor I had noticed up to that moment.*
Là ci traemmo; ed ivi eran persone
Che si stavano all'ombra dietro al sasso,
Com' uom per negligenza a star si pone. 105
We drew near to that spot; and there were people
there lying down in the shade behind the crag, as men
do from sheer idleness and sloth.†
* The spirits were quite close to them, but as Dante and
Virgil had turned to the right on reaching the terrace from
below, they had not noticed the spirits to their left, nor the
great stone, behind which they were sitting.
+ Benvenuto is full of admiration at the admirable way that
Dante, in a few brief words, has so fully conveyed the idea of
the contemptible creatures, who in cold weather bask in the
sun, and in hot weather loll in the shade. The sun being now
high in the heavens, they had sought the shade behind the crag;
Canto IV. Readings on the Purgatorio. 91
a es
Dante now meets a former friend of his, who was
notorious in his life for surpassing all his contempo-
raries in laziness. This is Belacqua, of whom more
anon. He is described sitting in a listless, lazy attitude,
and will not even raise his head to converse with Dante.
Ed un di lor che mi sembrava lasso,
Sedeva ed abbracciava le ginocchia,
Tenendo il viso giù tra esse basso.
And one of these spirits who appeared to me to be
fatigued, was sitting down and clasping his knees
holding his face low down between them.
Benvenuto says that this spirit, Belacqua, is most
justly forbidden to look at heaven for a considerable
while, as he, for so long a time, did not cease from
looking down to the earth. Dante cannot forbear
from pointing out his lazy attitude to Virgil in terms
of censure and contempt.
—“O dolce Signor mio,”—diss' io,-“ adocchia
Colui che mostra sè più negligente,
IIO
Che se pigrizia fosse sua sirocchia.”-
“O my gentle Master," said I, “look at this man,
who shows himself more indolent than if Sloth itself
had been his own sister.” Belacqua, hearing Dante's
derisive remarks about him, is somewhat irritated, and
retaliates by urging Dante to the exertion which he
himself so much dislikes.

for such people at all times, and in all places, shirk work, flee
from cold or heat, and so pass away like a shadow. And so the
Poet passes them by as briefly and as lightly as he did the
slothful in Hell. For the slothful are not only careless of good
works, but even of their own private business, so that they would
even let their own houses tumble about their ears, sooner than
take trouble to prevent its happening.

92
Canto IV.
Readings on the Purgatorio.
Allor si volse a noi, e pose mente,
Movendo il viso pur su per la coscia,
E disse :--“ Or va su tu, che se' valente.”—
At these words of mine he turned towards us and
looked attentively, but only just moving his face
along his thigh, and said : “O very well, then go up
thyself, thou who art so energetic.”
Dante recognises him at once, probably, Benvenuto
thinks, from his drawling mode of speaking.
Conobbi allor chi era; e quell'angoscia,*
115
Che m'avacciava un poco ancor la lena,
Non m'impedì l'andare a lui; e poscia
Che a lui fui giunto, alzò la testa appenat
Dicendo:"Hai ben veduto come il sole
Dall'omero sinistro il carro mena?”—
120
Then, on hearing his voice, I knew who it was;
and my recent exertion, which was still quicken-
ing my breath a little, did not prevent me from
approaching him ; and, as soon as I got near to him,
he barely raised his head, saying :-“Well, hast thou
made out, quite to thy satisfaction, how it is that the
sun drives his chariot over thy left shoulder, at which
I heard thee expressing so much astonishment just
now?” He had heard what Dante had said to Virgil
in v. 76, and these words are spoken in derision at
Dante's simplicity at not knowing at once why the
sun was striking him on the left.
Dante's amusement prevails over his indignation at
the sight of the contemptible creature before him.
* Avacciava—was causing to quicken; derived from abigere,
abactus, abactiare.
† Belacqua had at first just glanced sideways over his thigh,
so as not to give himself the trouble of raising his head; but now
he so far condescends as to raise his head slightly.
Canto IV.
93
Readings on the Purgatorio.
Gli atti suoi pigri, e le corte parole
Mosson le labbra mie un poco a riso;
Poi cominciai:-“Belacqua, a me non duole
Di te omai; ma dimmi, perchè assiso
Quiritta sei? attendi tu iscorta,
125
O pur lo modo usato ť ha ripriso?”—
His indolent movements, and curt sentences, just
brought a smile to my lips; and then I began :
“Belacqua, I see now that henceforward I need not
make myself uneasy about thee; but tell me, why art
thou sitting in this particular spot ? Art thou waiting
for a conductor, or is it only that thy wonted habits
have seized upon thee ?"*
Belacqua answers Dante's question, but Benvenuto
notices that his mode of address has now changed, and

* Belacqua. But little is known of him. L'Anonimo Fioren-
tino writes “This Belacqua was a citizen of Florence, who
manufactured the necks of lutes and guitars, and was the most
indolent man that ever lived; and it is said of him that he used
to come to his shop in the morning, and sit down, and never
rose from his chair all day except to eat and to sleep. Dante
was very intimate with him, and used often to take him to task
for his laziness; and one day, Belacqua answered his censures
by saying in the words of Aristotle: By sitting down and
resting, the soul is rendered wise;' to which Dante retaliated :
Certainly, if one becomes wise by sitting down, none was ever
so wise as thou.””
Benvenuto says he was a musical instrument maker, and a
wonderful carver, besides being a fair musician.
* Un poco al riso, &c. Scartazzini remarks that Dante's amuse-
ment does not exceed the bounds of that moderation, which the
gravity of the place and surrounding circumstances required, as
well as the seriousness of the philosopher, and Dante's own
maxims. “The fool will uplift his voice in laughter; but the
wise man will hardly even give way to a silent laugh.”—Koran,
Sirach, xxi, 22.
urro
IC

94
Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto IV.
he reverently confesses the sin of his tardy deathbed
repentance.
Ed ei :-“Frate, l' andare in su che porta ?
Chè non mi lascierebbe ire ai martiri
L'uccel di Dio che siede in su la porta.
Prima convien che tanto il ciel m' aggiri
130
Di fuor da essa, quanto fece in vita,
Perch' io indugiai al fin li buon sospiri,
Se orazione in prima non m' aita,
Che surga su di cor che in grazia viva :
L'altra che val ? che in ciel non è udita.”— 135
And he answered: “Brother, what advantage would
it be to me to ascend ? seeing that the bird of God
(the Angel) that sits at the gate would not allow me to
pass through to the torments.* Before that he (the
Angel) will allow me to do so, it is necessary that the
heavens revolve round me, as I lie waiting in this
outer Purgatory, for precisely the same number of
years, as the same heavens revolved round me in life,
because I delayed my repentance (i buon sospiri) up
to the hour of my death, unless, before then, a prayer
should come to my aid which shall rise to heaven
from the heart of one who is living in the Grace
of God: what profit to me would be the other, i.e.
the prayer of one living in sin ? Such prayers are
not even heard in heaven.”
* We must remember that Belacqua would, when admitted
within the Gate of Purgatory, be relegated to the Fourth
Cornice, and there be kept running swiftly, and have to utter
aloud the praises of zeal and energy.
Compare Purg. II, 37-38, where the Angel of God is spoken
of as a bird :
6 Poi come più e più verso noi venne
L'uccel divino, più chiaro appariva."
Canto IV. Readings on the Purgatorio. 95
Dante concludes the Canto by mentioning that Vir-
gil, who seems to have turned away in some contempt

terrace, and calls to Dante to follow him, as it is noon.
E già il Poeta innanzi mi saliva,
Innan
Meridïan dal sole, e dalla riva
Copre la notte già col piè Morrocco.”—
139
And already had the Poet recommenced the ascent
in front of me, and said: “Come on now, see the
sun has touched the meridian, and here it is noon,
while night, with her footsteps, is covering Morocco,
the extreme west, from the bank of the Ganges (dalla
viva), the extreme east."*
* v. 137-139. Dr. Moore says :..“it is midday in Purga-
tory and, following out the same calculation as before, it will be
midnight at Jerusalem, and consequently sunrise on the Ganges,
and sunset in Spain or Morocco ; and the hemisphere of night
will consequently extend from the Ganges to Morocco. Now
this is exactly what Dante means by saying that starting from
the bank or river's edge (taking the reading della riva), night's
advancing foot just falls upon Morocco, i.e. night is just com-
mencing there."
Others read—“ed alla riva"_but Scartazzini is very positive
that that is a blunder which causes a complete misconception of
the idea Dante wished to express.
END OF CANTO IV.

96
Canto V.
Readings on the Purgatorio.
CANTO V.
THE PENITENT IN VIOLENT DEATH.
JACOPO DEL CASSERO.
BUONCONTE DA MONTEFELTRO.
PIA DE' TOLOMEI.
HAVING, in the last Canto, treated of the third class
of spirits, viz. of those who neglected their repentance
from sheer laziness, Dante proceeds, in the present
Canto, to speak of a fourth class, who deferred turning
to God, until the moment of being overcome by
violent death. Benvenuto divides the Canto into four
parts.
In the First Division, from v. I to v. 21, he is
sharply reproved by Virgil for stopping to listen to the
exclamations of astonishment uttered by the spirits
when they perceived that he had a shadow.
In the Second Division, from v. 22 to v. 63, he
describes the fourth class of the spirits relegated to
Outer Purgatory.
In the Third Division, from v. 64 to v. 85, occurs
Dante's conversation with Jacopo del Cassero, who
describes to him his violent death.
In the Fourth Division, from v. 86 to v. 136, he
describes his interview with Buonconte da Monte-
feltro, who relates his death after the Battle of
Campaldino.
He also mentions how Pia de' Tolomei accosted
him.
Canto V. Readings on the Purgatorio. 97
Division 1. Dante had left the spirits of the indo-
lent, among whom was Belacqua, having apparently
seen quite enough of such poor creatures, and had
recommenced the ascent to the terrace higher up,
following close on the steps of Virgil, when his atten-
tion was recalled to them by their astonished exclama-
tions at the sight of his shadow, though Dante is very
careful to let it be noticed that their tardy observation
of it was in character with their sloth.
Io era già da quell'ombre partito,
E seguitava l' orme del mio duca,
Quando diretro a me drizzando il dito,
Una gridò :-“Ve', che non par che luca
Lo raggio da sinistra a quel di sotto,
E come vivo par che si conduca.”—
I had already departed from those spirits, and was
following in the footsteps of my guide (Virgil), when,
from behind me, one of the spirits, pointing with his
finger, called out to another :-
“Look, how the ray of the sun does not seem to
shine on the left of him that is mounting up below
the other (meaning that Dante's body was casting a
shadow), and he seems to move, as though he were
alive.” Dante, according to Benvenuto, was not dis-
pleased at the notice he was attracting.
Gli occhi rivolsi al suon di questo motto,
E vidile guardar maraviglia.
Pur me, pur me, e il lume ch' era rotto.
I turned my eyes back at the sound of these words,
and saw the other spirits, gazing in wonder at me,
at me alone (of us two), and at my shadow (lit. at the
light of the sun that was intercepted by my body).*
* Benvenuto warns his readers, that although this canto


98
Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto v.
Dante next relates how Virgil, thinking he was
getting too much puffed up by the observation of the
crowd of foolish spirits, sharply rebuked him.
_"Perchè l' animo tuo tanto s'impiglia,”—
10
Disse il maestro,-“ che l' andare allenti ?
Che ti fa ciò che quivi si pispiglia ?
Vien dietro a me, e lascia dir le genti ;
Sta come torre ferma, che non crolla
Giammai la cima per soffiar de venti.
15
“Why doth thy mind occupy itself so much with
what others are saying about thee,” said my Master,
“as to make thee slacken thy pace? What matters it
to thee what they are muttering over there ? Come on
after me, and let the people talk; stand as firm as a
tower, which never allows its summit to be shaken,
for all the blowing of the winds.
These last words refer unmistakably to Dante's
having turned his head round, with some complacency,
seems quite clear, it nevertheless contains many obscure passages.
And first of all, one must not understand the mere bare fact that
the spirits marvelled at Dante being alive, that he thereupon
gloried in their wonderment, and Virgil reproved him for that
only. The indolent spirits marvelled that Dante, being alive,
should come among so many that were dead, because he had
entered into Purgatory before the time of his death to amend his
sinful life; they marvelled to see a wise man among so many
ignorant; for they who are conscious of their own ignorance
wonder at wise men; they also marvelled to see him going
through so sacred a duty by himself, and thereby inviting those
still living in the world to profit by his example, and be con-
verted while they have time. But Dante, hearing their voices
praising him, exulted, and suffered them to continue saying that
he was a man of unique virtue, without a rival, whereas he ought
rather to have said like the apostle“ By the Grace of God I am
what I am."

Canto v.
99
Readings on the Purgatorio.
Virgil's reproof says in so many words: ‘Do not heed
such a light wind as the praises of the populace; dost
thou think that thy wisdom is nought if thy fame be
not proclaimed by others? or, hast thou really deserved
glory, if people point the finger at thee, and men talk
about thee? rather follow after me, who am conducting
thee to eternal, not to vain glory ; stand firm on the
judgment of thine own conscience, not on that of the
mob.'
Chè sempre l' uomo, in cui pensier rampolla
Sovra pensier, da sè dilunga il segno,
Perchè la foga l' un dell'altro insolla.” —
For that man, in whose mind thought is ever
springing up upon thought, removes from himself
the end at which he was aiming, for the one thought
enfeebles the force of the other thought.”*
Benvenuto says that Dante acts as a good man
would, who does not resent reproof, or endeavour to
excuse his fault, but reverently and prudently amends
it, and obeys the injunctions given to him.
Che poteva io ridir, se non :-“Io vegno ?”
Dissilo, alquanto del color consperso
20
Che fa l' uom di perdon tal volta degno.
What other answer could I make except to say:-
“I come?”—I said it, with my countenance somewhat
flushed with that colour (the blush of shame), which
at times may render a man deserving of forgiveness.t

* Benvenuto says that when a vain thought arises above a
good thought, it impedes the acquisition of the first one. The
man, who abandons himself to too many thoughts, is slow at
arriving at the primary object he aims at, because the thoughts
so clash that one retards the course of the other.
+ Benvenuto begs us to note that Dante here shows clearly

100 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto v.
Division II. Here begins the Second Division of
the Canto, in which Dante describes a fresh troop of
spirits, who approached singing devoutly.
E intanto per la costa da traverso
Venivan genti innanzi a noi un poco,
Cantando Miserere a verso a verso.
Meanwhile, along the hill side, not ascending it,
but walking across it, there came some, a little way
before us, who sang the Miserere in responsive strains.*
Again we have the same outspoken expression of
wonder, on the part of the spirits, at the evidence of
Dante being still alive, that was afforded by his
shadow.
Quando s'accorser ch' io non dava loco
25
Per lo mio corpo al trapassar de' raggi,
Mutar lor canto in un Oh lungo e roco.
When they perceived that I did not give place to
the passage of the rays of the sun through my body
that he has really begun to pass through Purgatory, being now
quick to feel compunction and repentance: for modesty and
grief are two steep stairs by which man mounts up in Purgatory.
Benvenuto cannot help saying that he invariably finds all
authors, philosophers, poets, orators, and historians fall into
the same error: all of them declaim, bark and contend against
the populace. One calls the mob ignorant; another, insane;
another, vain; another, changeable; and so on; and all con-
demn its judgments, opinions, manners, words and deeds;
and yet, in times of adversity, all of them seek out by art
and contrivance, with labour and zeal, for favour, praise,
good name, and honours from the populace. Therefore it
was quite right that Dante should blush, on hearing himself
censured, and censured justly, for the fact that he was then
exulting over the empty praise of this same populace.
* Benvenuto enlarges a good deal on the Penitential Psalms,
and on the multitude of the mercies of God.

Canto V. Readings on the Purgatorio. 101
e.
they suddenly changed their chaunt into a prolonged
and hoarse Oh!
Two now issue from the band and run to question
Dante. One is Jacopo del Cassero, the other, Buon-
conte da Montefeltro.
E due di loro in forma di messaggi
Corsero incontro a noi, e dimandarne:
—“Di vostra condizion fatene saggi.”—
30
And two of them, in guise of messengers, ran out to
meet us, and demanded : “Make us acquainted with
your condition."
Virgil, knowing that after his recent reproof, which
Dante had received so meekly, the latter would not
seek to praise himself, in answer to the spirits, praises
Dante, and begs them to honour him.
E il mio maestro :—“Voi potete andarne,
E ritarre a color che vi mandaro,
Che il corpo di costui è vera carne.
So per veder la sua ombra restaro,
Com' io avviso, assai è lor risposto:
35
Facciangli onore, ed esser può lor caro.”—
| And my Master answered them: “You may go
your way, and carry back this answer to those who
sent you: that the body of this man is real flesh, and
that if it was only from having noticed his shadow, as
I suppose, that they stayed their steps, my answer
will be sufficient for them. Let them do him honour,
for it may advantage them much, or he, Dante, may
become dear to them.” (By giving tidings of them in
the world, and procuring for them the prayers of their
friends.)
Dante compares the quick turning round of the
two spirits, their rejoining the others, and the whole


102
Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto v.
band coming rapidly to the Poets, to the quick flash
of a falling star. *
Vapori accesi non vidio sì tosto
Di prima notte mai fender sereno,
Nè, sol calando, nuvole d’agosto,
Che color non tornasser suso in meno;
40
E giunti là, con gli altri a noi diêr volta,
Come schiera che corre senza freno.
Never saw I ignited vapours (i.e. shooting stars), so
quickly cleave the serene air at the fall of night, nor
so quickly cleave the clouds at sun-down in the
month of August, but what these two spirits returned
upward in less time; and arriving there, wheeled back
with the others towards us, like a troop of horse that
ride without drawing rein.
Virgil tells Dante that he must not tarry, but may
listen to what the spirits have to say as he walks on.
* Compare the description of the descent of Cacciaguida
from the Cross of Mars :
Quale per li seren tranquilli e puri
Discorre ad or ad or subito fuoco. Par. XV, 13.
and Tasso, Ger. Lib. XIX, 62.
Tal suol fendendo liquido sereno
Stella cader della gran madre in seno.
and Milton, Par. Lost, IV, 558.
Swift as a shooting star
In autumn thwarts the night, when vapours fired
Impress the air.
Mr. Butler says that Dante “following Aristotle (Meteorol. I, 4)
regards shooting-stars and 'Summer' lightning as different
forms of the same phenomenon, considering both due to kindled
vapour. This is obviously the right interpretation, and that
which takes nuvole d' Agosto as the subject and not as the
object of fendere, for the motion of clouds is never so great as
to suggest extreme rapidity.”
Canto V. Readings on the Purgatorio. 103
50
-“Questa gente, che preme a noi, è molta,
E vengonti a pregar,"-disse il Poeta;
—“Però pur va, ed in andando ascolta.”— - 45
“There are many people in this throng that is
pressing towards us, and they are coming to make
petitions to thee,” said the Poet,—"therefore keep
thou moving on, and listen to them as thou goest.” *
The spirits make their petition known.
“O anima, che vai per esser lieta
Con quelle membra con le quai nascesti," —
i Venian gridando,-“un poco il passo queta.
Guarda, se alcun di noi unque vedesti,
Sì che di lui di là novelle porti :
Deh perchè vai? deh perchè non t' arresti ?
They came on exclaiming : “O, Spirit, who goest
through Purgatory, in the hope of being joyful in
Heaven, with those same members with which thou
wast born, stay thy steps a little. Look, if thou hast
ever seen any of us, so that thou mayst bear tidings
of him over yonder (to the world): Ah, why dost thou
still go on? why dost thou not tarry ?”
Benvenuto notices an apparent paradox in the above
passage. It had been distinctly stated that these
spirits were exceedingly rapid in their movements,
whereas, from their expostulations, it would almost
seem as though they were unable to keep pace with
Dante, who was very slow in his movements. Benve-
nuto thinks that their remonstrance was not because

* Benvenuto says that Dante had expended a good deal of
time in his conversation with Manfred, and Virgil wished to put a
check on any waste of time, not thinking that much profit was
to be gained from these spirits.

104 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto V.
they could not keep up with him, but because he was,
perhaps, paying but little attention to them.
In order to excite Dante's sympathy, and induce
him to stop and listen to them, they tell him of their
violent deaths.
Noi fummo già tutti per forza morti,
E peccatori infino all'ultim'ora :
Quivi lume del ciel ne fece accorti
Sì, che, pentendo e perdonando, fuora
: 55
Di vita uscimmo a Dio pacificati,
Che del disio di sè veder n'accora.”—
We all of us died by violence, and continued in sin
up to our last hour: but then the illuminating grace
from heaven made us so conscious of our errors, that
repenting of them, and pardoning our destroyers, we
went forth from life at peace with God, who animates
our hearts with the desire of beholding him.”*
Dante confesses that he does not recognise any of
them.
Ed io :-“Perchè ne' vostri visi guati,
Non riconosco alcun; ma se a voi piace,
Cosa che io possa, spiriti ben nati,
Voi dite ; ed io farò per quella pace,
Che, dietro ai piedi di sì fatta guida,
Di mondo in mondo cercar mi si face.”—
And I:“For all that I look attentively at your faces,
I am not able to recognize any one of you; but if
aught that it is in my power to do pleases you,
O Spirits born to everlasting happiness, tell it me; and
I will perform it, I swear by that peace which, follow-
ing in the footsteps of so excellent a guide, I am
constrained to seek from world to world."
* Compare Par. III, 84. Com allo re, che in suo voler n in-
voglia. St. Thomas Aquinas says that the sight of God is the
highest perfection, and the most sublime delight.
60
Canto V. Readings on the Purgatorio. 105
Division III. Here begins the Third Division of
with Jacopo del Cassero, who relates to him the story
of his violent death.*
Ed uno incominciò :-“ Ciascun si fida
Del beneficio tuo senza giurarlo,
Pur che il voler nonpossa non ricida.
And one (Jacopo del Cassero), began : "Each one
of us relies on thy good offices without any sworn
promise on thy part, unless the “I cannot” cut off the
“I will," i.e. unless thy good intentions be defeated
from inability to carry them out.”
Ond' io, che solo innanzi agli altri parlo
Ti preco, se mai vedi quel paese
Che siede tra Romagna e quel di Carlo,
Che tu mi sie de' tuoi preghi cortese
In Fano sì, che ben per me s'adori,
Perch' io possa purgar le gravi offese.
And therefore I, who speak alone before the rest,
pray thee, and if ever thou see that country, the
Marca d’Ancona, which lies between the Romagna

* Jacopo del Cassero of Fano, who speaks here, was at one
time Podestà of Bologna, and during that time made a bitter,
implacable foe to himself in Azzone VIII of Este, Marquis of
Ferrara, whose plans he had thwarted, being a brave, daring
man. He proclaimed Azzone a traitor, and the latter, on hear-
ing of this said : “La cornacchia Marchigiana pagherà il fio
dell' audace asinità sotto di un flagello ferrato.” Soon after this
Jacopo del Cassero, being summoned by the Maffeo Visconti to
be Podestà of Milan, was waylaid on his journey thither by some
of Azzone's hired bravoes, who pursued and came up with him
when entangled in the rushes of a marsh in which he had
tried to conceal himself. He died pierced with many wounds.
The place of his death was Oriaco, near the Brenta, in the
territory of Padua.

106
Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto V.
and the land of Charles II of Anjou, i.e., the Kingdom
of Naples, that thou would'st be so courteous to me
of thy entreaties to my friends in Fano, that they will
offer up devout supplications for me, that I may get
admitted within the gates of Purgatory, and thus may
be able to commence the purgation of my many
grievous sins.
75
Quindi fu' io; ma li profondi fori,
Onde uscì il sangue, in sul qual io sedea,
Fatti mi furo in grembo agli Antenori,
Là dov' io più sicuro esser credea:
Quel da Esti il fe' far, che m' avea in ira
Assai più là che dritto non volea.
I was at that place (Fano); but the deep wounds out
of which gushed the blood, in which I had my seat,*
were inflicted on me in the midst of the sons of
Antenor (i.e., I was assassinated in the territory of the
Paduans),t in the territory of all others where I trusted
I should be safest : the deed was done by the orders
* In sul qual io sedea: According to the opinion of Empe-
docles and others, the blood was the abode of the soul. See
Lev. XVII, 2. The life of the flesh is in the blood.
+ Padua was said to have been founded by Antenor of Troy.
Brunetto Latini Tesoro I, 39, says: “There Antenor and Priane
departed thence, with a great company of people, and went to
the Marca Trevisana, not far from Venice, and there they built
another city, which is called Padua, where lies the body of An-
tenor, and his sepulchre is still there.
Philalethes thinks that Dante here accuses the Paduans of
having come to a treacherous understanding with Azzo, and
therefore he calls then Antenori, after the traitor Antenor, who
gives his name to one of the divisions of hell in which traitors
are punished. Scartazzini contends that Jacopo del Cassero
Canto V. Readings on the Purgatorio. 107
of him of Este, Azzone VIII, who was far more
incensed against me than any right could warrant.
Benvenuto thinks Jacopo del Cassero might well
believe that, between two such flourishing cities as
Venice and Padua, where the journey could, under
ordinary circumstances, be performed in all security,
he might travel without incurring any risk. He says,
also, that the family of Este derived their name from
a splendid camp, Estum or Este (two MSS. of Benve-
nuto read the word variously), both ancient and fertile,
about twenty-five miles from Padua, and that the word
Este is said by some to be derived from est, “it is ":
which denomination theologians say is solely appli-
cable to God. Benvenuto comments thus on the words
“assai più là, che dritto non volea":"Some explain this,
farther than law allowed, as being beyond the bound-
aries of his jurisdiction ; but say thou rather, farther
than the Marchese desired, for he wished the deed to
be done on the Venetian territory.” Jacopo del Cas-
sero then goes on to say how easily he might have
escaped, had he only fled straight towards Padua.
Ma s' io fossi fuggito inver la Mira,*
Quand' io fui sovraggiunto ad Oriaco,+

80
Ancor sarei di là dove si spira.
Corsi al palude, e le cannucce e il braco
M' impigliar sì ch' io caddi, e lì vidio
Delle mie vene farsi in terra laco."-
wantonly brought Azzone's vengeance on himself by the gross
provocations he gave him, and by the unbridled license he gave
to his tongue when speaking of Azzone.
* Mira is a small town on the Brenta, or on one of the canals that
issue from it. In the time of Dante it belonged to the Paduans.
+ Oriaco a village in Venetia between Padua and Venice near
the lagoons.

108 - Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto v.
But had I only fled straight towards La Mira, when
I was overtaken at Oriaco, I should still be over
yonder where men breathe (i.e., in the world). I fled
to the marshes, and there the reeds and mire so
entangled me that I fell, and there I saw a pool form
itself of the blood that flowed from my veins.”
Division IV. This is the Fourth and Concluding
Division of the Canto, in which Dante describes his
interview with the spirit of Buonconte da Montefeltro,
who, according to Benvenuto, had been over rash in
battle, just as Jacopo del Cassero had been over rash
in his office as Podestà, in speech.
Poi disse un altro :-“ Deh, se quel disio
Si compia che ti tragge all' alto monte,
Con buona pietate aiuta il mio.
Io fui di Montefeltro, io son Buonconte : *
Giovanna o altri non ha di me cura;
Perch' io vo tra costor con bassa fronte.—” 90
Then spoke another :-“Ah! as I pray that that
desire of thine may be fulfilled, which draws thee to
the lofty mountain, so do I pray, that thou, by good
Christian piety, wouldst help my desire.
[Dante eagerly desired to ascend the mountain, with
the view of reaching Paradise, and beholding that
Divine Essence,“ di là dal qual non è che s' aspiri”
(Purg. XXXI, 24). Buonconte's desire would be, that
Dante should go to Urbino and get prayers and masses
offered up for his soul, in order that thereby he might
be allowed to enter the Gates of Purgatory, and after
due purgation, pass on into Paradise.]
* Buonconte da Montefeltro was the eldest son of the famous
Canto V. Readings on the Purgatorio. 109
I was* one of the family of Montefeltro when alive,
I am Buonconte : Neither does my wife the Countess
Giovanna, nor others of my kindred pay any heed to
me (either by praying, or having masses said for the
repose of my soul), and consequently I have to trudge
among these spirits with a face downcast with shame.”
Dante, who had fought in the battle of Campaldino,
when only 24 years of age, is very anxious to know
from Buonconte where he was buried, and questions
him.

Count Guido, of whom we read in Hell among the fraudulent
counsellors. Buonconte was a man of great valour, he was
wounded at the battle of Campaldino, 1289, at which Dante
fought himself; and nothing more was known of his fate. Ben-
venuto says that at the battle of the people of Arezzo, near
Bibiena, Buonconte was sent by William, Bishop of Arezzo, to
observe the position of the enemy, and when he reported them
to be so strong as to render an attack of them very rash, the
Bishop exclaimed : “You never waste one of the family of
Montefeltro”; to which Buonconte boldly replied : “If thou
wilt come where I am able to go, thou wilt never return." And
so it turned out, for both of them died on the field of battle, after
fighting with much valour. Buonconte left no son, and was
succeeded by his next brother Frederick. The Anonimo
Fiorentino says that Giovanna his wife never seemed to care
for him after his death, nor did she ever offer up masses for
him.
* Tommasèo notices that in the other world no one is Count,
or Emperor.
“Io fui il Conte Ugolino.”—Inf. XXXIII, 13.
“Cesare fui, e son Giustiniano.”—Par. VI, 10.
So Buonconte says: “I was a Montefeltro, when alive, and I
am Buonconte still.” Compare also Purg. XIX, 99. Pope
Adrian V forbids Dante to kneel to him, and says-
“Scias quod ego fui successor Petri.”

ΙΙΟ
Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto v.
Ed io a lui :-“Qual forza, o qual ventura
Ti traviò sì fuor di Campaldino,
Che non si seppe mai tua sepoltura?” —
And I to him:-“What force of thy pursuers, or
what chance led thee so far away from Campaldino
that thy place of sepulture never was known ?”*
-“Oh”-rispos' egli,—"appiè del Casentino
Traversa un acqua che ha nome l' Archiano, 95
Che sovra l' Ermo nasce in Apennino.+
Dove il vocabol suo diventa vano
Arriva' io forato nella gola,
Fuggendo a piede e sanguinando il piano.
Quivi perdei la vista, e la parola
100
Nel nome di Maria finii, e quivi,
Caddi, e rimase la mia carne sola.
“Oh!” answered he, “at the foot of the Casentino
there takes its course a stream called the Archiano,
which rises in the Apennines above the Hermitage of
Camaldoli. At that point where it runs out into the
Arno, and where consequently its name Archiano
ceases, I arrived, pierced through the throat, fleeing
away on foot, and staining the plain with my blood.
There my sight failed me from weakness, and my
speech came to an end with the name of Mary
wer
* Mr. Butler says :—“Buonconte da Montefeltro fought on
the side of Arezzo and the Ghibellines, at the battle of Campal-
dino or Certomondo, in the Upper Valley of the Arno (called the
Casentino), on June 11, 1289. On the other side were the
Guelphs of Tuscany, with Florence at the head, in whose ranks
Dante himself fought. The men of Arezzo were beaten, and their
leaders slain.”
+ Ermo. This refers to the Hermitage or Convent of Camal-
doli, founded by Romualdo da Ravenna in 1012. It is situated
in the very heart of the Apennines.
Canto v. Readings on the Purgatorio. III
(meaning that the last dying word he was able to
utter was an Ave Maria), and there I sank down in
death, and my flesh remained untenanted by my soul.
In the lines that follow we have before us one of
the wonderful contrasts for which Dante is unrivalled.
The father of Buonconté, Guido da Montefeltro, is
described in Inf. XXVII, 112, as having been carried
away from St. Francis by the Devil for a single word
of evil counsel, which annulled all the fruits of his
penitence. Here we have a similar contest between
the Angel and the Devil for the spirit of the son,
but one single sigh uttered to the Virgin in the
moment of death decides the contest in favour of
the Angel, and the Devil has to be content with the
dead body.*

* See the account of the death of Guido da Montefeltro. Inf.
XXVII, 112.
Francesco venne poi, com' io fui morto
Per me, ma un de neri Cherubini
Gli disse : nol portar ; non mi far torto,
Venir se ne de' giù tra i miei meschini,
Perchè diede il consiglio frodolente
Dal quale in qua stato gli sono a' crini ;
Ch' assolver non si può chi non si pente,
Nè pentere e volere insieme puossi
Per la contradizion che nol consente.
O me dolente ! come mì riscotti,
Quando mi prese, dicendomi : Forse
Tu non pensavi ch' io loico fossi !
A Minos mi portò: e quegli attorse
Otto volte la coda al dosso duro,
E poi che di gran rabbia la si morse,
Disse : Questo è de' rei del fuoco furo ;
Perch' io là dove vedi son perduto,
E sì vestito andando mi rancuro.

II2 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto v.
Io dirò il vero, e tu il ridi' tra i vivi ;
L' Angel di Dio mi prese, e quel d'inferno
Gridava : O tu dal ciel, perchè mi privi? 105
Tu te ne porti di costui l' eterno
|Per una lagrimetta che il mi toglie ?
Ma io farò dell' altro altro governo.
I will speak the truth, and do thou report it again
to the living; the Angel of God took me up, and he
of Hell exclaimed: "Oh thou from Heaven, why dost
thou rob me of my prey ? Thou bearest away the
eternal part of him (that is his soul), for one poor
little tear that snatches him from me: but with the
other part of him (his body that is not eternal), I will
deal in another fashion.”.
And now Dante, in order to relate how the Devil
raised a tempest which filled the rivers to overflowing,
so that they carried away and concealed the body of
Buonconte, proceeds to give a detailed description of
the formation of rain.
Ben sai come nell'aere si raccoglie
Quell' umido vapor che in acqua riede,*
Tosto che sale dove il freddo il coglie.
Thou knowest well how there gets collected in the
atmosphere that humid vapour which is reconverted
into water, so soon as it rises up to the higher regions
where the cold condenses it into rain.t
IIO
A similar contest is said to have taken place about the body
of Moses. “Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with
the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring
against him a railing accusation, but said The Lord rebuke
thee.”— Jude, 9.
* Dante says, in Conv. IV, 18, “Il freddo è generativo dell'
acqua.”
+ Antonelli (Studi Speciali, Florence, 1871), says, that in the
Canto V. Readings on the Purgatorio. 113
Daniello says: So soon as humid vapours, drawn by
the sun, rise to the second of the three regions of the
air, where the cold is excessive, they are condensed by
that cold into clouds, and the clouds into water, the
consequence of which is that rain falls to the earth.
Giunse quel mal voler, che pur mal chiede,
Con l' intelletto, e mosse il fummo e il vento
Per la virtù che sua natura diede.
He (of Hell), joined that malevolent will of his,
whose whole purpose is to do evil, to his demoniacal
intelligence, and raised the smoky mist and rain, by
virtue of the power given to him by nature.*

lines from 109 to 117 we must admire the correctness of Dante's
knowledge about the causes of the rain, especially his allusions
to the aqueous vapour, the lowering of the temperature, the wind,
and the proximity of high mountains. And besides this, there is
a description, both scientifically correct and at the same time
poetical, of all that concerns the floods of rivers.
Compare Virgil, Georg. I, 322,
Sæpe etiam immensum coelo venit agmen aquarum,
Et fædam glomerant tempestatem imbribus atris
Collectæ ex alto nubes.
“ Often too an immense body of water rolls up in the heavens,
and the assembled clouds from above increase a fearful tempest
with dark torrents of rain."
* Giunse quel mal voler, etc. Longfellow says, that in Ephe-
sians, II, 2, the evil spirit is called the spirit of the power of
the air.
Compare Inf. XXIII, 16.
66 Se l' ira sovra 'l mal voler s'aggueffa."
If anger upon evil will be grafted.
And Inf. XXXI, 55.
Chè dove l' argomento della mente
S'aggiunge al mal volere ed alla possa,
Nessun riparo vi può far la gente.

114
Canto V.
Readings on the Purgatorio.
115
I 20
Indi la valle, come il dì fu spento,
Da Pratomagno al gran giogo coperse
Di nebbia, e il ciel di sopra fece intento
Sì, che il pregno aere in acqua si converse :
La pioggia cadde, ed ai fossati venne
Di lei ciò che la terra non sofferse :
E come a' rivi grandi si convenne,
Vêr lo fiume real tanto veloce
Si ruinò, che nulla la ritenne
And then, as soon as the day was spent, he covered
with a dense mist the whole valley from Pratomagno*
e.
For where the argument of intellect
Is added unto evil will and power,
No rampart can the people make against it.
St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa, P. 1. LXIV, Art. 1, says: “The
knowledge of truth is two-fold; one which is obtained by nature,
another which is obtained by grace. And this which is obtained
by grace, is again two-fold: one which is only speculative, as
when any secrets of divine matters are revealed to any one ; and
another, which is affectiva, producing love for God, and this one
is especially the gift of wisdom. Of these three kinds of know-
ledge, the first is neither withdrawn from evil spirits, nor
diminished; for it imitates the very nature of an Angel, who,
according to his nature, is a kind of intellect or mind. On
account, however, of the simplicity of his substance, nothing can
be withdrawn from his nature, so that he could be, so to speak,
punished by having taken from him any of the attributes peculiar
to him. ...... The second knowledge, however, which is
through grace, consisting in speculation, is not entirely with-
drawn from them, but is diminished. ..... Of the third kind,
however, they are totally deprived."
In P. I. Qu. CXII, Art. 2, he says: “Both good and bad Angels
can to some extent operate in those bodies beyond the action of
the celestial bodies, by condensing clouds into rain, and by
doing certain things of this kind.”
* Pratomagno, now called Pratovecchio, is a small town in
the territory of Arezzo, which lies on the left bank of the Arno
Canto V. Readings on the Purgatorio. 115
up to the great mountain range of the Apennines, and
made the sky above so overcast, that the laden air was
turned into water; down fell the heavy rain, and
such of it as the earth could not drink ran into the
watercourses: and as it mingled with the mighty tor-
rents, it rushed headlong towards the kingly river, the
Arno, with such speed, that nothing could check its
course."*
ars
in the narrow valley ; in the middle ages there was a strong
castle here, whose ruined walls are still standing.
* Dr. Barlow, Study of Dante, p. 199, says: “When rain falls
from the upper region of the air, we observe at a considerable
altitude a thin light veil, or hazy turbidness; as this increases,
the lower clouds become diffused in it, and form a uniform
sheet. Such is the stratus cloud described by Dante (verse 115)
as covering the whole valley from Pratomagno to the ridge on
the opposite side above Camaldoli. This cloud is a widely
extended horizontal sheet of vapour, increasing from below, and
lying on or near the earth's surface. It is properly the cloud of
night, and first appears about sunset, usually in autumn ; it
comprehends creeping mists and fogs, which ascend from the
bottom of valleys, and from the surface of lakes and rivers, in
consequence of air colder than that of the surface descending
and mingling with it, and from the air over the adjacent land
cooling down more rapidly than that over the water, from which
increased evaporation is taking place."
V. 118, Milton, Par. Lost, IV, 500.
“As Jupiter
On Juno smiles, when he impregns the clouds
That shed May-flowers.”
Scartazzini says, that Dino Compagni (book I) relates that on
the day that the battle of Campaldino was fought, “l'aria era
coperta di nugoli, la polvere era grandissima," which would
render it extremely probable that it would rain hard in the
evening. But Scartazzini gives small credit to Dino Compagni's
evidence, as he thinks it more than probable that his Cronaca
is a forgery. Of far greater weight is the testimony of Dante on

I 2

116
Canto V.
Readings on the Purgatorio.
Lo corpo mio gelato in su la foce
Trovò l'Archian rubesto; e quel sospinse 125
Nell' Arno, e sciolse al mio petto la croce
Ch' io fei di me quando il dolor mi vinse:
Voltommi per le ripe e per lo fondo,
Poi di sua preda mi coperse e cinse.”—
The impetuous swollen Archiano found my frozen
body near its outfall, and whirled it into the Arno, and
loosened from my breast the cross that I had made of
myself when my agony came over me (that is, the
chest): it rolled me along its banks, and over its
bottom, after which it covered and entangled me
with its booty” (that is, with the mud, sand, stones,
branches of trees, or whatever an inundation carries
away from the fields as its prey). Benvenuto da Imola
launches forth into enthusiastic admiration at the
beauty of the above passage, in which Dante makes
himself out as having been ignorant of the place
where Buonconte was buried, and puts the solution of
the mystery into the latter's own mouth ; "and con-
sider, reader,” says Benvenuto, “with what art our
Poet has elevated a subject which was, in itself, humble
and of no great importance."
Dante mentioned two spirits, Jacopo del Cassero,
and Buonconte da Montefeltro as having first ad-
dressed him; he now introduces a third, Pia de'
this matter, especially as we may remember that the Poet speaks
of what he actually saw.
Fiume real. Benvenuto, and he alone, explains this as being
Arno is here meant Francesco da Buti says: “Chiamano li
Poeti fiumi reali quelli che fanno capo in mare, come fa l'Arno,
l'altri no."
Canto V. Readings on the Purgatorio. 117
Tolomei, who tells her story in a few simple words, but
so clearly, and so tersely, that the passage has always
been reputed one of those that demonstrate to the
fullest extent Dante's marvellous power of using words.
– “Deh, quando tu sarai tornato al mondo, 130
E riposato della lunga via,”—
Seguitò il terzo spirito al secondo,
“Ricordati di me, che son la Pia :
Siena mi fe', disfecemi Maremma :
Salsi colui che innanellata pria,
135
Disposata m' avea con la sua gemma.”—
_"Oh, when thou art returned to the world, and
hast rested thyself from thy long journey”—the third
spirit followed on to the second—“then do, I pray
thee, remember me, who am Pia ;* Siena made me;
Maremma unmade me; that man, my husband, knows
it, who wedded me, who had been previously married,

* Pia was a lady of Siena, daughter of Messer Buonincontri
Guastelloni, and married to Messer Baldo de' Ildobrandino de
Tolomei. She was left a widow in 1290, with two sons, and in
the Archives of the Tolomei there exist two statements of
expenditure rendered by Pia, as the guardian of her sons. She
afterwards remarried Nello or Paganello, of the noble family of
the Pannochieschi, lord of the castle of La Pietra, nine miles to
the east of Massa Maritima. Some think this last was a secret
marriage. Nello, either because he suspected Pia of infidelity,
or because he wanted to get rid of her so that he might marry
the beautiful Margherita degli Aldobrandeschi, conducted Pia
to his Castle della Pietra in the Maremma, and, in some way,
brought about her death. Commentators and historians are not
agreed as to how he effected his purpose. Jacopo della Lana
says : “E sepelo fare sì segretamente, che non si sa come
morisse.” Some think he had her thrown out of a window by
one of his servants; others that he simply waited till the
pestilential air of the district so destructive to health should

118
Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto v.
placing on my finger the ring with his own gem.”
Buonconte wishes to be remembered by his wife the
Countess Giovanna, Manfred by his daughter Con-
stance, Jacopo by the people of Fano; but poor Pia
has no name in her domestic sanctuary, and can only
rely on the compassion of Dante.
Observe the womanly tenderness as well as the
high-bred politeness of Pia, who only begs Dante to
think of her on earth, after that he shall be able to do
so without inconvenience to himself. None of the
male spirits had made such a reservation to their
eager requests that Dante would urge their friends to
pray for them.
The region of the fatal Maremma is thus described by
Forsyth, “ Italy," vol. I, p. 136 :—“Farther south is the
Maremma, a region which, though now worse than a
desert, is supposed to have been anciently both fertile
and healthy. The Maremma certainly formed part of
that Etruria which was called from its harvests the
annonaria. Old Roman cisterns may still be traced,
and the ruins of Populonium are still visible in the
worst part of this tract: yet both nature and man
seem to have conspired against it. Sylla threw this
maritime part of Tuscany into enormous latifundia
destroy her life. Ugo Foscolo, in the Edinburgh Review XXIX,
458, says that Dante had, in this incident, all the materials of an
ample and very poetical narrative. But he only bestows upon
it four verses. He devotes sixty to the tale of Francesca da
Rimini.
Canto V. Readings on the Purgatorio. 119
for his disbanded soldiers. Similar distributions con-
tinued to lessen its population during the Empire. In
the younger Pliny's time the climate was pestilential.
The Lombards gave it a new aspect of misery. Where-
ever they found culture they built castles, and to each
castle they allotted a 'bandita' or military fief. Hence
baronial wars, which have left so many picturesque
ruins on the hills, and such desolation round them.
Whenever a baron was conquered, his vassals escaped
to the cities, and the vacant fief was annexed to the
victorious. Thus stripped of men, the lands returned
into a state of nature; some were flooded by the
rivers, others grew into horrible forests, which enclose
and concentrate the pestilence of the lakes and
marshes. In some parts the water is brackish, and
lies lower than the sea; in others it oozes full of tartar
from beds of travertine. At the bottom, or on the
sides of hills, are a multitude of hot springs, which
form pools, called lagoni. A few of these are said
to produce borax; some, which are called fumache,
exhale sulphur; others, called bulicami, boil with a
mephitic gas. The very air above is only a pool of
vapours, which sometimes undulate, but seldom flow
off. It draws corruption from a rank, unshorn, rotting
vegetation, from reptiles and fish both living and dead.
All nature conspires to drive man away from this fatal
region; but man will ever return to his bane, if it be
well baited. The Casentine peasants still migrate
hither in the winter to feed their cattle: and here
they sow corn, make charcoal, saw wood, cut hoops
and peel cork. When summer returns they decamp,
but often too late; for many leave their corpses on the
road, or bring home the Maremmian disease.”

I20
Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto V.
Rogers says of the Maremma :-
“Where the path
Is lost in rank luxuriance, and to breathe
Is to inhale distemper, if not death;
Where the wild boar retreats, when hunters chafe,
And, when the day-star flames, the buffalo-herd
Afflicted, plunge into the stagnant pool,
Nothing discerned amid the water-leaves,
Save here and there the likeness of a head,
Savage, uncouth ; where none in human shape
Come, save the herdsman, levelling his length
Of lance with many a cry, or Tartar-like
Urging his steed along the distant hill,
As from a danger.”—Rogers' ITALY (near the end).

END OF CANTO V.
Canto VI.
121
Readings on the Purgatorio.
CANTO VI.
THE ANTIPURGATORIO (continued).
THE PENITENT IN VIOLENT DEATH (continued).
THE EFFICACY OF PRAYER.
SORDELLO.

In the preceding Canto, Dante described a fourth class
of spirits who only turned in penitence to God at the
moment of being overcome by violent death, and in
the present beautiful Canto he continues to speak of
them.
Benvenuto divides the Canto into four parts.
In the First Division, from v. I to v. 24*, Dante
describes very briefly some of the spirits of those who
died a violent death.
In the Second Division, from v. 25 to v. 75, Virgil
enlightens Dante on the subject of prayer for those
in Purgatory, and Dante introduces Sordello the
Mantuan.
In the Third Division, from v. 76 to v. 126, Dante
utters a severe invective against Italy divided against
itself, and censures the chief authors of its desolation.
In the Fourth Division, from v. 126 to v. 151, Dante
turns his invective against his native City, Florence.
* I have, for once, not followed Benvenuto, who makes the
First Division end at verse 27, at the word “preghi,” which is
followed by a comma. The sense is much better preserved by
ending the First Division at the word “greggia,” verse 24, where
there is a full stop.

I 22
Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto VI.
Division 1. Dante begins the Canto by describing
the loser at zara or hazard, a game played with
three dice.* He gives a very short notice of the
loser, and dismisses him very briefly, confining his
description principally to the winner, who, surrounded
by the spectators, parasites of success, each of whom
is trying to get some personal advantage or profit
out of him, endeavours to shake himself clear of
them by moving on continuously, while by words,
promises, gestures and salutations or gifts, he does
his best to satisfy, in some measure, their intrusive
importunities. To the winner Dante compares him-
self. These spirits all know him to have been sent
to Purgatory, while still living, by the grace of
God only, for Virgil's answer to them in v. 31-36 of
Canto V, would let them guess this. This divine grace
they are all ardently seeking to attain, and as they
crowd round Dante to make known to him their
requests, he, mindful of Virgil's admonition not to
lose time but to advance while he talks to them,
keeps walking on, promising a prayer to one, a mass
to another, a good word on earth to a third, or
some remembrance to a fourth.
Quando si parte il giuoco della zara,
Colui che perde si riman dolente,
Ripetendo le volte, e tristo impara ;
Con l' altro se ne va tutta la gente :
Qual va dinanzi, e qual diretro il prende,
E qual da lato gli si reca a mente.
* Scartazzini says that zara is a game of hazard with three
dice. The word has its equivalent in the English “zero" (the
term being applied to certain unlucky throws). In Provençal,
Spanish and Portuguese we find “azar); Catalonian, “atsar",
Lat. “ ludus azardi"; Hebrew, “zarah"; Arabic, “zchâr,” a die.
Canto VI. Readings on the Purgatorio. 123
IO
When men separate from a game of hazard, he who
is the loser, remains behind disconsolate, repeating the
throws over again, and learns by his sad experience ;
but the company all go away with the other, the
winner: one goes in front of him, another plucks
at him from behind, while a third walks at his side and
recalls himself to his recollection.
Some interpret impara: he learns, by throwing the
dice again, how to make better throws; others, that he
learns not to trust to chance.
Ei non s'arresta, e questo e quello intende ;
A cui porge la man più non fa pressa ;
E così dalla calca si difende.
Tal era io in quella turba spessa,
Volgendo a loro e qua e là la faccia,
E promettendo mi sciogliea da essa.
He stays not his steps, yet listens to them all, first
one and then the other; and each one to whom he ex-
tends his hand (to pay him some bet, or bestow some
gift), goes off, and crowds on him no more ; and thus,
by giving here and there, he defends himself from the
throng. Like unto the winner, such was I in that dense
multitude, as I turned my face to every one of them
in succession, and by making all sorts of promises,
was making my way clear out of it.
Benvenuto adds, in his dry way, that Dante does well
to say “promettendo,” for whereas the winner he has
just described pays money down, Dante only gave
words in the future, and but little kept his promises,

It was so well known in ancient times that none of the older
commentators think it necessary to describe the game, which
has, for centuries, fallen out of use. The best description of it is
given in a long note by Francesco da Buti.

124 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto VI.
seeing that, of this large throng, he only mentions six
persons.
Quivi era l' Aretin, che dalle braccia
Fiere di Ghin di Tacco ebbe la morte,
E l' altro che annegò correndo in caccia. 15
Here was that citizen Arezzo, Benincasa da Late-
rina, who met with his death at the fierce hands of
Ghino di Tacco; and that other citizen of Arezzo,
Cione de' Tarlati, who was drowned while riding in
pursuit of his foes.*
Quivi pregava colle mani sporte
Federico Novello, e quel da Pisa
Che fe' parer lo buon Marzucco forte.
Here, too, was Federico Novello, with outstretched
hands imploring my good offices, and also that one
* L'Aretin. Messer Benincasa del Castello di Laterina was a
jurisconsult of Arezzo with a considerable knowledge of civil
law, but over rash both in word and deed. Having condemned
to decapitation the brother and nephew of Ghino di Tacco, while
Ghino, he got himself appointed the Pope's Auditor in Rome,
but Ghino burst suddenly into the hall, stabbed and beheaded
him on the judgment seat in open court, and made his escape
out of the window.
Ghino di Tacco. Monaceschi de' Pecorai da Turita is men-
tioned by Boccaccio in the Decameron. He was a kind of Robin
Hood, who took heavy toll of the rich, but actually used to give
to the poor travellers. He was knighted by Boniface VIII, who
bestowed on him a rich priory, but not long afterwards he was
surprised and assassinated by a number of armed men while
walking unarmed himself. "
L'altro Aretino. This was Ciacco (or Cione) de' Tarlati
d'Arezzo, who, after the battle of either Montaperti or Campaldino,
while pursuing his own special enemies the Bartoli della Rondine,
got drowned while trying to ford or swim over the Arno.
Canto VI. Readings on the Purgatorio.
125
gave his father, the good Marzucco, the opportunity
of showing himself a man of fortitude, by enduring
with so much patience the death of his son, and in
obtaining leave to bury him.
Vidi Conť Orso, e l'anima divisa
Dal corpo suo per astio e per inveggia, 20
Come dicea, non per colpa commisa ;
Pier dalla Broccia dico. E qui proveggia,
Mentr' è di qua, la donna di Brabante,
Sì che però non sia di peggior greggia.
I saw Count Orso,* and the spirit, that, as he
himself said, had been severed from his body through
hatred and envy, and not for any fault committed : I
S
Federico Novello, son of Count Guido Novello da Battifolle
in the Casentino, slain by one of the Bostoli of Arezzo.
e quel da Pisa. This was Farinata, son of Messer Marzucco
degli Scornigiani di Pisa, a doctor of laws. Benvenuto says that
he was told by Boccaccio that Farinata was beheaded by order
of Count Ugolino, who wished to leave the body unburied.
Marzucco, who had become a Franciscan friar, showed no resent-
ment at the murder, but accosted Count Ugolino, as if in an
absent manner, and without any emotion, said to him : “ It
would be really more consistent with thy honour, my Lord, that
the body of that poor slain man should be buried, so that it
become not food for the dogs.” The Count then recognizing him
said: “Go, for thy patience conquers my severity.” And there-
upon Marzucco got his son buried.
*Benvenuto says that Count Orso was son of Count Napoleone
de Acerbaia, and that he was cruelly put to death, as though he
had been a bear (!) by the machinations of his cousin-german
Count Albert de Mangona.
Orso as a valiant man is found to be among the Saved in Pur-
gatory, but his murderer is among the traitors in Caina. Inf.
XXXII, 57. Comp. “ Caina attende chi in vita ci spense."
Inf. V, 107.


126
Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto VI.
mean Pierre de la Brosse: and let the lady of Brabant
(Mary, Queen of Philip the Bold of France) beware,
while she is still in this world, that she repent of her
false accusation against him, lest for it she come not to
keep company with a worse herd than are these negli-
gent in Purgatory; viz. the Damned in Hell.*
Benvenuto remarks that Dante had been to Paris
after his being exiled, and had there an opportunity
of carefully investigating the truth of this story,
and he seems to have felt convinced of Pierre's inno-
cence, for he describes him among the Saved in Pur-
done for Pier delle Vigne, who in Inf. XIII, 76, asked
him :
E se di voi alcun nel mondo riede,
Conforti la memoria mia, che giace
Ancor del colpo che invidia le diede.
Division II. We now enter upon the Second
Division of the Canto, in which Dante discusses a
* Pierre de la Brosse was a man of low birth, a surgeon by
profession, became a favorite of Philippe le Hardi King of
er
accused Queen Mary, daughter of the Duke of Brabant, of
having poisoned the eldest son of the king, her stepson, in order
that her own son might succeed to the throne of France. The
Queen cleared herself, but worked the ruin of Pierre by causing
forged letters of his to Alphonso X, King of Castille, to fall into
the hands of King Philippe, who thereupon had Pierre de la
Brosse hanged forthwith. Some say the envy of the courtiers and
the hatred of the Queen combined to destroy Pierre de la
Brosse. Benvenuto justly points out the analogy between his
case and that of Pier delle Vigne in Inf. XIII, 55-78, the
confidential secretary of Frederick II.
Canto vi. Readings on the Purgatorio.
127
25
question that has arisen with reference to the prayers
on earth, which these spirits appear to be so anxious
to ask from their friends.*
Are then, he asks Virgil, these prayers (so univer-
sally sought for by the spirits in Purgatory), of any
avail to change the decrees of Heaven?
Come libero fui da tutte quante
Quell' ombre che pregâr pur ch' altri preghi
Sì che s'avacci il lor divenir sante,
Io cominciai :-“E par che tu mi nieghi,
O luce mia, espresso in alcun testo,
Che decreto del cielo orazion pieghi;
30
E questa gente prega pur di questo.
Sarebbe dunque loro speme vana ?
O non m' è il detto tuo ben manifesto ?”
As soon as I found myself disengaged from everyone
of those spirits, who only prayed that others (namely,
their relations and friends) would pray, so that the time
for their becoming holy (by entering into Paradise)
might be hastened, I began : "O my true Light, it
seems to me that in a certain passage of thy writings
thou dost distinctly deny that any prayer on earth can
have power to turn aside that which has been decreed in
Heaven ; and yet it is just for that very thing, which
in thy opinion will avail them nothing, that these
people are petitioning. Will then their hopes be vain ?
Or perchance have I not taken a right impression of
thy words ?”
Virgil tells him that the cases are not parallel.

* Dante recollects that in the Æneid, when Palinurus en-
treated Æneas to get him out of Hell, the Sibyll answers :
-"Desine fata deûm flecti sperare precando.”—Æneid VI, 375.
“No longer dream that human prayer
The will of fate can overbear.”

128
Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto VI.
Palinurus was in Hell, and out of reach of redemption,
and therefore no prayers could be of any avail for
those disjoined from God as are these spirits in Hell.
Ed egli a me :-“La mia scrittura è piana,
E la speranza di costor non falla,
35
Se ben si guarda con la mente sana.
Chè cima di giudizio non s' avvalla,
Perchè fuoco d' amor compia in un punto
Ciò che dee soddisfar chi qui s'astalla.*
And he to me: “My writing is perfectly clear, and
the hope of these is not deceptive, if one looks at it
with a sound reasoning. For the summit of judgment,
i.e. the supreme decree of God, is not mitigated in its
rigour because the loving prayers of friends on earth,
compia in un punto, do accomplish in an instant of
W
V
* According to Scartazzini the Anonimo Fiorentino remarks on
the passage : “Virgilsays that when once the sentence has gone
forth, it is never recalled, never turns back, unless the penalty is
paid, so that his own words speak what is true ; but that this
penalty can be paid and the time be shortened by the merits of
living persons, who go to indulgences, or really, as St. Gregory
says, that the souls in Purgatory can be absolved in four ways-
by offerings of priests-prayers of holy men-alms of sons-or
vigils of relations. But to return to the particular case that the
author speaks of, the voice of the person praying can be of such
merit, and so acceptable to God, that it pays the penalty and the
time that the spirit prayed for had to remain in Purgatory : just
like one who was in prison for 100 lire, and if another person were
to pay the money the good man could come out of prison, and
withal the sentence of the judge would not have been reversed,
although it was not the condemned person who had paid, but
another person had paid for him. Thus the judgment of God
is not altered, the sentence of God is not altered, if the prayer
of a righteous man is of such weight, that it weighs down the
scale more than does the fault committed by the sinner.”—
(Anonimo Fiorentino).
Canto VI. Readings on the Purgatorio.
129
into
40
time that satisfaction of the supreme decree of God,
which, without these prayers, the spirits who are
lodged here, would have to work out in a long term
of years.
“E là dov' io fermai cotesto punto,
Non si ammendava, per pregar, difetto,
Perchè il prego da Dio era disgiunto.*
And in that place (Hell), where I affirmed this
proposition, that the decrees of Providence cannot be
turned aside by prayers, sin could not be atoned for
by prayer, because Palinurus, who made the petition,
was in Hell, and disjoined from the grace of God.
Virgil then tells Dante that, in such matters as this,
he must not rely upon the writings of philosophers
and poets, unless their opinions tally with Holy
Scripture.
Veramente a così alto sospetto
Non ti fermar, se quella nol ti dice,
Che lume fia tra il vero e l'intelletto.+

* Disgiunto, see Canto IV, 138..
Se orazione in prima non m' aita,
Che surga su di cor che in grazia viva :
† Lume fiá : Lombardi says “who will so act that thy intel-
lect will come to know the truth, in the same way as the light
causes the eye to see the object as it is."
Scartazzini says: “Virgil, symbol of the imperial authority,
does not solve theological questions, but refers Dante to
Beatrice, symbol of ecclesiastical authority.”
The one has to direct man according to philosophical instruc-
tion towards temporal happiness; the other to conduct the
human race, according to revelation, towards life eternal. These
words are partly Dante's own from De Monarchia, lib. III, C. 16.
Beatrice then is the mediator between Heaven and the human
race.

130 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto VI.

Non so se intendi ; io dico di Beatrice.
Tu la vedrai di sopra, in su la vetta
Di questo monte, ridere e felice.
Verily, in matters of such profound uncertainty
do not thou come to any decision, unless she tell it
thee, who will be to thee a lamp between divine truth
and mere human understanding. I know not if
thou dost fully comprehend my meaning; I speak
of Beatrice. Thou wilt behold her up above, on the
summit of this mount, rejoicing and blessed. *
Dante's energies are kindled in an instant on hearing
that he will see Beatrice at the summit, and, as Ben-
venuto says, he evidently thought he would be able
to see her that same day, but we must remember that
he had not yet learned that at night their ascent of
the mount had to be discontinued.
Ed io :—“Signore, andiamo a maggior fretta;
Che già non m' affatico come dianzi ;
E vedi omai che il poggio l'ombra getta.”—
And I:-“ Master, let us advance with greater
speed; for already I begin to feel less fatigue than
before ; and see, the mountain begins now to cast a
shadow.”+
- Virgil tells Dante that he will not reach the point
that he is longing for quite so quickly as he seems to
think.
50
* di sopra. This of course refers to the Terrestrial Paradise
where Dante first meets Beatrice, Canto XXX, 32.
“ Donna m' apparve,” &c.
+ We read in Canto IV, 138, that it was noon; and Scartaz-
zini says that so much time had elapsed in the recent conversa-
tions, that the sun was now hidden behind the cliff on the right
of the Poets, so that they were now in the shade, and, conse-
Canto VI.
131
Readings on the Purgatorio.
-“Noi anderem con questo giorno innanzi,”—
Rispose,“ quanto più potremo omai;
“We will continue our way,” he answered," as far as
it is possible for us to do during the light of this day;
but the matter is different from what thou appearest
to think”; meaning, we shall take much longer time in
ascending the mount than thou hast any idea of.
Prima che sii lassù, tornar vedrai
55
Colui che già si copre della costa,
Sì che i suoi raggi tú romper non fai
Ere thou canst be up yonder on the summit, thou
shalt see him, the sun, return, who is at this moment
hid from sight behind the hill, so that thou dost not
intercept his rays, and thereby cast a shadow.
When Dante and Virgil were passing through
Limbo, they saw Saladin sitting apart by himself ;*
they now come upon the spirit of Sordello alone, sepa-
rated from the other spirits, and Virgil draws the atten-
tion of Dante to him.
Ma vedi là un' anima, che posta
Sola soletta, verso noi riguarda ;
Quella ne insegnerà la via più tosta."

60
quently, Dante was no longer casting a shadow. It was now a
little after three in the afternoon.
Francesco da Buti reads :
“Or vedi omai che il poggio ombra non getta.”
which would mean that the shadows were gone in consequence
of the sun being already set, but the other reading seems the
the sun declining.
Virgil says Buc. Ecl. i. 84.
* See Inf. IV, 129.
“E solo in parte vidi Saladino."
K 2
132
Canto VI.
Readings on the Purgatorio.
Venimmo a lei. O anima Lombarda,
Come ti stavi altera e disdegnosa,
E nel muover degli occhi onesta e tarda !
But behold over yonder a spirit, who stationed
alone quite by himself, is looking our way; that spirit
will point out to us the quickest means of ascent."
We drew near to it (the spirit of Sordello the Man-
tuan), O Lombard soul, how lofty and disdainful
thou didst bear thee, and how slow and dignified
wert thou in the movement of thine eyes.* Benvenuto
says that it is as though Dante exclaimed, O soul
that art super-excellent among Lombard souls! Sor-
dello sits gazing at the Poets, whom he does not know,
motionless and with the majestic bearing of a lion.
Ella non ci diceva alcuna cosa ;
Ma lasciavane gir, solo guardando
- A guisa di leon quando si posa.
The spirit uttered not a single word to us; but
allowed us to pass on, only following us with his eye,

65
* Verso noi riguarda. He calmly gazed at the Poets and did
not run towards them like the other spirits with
“la fretta
Che l' onestade ad ogni atto dismaga”
The spirit in question is that of Sordello, of whom there
are very long and most discrepant accounts, which may
be read at length, in Longfellow, Scartazzini, Benvenuto,
Buti, and in Dean Plumptre. He seems to have been a native
of Mantua (see Canto VII, 86), a warrior, and a troubadour,
and lived in the first half of the thirteenth century. Benvenuto
says that he was “a noble and prudent knight, and a man of
singular virtue in the world, though of impenitent life." He
seems to have been slain by order of Ezzelino da Romano, Lord
of the Marca Trevigiana, for making love to his sister Cunizza,
but, according to others, it was to his daughter Beatrice.
Cunizza is mentioned in Par. IX, 32.

Canto VI. Readings on the Purgatorio.
133
SSE
. alita
suo
delle
70
like unto a lion when couching in repose. * Benvenuto
says that a lion is too dignified to notice or to molest
any one who does not molest him.
Pur Virgilio si trasse a lei, pregando
Che ne mostrasse la miglior salita;
E quella non rispose al suo dimando :
Ma di nostro paese e della vita
C'inchiese. E il dolce duca incominciava :
_.“ Mantova "-E l'ombra, tutta in sè romita,
Surse ver lui del loco ove pria stava,
Dicendo :—“O Mantovano, io son Sordello
Della tua terra.”- E l'un l' altro abbracciava. 75
Notwithstanding his haughty mien, Virgil stepped
forward towards him, beseeching that he would point
out to us the best ascent; and he, the spirit, gave no
answer to Virgil's request; but questioned us about
our native land, and about our condition of life. And
my gentle leader was beginning his answer with the
word. “Mantua ...." (intending to add the words
“.... was my birthplace”). And that spirit, who before
had been so self absorbed, suddenly sprang forward
towards Virgil from the place where he had been
standing, and cried : “O Mantuan, I am Sordello, one
of thy country," and the two embraced.
ciava
* Gioberti observes what a difference there is between the
curiosity and chattering of the other spirits, and the majestic
silence of Sordello! Thus does Dante know how to prepare his pic-
tures, and make the one stand out by comparison with the other.
Si posa, comp. Gen. XLIX, 9, “He stooped down, he couched
as a lion, and as an old lion, who shall rouse him up ???
+ Sordello ignores Virgil's request and questions the two
Poets instead of answering.
How like Farinata degli Uberti in Inf. X, v. 42.
“ Chi fur li maggior tui ?”
It is worthy of remark that although Dante with his material
134
Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto VI.
Dante evidently wishes to show forcibly the power
that fellow citizenship has in moving to spontaneous
enthusiasm one, who, in his ordinary habits and ways,
has just shown himself the last person to be thrown
into unnecessary excitement.*

Division III. Here begins the Third Division of
the Canto, in which Dante breaks forth into a mag-
nificent strain of bitter invective against the feuds and
factions of Italy, and against those who are the chief
causes of her desolation.
Ahi serva Italia, di dolore ostello,+
Nave senza nocchiero in gran tempesta,
Non donna di provincie, ma bordello !
Quell' anima gentil fu così presta,
Sol per lo dolce suon della sua terra,
Di fare al cittadin suo quivi festa;
Ed ora in te non stanno senza guerra
Li vivi tuoi, e l'un l'altro si rode
Di quei che un muro ed una fossa serra.
Ah enslaved Italy ! dwelling of woe! ship without
a pilot in a mighty tempest ! no longer queen of king-
doms as thou wert wont to be, but a brothel ! That
noble spirit, Sordello, here in Purgatory (quivi) was
so prompt to give a joyous welcome to his fellow
body was unable to embrace the impalpable form of Casella, yet
Virgil and Sordello, both being spirits, are able to embrace
one another.
* Gioberti remarks that whatever curiosity Sordello shows
here is only such as is befitting a wise man; not irreflective and
sudden, but dignified and full of wisdom.
+ Two very similar passages, too long to quote here, will be
found on pages 146 and 147, the one from Petrarch, the other
from Filicaia.
Canto VI. Readings on the Purgatorio. 135
citizen, merely at the sweet sound of the mention
of the place that bore him ; whereas now in thee
the very inhabitants living in thy midst cannot dwell
together without war,* and the one rends the other
of those whom the same wall and the same moat
enclose.
Cerca, misera, intorno dalle prode
85
Le tue marine, e poi ti guarda in seno,
Se alcuna parte in te di pace gode.
Search, unhappy land, all round the states that
line thy sea coast, and then turn thy gaze inland,
and see if any one single region enjoys the blessings
of peace.
Che val, perchè ti racconciasse il freno
Giustiniano, se la sella è vôta ?+
Senz' esso fora la vergogna meno.
What use was it that Justinian should have mended
thy bridle (i.e. set thy laws in order by means of his
celebrated code), if the saddle, (i.e. Rome, the seat of
Empire), is vacant? Without his having reorganized
thy laws, thy shame would not be so great as it is now.
Dante compares Italy to a horse, and the Emperor to
its rider.

90
* Compare Inf. XXVII, 37.
“ Romagna tua non è, e non fu mai
Senza guerra ne' cuor de' suoi tiranni ..."
+ Vộta. Compare Purg. XVI, 97.
--"Le leggi son, ma chi pon mano ad esse ?” —
In the Convito, tr. IV, 9, Dante says :
“One might almost say of the Emperor, if one wished to
picture his office by an image, that he is the horseman of the
human will, which horse very clearly runs about the field
without a rider, and especially in unhappy Italy, a land which
has been left without any means of governing it.”
136 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto VI.
He next breaks out still more indignantly against
the pastors of the Church, who have prevented the
Emperor from ruling in Italy.
Ahi gente, che dovresti esser devota,
E lasciar seder Cesar nella sella,
Se bene intendi ciò che Dio ti nota !*
Guarda com esta fiera è fatta fella
Per non esser corretta dagli sproni,
95
Poi che ponesti mano alla predella."
Ah, you people of the Papal Court, who ought to
be given up wholly to devotion, and allow the Em-
peror to sit in the saddle (i.e. rule on the throne of
Italy), if ye will only understand rightly the words
which God teaches you! Look and see how fell this
beast, Italy, has become, from not having been cor-
rected with the spurs (i.e. the laws), from the time that
ye laid your hand on the bridle.
Dante next severely censures Albert of Hapsburg
for not coming to deliver Italy.
O Alberto Tedesco, che abbandonit
Costei ch' è fatta indomita e selvaggia,
E dovresti inforcar li suoi arcioni,
Giusto giudizio dalle stelle caggia
Sovra il tuo sangue, e sia nuovo ed aperto,
Tal che il tuo successor temenza n' aggia.
Chè avete tu e il tuo padre sofferto,

100
Per cupidigia di costà distretti,
Che il giardin dell' imperio sia diserto ? 105
* “ Render unto Cæsar the things that are Cæsar's, and unto
God the things that are God's.”—St. Matt. xxiv. 22.
+ Blanc, Voc. Dantesco, says of “predella”-
“E parte del freno dove si tiene la mano quando si cavalca."
† Albert of Austria, son of the Emperor Rudolph of Hapsburg,
born in 1248, elected Emperor in 1298, and assassinated by his
cousin John of Suabia near Rhinefeld in 1308. The affairs of
Canto VI. Readings on the Purgatorio. 137
O German Albert, who abandonest her (Italy) that
has become so unmanageable and savage, and yet thou
oughtest to have bestridden her saddle bow, may a
just judgment from the stars of heaven fall upon thy
blood, and may it be so terrible and evident, that thy
successor (Henry VII of Luxembourg) may tremble
at the thought of it; for both thou and thy father
(Rudolph), held back as ye were through greediness of
the lands beyond the Alps, have suffered Italy, the
garden of the Empire, to run waste.
He then upbraids Albert for some of the special
evils of Italy, which might so well be remedied.
Vieni a veder Montecchi e Cappelletti,*

Monaldi e Filippeschi,t uom senza cura :
Color già tristi, e questi con sospetti.
ТОИ
Germany prevented his going to be crowned at Milan. After his
election, he sent ambassadors to Boniface VIII, informing him
that he would kneel before him to be crowned. Boniface made
difficulties, saying that his election had not been conducted in
accordance with proper formalities, and that as he had pre-
viously made war against his liege lord, he was unworthy of the
throne. Albert then crowned himself. Later on, Boniface, being
in discord with Philippe Le Bel, sent to make alliance with
Albert and recalled him to Italy, but at that very time Boniface
was himself so insulted at Anagni that he died of grief soon after.
* Dean Plumptre says that there seems no reason to question
the identity of these families with the Montagus and Capulets
of Shakespeare. Both the families were Ghibellines, but had
drifted into mutual hostility through the absence of the Em-
peror's guiding hand. The story of Romeo and Juliet is fixed
by local traditon in 1313 when Can Grande was Lord of Verona.
+ The Monaldi are mentioned in Villani VII, 15, as being in
Orvieto when it was visited by Henry VII. The Filippeschi
were Ghibellines and expelled their rivals the Monaldi, who
were Guelphs.
138 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto VI.
rheinoso.
Ssura
IIO
Come and see the Montecchi and Cappelletti,
Monaldi and Filippeschi, careless man, those already
sad from being ruined, and these, oppressed with the
fear of being so.
Vien, crudel, vieni, e vedi la pressura
De' tuoi gentili, e cura lor magagne,
E vedrai Santafior com'è sicura.*
Come cruel man, come, and behold the oppression
with which thy nobles rule their subjects, and do thou
chastise their misdeeds—(or, Behold the oppression of
thy Ghibelline nobles by the Guelphs, and redress their
wrongs), and thou wilt then see Santafiora, and what
sort of security one enjoys there!
He now throws in Albert's teeth, as a still greater
cause of shame to him, who is King of the Romans,
the state of Rome the capital of the world.
Vieni a veder la tua Roma, che piagne
Vedova e sola, e dì e notte chiama :
Cesare mio, perchè non m' accompagne ?
Come and behold Rome, that is thine, since thou art
Emperor, who weeps in widowhood and in solitude,
and cries night and day: “My Cæsar, why dost thou
not keep me company ?”f

a
111
* The words are spoken in bitter irony, for the Conti di
Santa Flora between Pisa and Siena oppressed the whole coun-
try side near to them. Others say that the words refer to the
country which was much infested with banditti.
+ The state of Rome in Dante's time is quoted in Long-
fellow's edition from Mr. Norton pp. 246-248, and though too
long to quote here is well worth reading as showing the feuds,
factions, continual war in the streets, the fortified houses or
castles, the squalor of the rest of the city—the want of law,
Canto VI. Readings on the Purgatorio.
139
Vieni a veder la gente come s' ama ;
115
E se nulla di noi pietà ti muove,
A vergognar ti vien della tua fama.
Come and see how the Italian people love one
another; and if no feeling of pity for us will move
thee, come and blush for the condition of thine own
reputation.
E se licito m' è, o sommo Giove,*
Che fosti in terra per noi crocifisso,
Son li giusti occhi tuoi rivolti altrove ? 120
And if it be lawful for me, O Supreme God, Who
wast crucified for us on earth, I would ask, Are Thy
Own
authority and justice. It also shows that whereas Florence,
Orvieto, Pisa, and Siena were at that time engaged in adorning
their cities with noble monuments of mediæval art, and with
the beautiful works of the new architecture, sculpture and
painting, Rome was building neither cathedral nor campanile,
but was selling the marbles of her ancient temples and tombs
to the builders of other cities, or quarrying them for her own
mean uses.
Vedova. Compare Lamentations I, 1.
“How doth the city sit solitary that was full of people ! how
is she become as a widow !”—
and in Baruch IV, 12, Jerusalem is made to say :
“Let no man rejoice over me a widow, and forsaken of many,
who for the sins of my children am left desolate."
* Petrarch often uses “ Giove” to express God.
"O vivo Giove,
Manda, prego, il mio in prima che il suo fine.”—
and “ Se' l'eterno Giove. Della sua grazia sopra me non piove."
Sommo Giove. Compare Pope's Universal Prayer;
“ Father of all ! in every age,
In every clime, adored,
By saint, by savage, and by sage,
Jehovah, Jove, or Lord !”.

140 . Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto VI.
just eyes averted elsewhere? Dost Thou not seem to
have turned aside Thine eye of pity for Italy, and to
be looking graciously upon some other land ? Or, dost
Thou, for thine inscrutable purposes, allow certain evils
to take place, in order to bring about certain blessings
O è preparazion, che nell'abisso
Del tuo consiglio fai, per alcum bene
In tutto dall' accorger nostro scisso,
Chè le città d'Italia tutte piene
Son di tiranni, ed un Marcel diventa
Ogni villan che parteggiando viene ?
Or, is this a preparation which Thou art evolving
out of the profound depth of Thy counsel, for the pur-
pose of bringing about some good, wholly removed
from our human perception ; for the cities of Italy are
all full of tyrants, and every churl who takes part
in civil discord is looked upon as a Marcellus.*
He means every low born churl deems himself a great
Marcellus by offering opposition to the establishment
of the Empire in Italy. Marcellus opposed the Empire
from sincere conviction, but those from self interest.

125
Division IV. This, the Fourth and Concluding
Division of the Canto, in which Dante utters a special
invective against Florence, his native city, of which, up
to this passage, he has made no mention since he
entered Purgatory.
* The Marcellus mentioned here is not the great Roman
general who took Syracuse when it was defended by Archimedes,
but a descendant of his, who supported Pompey against Cæsar.
He was an irreconcilable opponent of the Empire.
Canto VI. Readings on the Purgatorio. 141
Benvenuto says that he addresses her in a tone
of bitter irony, assailing her “pulchris scommatibus”
with well directed taunts.
Fiorenza mia, ben puoi esser contenta*
Di questa digression che non ti tocca,
Mercè del popol tuo che sì argomenta.+
My Florence, well indeed mayest thou be contented
with this digression, which does not of course apply in
any way to thee, thanks to thy people, who reason so
precisely from my point of view !!
Dante has, just before, been saying that all the
towns of Italy are full of tyrants, and that people of
low birth (villani) take part in civil feuds. He means
here to go on to say: Thou, my Florence, dost not
come in for this sarcasm of mine, for thy inhabitants
deplore quite as much as I do, that the other cities of

* In Convito, tr. IV, 27, Dante writes: “Oh misera, misera
patria mia ! quanta pietà mi strigne per te, qual volta
leggo, qual volta scrivo cosa che a reggimento civile abbia
rispetto !
In his Epistle to Henry VII (sect. 7), Dante says of Florence :
translation “ Che tu forse, eccellentissimo de' principi, ignori,
nè dal sommo di tanta altezza non vedi, ove questa volpicella
puzzolente, sicura da cacciatori, si posi ? Certo non nel Po
precipitoso, non nel Tevere tuo questa delittuosa s abbevera,
ma le acque del fiume Arno i suoi labbri avvelenano, e Fiorenza,
se ancor nol sai, questa crudel pernizie si noma. Questa è la
vipera che s' avventa al seno della madre ; questa è la pecora
inferma che col contatto la greggia di suo signore conta-
mina," &c.
† Sì argomenta—others translate, So full of reason — who
from their great deliberations have produced such an admi-
rable state of things! Others read si argomenta, who take
such pains to be different from and superior to the other peoples
of Italy.
142 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto VI.

Italy are oppressed by tyrants, they themselves being
so very free !! and show such great indignation
against persons of low condition who have been brought
into prominence. Scartazzini says that the number of
Florentine proverbs that turn peasants and clowns into
ridicule show that the people of Florence did reason
from the same point of view as Dante.
I have followed Scartazzini both in the reading and
the interpretation.
Benvenuto explains that, in the next lines, Dante
gives the reason of the people of Florence being
prompt in counsel and quick in speech.
Molti han giustizia in cor, ma tardi scocca,
130
Per non venir senza consiglio all' arco;
Ma il popol tuo l' ha in sommo della bocca.*
Many have justice in heart, but shoot slow, from not
taking to the bow without counsel, but thy people,
Florence, have it (justice) on their very lips.
There are inhabitants of many other cities, who think
out and desire what is right and just, but are slow in
enunciating their sentiments, and only speak after great
deliberation, for fear of letting fly an arrow that can-
not be recalled, but thy people do not have their
justice in the heart, but on the tongue, exceedingly
prompt.
He then goes on to show how quick the Florentine
citizens were at seeking out or accepting any public
offices, and Benvenuto points out that many illustrious
* Compare Proverbs XXIX, 20. Seest thou a man that is
hasty in his words ? there is more hope of a fool than of him.”
and Ecclus. IV, 29. “Be not hasty in thy tongue, and in thy
deeds slow and remiss."
Canto VI. Readings on the Purgatorio. ' 143
Romans either refused high offices when offered, or
only accepted them on compulsion, to resign when
there was no longer any public necessity, whereas
the Florentines are ever ready to stretch forth their
hands for what they can get.
Molti rifiutan lo comune incarco ;
Ma il popol tuo sollecito risponde
Senza chiamare, e grida : Io mi sobbarco.
Many refuse the burdens of the State ; but thy
people eagerly respond and cry: “I submit. I bow
to the demand, and will sacrifice myself to the public
weal."* Francesco da Buti interprets it, “I make a
boat of myself, or, I bend myself to support and
endure it.”
Benvenuto explains, “mi sobbarco” I prepare my-
self, I gird up my garments to my waist, that I may be
the quicker in doing anything.
Dante then feigns to show the excellent effects to be
seen in the solid government of Florence, of this
promptness of her citizens both in counsel and in
speech.
Or ti fa lieta, chè tu hai ben onde :
Tu ricca, tu con pace, tu con senno.t
S'io dico ver, l'effetto nol nasconde.
Rejoice then, for thou hast good cause to do so :*

* Sollecito risponde senza chiamar. Benvenuto says that the
Florentines, so far from refusing public offices, ask for them,
buy them, with solicitation, prayers, bribes, fraud, and then say
“I bow to the demand."
+ Towards A.D. 1300 the Florentines had amassed such wealth
that Boniface VIII could say to Charles de Valois “Ti ho
mandato alla fonte dell' oro.” Benvenuto says one must under-
stand: “Thou that art rich with wickedly-gotten wealth.”
144
Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto VI.
0
thou that art wealthy with ill gotten gains, thou that
hast such peace as the civil wars of the Neri and Bianchi,
thou that hast such wisdom as is testified by thy pre-
sent state. Whether or no I speak the truth (Benve-
nuto says he means No, for Florence was not at peace,
nor prudent in counsel, nor rich in the right way), the
effect reveals itself, for thou art on the point of ruin.
With bitter irony he goes on to compare unfavour-
ably the governments of Athens and Lacedæmon
with the well organized administration of the laws at
Florence.
Atene e Lacedemona, che fenno
Le antiche leggi, e furon sì civili,
Fecero al viver bene un picciol cenno
Verso di te, che fai tanto sottili
Provvedimenti, che a mezzo novembre
Non giunge quel che tu d' ottobre fili.
Athens and Sparta who framed the ancient laws,
and were so civilized, made but a slight mark, quite a
modest experiment, as regards living well, beside thee,
who formest such minute provisions, that the thread
that thou spinnest in October does not actually last
to mid-November.
Benvenuto says the metaphor is not one to be
treated with derision, for it is most appropriate. Dante
means to say: 'thy works are women's works, and
are not durable, and are as quickly broken as is the
thread spun by women, although the said works
appear cunningly contrived.'
Quante volte del tempo che rimembre,
Legge, moneta, officio e costume
Hai tu mutato, e rinnovato membre !
How often, during the time that thou canst remem-

Canto VI. Readings on the Purgatorio. 145
ber, i.e. during the last few years, hast thou changed
law, money, offices, and customs, and renewed thy
citizens—who, as Benvenuto remarks, are like the
members in the body of that great city.* Benvenuto
quotes the words of Augustine about Rome, that it
would be far better to have the body of a dwarf, if
healthy, than that of a giant, if afflicted by disease,
therefore Dante adds :
E se ben ti ricordi, e vedi lume,
Vedrai te simigliante a quella inferma,
Che non può trovar posa in su le piume, 150
But if thou rememberest well, and canst see clear,
thou wilt see thyself just like that sick woman, who,
restless with fever or pain, can find no repose upon her
bed of down, but by twisting and turning about keeps
off her pain.
Benvenuto interprets this: “Thou Florence, adorned
with so much grace, lying on soft feather bed, and
splendid quilts, art in thy interior full of corruption,
and no change of bedding will bring thee relief. Go
on then, quiet, happy, peaceable, and, if thou canst,

* Rinnovato membre-changing the citizens, driving some out,
and recalling others, according to whichever of the two factions
had the upper hand at the time. See on next page a Table
given by Scartazzini of the changes that took place at Florence
between 1248 and 1307.
END OF CANTO VI.
146
Canto VI.
Readings on the Purgatorio.
TABLE OF THE CHANGES IN FLORENCE BETWEEN
1248 AND 1307 (from Scartazzini).
STO
1248. The Guelph party turned out by the Ghibelline, and the
power of Frederick II.-G. Villani, Istorie Fiorentine, VI, 33.
1250. The Guelphs regain the upper hand.–Vill. VI, 39.
1251. The caporali of the Ghibellines driven out of Florence;
the Guelphs “che dimoraro alla signoria di Firenze si mutaro
l'arme del comune di Firenze.”- Vill. VI, 43.
1252. New coinage of gold florins.— Vill. VI, 53.
1258. The Ghibellines driven from Florence.- Vill. VI, 65.
ure o
1260. As a consequence of the battle of Montaperti the
Ghibellines return to Florence, “ed i guelfi senz' altro caccia-
mento o commiato o cominciamento di esser cacciati colle loro
famiglie piangendo uscirono di Firenze, e andarsene a Lucca.”—
Vill. VI, 80.
1266. The “Thirty-six” are created; the different guilds and
banners are given to the trades, and two Podestàs are called in.-
Vill. VII, 13.
1267. Return of the Guelphs, expulsion of the Ghibellines,
reform of the government.–Vill. VII, 15-17.
1280. Return of the Ghibellines; peace between them and
the Guelphs; new government; fourteen “Buonuomini,” eight
of the Guelph, and six of the Ghibelline party.–Vill. VII, 55;
Dino Compagni, book I.
1282. Villani says “Parendo ai cittadini di Firenze il detto
ufficio de' quattordici uno grande volume e confusione ....
per iscampo e salute della città di Firenze si annullarono il detto
ufficio, e si creò e fece nuovo ufficio e signoria al governo della
detta città di Firenze, il quali si chiamorano priori dell'arti.”
I primi due mesi tre, poi sei, poi otto priori.–Vill. VII, 78;
Din. Comp. book I.
1291. Giano della Bella ; il secondo popolo; Ordinances of
Justice; appointment of a Gonfaloniere.- Vill. VIII, I.
1293. The great popular leader Giano della Bella driven from
Florence.—Vill. VIII, 8.
1295. The leading men of Florence put the whole city in

Canto VI.
147
Readings on the Purgatorio.
commotion, with a view to break down the condition of the new
democracy.--Vill. VIII, 12.
1300. The new factions of the Bianchi and Neri.— Vill. VIII,
37, 38.
1301. The chiefs of the Neri expelled from Florence.–Vill.
VIII, 44.
1302. Charles de Valois ; return of the Neri; the Bianchi
expelled.- Vill. VIII, 48.
1303. “Grande novità e battaglia cittadina, per voler rivedere
le ragioni del commune.—Vill. VIII, 68.
1304. Appointment of twelve podestàs,“ due per sesto, uno
grande e uno popolare.”—Vill. VIII, 74.
1306. “Parendo ai popolani di Firenze che i loro grandi e
possenti avessero preso forza e baldanza..... sì vollono
riformare il popolo di Firenze, e chiamarono dicianove gonfa-
lonieri delle compagnie . . . . E per fortificamento del popolo
feciono venire in Firenze l'esecutore degli ordinamenti della
giustizia, il quale dovesse inchiedere e procedere contro a grandi
che offendessero i popolani.”—Vill. VIII, 87.
1307. The podestà having gone off with the seal of the state,
“d'allora innanzi si ordinò, che nè podestà nè priori tenessero
suggello di comune, ma fecione guardiani e cancellieri i frati
conversi di Settimo.”— Vill. VIII, 95.
Corso Donati expelled from Florence.— Vill. VIII, 96.
Scartazzini says that the above are merely the principal
changes of least importance, but that the number of changes of
lesser importance during this period was legion.

Passage from Petrarch, Canzone IV, similar to “Ahi
serva Italia," v. 76.
A' grandi d'Italia, eccitandoli a liberarla una volta dalla dura
sua schiavitù.
Italia mia, benchè 'l parlar sia indarno
Alle piaghe mortali
Che nel bel corpo tuo sì spesso veggio,
Piacemi almen ch' e' mici sospir sien quali
Spera 'l Tevero e l’ Arno,
L 2
148
Canto VI.
Readings on the Purgatorio.
E’l Po, dove doglioso e grave or seggio.
Rettor del ciel, io cheggio
Che la pietà che ti condusse in terra,
Ti volga al tuo diletto almo paese :
Vedi, Signor cortese,
Di che lievi cagion che crudel guerra';
Ei coe, che 'ndura e serra
Marte superbo e fero,
Apri tu, Padre, e ’ntenerisci e suoda ;
Ivi fa che 'l tuo vero
(Qual io mi sia) per la mia lingua soda.

Filicaia's Sonnet to Italy.
Italia, Italia, o tu, cui feo la sorte
Dono infelice di bellezza, ond' hai
Funesta dote d' infiniti guai,
Che in fronte scritti per gran doglia porte:
Deh! fosse tu men bella, o almen più forte,
Onde assai più ti paventasse, o assai
T' amasse men chi del tuo bello ai rai
Par che si strugga, e pur ti sfida a morte !
Chè giù dall' Alpi non vedrei torrenti
Scender d' armati, nè di sangue tinta
Bever l' onda del Po Gallici armenti.
Ne te vedrei del non tuo ferro cinta
Pugnar col braccio di straniere genti,
Per servir sempre, o vincitrice, o vinta.
Canto VII.
149
Readings on the Purgatorio.
CANTO VII.
THE FLOWERY VALLEY.
THE SOULS OF GREAT PRINCES, WHO DELAYED
THEIR REPENTANCE.
In the last Canto, Dante concluded his description
of the fourth class of spirits, who delayed their repent-
ance until snatched away by violent deaths. He now
proceeds to treat of a fifth and last class of negligent
souls; viz. of great princes, who, owing to their
honourable occupation of governing their kingdoms,
gave too little heed to their spiritual condition.
Benvenuto da Imola divides the Canto into three

parts.
a conversation between the two Mantuans, Virgil and
Sordello, in which the former makes himself known to
the latter, and Sordello launches forth into praise of
Virgil.
In Division II, from v. 37 to v. 84, Dante gives a
description of the beautiful flowery valley, to which
were relegated the spirits of great princes.
In the Third Division, from v. 85 to v. 136, he
describes most graphically several illustrious kings and
princes of his own times, whose fame he wishes to extol.
Division 1. Dante begins this Canto by going
back to the point at which he had broken off, at v. 75
150
Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto VII.
of the last Canto, when, on hearing Virgil mention
Mantua as his birthplace, Sordello, whose whole pre-
vious demeanour had been peculiarly reserved and
dignified, sprang impetuously towards him exclaiming:
“O Mantuan, I am Sordello, one of thy country,” and
the one embraced the other. Dante's splendid invec-
tive against the feuds and factions of Italy must be
regarded as a digression or parenthesis, and in the
present Canto, we are simply following on to the
words of Canto VI, 75: “e ľun laltro abbraciava.”
He now tells us that after these embraces had been
repeated three and four times, Sordello asks Virgil,
“Who are ye?” speaking in the plural. After hear-
ing Virgil's answer, he addresses him in the second
person singular-
See v. 19: “qual grazia mi ti mostra ?” unable
apparently to think of any one else.
Poscia che l'accoglienze oneste e liete
Furo iterate tre e quattro volte,
Sordel si trasse, e disse :-“Voi chi siete?”—
After that the dignified and joyful greetings of
Virgil and Sordello had been repeated three and four
times over (which, according to Benvenuto, means
many and many a time), Sordello drew back a little,
and said : “But who are ye?”*
* Tre e quattro volte. This expression finds its equivalent
repeatedly in Virgil's own works.
Compare Virg. Georg. I, 410.
“Tum liquidas corvi presso ter gutture voces,
Aut quater, ingeminant.”
and Virg. Æn. I, 98.
“O terque quaterque beati.”
and Æn. IV, 589.
“Terque quaterque manu pectus percussa decorum.”


Canto VII. Readings on the Purgatorio. 151
Benvenuto says that Dante puts the uneven number
before the even, because the arithmeticians held that
the uneven number is masculine and more perfect, but
that the even number is feminine.
Virgil tells Sordello that his bones had been buried
by order of Cæsar Augustus, in whose reign the Incar-
nation took place, before Purgatory was instituted.
"Prima che a questo monte fosser volte
L' anime degne di salire a Dio,
Fur l'osse mie per Ottavian sepolte.
Io son Virgilio ; e per null' altro rio
Lo ciel perdei, che per non aver fè.”—
Così rispose allora il duca mio.
“Before that the souls, thought worthy of ascending
to God, had been relegated to this mount, for pre-
liminary purgation, my bones had been buried by
order of Octavianus.* I am Virgil, and for no other
crime did I lose Heaven than from not having faith.”
-In such words then did my Leader answer him.
Benvenuto makes a quaint remark here on the deri-
vation of the name Virgil.

S
US
* The Emperor Augustus bore the names Caius Julius Cæsar
Octavianus. It must be remembered that before the descent of
Jesus Christ into Hades, “Spiriti umani non eran salvati,” Inf.
IV, 63, and the holy and elect did not go into Purgatory but into
Limbo, whence Christ liberated them. Virgil died A.D. 19, and
consequently was buried before they who do not die in the wrath
of God began to go to Purgatory. The ancient theory of the
Roman Church, according to St. - Thomas Aquinas, was that
Purgatory was situated underground in the upper part of Hell
and that it existed before our Lord's Resurrection. Lombardi
explains the seeming paradox by giving it as his opinion that,
before the descent of Christ into Hades, Purgatory was below
the earth, but that it was afterwards transferred to the Mount of
Purgatory.
152 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto VII
He says, Shepherds use the staff (virga) of which
Virgil treats in the Bucolics. Husbandmen use the
staff (virga) of which he speaks in the Georgics.
And Rulers of Cities use their wand of office (virga)
of which Virgil treats in the Æneid.
As Virgil died 1200 years before Sordello, the
wonder of the latter at seeing him is very great; for
it seemed to him a thing very nearly impossible. But
as soon as he became convinced, as we read in v. 13,
he bowed his head, as a sign of reverent acquiescence,
and turned humbly to Virgil as the inferior towards
the superior.
Qual è colui che cosa innanzi a sè
Subita vede, ond' ei si maraviglia,
Che crede e no, dicendo : “Ell' è, non è ;”—
Tal parve quegli, e poi chinò le ciglia,
Ed umilmente ritornò vêr lui,
Ed abbracciollo ove il minor s' appiglia. 15
Like as a man who suddenly sees before him a
thing at which he greatly wonders, who believes and
yet does not, and exclaims: “It is, it cannot be.”
Such appeared he (Sordello), and then reverently
bowed his head, and with much humility returned
towards the other, and embraced him, no longer as
an equal, but there where the inferior takes hold,
i.e. by the knees.*
His enthusiasm finds vent in words as well as in
actions. He breaks out into rapturous praise of the
great Poet.

* Sordello had stepped back after the first embraces. He had
first embraced him as a fellow-citizen, but on hearing his name
he did homage to him out of respect for his virtue and
wisdom.
Canto VII. Readings on the Purgatorio.
153
20
-“O gloria de' Latin,”—disse,—“per cui
Mostrò ciò che potea la lingua nostra,
i O pregio eterno del loco ond' io fui !
Qual merito, o qual grazia mi ti mostra ?
S'io son d’udir le tue parole degno,
Dimmi se vien d'inferno, e di qual chiostra.”—
"O Glory of the Latins," he said, “ through whom
our tongue displayed its utmost power, 0 eternal
treasure of my birthplace, Mantua! What merit of
mine, or what divine grace shows thee to me? If I
am worthy to hear words spoken by thee, tell me if
thou comest from Hell, and if so, from which of the
mansions in it.” *

as (
* Benvenuto says that Virgil was credited with possessing all
the copiousness of Cicero, the brevity or terseness of Sallust, the
dry wit of Fronto, the richness of Pliny, and to have shown in
his writings all these excellencies combined ; besides having
close and terse, then copious, then florid, and at another time
weighty and majestic.
Cicero, seeing a small work of Virgil's, called it “The
proud work of great Rome.” Propertius (II, 34) wrote of the
Æneid:
“Cedite Romani scriptores, cedite Graii,
Nescio quid majus nascitur Iliade.”
Homer of Smyrna.
Persius of Volterra.
Aristotle of Stagira.
Ovid of Sulmona.
Pindar of Thebes.
Horace of Venusium.
Pliny and Catullus of Verona. Cicero of Arpinum.
Livius of Padua.
Ennius of Tarentum.
Virgil of Mantua.
Pacuvius of Brundusium.
Macrobius of Parma.
Varro, and many others, of
Claudianus of Florence.
Rome.
154 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto VII.
Sordello knew nothing whatever about Limbo, and
having heard Virgil say (v. 8) "e per null' altro rio lo
ciel perdei che per non aver fė,” supposed him to be in
Hell, and yet, though himself in Purgatory, puts him-
self in humble inferiority to Virgil, and asks him in
which circle he is. He is evidently much distressed
to believe that he who illumined the whole world
should now be in eternal darkness.
Virgil replies that it is true that he has come from
Hell, in fact that he has passed through all its circles,
but that he comes solely here by Divine commands.
-"Per tutti i cerchi del dolente regno," —
Rispose lui,-“son io di qua venuto :
Virtù del ciel mi mosse, e con lei vegno.
“I have come thus far," Virgil answered him,
“through all the circles of the realms of woe (i.e.
Hell); Heavenly influence set me in motion, and with
it I come.”
Non per far, ma per non far ho perduto
25
Di veder l' alto sol che tu disiri,
E che fu tardi da me conosciuto.
Not for what I did, but for what I did not, have I
lost the sight of the sun on high (God) Whom thou
desirest, and who was known by me but too late,
viz. after my death. He had lost Heaven (see v. 7)
for no other fault than that he lacked true faith, and
(see v. 34) because he had failed to be endued with
the three Christian virtues of Faith, Hope, and Charity,
though he had blamelessly executed the four moral
ones, of Justice, Prudence, Fortitude and Temperance.
He had not lost Heaven for a positive, but for a nega-
tive fault.

Canto VII. Readings on the Purgatorio. 155
Virgil, having said that he had traversed all the
circles of Hell, then speaks to Sordello of the parti-
cular part to which he is relegated, and explains to
him what Limbo is.
Loco è laggiu non tristo da martiri,
Ma di tenebre solo, ove i lamenti
Non suonan come guai, ma son sospiri. 30
Quivi sto io co' parvoli innocenti,
Da' denti morsi della morte, avante
Che fosser dall' umana colpa esenti.
Quivi sto io con quei che le tre sante
Virtù non si vestiro, e senza vizio
Conobber l' altre, e seguir tutte quante.
There is a place below (i.e. Limbo) which is not
35
and where the lamentations have not the sound of
wailing, but are sighs. There do I abide with the
little innocents who were snatched away by the teeth
of death, before that (by Baptism) they have been
made free from human sin. There remain I with those
spirits who were not endued with the three sacred
virtues (of Faith, Hope and Charity), and without
vice knew the other virtues, and practised them all.

* St. Thom. Aq. Sum. P. III, LII, art. 2, says that there
are no torments in the hell of the fathers, nor in that of
are no
punished by damnation through original sin
St. Thom. Aq. distinguishes between the
- "pæna damni” and “pæna sensus"
penalty of damnatione penalty of torments.
In Inferno IV, 116, Dante describes Limbo as a luogo aperto
luminoso ed alto, but that only refers to that part of Limbo in
which are placed the spirits of illustrious men. It is a luminous
district in a dark circle.
156 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto VII.
Division II, v. 37 to v. 84. This is the Second
Division of the Canto, in which, with wonderful skill,
Dante gives a description of the spot appointed as
the abiding place of illustrious Christian men, who,
too much occupied by care for others, only recollected
their own salvation at the moment of death; but,
before coming to this description, Virgil asks Sordello
if there is not any quicker way of reaching the gate
of Purgatory.
Ma, se tu sai e puoi, alcuno indizio
Dà noi, perchè venir possiam più tosto
Là dove Purgatorio ha dritto inizio.”—
But if thou knowest and canst, give us some indi-
cation by which we may reach that point more quickly,
where Purgatory has its right beginning (i.e. its real
entrance).”
Sordello answers that he has no fixed spot assigned
to him, but that he might range anywhere about the
Anti-Purgatorio, up to a certain point, which we see is
defined in Canto IX, V. 55-58, where we read that
Dante was taken in his sleep by Lucia, and deposited
near the gate of Purgatorio proper, while “ Sordello
rimase, e l'altre gentil forme," i.e. the shades of the
great men in the flowery valley, to which we are now
about to be introduced.
Ríspose:-“Loco certo non c'è posto:
40
Licito m'è andar suso ed intorno:
Per quanto ir posso, a guida mi t accosto.
He answered : "No fixed place is assigned to us :
I am at liberty to roam both up the mountain and
around it: So far as I may go (that is, as far as the
Entrance Gate of Purgatory), I will join thee as thy
guide."

Canto VII. Readings on the Purgatorio.
157
Sordello now tells Dante that the light of the day
is fast falling, and during the shades of night no
further advance is permissible by the rules of the
mount of Purgatory* : therefore Sordello advises that
they should seek out a suitable resting place for the
night : and adds that, with Virgil's leave, he will
take him to a retired spot to their right, where certain
spirits are separated from the rest, whose acquaintance
may be to Virgil a source of delight.t
Ma vedi già come dichina il giorno,
Ed andar su di notte non si puote ;
Però è buon pensar di bel soggiorno.
45
Anime sono a destra qui rimote:
Se mi consenti, io ti merrò ad esse,
E non senza diletto ti fien note.”—
But see already how the day declines, and to go
upward by night is not possible, therefore it will be
well to think of a good resting place. There are
certain spirits over yonder, a little to our right, with-
drawn from the rest, and with thy permission, I will
conduct thee to them, and not without delight will
they become known to thee.”
Virgil asks whether the inability to proceed in the

* In Purg. XXVII, 61-75, it expressly states that when night
fell, where they stood, there they lay down.
Chè la natura del monte ci affranse
La possa del salir più che il diletto.
+ I notice that in this passage he addresses himself to Virgil
alone, “se mi consenti” and “Ti fien note,” but in Canto VIII,
43-45, he says to both poets :
—“Ora avvalliamo omai
Tra le grandi ombre, e parleremo ad esse,
Grazioso fia lor il vedervi assai.”—

158 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto VII.
night comes from divine prohibition, or from want of
power.
— “Com'è ciò"?—fu risposto :-“chi volesse
Salir di notte, fora egli impedito
50
D'altrui? o non sarría che non potesse ?”
—“How is that?”—was the answer of Virgil :-
“ dost thou mean me to understand that he who would
ascend the mount by night would be prevented from
doing so by others ? or would he cease to ascend be-
cause he lacked the power to do so."*
Sordello, by the explanation he gives in answer,
implies that without the sun of divine grace, man can-
not turn to penitence; that nothing else than the
darkness of the sinful soul is the impediment to
mounting higher; that it entangles man's will, and
hence takes away his power, for a man cannot perform
what he does not wish to do, Man is himself the
cause of not willing, and cannot turn to virtue,
since the cloud or darkness of sin takes posses-
sion of his free volition, and deprives it of the light
* I have followed the reading given by Scartazzini “non
sarría ” for “non salirebbe." He quotes from Boccaccio, Decam.
to show that such constructions were not rare amongst ancient
writers, but he quotes no authority to justify the reading
“sarría.” I have looked in the editions of Naples, Mantua,
Jesi, Foligno, Landino, Francesco da Buti, Jacopo della Lana,
Benvenuto da Imola, Fraticelli, Witte, and others, and all
ignore any such reading or interpretation.
The more common reading is
“ O non saria, che non potesse ?"
“Or would it not be, that power is denied him ? "
others read
“Oppur saria, che non potesse”
“ Or is it, that power is denied him ?"
Canto VII. Readings on the Purgatorio. 159
of the Sun. Such is the explanation of Benvenuto
da Imola.
E il buon Sordello in terra fregò il dito,
Dicendo :-“Vedi! sola questa riga
Non varcheresti dopo il sol partito :
Non però che altra cosa desse briga,
55
Che la notturna tenebra, ad ir suso :
Quella col non poter la voglia intriga.
Ben si poría con lei tornare in giuso,
E passeggiar la costa intorno errando,
Mentre che l' orizzonte il dì tien chiuso."— 60
And the good Sordello drew his finger along the
ground saying : “Look you! after the sun has once
disappeared, thou couldest not even pass beyond this
line; not however that anything else than the dark-
ness of night would hinder thee from going upward.*
That (darkness) by reason of the want of power (that it
causes) hampers and renders inoperative the will to
ascend. One could however certainly, with that dark-
ness, return downhill again, and go roaming round the
mountain side, for so long as the horizon keeps the
day imprisoned, i.e. for so long as the sun is hid below
the horizon.”+ The meaning of this is that it is easy
for man to fall back from grace into sin, and continue
to err therein, until once more the Sun of Righteous-
ness or Divine Grace reillumines the darkened spirit.

* Compare St. John, XII, 35: “Walk while ye have the
light, lest darkness come upon you : for he that walketh in
darkness knoweth not whither he goeth.”
+ Il dì tien chiuso, Compare Æneid, I, 378.
“Ante diem clauso componet vesper Olympo."
Which Conington translates :
“Or ere it ceased the day were done,
And closed the palace of the sun."

160 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto VII.
Virgil on hearing these words, begs Sordello to
conduct them forthwith to the spot where the illustrious
spirits are congregated, so that to the necessary rest
may be added the charm of their company.
Allora il mio signor, quasi ammirando :
- “Menane dunque,”—disse, -"là ove dici
Che aver si può diletto dimorando.”—
Then said my Leader, as though wondering at this
information :-"Lead us on then to that place where
thou sayest that we can have delight in tarrying.”
While talking to Sordello, the poets seem already to
have turned their steps, and to be approaching the
valley in question, and Dante observes that the side of
the mountain was hollowed out in a natural manner.
Poco allungati c'eravam di lici,
Quando m' accorsi che il monte era scemo,
A guisa che i valloni sceman quici.
We had moved away but a little space from where
we had been standing, when I perceived that the side
of the mountain was hollowed out much in the same
way as valleys in this world are hollowed out.*
Sordello points out to Virgil the place he is leading
them to.
_“Colà,” disse quell' ombra—“n'anderemo
65
Dove la costa face di sè grembo,
E quivi il nuovo giorno attenderemo.”—
* Francesco da Buti says that the explanation is very oppor-
tune, for one would naturally expect all mountains to have
valleys, but it must be taken allegorically to mean, that all who,
in the world, are in a state of penitence, if they do not ascend
must perforce go down. They lose the time in ascending to the
highest virtue, and so they go and remain in the valley, which
signifies descent.
Canto VII. Readings on the Purgatorio. 161
“We will proceed yonder," said that spirit, “where
the mountain side makes of itself a lap, and there will
we await the return of day.”
Benvenuto says that Sordello was a courtier, and a
great admirer of illustrious personages. We may infer
that he was evidently not sorry for the little bit of
patronage he was able to offer the spirits of the great,
by conducting into their midst one whom they would
greet with such interest as Virgil, and Dante, whose
good offices on earth they would all solicit.
Tra erto e piano era un sentiero sghembo, 70
Che ne condusse in fianco della lacca,*
Là dove più che a mezzo muore il lembo.
There was a winding path, partly steep, and partly
level, that led us to the elevated side of the hollow,
there where the edge (il lembo) dies more than half
away.
Francesco da Buti explains this to mean that the
poets had ascended, and then walked on the level to
the upper edge, from which again they descended into
the valley, and he thinks that Dante is very particular
in pointing out that they had ascended to higher
ground, before redescending to visit these souls of the
great, who were at a higher level (though in a valley),
than the previous band of spirits, because those they
* Lacca, an antiquated word. Blanc, Voc. Dant., thinks it is
possibly derived from the Latin “lacus," and later from the
German “lache.” Commentators are not agreed as to its
signification:
The first meaning given is that of “profundity,” cavity ;
whence comes the signification of “valley," in the present
passage.
In Inf. VII, 16, Lacca is used to express a circle of Hell ;
and in Inf. XII, 11, the wall which surrounds the circle of Hell.
M

162 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto VII.
are about to visit had been ruling princes, whereas
the shades in the last band were only private indi-
viduals: and therefore visiting this valley was no
retrogression in their ascent of Purgatory.*
Benvenuto says that Dante now specially describes
the spot as worthy, in point of beauty and variety of
colour, of the great beings who were gathered there,
and surpassing all other abodes that he had ever seen
before.
Oro ed argento fine, e cocco e biacca,
Indico legno lucido e sereno,
Fresco smeraldo in l' ora che si fiacca, 75
Dall' erba e dalli fior dentro a quel seno
Posti, ciascun saría di color vinto,
Come dal suo maggiore è vinto il meno.
Pure gold, refined silver, cochineal and ceruse-white,
Indian wood (indigo), bright and clear, fresh emerald
at the moment of being split, each of these in its
colour would be surpassed by the herbage and the
flowers that were growing in that vale, as the lesser
object is mastered by the greater.t
* We may notice that, when the Poets reached the place in
question, they seem to have stood on a low bank or ridge at a
slightly higher level than the flowery valley, for in Canto VIII, 46,
Dante expressly tells us :-
“ Solo tre passi credo ch' io scendesse
E fui di sotto."
+ Scartazzini points out that we have here all the colours of
the flowers of the field :-
Gold=yellow.
Cochineal=scarlet.
Silver=resplendent white. Indigo=blue.
Ceruse=dead white.
And (according to him)
Legno lucido e sereno=brown.
Emerald=green.

Canto VII. Readings on the Purgatorio. 163
Dante goes on to show that, besides the gorgeous
colouring of the flowers, the plants, and the trees, the
whole air was suffused with the most exquisite per-
fume, which, while giving no one predominating
odour, made the tout-ensemble altogether delicious.
Non avea pur natura ivi dipinto,
Ma di soavità di mille odori
80
Vi faceva un incognito indistinto.
Nor had Nature bestowed her gorgeous colours
only, but from the fragrance of a thousand odours
had formed a whole that was undefinable, and here-
tofore unknown.
Benvenuto da Imola says that this description is
suitable to the sumptuous surroundings of these illus-
trious men when living; and that allegorically it may
be taken to mean that the constant freshness and
verdure of their exploits, the sweet savour of their
fame, and the splendour of their glory, lives after
them.
Having described the beauty of this enchanting
region, he next introduces the spirits themselves,
devoutly engaged in singing a Compline hymn.
Salve, Regina, in sul verde e in su i fiori
Quivi seder cantando anime vidi,
Che per la valle non parean di fuori:
Then I beheld certain spirits sitting on the grass,
and among the flowers, and singing the hymn
“Salve Regina,” who, by reason of the concavity of
the valley, could not be discerned when one was out-
side it.*

* “Salve Regina” is part of a hymn sung at Compline by the
Roman Church, and these spirits were singing it, not only
M 2

164 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto VII.
Division III. We here commence the Third and
concluding Division of the Canto, in which Dante gives
1 detailed description of the souls of illustrious men
of recent times, who seemed the most worthy of being
recorded.
Sordello begins by saying to the two poets, speaking
to them in the plural, that he would rather that they
should remain on the balzo, or high bank overhanging
the valley until the sun was completely set, as they
would have a far better view of the spirits, when look-
ing down upon them, than if they were to go down
and stand in the middle of them.
85
non
-“Prima che il poco sole omai s' annidi,” —
Cominciò il Mantovan che ci avea vôlti,
-“Tra color non vogliate ch' io vi guidi.
Da questo balzo meglio gli atti e i volti
Conoscerete voi di tutti quanti,
Che nella lama giù tra essi accolti.
90
-“Until the little that is left of the sun is completely
set,”—began the Mantuan (Sordello), who had directed
our steps thus far,—“ do not ask me to lead you down
among those there. From this ledge you will be the
better able to observe the actions and countenances
of every one of them, than were you among them in
the dell.
He now points out some of the chiefest among those
illustrious forms.
because it was nightfall, nor because they wished to show their
devotion to the Blessed Virgin, but because the sentiments
expressed in the hymn are peculiarly suitable to such as these,
who feel themselves to be, as it were, in exile, and desire to
arrive at the contemplation of God.
Canto VII.
Readings on the Purgatorio.
Colui che più sied' alto, e fa sembianti
D'aver negletto ciò che far dovea,
E che non muove bocca agli altrui canti,
Ridolfo imperador fu, che potea
Sanar le piaghe ch' hanno Italia morta,
Sì che tardi per altro si ricrea.
He who sits highest, and has the look of one who
has neglected that which he ought to have done, and
who moves not his lips in unison with the song of the
others, was the Emperor Rudolph* of Hapsburg, who
had it in his power, by coming to be crowned in Italy,
to heal the wounds that had slain her, so that she will
only, after a considerable delay, be revived by another,
(viz. Henry VII of Luxembourg, into a well ordered
and happy State).
Dante's hopes which were centred in Henry of
Luxembourg, were not destined to be realized. Scar-li
tazzini thinks these lines must have been written after
Dante's aspirations for the empire in the person of
Henry VII had been completely dispelled.T.

* Rudolph of Hapsburg, first Emperor of the house of Austria,
was crowned at Aix la Chapelle in 1273. He would not go to
Rome to be crowned, and took so little interest in Italian affairs,
that Italy became almost independent of the Empire, which was
a source of deep vexation to Dante. He died in 1291. It should
be noticed that Rudolph is represented in intimate friendly con-
versation with Ottacar, who had been his bitter foe, and Pedro III
is singing in unison with his enemy Charles of Anjou.
+ Scartazzini remarks that in Par. XXX, 137, Beatrice says :
“L'alto Arrigo, ch' a drizzare Italia
Verrà in prima ch'ella sia disposta.”
Therefore he is made to come too soon, and not too late as in
v. 96 of the present Canto. Scartazzini says the two passages
are perfectly reconcileable. Brunone Bianchi says that from
some points of view Henry VII came too late, and from others
zini i
166
Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto VII.
L'altro, che nella vista lui conforta,
Resse la terra dove l'acqua nasce,
Che Multa in Albia, ed Albia in mar ne porta :
Ottáchero* ebbe nome, e nelle fasce
100
Fu meglio assai che Vincislaot suo figlio
Barbuto, cui lussuria ed ozio pasce.
The other, who you can see is giving encouragement
to him, ruled that land (Bohemia) where the water
takes its rise, which the river Moldau carries into the
Elbe, and the Elbe carries into the sea. He bore the
name of Ottacar, and while still in swaddling clothes,
was far better than is Wenceslaus his son, who, though
a bearded man, lives in luxury and ease.
Ottacar, in his youth, was far more virtuous, and
ruled his kingdom with much greater wisdom, than
did his son Wenceslaus, though the latter was of full
age.t Longfellow quotes from the Ottimo as follows:
“This Wenceslaus was most beautiful among all men
but was not a man of arms; he was a meek and
humble ecclesiastic, and did not live long."
too soon. People who are “civilmente malati o morti” cannot be
resuscitated or cured except at certain times and certain ways.
If the opportunity, when it offers, is missed, it may not recur
again for a long time, if at all. Rudolph could, and would not,
Henry VII would, and could not.
* Ottachero II was son of Wenceslaus, and grandson of
Ottacar I, King of Bohemia. He succeeded to the throne in
1253. He advised the Pope, in 1268, to put to death young
Conradin the son of Manfred. He made war against Rudolph
in 1276, and again in 1278, when he was conquered and slain.
Some of the ancient commentators speak of him as son-in-law
of Rudolph, thereby confusing him with his son Wenceslaus IV.
+ Vincislao. Wenceslaus IV, surnamed the Pious, son of the
above-mentioned Ottacar II, was born in 1270. Succeeded his
father as King of Bohemia in 1278. In 1300 was elected King

Canto VII. Readings on the Purgatorio.
- 167
Longfellow says that why Dante accuses him of
living in luxury and ease does not appear. Sordello
next points out to them two spirits of kings talking
earnestly together, viz. : Philippe le Hardi of France,
and Henry the Fat of Navarre.
E quel Nasetto,* che stretto a consiglio
Par con coluit ch' ha sì benigno aspetto,
Morì fuggendo e disfiorando il giglio:
105
Guardate là, come si batte il petto.
L'altro vedete ch' ha fatto alla guancia
Della sua palma, sospirando, letto.
Padre e suocero son del mal di Francia:
Sanno la vita sua viziata e lorda,
IIO
E quindi viene il duol che sì li lancia.
And he with a small nose, who appears to be in
earnest council with that other one of a gentle expres-
sion, perished in flight, and dishonouring the Lily.

of Poland, and in 1301 King of Hungary, but the latter kingdom
he resigned in favour of his son Wenceslaus V. He married
Juta, daughter of Rudolph of Hapsburg, and secondly Elizabeth
of Poland.
* Quel Nasetto. This is Philippe III, King of France, sur-
named the Bold; second son of Louis IX, and father of Philippe
le Bel, and of Charles of Valois; born in 1245; succeeded his
father in the kingdom in 1270; died at Perpignan, 6 Oct. 1285.
He was remarkable for his small nose.
† Colui. Henry of Navarre, surnamed the Fat, brother of
“the Good King Tebaldo” (Inf. XXII, 52), was father-in-law of
Philippe le Bel. He died in 1274, at Pampeluna, suffocated by
the fat of his own body.
The flight of Philippe III, that is here alluded to, was in his
war with Pedro III of Aragon in 1285, when Ruggiero Lauria,
Pedro's admiral, defeated the French fleet. Philippe III died
at Perpignan of a broken heart. Philippe le Bel succeeded him,
1285.
168 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto VII.
Look you, how he beats his breast. See too the other
one, who, sighing, has made of his palm a bed for his
cheek; these two are, the father (Philippe III), and
the father-in-law (Henry of Navarre), of the Curse of
France (i. e. Philippe le Bel):* they know his vicious
and corrupt life, and hence comes the grief that so
moves them.
He now introduces Pedro III of Aragon:
Quel che par sì membruto, e che s' accorda
Cantando con colui dal maschio nasot
D'ogni valor portò cinta la corda.
That shade who appears so stalwart in limb, and
who is singing in unison with that other with the
n
in
* Dante frequently inveighs against the latter. In Purg.
XX, 91, he calls him “nuovo Pilato."
Purg. XXXIII, 45, the giant with the bold-faced woman.
Inf. XIX, 85, nuovo Jason.
Par. XIX, 118. He died in 1314.
† Colui dal maschio naso is Charles of Anjou, son of Louis VIII
of France, brother of Louis IX, born in 1220; after the death of
Manfred, at the battle of Benevento, he seized on the kingdom
of Naples and Sicily. He caused Conradin, of Hohenstaufen,
Manfred's son, to be put to death at Naples; he died in 1285.
Scartazzini says it is strange that Dante who, in Purg. XX, 67,
so fiercely censures Charles, should have given him a place in
Purgatory, instead of placing him in Hell among the assassins
and robbers, as he deserved. But Charles was a great hypo-
crite and, when dying at Foggia, at his last Communion said:
“Sire Dieu, comme je crois vraiemant que vous êtes mon sal-
veur; ainsi je vous prie, que vous aies merci de mon âme;
ainsi comme je fis la prise du royaume de Cicile plus pour servir
sainte Eglise que pour mon profit ou outre convoitise, ainsi vous
me pardonnes mes peches.” This quotation from Villani, Book
VII, ch 95, explains why Dante did not place him amongst the
lost in Hell.

Canto VII. Readings on the Purgatorio. 169
manly nose (Charles of Anjou), wore his girdle braced
with every valour.*
Pedro III, surnamed the Great, was the son of
John the Conqueror and Iolanthe of Hungary, born
in 1236; in 1262 married Constance daughter of
Manfred; he was crowned King of Aragon in 1276,
and of Sicily in 1282, after the famous Vespers. Died
at Villafranca in 1285. He was celebrated for his
valour and feats of arms. He was excommunicated,
but absolved before death by the Archbishop of Tarra-
gona, on his declaring that he had only gone to Sicily
to assert the rights of his son, and not to do any injury
or outrage to the Church. Dante therefore places him
in Purgatory.
E se re dopo lui fosse rimaso
115
Lo giovinettot che retro a lui siede,
Bene andava il valor di vaso in vaso;

* Comp. Is. XI, 5:-
“And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faith-
fulness the girdle of his reins."
And Prov. XXXI, 17 :-
“She girdeth her loins with strength.”
+ Lo giovinetto (v. 116) was Alphonso, eldest son of Pedro III,
and succeeded him on the throne of Aragon, but died childless
in 1285, at twenty years of age; and thereupon the second
brother, James, became King of Aragon, and Frederick, the
third brother, became King of Sicily. Mr. Butler says, that
“later, James and Charles d'Anjou joined against Frederick,
and defeated him in a sea fight, July 4, 1299; but he continued
to hold Sicily, and showed himself, in 1302, more than a match
for Charles de Valois.” Dante alludes with some bitterness, in
Conv. IV, 6, to Charles of Apulia and Frederick.
Scartazzini gives a mass of matter, too voluminous to quote
here, showing that Dante uttered frequent bitter invectives against
170 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto VII.
Che non si puote dir dell' altre rede.
Jacomo e Federico hanno i reami:
Del retaggio miglior nessun possiede.
120
And if the youth who is sitting behind him (his
son Alphonso III), had remained king longer, the
virtue would indeed have been passed from vessel to
vessel, (that is from father to son, which cannot be
said of the other heirs. James and Frederick have
the kingdoms; but neither of them possess the better
heritage (of the virtue of their father, Pedro III).
Dante remarks how rarely the better qualities are
transmitted from the fathers to the sons, for God wills
that these better qualities should be sought from him
by prayer.
Rade volte risurge per li rami
L' umana probitate: e questo vuole
Quei che la dà, perchè da lui si chiami.
Rare indeed is it that human excellence mounts up
from the parent trunk into the branches of the tree :
and so has ordained He who is on high, in order that
supplication may be made to Him.*
Benvenuto remarks that Sordello, having severely
censured both Pedro III's successors, because they

both James and Frederick, and yet they seem to have deserved
the praise of all the most serious historians of those times.
* Chaucer, Wif of Bathes Tale:-
“Wel can the wise poet of Florence,
That highte Dant, speken of this sentence:
Lo in swich manner rime is Dantes tale.
Ful selde up riseth by his branches smale
Prowesse of man, for God of his goodnesse
Wol that we claime of him our gentilesse :
For of our elders may we nothing claime
But temporel thing, that man may hurt and maime.”
Canto VII. Readings on the Purgatorio. 171
had degenerated from their father's excellence, now
turns his discourse against Pedro's companion, Charles
of Anjou, and says:
Anche al Nasuto vanno mie parole.
Non men ch' all'altro, Pier che con lui canta, 125
Onde Puglia e Provenza già si duole.
Tanť è del seme suo minor la pianta,
Quanto, più che Beatrice e Margherita,
Costanza di marito ancor si vanta.
My words apply as much to him with the large
nose (Charles I of Anjou), as to the other, Pedro (III
of Aragon), who is singing in harmony with him,
although he was his enemy in life, and on account of
his (Charles's) death, Apulia and Provence are already
lamenting. The plant (Charles II) is as much inferior
to its seed (his father Charles I), as, more than
Beatrice and Margaret, Constance still boasts of her
husband.*

. * This passage is very obscure, nearly every commentary
explains it differently. Scartazzini says that the explanation of
the ancient commentators is the best and simplest.
“As much as the husband of Constance is better than the
husbands of Beatrice and of Margaret, i.e. as much as Don
Pedro is better than Don Federigo and Don Giacomo, so much
was Charles I of Anjou better than his descendants. In fact, as
the house of Aragon has degenerated in its descendants, so the
house of King Charles of Anjou suffers in a similar way.”
Constance, daughter of Manfred, widow of Pedro III, was
still living in the time of Dante.
Mr. Hazelfoot says: “Beatrice and Margaret were two of the
four daughters of Raimond Berenger, Count of Provence, each
of whom became a queen” (Par. VI, 133-134).
Beatrice married Charles of Anjou; Margaret, his brother
St. Louis King of France; Constance, daughter of King Man-
fredi, married Pedro III of Aragon, whom Dante here exalts at
the expense of the hated French house.
172 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto VII.
Sordello now introduces the shade of Henry III of
England.
Vedete il re della semplice vita
Seder là solo, Arrigo d'Inghilterra:
Questi ha ne' rami suoi migliore uscita,
130
England,* sitting there by himself; he has a better
issue in his branches, i.e., he is more fortunate in his
successor, King Edward I, than were Pedro III and
Charles I of Anjou in theirs.
Sordello finally names the spirit of William, Marquis
of Monferrato, of less dignity, and therefore seated
lower than his illustrious companions.

Quel che più basso tra costor s' atterra,
Guardando in suso, è Guglielmo Marchese,
Per cui ed Alessandria e la sua guerra 1 35
Fa pianger Monferrato e Canavese.”—
* Henry III, 1216-1272, of whom Hume says: “This prince
was noted for his piety and devotion, and his regular attendance
on public worship; and a saying of his on that head is much
celebrated by ancient writers. He was engaged in a dispute
sermons and masses; he maintained the superiority of the latter,
and affirmed that he would rather have one hour's conversation
with a friend, than hear twenty of the most elaborate discourses
pronounced in his praise.” It is also said of him: “He was as
much of a king in death as he had ever been in life.” He was
the mere pale shadow of a king at all times. His “better issue”
was Edward I, called, on account of his amendment and estab-
lishment of the laws, the English Justinian.
† Guglielmo, Marquis of Monferrato, was a Ghibelline, and
was a ferocious, cruel, but brave man. He commanded the
forces of Milan against Pavia. He was taken prisoner by the
people of Alessandria in 1290, and died in prison. Some say
Canto VII. Readings on the Purgatorio.
173
He who, on account of his lesser dignity, is sitting
on the ground, lowest amongst all those spirits, with
his eyes turned upward towards Purgatory, is the
Marquis William, for whose sake Alessandria and her
war make Monferrato* and the Canavese to weep."
he was shut up in a wooden or iron cage, and exposed to public
view, and endured this for eighteen months, until death released
him.
* Monferrato is in Piedmont, on the borders of Lombardy,
-“regione amena, piena di castelli, sopra fertilissime colline.”
Canavese, on the borders of Monferrato, enclosed between two
arms of the river Dura, contained 200 castles and a very fertile
country.

END OF CANTO VII.
174
Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto VIII.

CANTO VIII.
THE COMPLINE HYMN.
THE GUARDIAN ANGELS.
NINO DI GALLURA.
THE SERPENT FOE.
CONRAD MALASPINA.
BENVENUTO DA IMOLA says that, as in the last Canto,
Dante treated of the fifth class of spirits relegated to
the Anti-Purgatorio, because, on account of their great
dignities and preoccupation of their minds in State
affairs, they had put off their repentance; so now
Dante follows on, to a certain extent, to touch on
certain matters which are introductory to Purgatory
proper, to which the Poets are drawing near. The
Canto may be divided into Three Parts.*
In the First Division, from v. I to v. 42, he
describes certain noble spirits singing their Compline
Hymn at the soft hour of nightfall, and the appear-
ance of the Angels.
In the Second Division, from v. 43 to v. 84, he
relates his interesting conversation with Nino Visconti,
Judge of Gallura.
In the Third Division, from v. 85 to v. 139, he
describes the appearance of the Serpent whom the
* I think it would have been far better if Benvenuto had made
Division III end at v. 108, after the departure of the Angels,
and have made a Fourth Division from v. 109 to 139, devoted to
the noble words of the interview with Conrad Malaspina.
Canto VIII. Readings on the Purgatorio. 175
Angels drive away. His conversation with Conrad
Malaspina, which follows, is one of the finest passages
in the Divina Commedia.
Division 1. In the opening scene, we find the
illustrious band of royal shades sitting among the
flowers; and in lines that, for beauty and sweetness,
have never been surpassed, Dante describes the soft
evening hour of twilight, under the enchanting in-
fluence of which the spirits devoutly commence
singing their Compline Hymn.
Era già l' ora che volge il disio
Ai naviganti, e intenerisce il core
Lo dì che han detto ai dolci amici addio;
E che lo nuovo peregrin d'amore
Punge, se ode squilla di lontano,
Che paja il giorno pianger che si more :
It was now the hour which brings back yearning
to seafaring men, and moves the heart to tenderness,
on the day that they have bid farewell to their dear
friends; and which thrills the traveller with love who
has but recently left his home, if he hears from afar
the chime of the bell, tolling the Angelus, which
seems to weep, with its plaintive sound, for the day
that is departing. *

* The hour moves, the heart to tenderness by awaking in it
the memory of his kinsmen and friends, to whom the voyager
has bid farewell. Sounds can be heard at evening at a far
greater distance than by day, and especially by sailors at sea.
Squilla : the chimes of the Angelus or Ave Maria. Antonelli
says: “If we consider, by comparing Purg. VII, 85, that, before
the Poets began to look at the spirits of the great, there remained
but little sun left to the day, it would seem that Dante wishes to
describe (that hour which is in Italy called) the “ventiquattro,"
176 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto VIII.
Dante goes on to say that his attention was so dis-
tracted, by observing the movements of one of the
spirits, that he seemed to lose all power of listening.
Quand' io incominciai a render vano
L'udire, ed a mirare una dell' alme
Surta, che l'ascoltar chiedea con mano.
When I began no longer to make use of my sense of
hearing, that is, ceased to listen to the Salve Regina
or to the words of Sordello, but began, instead, to

about half an hour after sunset; and therefore the chime of
which he speaks would be that which announces the evening
Ave Maria or Angelus.
This would be confirmed by v. 49 of this Canto :-
“Tempo era già che l' aer s’ annerava.”
And the fact of the Poets and Sordello having moved after
sunset is no obstacle to this interpretation; because they only
moved for the purpose of descending; and this, as is said at v. 58
of Canto VII, “could take place even by night."
Compare Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica, III, 302. Trans-
lated from the Greek :-
“It was the hour when every traveller
And every watchman at the gates of towns
Begins to long for sleep, and drowsiness
Is falling even on the mother's eyes
Whose child is dead.”
And Byron, Don Juan, III, 108:-
“ Soft hour! which wakes the wish and melts the heart
Of those who sail the seas, on the first day
When they from their sweet friends are torn apart;
3. Or fills with love the pilgrim on his way,
As the far bell of vesper makes him start
Seeming to weep the dying day's decay;
Is this a fancy that our reason scorns ?
Ah ! surely nothing dies but something mourns."
And Gray, Elegy:-
6 The Curfew tolls the knell of parting day."
Canto VIII. Readings on the Purgatorio.
177
non
gaze in wonder at one of those spirits, which had
risen from its seat, and with a sign of the hand
besought attention.*
Ella giunse e levò ambo le palme,
10
Ficcando gli occhi verso l' orïente,
Come dicesse a Dio :—“D' altro non calme.”—
It joined and lifted upward both its palms, fixing
its gaze steadfastly towards the East, as if it said to
God, “I have no thought or care but for thee." of
Dante then describes the intense devotion with
which the spirit (whom some suppose to be that of
Nino di Gallura mentioned in v. 52) began singing a
hymn of St. Ambrose, which is sung in the office of
Compline for protection against the wiles of the Devil
and the pollutions of the flesh.
Te lucis ante sì devotamente
Le uscì di bocca, e con sì dolci note,
Che fece me a me uscir di mente.
The hymn, “Te lucis ante," then issued so devoutly
* Compare Ovid, Metam. I, 205:-
“Qui postquam voce manuque
Murmura compressit, tenuere silentia cuncti;"
And Virg. Æn. XII, 692:-
“Significatque manu, et magno simul incipit ore.”
“Then signals with his upraised hand,
And lifts the voice of high command.”—[Conington's Trans.]
And Acts, XIII, 16:-
“Then Paul stood up, and beckoning with his hand, said,
Men of Israel, and ye that fear God, give audience.”
† Scartazzini says that it is the custom in praying to turn
towards the East, because looking towards the Sun, and its
rising, affords matter for remembering and contemplating that
Sun of Heaven Who lives in Eternity; and that is why churches
are all built to turn towards the East. Christians in ancient
times always turned their faces towards the east when praying.

15
178 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto VIII.
from its lips, and in so soft a strain, that all my sense
in ravishment was lost.*
It must be remembered that these shades are in
Anti-Purgatorio, and not in Purgatorio, and therefore
pray for themselves against the wiles of the tempter;
whereas in the XIth Canto we find the souls in Pur-
gatory expressly saying that they do not use the last
sentence in the Lord's Prayer for themselves, but for
those on earth.t

* Dean Plumptre says that this Compline hymn of the Roman
Breviary comes naturally after the Ave Maria or Angelus. The
following are the Latin words, and also the English rendering
in our Church :
“Te lucis ante terminum, “Before the ending of the day,
Rerum Creator, poscimus, Creator of the world, we pray,
Ut pro tua elementia That Thou, with wonted love,
wouldst keep
Sis præsul et custodia. Thy watch around us while we
sleep.
Procul recedant somnia, O let no evil dreams be near,
Et noctium phantasmata; Norphantoms of the night appear;
Hostemque nostrum com- Our ghostly enemy restrain,
prime,
Ne polluantur corpora. Lest-aught of sin our bodies stain.
Præsta, Pater piissime, Almighty Father, hear our cry,
Patrique compar Unice, Through Jesus Christ our Lord
Most High,
Cum Spiritu Paraclito Who with the Holy Ghost and
Thee
Regnans per omnesæculum." Doth live and reign eternally.”—
Amen.
+ Benvenuto says that Dante has not represented any previous
company of spirits praying, but he makes these to do so because
he is now drawing near to the Gate of Purgatory, and therefore
he depicts those spirits, who are about to enter into penitence,
Canto VIII. Readings on the Purgatorio. 179
20
The chant is now taken up by the voices of the
other spirits.
E l'altre poi dolcemente e devote
Seguitâr lei per tutto l'inno intero,
Avendo gli occhi alle superne ruote.
And then the others sweetly and devoutly followed
the first one throughout the whole hymn, keeping
their eyes fixed upon the celestial spheres.
Benvenuto says that we now see how the prayer
was heard and answered, but that Dante first draws
the attention of the reader to the reality concealed
under the allegory.
Aguzza qui, lettor, ben gli occhi al vero,
Chè il velo è ora ben tanto sottile,
Certo che il trapassar dentro è leggiero.*
Here, reader, make thine eyes keen to the truth
(so as to discern the real meaning of the vision I
am about to relate); because the veil which covers the
allegory is of so subtle a texture, that it is 'easy to
penetrate within it.
Longfellow aptly remarks that, while Dante seems
to think his meaning very easy to penetrate, the com-
mentators have found it uncommonly difficult.†
as praying for protection against the temptations of the Devil
He distinctly confirms the view that the spirits outside Pur-
gatory were open to temptation; not so those within.
* Compare Inf. IX, 61 :-
“O voi, che avete gl' intelletti sani,
Mirate la dottrina che s'asconde
Sotto il velame degli versi strani !"
† Francesco da Buti says : “ Et apertamente si dimostra
che l' autore finge queste cose essere state di là, intendendo
allegoricamente di quelli del mondo, che sono in stato di
penitenzia."

N 2
180 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto VIII.
The spirits now show by their demeanour that
what they have asked for in prayer, they have asked,
believing that they shall receive, for they are all repre-
sented looking up to Heaven in certain expectation
that the angels will be sent for their protection; and
we may well imagine that Dante supposes the same
scene to have been enacted every night.
Io vidi quello esercito gentile
Tacito poscia riguardare in sûe,
Quasi aspettando pallido ed umíle :
E vidi uscir dell' alto, e scender giûe
Due angeli con due spade affocate,
Tronche e private delle punte sue.
Thereafter I saw that lordly band silently gazing
upwards, as if in expectation, pale and humble :* and
I saw, issuing forth from on high, two angels with
flaming swords, broken at the ends, and deprived of
their points. †
He describes the raiment of the Angels.
Verdi, come fogliette pur mo nate,
Erano in veste, che da verdi penne
Percosse traean dietro e ventilate.
30
Green, as but newly opened leaflets, were their gar-

* They were pale with fear of the Serpent, humble in their
hearts, from which they had prayed to God for assistance, and
in full expectation that their petition would be granted.
† According to some, the truncated points refer to the justice
of God tempered by mercy; according to others, that the assist-
ance of the Angels is for defence and not for offence. Lombardi
thinks these two Angels were the same two Cherubim placed at
the Gate of Paradise, with flaming swords, to prevent any one
passing in, and that they broke off the points of their swords
when, after the death of the Redeemer, that door was no longer
to be kept closed.
Canto VIII. Readings on the Purgatorio. 181
ments, which they trailed behind them, beaten and
fanned by wings that were equally green.*
The Angels take up their appointed stations.
L' un poco sovra noi a star si venne,
E l' altro scese in l' opposita sponda,
Sì che la gente in mezzo si contenne.
One (Angel) came to take his post just a little
above us, and the other lighted on the opposite height
above the valley, in such wise that the company (of
spirits) were guarded between them on either side.
Dante is unable to gaze at their radiant faces.
Ben discerneva in lor la testa bionda ;
Ma nelle faccie l' occhio si smarria,
35
Come virtù che a troppo si confonda.
Well could I discern their shining heads and fair
hair, but when I attempted to look upon their faces
my dazzled eye was bewildered, as is a faculty that is
confounded by excess.†

* Green is the colour of Hope. Hope is only for the spirits
of this world, and, according to the belief of the Church of
Rome, for those also in Purgatory.
St. Thomas Aq. (Summ. Theol., b. II, pars secunda, quæs-
tio XVIII, art. 3) says: “Neither for the Blessed, nor for the
Damned is there any hope. But for those who are journeying,
be they in this life, or in Purgatory, there can be hope, for in
both cases can they take in hope as a thing possible in the
future.” The Angels not only come to guard the spirits against
the assaults of the Tempter, but also to bring to them the
comfort of hope.
† Francesco da Buti says that every human sensitive faculty
requires that the object shall be tempered to itself, otherwise its
power is ineffective, as we may observe in the visual faculty,
that is not able to gaze upon the orb of the sun. Aristotle says:
182 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto VIII.
Sordello now tells Dante and Virgil what are the
specially appointed duties that the Angels have come
to perform.
-“Ambo vegnon del grembo di Maria,"_*
Disse Sordello,-“a guardia della valle,
Per lo serpente che verrà via via.”—
“Both (of these Angels) come from Mary's bosom,”
said Sordello, “ to mount guard over the valley against
the serpent, which will come presently."
The Angels' duty was to prevent the Serpent from
doing any injury to the spirits.
Benvenuto understands “per lo serpente” to mean
“on account of the temptation of the Devil," and he

“Every perceptible excess vitiates the sense.”
He does not only speak of the visual faculty, but of the sensitive
faculties in general. A too strong light, a too powerful odour, a
too overpowering sound, &c., offend the corresponding organ, and
confound that faculty, be it visual, olfactory, acoustic, and so on.
* Grembo di Maria : Benvenuto says: “That is from God,
Who, by means of Mary, wrought justice and mercy for us,
whence it is, that without Mary there would be no Purgatory :
therefore truly does help come to us from Mary, of whom it has
been written: 'Him Whom the whole world could not contain,
thou hast borne in thy bosom (gremio=grembo.""
Lombardi says that in Par. XXXI, 1, the abode of the Blessed
in Paradise has been pictured by Dante as a white rose, the
leaves of which are the seats of the saints, so disposed, that they
rise from the centre of the rose to its circumference ; they go
rising rank above rank, quasi di valle andando a monte, XXXI,
121, and in one of the most elevated seats is seated Mary, mini-
stered unto by the Angels. “Why then," asks Lombardi,
“ should we not understand that, like as Dante in Purg. VII, 68,
calls 'grembo,' the hollow where the illustrious spirits are seated,
so also 'grembo di Maria’ should mean that hollow in the
mystic rose over which Mary presides, and in which, as in her
bosom, are contained all the spirits of the saints ?”

Canto VIII. Readings on the Purgatorio.
183
here repeats, that spirits that have not yet entered
into Purgatory are liable to temptation.
Dante, not knowing on what side the serpent might
approach, is paralysed with fear, for, as Benvenuto
says, temptation comes upon man secretly.
Ond' io che non sapeva per qual calle,
40
Mi volsi intorno, e stretto m’accostai
Tutto gelato a le fidate spalle.
Whereupon I, who did not know by what path or
from which side (the assault of the Serpent might
come upon me), turned me round, and pressed myself,
frozen with terror, to the trusted side of (my Leader).
Division II. Here begins the Second Division of
the Canto, in which Dante meets the spirit of Nino
Visconti, Judge of Gallura, who converses with him
about his wife and daughter; but first he tells us that
Sordello, who had previously pointed out to them the
souls of the great, now leads them down into their
midst.
E Sordello anco :—“Ora avvalliamo omai
Tra le grandi ombre, e parleremo ad esse :
Grazioso fia lor vedervi assai.”--
| And Sordello, beginning again to speak, said:
“Let us, now that the proper time has arrived,
descend among those mighty shades, and we will
converse with them: it will be a great delight to
them to see you.”*
45
* Benvenuto says that illustrous princes at all times like to
see great poets, who can perpetuate their fame. Others think
184
Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto VIII.
They thereupon descend into the valley.
Solo tre passi credo ch' io scendesse,*
E fui di sotto, e vidi un che mirava
Pur me, come conoscer mi volesse.
I think I only stepped three paces down, and I
was below, and noted one who was gazing intently
on me, on me alone, as though he wished to re-
cognise me.
This is the spirit of Nino Visconti, Judge of Gallura,
and it seems a somewhat qualified compliment on the
part of Dante, that he expressly records his surprised
delight to find that his former friend was not in Hell.

Tempo era già che laer s’ annerava,
Ma non sì, che tra gli occhi suoi e i miei 50
Non dichiarisse ciò che pria serrava.
Vêr me si fece, ed io vêr lui mi fei :
Giudice Nin gentil, quanto mi piacque,
Quando ti vidi non esser tra' rei !
By this time the shades of night were gathering
that the pleasure on the part of the spirits would more refer to
Dante, who was about to return to the world. But against this
last view verse 61 is conclusive.
* Tre passi : In Purg. VII, 72, we read that the poets had
placed themselves about half way up the bank that overlooked
the valley. They now descend three paces, therefore the over-
hanging bank was not above six or seven paces from the valley
below. Scartazzini is certain that there is an allegory in the
three steps, though the interpretation of it is not easy. He
quotes, however, the following comment by Vellutello : “Par-
vegli scendere solo tre passi, e fu di sotto ; perchè dalle tre
virtù teologiche che si usano nella vita contemplativa in che
Dante si esercitava, alle virtù morali, che si usano nella vita
attiva, in che gli uomini famosi, le cui anime finge essere in
questa valle, s'erano esercitati, bisogna scender per esse tre virtù,
le quali perchè sono più eccellenti stanno di sopra."
Canto VIII. Readings on the Purgatorio.
185
round, but not as yet so darkly, but what between
the eyes of the spirit and mine, it rendered distinct
what it had previously concealed. (When however
Dante descended into the valley, and drew near to
Nino, they at once recognised each other.) He drew
near to me, and I to him: Noble Judge Nino! what
a joy was it to me, when I saw that thou wast not
among the Damned ! *
Nino supposes that Dante is dead, and asks him
how long it is since the Angel had brought his soul
over the ocean.
Nullo bel salutar tra noi si tacque.
Poi dimandò :-“Quant è, che tu venisti
Appiè del monte per le lontane acque ?”—
No friendly greeting was left unsaid between us.
Then he asked :-“How long is it since thou didst
arrive at the foot of this mountain from over the
distant waters?”
55

ds
1
* Benvenuto says that Dante speaks of Nino di Gallura in
this way, because he had been too much taken up with temporal
affairs, and had made war against his own country. Nino
(Ugolino) de Visconti da Pisa, was grandson of the famous
Count Ugolino della Gherardesca, being the son of one of
his daughters. He was Judge of Gallura in Sardinia, which
island belonged at the time to the Republic of Pisa, and Gallura
was one of the four Giudicature into which the Republic divided
it, after conquering it from the Saracens in 1117. During his
tenure of office Nino caused to be hung Friar Gomita, a
Sardinian, whom during his absence he had left as his vicar, on
finding that the Friar had been bribed to let certain enemies of
his (Nino's) to escape from his hands. He married Beatrice
d' Este, by whom he had a daughter Giovanna, and, after his
death, Beatrice was remarried to Galeazzo de' Visconti of Milan,
whose armorial cognizance was a viper, while that of the Vis-
conti di Gallura was a cock.
186 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto VIII.
_“O”—dissi lui,—“per entro i lochi tristi
Venni stamane, e sono in prima vita,
Ancor che l' altra sì andando acquisti.”— 60
—“Oh!” said I to him—“I came here this morning
by way of the regions of woe (not over the sea), and
I am still in my first (my mortal) life, although by
going, as I am doing (through Hell, Purgatory, and
Paradise), I may hope to render myself fit to win the
other (life)."
Sordello and Nino are stupified with astonishment
at these words.
E come fu la inia risposta udita,*
Sordello ed egli indietro si raccolse,
Come gente di subito smarrita.
L'uno a Virgilio, e l' altro ad un si volse
Che sedea lì, gridando :-“Su, Currado, 65
Vieni a veder che Dio per grazia volse.”—
And hardly had my answer reached their ears,
when Sordello and he (Nino) drew themselves back-
ward, as people do, when they are suddenly taken by
surprise. The one (Sordello), turned to (his country-
man) Virgil, and the other, Nino, to one who was
sitting there, crying :-“Up, Conrad; come and see
what God hath willed of His special grace, (that a
living man should have leave to pass through the
kingdoms of the dead).”
When the first outburst of astonishment is past,

* Up to this moment Sordello had confined his attention to
his fellow citizen Virgil, while paying but little attention to
Dante, and consequently he had not as yet perceived that he
was alive. Other spirits in Purgatory had noticed it by seeing
his shadow, III, 88, V. 4-25 ; but when the Poets met Sordello
the sun was on the other side of the mountain, so that, as we
see in VI, 56, Dante's body was no longer casting a shadow.
Canto VIII. Readings on the Purgatorio.
187
Chel
Nino di Gallura makes the usual petition to Dante to
invoke the prayers of his family for him, but draws
a distinction between his daughter, whom he loves,
and his widow, for whom his love seems to have
departed in consequence of her re-marriage.
Poi vôlto a me :-“Per qual singular grado,
Che tu dèi a colui, che sì nasconde
Lo suo primo perchè, che non gli è guado,
Quando sarai di là dalle larghe onde,
70
Di’ a Giovanna mia, che per me chiami*
Là dove agl' innocenti si risponde.
Then, turning to me, he said :-"By that especial
grace, that thou owest to Him, Who so hides the first
cause of what He does, that it has no ford, (that is, is
too deep for human comprehension,) I pray thee, that
when thou art yonder, (returned to the world,) on the
far side of the wide waters, thou bid my Giovanna,
that she pray for me there, (in heaven,) where answer
is made to the prayers of the innocent."

* Primo perchè: Francesco da Buti quotes from St. Augus-
tine :-" The Will of God is the first and highest cause of all
corporal and spiritual motions : for nothing is done either
visibly or sensibly, but what is either ordered or permitted from
that invisible and intelligible court of the Supreme Ruler or
Emperor.” (Quod non de illa invisibili, ac intelligibili aula
summi Imperatoris aut jubeatur aut permittatur.)
+ Giovanna, daughter of Nino (Ugolino) Visconti, was the
last descendant of the Judges of Gallura. At the epoch of the
vision (1300), she was nine years of age. Benvenuto and Fr.
da Buti say she married Riccardo da Camino, who was assas-
sinated in 1312 while playing at chess, and her inheritance
passed to her mother Beatrice. Others say Giovanna married
Marco Visconti. Some say she died unmarried. All agree
that she was styled the Countess of Gallura.
ca.
188 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto VIII.
Nino does not ask Dante to seek the prayers of his
wife, for he adds :-
Non credo che la sua madre* più m'ami,
Poscia che trasmutò le bianche bende,
Le quai convien che misera ancor brami. 75
I do not think that her mother loves me any more,
seeing that she has exchanged (for brighter colours,
on her second marriage), those white weepers (of her
widowhood), which she is fated (in her unhappy second
marriage), to wish for again.t
Per lei assai di lieve si comprende,
Quanto in femmina fuoco d'amor dura,
Se l' occhio o il tatto spesso non l' accende.
Non le farà sì bella sepoltura
La vipera che i Milanesi accampa,
80
Come avria fatto il gallo di Gallura.”—
By her example one can easily understand how
short a time the flame of love lasts in a woman, if
sight and touch (that is, the presence of the beloved
one), do not often rekindle it. The viper, which on
the banner of Galeazzo Visconti leads forth the
Milanese into the field, will not so fairly adorn her
sepulchre (after her death, as my own device) the cock
of Gallura would have done."#
* Tommaseo says that the mere fact of Nino speaking of
“sua madre" instead of “mia moglie” is a touching reproof.
+ Beatrice da Este, daughter of the Marchese Obizzo,
married, first, Nino Visconti, and after his death, at the age of
32, married, secondly, in 1300, Galeazzo Visconti, who was only
23. She was not actually re-married at the time of the sup-
posed vision, but was probably engaged. Her second husband
was expelled from Milan, and fell into great misery, so her
second marriage was an unhappy one.
I Others read “che il Milanese accampa"
“the viper which the Milanese Visconti bears on his shield.”

m
was
Canto VIII. Readings on the Purgatorio.
189
Così dicea, segnato della stampa
Nel suo aspetto di quel dritto zelo,
Che misuratamente in cuore avvampa.
He spoke thus, bearing stamped on his countenance
the impress of that righteous zeal, which glows in the
heart within the bounds of due moderation (not say-
ing what he said from pique or envy, but only moved
by the love of reason and truth).
Division III. In the Third and Concluding Divi-
sion of the Canto, which commences here, Dante des-
cribes the appearance of the Serpent, who is speedily
driven away by the Angels. His interview and subse-
quent conversation with Conrad Malaspina is related
in magnificent lines.
Gli occhi miei ghiotti andavan pure al cielo, 85
Pur là dove le stelle son più tarde,
Sì come ruota più presso allo stelo.*
My eyes now turned eagerly to the heavens only;
and precisely towards that point (the Antarctic Pole)

* Stelo is properly the stalk of a plant, but is here used in the
sense of the felloe of a wheel. In Par. XIII, 10-12, Dante uses
it to describe the axis of the earth :-
“ Immagini la bocca di quel corno,
Che si comincia in punta dello stelo,
A cui la prima ruota va dintorno.”—Par. XIII, IO.
Here it is used as the stalk of a plant :-
“Quale i fioretti dal notturno gielo
Chinati e chinsi, poi che 'l sol gl' imbianca,
Si drizzan tutti aperti in loro stelo ;”
Inf. II, 127.
190
Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto VIII.
where the stars are slower in their revolutions, like
as a wheel, where it is nearer to the axle. And
Benvenuto adds : “As you have a striking example
in a clock, because that circle which is nearest to the
axle hardly appears to move at all, compared with
the circle which is the most remote from it, and which
almost would seem to fly.”
What Dante is looking at are three remarkably bril-
liant stars, and Virgil, seeing him silent and abstracted,
tries to awaken his attention.
E il duca mio :-“Figliuol, che lassù guarde ?”—
Ed io a lui :-“A quelle tre facelle,
Di che il polo di qua tutto quanto arde."— 90
And my Leader (said to me) :-“My son, on what
art thou gazing up there?” And I to him :“At
yonder three torches, (meaning those three brilliant
stars), with whose bright rays the pole of this hemi-
sphere is all on fire.”
Virgil explains to Dante the permutation of stars
which has taken place since the morning.
Ed egli a me :-“ Le quattro chiare stelle
Che vedevi staman, son di là basse,
E queste son salite ov'eran quelle.”—
And he to me :-—“The four resplendent stars, that
thou sawest this morning, are sunk below the horizon
over yonder, and these are risen up to where those
were."*
Scartazzini does not think that the four stars

e
S
rses.
* Quelle tre facelle and le quattro chiare stelle: Benvenuto
gives a very lucid explanation of these six verses. He says :-
“To come to a right understanding of this passage, you must
remember, that our poet wrote in the first canto that, before he
Canto VIII. Readings on the Purgatorio. 191
had 'sunk below the horizon, but that they had
changed their position to the east, between the meri-
dian and the horizon. Perhaps also Dante wished to
show that the configuration of the valley did not
allow them, when down in the hollow, to see the four
stars again. The Serpent now appears.
Com'ei parlava, e Sordello a sè il trasse
Dicendo:“Vedi là il nostro avversaro.”— 95
E drizzò il dito, perchè in là guardasse.
Da quella parte onde non ha riparo*
La picciola valléa, era una biscia,
Forse qual diede ad Eva il cibo amaro.
had entered Purgatory, he saw four stars never seen except by
the ancients, by which stars he figured the four cardinal virtues,
with which the man who seeks after virtue must make a begin-
ning; hence he introduced Cato, as the emblem of heathen
morality, whose face was lit up by the rays of these four stars.
But now that Dante is about to enter into Purgatory proper, he
pictures three other stars to have risen into the places of the
first group, that is, the three divine virtues of Faith, Hope, and
Love, by whose light man must enter into penitence, and the
other four have receded in the presence of the three, for, in
truth, they are subject to them, as though they were hand-
maidens that minister unto them.”
Butler says: “It must be observed that all the seven are near
the pole. The seven all together form the 'settentrion del
primo cielo.""--Purg. XXX, 1.
* Onde non ha riparo: The Serpent made his attack on the
valley on the side on which it was most unprotected, where -
entrance was easiest for him. The Tempter always assails man
on his weakest side, “tra l'erba e i fior," amid the pleasures
and delights of this world.
+ Scartazzini says that the attack on the valley by the Serpent,
and its defence by the angels, has given rise to much contro-
versy. If the spirits in Purgatory are free from all temptation,
why do they sing the hymn Te lucis ante, which is a prayer for

192
Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto VIII.
Tra l'erba e i fior venia la mala striscia,
IOO
Volgendo ad or ad or la testa al dosso,
Leccando come bestia che si liscia.
While he (Virgil) was yet speaking, behold (e stands
for ecco), Sordello suddenly drew him to his side,
exclaiming :-"See, there is our adversary !”—and
pointed with his finger, that he should look that way.
On that side, where the little valley had no boundary
(meaning that side farthest removed from the over-
hanging cliff), there was a serpent, and perhaps in the
same form as when it gave to Eve the fruit that was
the source of such bitter woes. Through the green
grass and bright flowers the evil snake* pursued

ery &
deliverance from temptation? And why are they so pale and
terrified when they are expecting Divine help? And what does
the Tempter expect to do if those spirits are not exposed to his
temptations ? And why do the Angels come down from Heaven
to combat the Serpent, if the Serpent has no power to hurt those
spirits ? Scartazzini thinks that the true solution of the difficulty
is that of Cesari, who says:-“I believe that Dante wished to
assign to those spirits, who for their negligence are kept at the
outer gate of Purgatory, this additional penalty, viz. to be in
continual fear and tribulation at the threatened assault of the
Serpent every evening; and that every evening they turn to God
in prayer, invoking the succour of the Angels.” On the Angels
being sent in answer to prayer, compare Daniel IX, 21, “And
whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I
had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly
swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation. And
he informed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am
now come forth to give thee skill, and understanding. At the
beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth,
and I am come to shew thee; for thou art greatly beloved."
* Scartazzini says of striscia, that it is perhaps derived from
the Latin strix, strigis, or from the German strich, and is
Canto VIII. Readings on the Purgatorio. 193
its track, turning every now and then its head towards
its back, and licking like a beast does when it smooths
its coat.*
properly the track that the serpent leaves behind it. The word
is either used in that sense here, as though Dante would say
that one could see the track made by the serpent coming nearer
and nearer through the herbage and the flowers; or, perhaps
better, striscia is to be taken in a figurative sense for the
serpent itself; or, possibly, Dante calls the Serpent striscia
(strip), on account of its long narrow shape, like a strip of cloth
or anything else.
* Milton's description of the serpent, Par. Lost, IX, 434,496:-
“Nearer he drew, and many a walk traverséd
Of stateliest covert, cedar, pine, or palm;
Then voluble and bold, now hid, now seen,
Among thick-woven arborets, and flowers
Imbordered on each bank.

Not with indented wave,
Prone on the ground, as since; but on his rear,
Circular base of rising folds, that towered
Fold above fold, a surging maze! his head
Crested aloft, and carbuncle his eyes;
With burnished neck of verdant gold, erect
Amidst his circling spires, that on the grass
Floated redundant: pleasing was his shape
And lovely; never since of serpent-kind
Lovelier, not those that in Illyria changed
Hermione and Cadmus, or the god
In Epidaurus; nor to which transformed
Ammonian Jove or Capitoline was seen;
He with Olympias, this with her who bore
Scipio, the height of Rome. With tract oblique
At first, as one who sought access, but feared
To interrupt, sidelong he works his way,
As when a ship, by skilful steersman wrought
Nigh river's mouth or foreland, where the wind
194 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto VIII.
105
Dante having described the hostile approach of the
Serpent, now tells of the defence of the valley by the
Angels.
Io nol vidi, e però dicer nol posso,
Come mosser gli astor celestiali,
Ma vidi bene e l' uno e l'altro mosso.
Sentendo fender l' aere alle verdi ali,
Fuggio 'l serpente, e gli angeli diêr volta
Suso alle poste rivolando eguali.
I did not see, and therefore am not able to relate,
how those celestial falcons moved from their posts,
but I saw both the one and the other in motion. The
Serpent, hearing their green pinions cleave the air,
fled, and the Angels wheeled upwards to their stations
in equal flight
In the magnificent passage which now follows,
Dante relates his conversation with Conrad* Malas-

Veers oft, as oft so steers, and shifts her sail:
So varied he, and of his tortuous train
Curled many a wanton wreath in sight of Eve.
B. Oft he bowed
His turret crest, and sleek enamelled neck,
Fawning; and licked the ground whereon she trod.”
* I quote a note of Dean Plumptre's here. He says: “The
history of the Malaspina family is interwoven with that of four
centuries of Italian history as the Lords of the Lunigiana, of
which Carrara and the Val di Magra, opening on the Bay of
Spezia (Inf. XXIV, 145, Par. IX, 89), form a part. As Guelphs
they took part under Obizzo II, with the league of the Lombard
cities, against Frederick Barbarossa. The elder Conrad suc-
ceeded Obizzo in 1193, and was in his turn succeeded by his
sons Manfred, Moroello, Frederick and Albert, and the Conrad
who now meets us is the son of Frederick. The territory was
divided in proportions, into which we need not enter, among
the children and grandchildren of Conrad I. Moroello, who died
Canto VIII. Readings on the Purgatorio. 195
pina, the second of that name, and kinsman of Moro-
ello Malaspina, who in 1306 received Dante with
much hospitality during the earlier period of his exile.
My friend Sir James Lacaita told me once, that, in
1822, the historian Troya was travelling about in the
Val di Magra, in search of materials to collect for the
purpose of writing a life of Dante, and he was hospi-
tably entertained by the Marchese Malaspina, who
descended in the direct male line, from the one who,
600 years before, had received and entertained Dante
himself. And, besides this, Dante in the following
passage speaks of the family as one of great distinc-
tion and of the most illustrious descent even in his
time.
I will not attempt to reproduce all that Scartazzini
writes of the family with his usual diffuseness, but he
says that they go back at least to the ninth century.
They possessed the territory of the Lunigiana, as well
as that of Massa and Carrara, as direct feudatories
of the Empire. The Marchese Alberico took part in
the Council of Pavia in A.D. 876, and since that period
his descendants occupied the ridge of the Apuan
in 1315, the son of Albert, appears in Inf. XXIV, 145, as the
storm-cloud of the Val di Magra. His cousin, another Moroello,
son of Manfred, although opposed in politics, was a personal
friend and protector of the poet, who is said in the letter which
bears the name of Fra Ilario (possibly apocryphal) to have
dedicated the Purgatorio to him, and he and his son Frances-
chino welcomed Dante as a guest in 1306, in the earlier period
of his exile. An earlier Malaspina was conspicuous among the
patrons of the Provençal Troubadours, and the taste for culture
may have been inherited by his descendants. The whole pas-
sage that follows is obviously the utterance of the poet's
gratitude.”

O 2
196 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto VIII.
Alps, and the country lying along the sea coast be-
tween Liguria and Tuscany.
During the whole time that the combat lasted be-
tween the Angels and the Serpent, the spirit of Conrad
was fixedly gazing at Dante, to see if he could re-
cognize him as a person he had seen in the world.
L'ombra che s' era al Giudice raccolta,
Best Quando chiamò, per tutto quell' assalto ΙΙο
Punto non fu da me guardare sciolta.
The spirit that had drawn near to the Judge, when
he called to it with the words, “ Up, Conrad, up!”
during the whole of that assault (of the angels on
the Serpent), had not for one instant loosed its gaze
from me.
Benvenuto says that Conrad could almost foresee
that, in the living man who was standing before him,
he was about to find one who would celebrate the
great name of his race. Conrad now begs Dante by
all his hopes of what he most desires, that he will
give him news of his former dominions in the Luni-
giana.*

* “ Se novella vera, &c.”: Scartazzini says that Dante has
intended to show that the condition of the spirits in the flowery
valley is to some extent an exceptional one, and different from that
of the spirits elsewhere. Conrad asks for news of the Val di
Magra, from which we may infer that he did not know what was
going on there. But in Canto VII Sordello shows a perfect
knowledge of the present; and in other places in Purgatory the
spirits all seem to know what is happening in the world. Com-
pare Purg. III, 143, where Manfred knows that his “good
daughter Constance" is alive.
In Inf. X, Cavalcante Cavalcanti does not know whether his
son Guido is alive, because the knowledge of the present is de-
nied to the doomed in Hell. The spirits in the flowery valley
Canto VIII. Readings on the Purgatorio. 197
115
-“Se la lucerna che ti mena in alto
Trovi nel tuo arbitrio tanta cera,
Quanť è mestiero infino al sommo smalto,”—
Cominciò ella :-“se novella vera
Di Valdimacra o di parte vicina
Sai, dilla a me, che già grande là era.
It (the spirit of Conrad Malaspina) began :—“As I
desire that the light that leadeth thee on high (i.e.
the illuminating grace of God), may find in thy free
will as much wax (that is, as much merit) as will
suffice (to carry thee) to the flower-enamelled summit,
(so do I pray thee that) if thou knowest any true news
of the Valley of the Magra (the Lunigiana), or of its
neighbourhood, thou wilt tell it me, for I was formerly
great there.
Chiamato fui Corrado Malaspina:
Non son l'antico, ma di lui discesi:
A’ miei portai l' amor che qui raffina.”— 120
Conrad Malaspina was my name: I am not the
elder one (Conrad I.), but am descended from him: I
bore to my people the love that is here being purified.”
This Benvenuto explains as follows: “I bore for my
people the love which is here being purified and made
to run in a right direction, discarding all earthly affec-
tions, and turning wholly to God.” Others explain
the passage, Benvenuto says, in another way, and think
that Conrad implies that he only loved his people for
the exaltation of his house, that he neglected good
works, only giving his thoughts to temporal matters,
and of this sin he expects to be purged.

are the ones in Purgatory that can be assailed by the Tempter,
and the only ones who tremble in the presence of temptation.
Conrad seems in the same condition as that of the spirits in
Hell; he can foretell the future, but is ignorant of the present.

198 R eadings on the Purgatorio. Canto VIII.
Dante now gives his answer to Conrad, in which he
enthusiastically cites the great fame borne by the
Malaspina family in the opinion of the whole of
—“0,"—dissi lui,—“per li vostri paesi
Giammai non fui; ma dove si dimora
Per tutta Europa, ch' ei non sien palesi ?
La fama che la vostra casa onora,
Grida i signori, e grida la contrada,
125
Sì che ne sa chi non vi fu ancora.
—“O”—said I to him, “I never was in your do-
mains; but where in all Europe is there an inhabited
spot where they are not renowned? The fame which
honours your (illustrious) house, proclaims its nobles
and proclaims their territory (the Lunigiana), so that
even he knows it, who has never yet been there.
He goes on to say that the present heads of the
family keep up its great name.
Ed io vi giuro, s' io di sopra vada,*
Che vostra gente onrata non si sfregia
Del pregio della borsa e della spada.
Uso e natura sì la privilegia,
130
Che, perchè il capo reo lo mondo torca,
Sola va dritta, e il mal cammin dispregia.”—
* Di sopra: Scartazzini says: “in cima del Purgatorio." He
says that all the old commentators explain it so, with the sole
exception of Francesco da Buti, who comments : “S'io vada
in cielo, dove desidero d' andare.” Scartazzini says, it is sur-
prising that of so many commentators none seem to have re-
membered that the “di sopra," of which Dante speaks here, is
precisely the same as the “di sopra,” explained by Virgil in
“Non so se intendi; io dico di Beatrice.
Tu la vedrai di sopra, in su la vetta
Di questo monte, ridere e felice."
Canto VIII. Readings on the Purgatorio. 199
And I swear to you, by all my hopes of reaching the
summit, that your honoured race is not (at the pre-
sent day) derogating from its former renown for
liberality with its wealth, and for the valour with
which it wields the sword. Its ancient traditions,
and its princely nature, make it so exceptional that,
although the Guilty Head (that is the Devil) turns
the world astray, your family alone goes straight, and
despises the paths of evil."*
* The words “il capo reo lo mondo torca,” according to Scar-
tazzini, admit of two distinct grammatical constructions and
consequently of two different interpretations. If one takes
"the world” as the subject, and “the guilty head” as the object,
one must translate "although the world perverts the guilty head
from the right path.” If, however, one takes “the guilty head”
as the subject, and “the world" as the object, then one must
translate “Although the guilty head perverts the world.” Ben-
venuto takes this last view (with many other commentators) ex-
plaining “il capo reo” both as Pope and the Emperor, but he
also gives the explanation that I have adopted of“ il capo reo"
as meaning the Devil. Many have explained "il capo reo” to
mean Boniface VIII, Purg. XVI, 100-104. Others to mean Rome,
the seat of the Guelphs—but Scartazzini says that Dante is com-
paring the Malaspina family to the rest of the world, and, though
the world is turned from the straight path, the Malaspinas are
not. And besides this, the Malaspinas being essentially a
Guelph family, it would have been scant praise to them that
they did not allow themselves to be corrupted by the Pope, or
by the Papal Court. In support of his explanation that “il capo
reo” may be the Devil, Benvenuto da Imola says that the
Devil, the Prince of this world, only a few moments before, in
the form of a serpent, had assailed these spirits of the great;
and there is no more evil head than the head of the serpent.
Sola va dritta: Compare Isaiah XXX, 21 : “This is the way,
walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn
to the left."

200 | Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto VIII.
In conclusion, Dante makes Conrad Malaspina, in
answer to the eulogiums passed on his family, pre-
dict that in a brief space of time Dante will have very
good cause to know, by personal experience, what as
yet he has learnt of the Malaspinas only by common
report.
Ed egli:-“Or va, chè il sol non si ricorca *
Sette volte nel letto che il Montone
Con tutti e quattro i piè cuopre ed inforca, 135
Che cotesta cortese opinïone
Ti fia chiavata in mezzo alla testa
Con maggior chiovi che d'altrui sermone,
Se corso di giudizio non s' arresta.”—
And he :—“Now pass on; but (let me tell thee that)
the sun shall not return to rest seven times in that
bed, which the Ram covers and bestrides with all his
four feet (the sun shall not return seven times to rest
in that sign of the zodiac, Aries, in which he now is ;
which means, seven years shall not pass), before this
courteous opinion of thine will be fastened in the
midst of thy head with stronger nails than could be
driven by the speech of anyone, provided that the
course of justice, the divine decrees of Heaven, be
not stayed.” Or, as Scartazzini puts it: If the decree
of Heaven, that within a short time will condemn
thee to be banished from thy country, and to seek
refuge elsewhere, has its course, and is not arrested
by God Himself. That Divine Decree was not ar-

Cors
* Ricorca: At the time of Dante's supposed vision in 1300
the Sun was in the Constellation of Aries. The ram has always
been represented in the ancient astronomical maps as lying
down, and with his body reclining on the ecliptic, the bed of the
Sun, and with his folded legs covering and bestriding this section
of the ecliptic.
Canto VIII. Readings on the Purgatorio. 201
rested; Dante was exiled from Florence; and in
1306 was received as a guest by the Malaspina family
in the Lunigiana, and treated with the greatest liber-
ality and courtesy.*
Longfellow says that with this Canto ends the first
day in Purgatory, Easter Sunday, as indicated by the
description of evening at the beginning, and the rising
of the stars at v. 89. With it closes also the first
sub-division of this part of the poem, indicated, as the
reader will not fail to notice, by the elaborate intro-
duction of the next Canto.
* Moroello Malaspina, Marchese di Villafranca, grandson of
this Conrad, was the one who received and entertained Dante
during his exile.

END OF CANTO VIII.
202
Canto IX.
Readings on the Purgatorio.
CANTO IX.
DANTE'S DREAM.
THE EAGLE.
TRANCE INTO PURGATORY.
FROM the commencement of the Book of the Pur-
gatorio up to this point, Dante has been relating the
condition of those who, for various errors of omission,
were relegated to the. Anti-Purgatorio, not being yet
judged worthy to pass through the Entrance Gate,
and commence their period of purgation in Purgatory
itself. In the present Canto Dante begins to treat of
Purgatory proper, in which are chastised the spirits
of those who fell into any of the seven mortal sins.
Benvenuto divides the Canto into four parts.
In the First Division, from v. I to v. 33, Dante
describes his wonderful dream.
In the Second Division, from v. 34 to v. 69, he
gives the interpretation of the dream.
In the Third Division, from v. 70 to v. 114, he
describes the Gate of Purgatory, and the Angel
Janitor.
In the Fourth Division, from v. 115 to v. 145, he
relates how he and Virgil entered into Purgatory.

Division 1. Benvenuto says that, in the first division
of this Canto,* Dante describes a wonderful dream,
* Ozanam says of the opening passage, “Nous trouvons ici
une de ces belles allégories aimées du moyen âge. Ces siècles
Canto IX. Readings on the Purgatorio.
203
and he says that the more his readers take note of
how difficult and profound the Canto is, the more
will they realize what a wonderful poet Dante was.
Wishing to describe a dream, he first relates how he
fell asleep and at what hour; which would appear to
be about the third hour of the night, “when the
Aurora of the Moon was rising,” which he describes
poetically as “La concubina di Titone antico.” Ben-
venuto adds that the text appears to be very difficult,
and of doubtful meaning, for Dante would seem to
say what was never before written or imagined by
any other poet, viz.: that the Aurora of the Moon
should be the mistress of Tithonus. Some have tried
to prove that Dante was only describing the dawn of
the Sun, but that is false, and is seen to be impossible,
when the text is well considered. There does not
appear to be any agreement among commentators as
to the right interpretation of the first nine verses.
Some take it that Dante was describing the approach
of day, others that of night. Some think “il freddo
animale” to be the zodiacal sign of Scorpio, others
that of the Pisces. Some think that “la notte dei
passi” refers to the signs of the zodiac, others to the
twelve hours of the night in the time of the equinox,
while others again see the three night watches.
Let us take it that Dante refers to the mistress of
Tithonus, and wishes to express that the moon was

si simples sont en même temps passionés pour l'allégorie. Ils
la cherchent dans l'interprétation de l'Ecriture, ils la veulent
dans les monuments. Ils ne comprennent pas de poésie sans
une pensée allégorique. C'est ainsi qu'ils expliquent Virgile et
Ovide : c'est l'âme de tout le poëme du Saint Graal qui sym-
bolise toutes les lois de la chevalerie.”
204 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto ix.
rising. We read then that the moon, the mistress of
Tithonus (and not Aurora, who was his lawful wife,
and who represents sunrise), was standing on the
precipitous edge of the east, like a beautiful woman
looking from her balcony, and was beginning to
shimmer with pale light, her brow glistening with
stars placed like gems, in the form of the Constellation
of the Scorpion ; two hours of the night had already

in its turn. The hour would seem to be about
8.45 P.M., the night having begun at 6 P.M.
La concubina di Titone antico *
le,
Già s' imbiancava al balco d' oriente,
Fuor delle braccia del suo dolce amico :
Di gemme la sua fronte era lucente,
Poste in figura del freddo animale,
Che con la coda percuote la gente :
E la notte de' passi con che sale,
Fatti avea duo nel loco ov eravamo,
E il terzo già chinava in giuso l' ale;
Quand' io, che meco avea di quel d'Adamo,
Vinto dal sonno, in su l' erba inchinai
Là dove tutti e cinque sedevamo.
* Tithonus was the son of Laomedon, and brother of Priam
King of Troy. He married Aurora, the daughter of the Sun.
He was old and decrepid. Some suppose him to have married
two Auroras, the greater one that of the Sun, and the lesser one
that of the Moon.
My friend Dr. Moore says that “if any one will refer to
Scartazzini's exhaustive note at the end of this Canto, he will
see that the literature of this passage might almost be de-
scribed as a small library in itself. Further, if he will turn
to the paragraph headed Risultato, p. 161, he will find that
Scartazzini and others regard the difficulties as all but insoluble,
since every interpretation suggested remains open to formidable
objections." Scartazzini reads "Titan antico.”
Canto ix. Readings on the Purgatorio. 205
The concubine of ancient Tithonus (that is, the
Moon-dawn) was already beginning to grow white,
to shimmer upon the terrace of the east, forth from
the arms of her sweet friend (paramour): her brow
was glistening with gems (stars), in the shape of
that cold blooded animal (the scorpion), that wounds
people with its tail: and the night, of the steps
with which she ascends (that is, hours), had made
but two, in the place where we were abiding, and
the third was already inclining its wings down-
wards (i.e. the third hour was passing away); when
I, who had (so much) of Adam (i.l. of mortality)
about me, overcome by sleep, laid down my head
upon the grass there where we five were sitting
together.
The five were, Dante, Virgil, Sordello, Nino di
Gallura, and Conrad Malaspina. In the next fifteen
lines, Dante describes how he fell asleep, and slept
nearly until dawn,* during the latter part of which
time, and when dreams are said to come true (see
Inf. XXVI, 7), he had a vision, in which he thought
that the material part of his nature was raised up
on high by an Eagle, which carried him straightway
up to the sphere of fire, when the heat appeared
to him to be so intense, that he awoke. Virgil
afterwards tells him that the Eagle, and Lucia, re-
presentative of Divine Grace, are one and the same
person.

* Longfellow says there is a long pause of rest and sleep
between lines 12 and 13, which makes the passage doubly
beautiful. The narrative recommences like the twitter of the
early birds just beginning to stir in the woods.

206
Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto ix.
Nell' ora che comincia i tristi lai
La rondinella presso alla mattina,
Forse a memoria de' suoi primi guai,
15
E che la mente nostra, peregrina
Più dalla carne, e men da' pensier presa,
Alle sue visïon quasi è divina;
In sogno mi parea veder sospesa
Un' aquila nel ciel con penne d'oro,
Con l' ale aperte, ed a calare intesa :
Ed esser mi parea là dove fôro
Abbandonati i suoi da Ganimede,
Quando fu ratto al sommo consistoro.
Just at the hour, near the dawn, when the little
swallow begins her melancholy lays, perchance still
remembering her former woes ;* and when our
minds, as it were, wandering forth out of the flesh,
less hampered by thoughts, almost appear to possess
the gift of divination in their visions ;t methought
I saw in a dream an Eagle with feathers of gold
hovering in mid air, with wings wide-spread, and
* Scartazzini says that the twitter of the swallows is never
heard until it is broad daylight.
"Memoria de' suoi prima guai” alludes to the story of Procne,
who was changed into a swallow after her revenge upon her
husband Tereus for the wrong he had done her. The dawn
here described is that of the second day passed in Purgatory,
viz. that of Easter Monday.
+ “Nell' ora ... che la mente ... alle sue vision quasi è
divina :" Compare Pope, Temple of Fame, 7:—
“What time the morn mysterious visions brings,
While purer slumbers spread their golden wings.”
Monti, I Ritratti dei quattro Poeti :-
“ Nell' ora che più l' alma è pellegrina
Dei sensi, e meno delle cure ancella
Segne i sogni che il raggio odian del sole.”
Canto ix. Readings on the Purgatorio. 207
poising for a swoop ;* and it seemed to me that the
scene was there (on Mount Ida) where Ganymede aban-
doned his kith and kin, when he was caught up, and
carried to the high consistory (Olympus). +
The golden feathers are the rays of holy love, more
pure and resplendent than gold; the open wings are
the wide-stretched arms of Mercy, which Heber
describes as awaiting the departing soul : “The wide
arms of Mercy are spread to enfold thee.” The Eagle
is poising ready to swoop. So are Divine Grace and
Love ready to descend when asked for.
He continues to describe his vision, and what his
thoughts were while dreaming.
* Dean Plumptre says that the Eagle, as the bird of Jove,
seen from the classical standpoint, suggested the story of
Ganymede, Hom. Il. XX, 232, Virg. Æn. V. 253. With Dante
however there was another memory, and the Eagle recalled the
four living creatures of Ezekiel I, 1o, and Rev. IV, 7, and so
became a fit emblem of Lucia as the symbol of illuminating
grace.
† Ganymede was the son of the King of Troy and, while
hunting with his courtiers, was caught up by the Eagle sent by
Jupiter, from the woods of Mount Ida. Notice Benvenuto's
comparison :
Ganymede was caught up by Dante by the Eagle of God.
the Eagle of Jupiter.
When he was in the woods of When he was in the flowery
Ida.
valley.
Ganymede's companions were Dante's the illustrious spirits.
his courtiers.
Ganymede caught up to Olym- Dante carried to the gate of
pus to be the servant of Jupi Purgatory where, after puri-
ter.
fication, he will be rendered
worthy to become the servant
of Almighty God.

208
Canto IX.
Readings on the Purgatorio.
nsava
S
25
Fra me pensava :-“Forse questa fiede
Pur quì per uso, e forse d'altro loco
Disdegna di portarne suso in piede.”—
I thought within myself:—“Perchance it is only in
this one spot that this Eagle is in the habit of striking
his quarry, and disdains to bear it off from another
place in his talons."
Dante here means to express his opinion that Di-
vine Love, symbolized by the Eagle, elevates saintly
minds more readily to God, when they have secluded
themselves into special retreats for contemplation and
penitence, where their love can be more concentrated,
than when exposed to contact with the outer world.
The occupations and devotions, in which we saw that
the Illustrious Spirits were engaged, would seem to
bear out this idea.

30
Poi mi parea che, roteata un poco,
Terribil come folgor discendesse,
E mi rapisse suso infino al fuoco.*
Ivi pareva ch'ella ed io ardesse,
E sì l'incendio immaginato cosse,
Che convenne che il sonno si rompesse.
* al fuoco : Some think the sphere of fire means the
Empyrean, but most of the commentators take the same view
as Scartazzini, who says “the sphere of fire, according to the
cosmography of the Middle Ages, was between the sphere of
the air, and the Heaven of the Moon,” as may be seen in the
Duke of Sermoneta's Tavole Dantesche.
Brunetto Latini says in the Tesoro, Ch. CXIII: “After the
environment of the air is seated the fourth element; this is an
orb of fire, which extends to the moon and surrounds this
atmosphere in which we are. And know that above the fire is
in the first place the moon, and the other stars, which are all of
the nature of fire."
Canto ix. Readings on the Purgatorio. 209
And then, methought, that wheeling a little, it
swooped down, terrible as the lightning, and snatched
me upward to the region of fire. There, it seemed to
me that both it (the Eagle) and I, were burning, and
so greatly did the imaginary fire scorch me, that of
necessity my slumber was broken, and I awoke out
of my dream.
The Eagle descends like the Holy Ghost in a
bodily shape, and in carrying Dante in an instant
of time up to God, who is “Comfort, Life, and
Fire of Love," prefigures his subsequent ascent to
Paradise.
Division II. Here begins the Second Division of
the Canto, in which Dante relates the interpretation
of his dream given to him by Virgil.
He begins by describing his astonishment, on awak-
ing, at finding himself in a spot, previously unknown
to him, and compares his feelings to those of Achilles,
when he found himself at the Court of Lycomedes King
of Scyros. Thetis, the mother of Achilles, on the out-
break of the Trojan war, fearing that her son would
take part in it, and be slain, as had been foretold,
carried him away in sleep from his tutor, the Centaur
Chiron, and concealed him in female attire at Scyros,
where he was discovered eventually by the craft of
Ulysses, and so went to his death at the siege of Troy.
Non altrimenti Achille si riscosse,
Gli occhi svegliati rivolgendo in giro,
35
E non sappiendo là dove si fosse,

210
Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto ix.
Quando la madre da Chirone a Schiro
Trafugò lui, dormendo, in le sue braccia,
Là onde poi gli Greci il dipartiro ;
Che mi scoss' io, sì come dalla faccia
40
Mi fuggì il sonno, e diventaï smorto,
Come fa l' uom che spaventato agghiaccia.
Not otherwise did Achilles rouse himself, rolling
his awakened eyes round and round, ignorant of what
place he had got to, when his mother carried him off
asleep in her arms, from the care of Chiron, to Scyros,
whence, shortly afterwards, the Greeks (Ulysses and
Diomed) severed him; thus did I start up, as sleep
deserted my eyelids, and I turned deadly pale, like
a man does who is frozen with terror.
Benvenuto compares the case of Achilles with that
of Dante.* Virgil, whom Dante, on waking, finds by
his side, comforts and encourages him.

Dallato m'era solo il mio conforto,
E il sole er alto già più che due ore,
E il viso m'era alla marina torto.+
* Benvenuto says of Achilles, “si riscosse.” Dante says: “mi
scossio," I roused myself. Thetis takes Achilles from Chiron.
his master and guide. Lucia takes Dante from Virgil. Chiron
was learned in the nature and habits of horses, cattle, trees and
herbs. Dante had studied like matters in Virgil's Georgics and
Bucolics. Thetis hid her son, that he might not be taken to the
siege of Troy. Lucia transports Dante to the Gate of Purgatory,
in order to withdraw him from the temptations of the world.
Both Achilles and Dante wake out of sleep in like astonish-
ment at finding themselves in a new spot.
+ Scartazzini remarks that Dante's stupefaction and fear would
be much increased by finding himself turned towards the sea, so
that he saw nothing but the sky and the sea; while all that had
met his eyes the previous evening, the flowery valley, the spirits
of the great, and Sordello, had vanished.
Canto ix. Readings on the Purgatorio.
2II
-"Non aver tema "--disse il mio Signore :
-“Fatti sicur, chè noi siamo a buon punto
Non stringer, ma rallarga ogni vigore.
Alone at my side stood my comforter, Virgil,
the sun was already more than two hours high,
and my face was turned towards the sea. “Be not
afraid,” said my Master, “be reassured, for we have
reached a good point: do not restrain, but redouble
all thy strength.”
Dr. Moore says: “Dante describes his awakening
when the sun had already been up more than two
hours, so that the time would be about 7.30 a.m."
Virgil then expounds Dante's dream, showing how
it represented his transportation during his sleep
by the aid of Lucia to the actual gate of Purgatory.
Hitherto, it will be remembered, they have been tra-
versing the Ante-Purgatory only.
Tu se' omai al Purgatorio giunto :
Vedi là il balzo che il chiude d'intorno;
Vedi l'entrata là 've par disgiunto.
Thou art at length come to Purgatory; see there
the rampart that closes it round; behold the entrance
where there seems to be a cleft.
Dianzi, nell'alba che precede al giorno,
Quando l'anima tua dentro dormia
Sopra li fiori, onde laggiù è adorno,
Venne una donna, e disse : Io son Lucia :
55
Lasciatemi pigliar costui che dorme,
Sè l' agevolerò per la sua via.
A little while ago, in the dawn that precedes the
day, when thy soul was sleeping within thy body, as
it reposed on the flowers with which the valley down
there is adorned, came a lady, and said :-“I am

50
P 2
212
Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto ix.
Lucia, let me carry away him who is asleep; for, by
doing so, I shall render his journey easier to him.”.
Virgil goes on to tell him that Sordello, with Nino
di Gallura and Conrad Malaspina, had to remain
behind, for their time for entering into Purgatory had
not yet arrived. He tells him moreover that Lucia
came after daylight had dawned, thus confirming
what Sordello had told them in Canto VII that by
night they could not even pass beyond the mark that
his finger had traced upon the ground.
Sordel rimase, e l' altre gentil forme :
Ella ti tolse, e come il dì fu chiaro,*
Sen venne suso, ed io per le sue orme. 1 60
Qui ti posò: e pria mi dimostraro
Gli occhi suoi belli quell'entrata aperta ;t
Poi ella e il sonno ad una se n'andaro."
Sordello remained behind, as well as the other noble
forms (of Conrad and Nino): she took thee up, and
as soon as it was broad daylight, she mounted up,
bearing thee, and I followed in her track. She laid
thee down here: and first her lovely eyes showed me

* Come il dì fu chiaro. Even Lucia had to conform to the
law of Purgatory, and had to await daylight before making any
upward progress.
+ Gli occhi suoi belli. The two eyes of God's Love are alle-
gorically said to be Justice and Mercy.
Scartazzini says that, according to common tradition, St.
Lucia had her eyes put out for her love to the Christian faith.
St. Thom. Aq., Sum. P. II, 2*, Qu. LXIV, art. 5, says: “Non
inquinatur corpus nisi de consensu mentis, ut Lucia dixit."
Quell'entrata aperta. This does not mean that the gate of
Purgatory was open, for we know by the description further on
in the Canto that it was shut, until the Angel opened it. Some
commentators think that it means that the entrance to Purgatory
is only open to truly penitent sinners.
Canto ix. Readings on the Purgatorio.
213
yonder open entrance; then she and sleep departed
from thee at the same moment.
Lucia represents Divine Grace, and Virgil, who fol-
lows in her track, represents Reason. When Reason
follows in the footsteps of the illuminating Grace of
God, it will be well used, and to a right purpose.
Dante shows in the next six lines, how completely
Virgil's words had reassured him, so that he gets up
and follows him without further fear.
A guisa d' uom che in dubbio si raccerta,
E che muta in conforto sua paura,
Poi che la verità gli è discoverta,
Mi cambia' io : e come senza cura
Videmi il duca mio, su per lo balzo*
Si mosse, ed io diretro invêr l' altura.
Just like one, who having been in doubt, returns to
certainty, and changes his fear for confidence, so soon
as the truth has been revealed to him, so did I change:
and when my Leader saw me free from care, he began
to move up along the cliff, and I behind him, towards
the height.

Division III. This is the third division of the
Canto, in which Dante describes the entrance gate to
Purgatory and the angel porter. Dante begins by
calling the attention of his readers to the fact that, as
he is now about to relate more sublime matters than
he has treated of before, so must his style become
more elevated in its tone. Before, he has - only de-
* Balzo. This does not refer to the line of circumvallation,
but to the remainder of the cliff which slopes upwards from the
flowery valley to the Gate of Purgatory.
214
Canto ix.
Readings on the Purgatorio.
tence, in the self-searching consciousness of sin. But
from this point he will have to treat of the real exer-

surprised if he fortifies the story with greater artifice
and allegorical treatment.
Lettor, tu vedi ben com' io innalzo
70
La mia materia ; e però con più arte
Non ti maravigliar s'io la rincalzo.
Reader, thou seest well how I elevate my theme,
and therefore, if I fortify it (lit. prop it up) with
greater art, marvel not thereat.*
Dante and Virgil had, in the first instance, only
thought they saw a narrow cleft in the rock, but on
drawing nearer to it they found it was a gate.
Noi c' appressammo, ed eravamo in parte,
Che là, dove pareami prima un rotto,
Pur come un fesso che muro diparte,
Vidi una porta, e tre gradi di sotto,
75
Per gire ad essa, di color diversi,t
Ed un portier che ancor non facea motto.
* Gioberti says that Dante elevates his theme, inasmuch as
he is now passing from the vestibule of Purgatory, previously
described, into Purgatory itself, the door of which is to be
presently mentioned.
entry, is the exact opposite to that of Hell, which, in Inf. V, 20,
is mentioned as having “l'ampiezza dell' entrare,” ever wide
open and unguarded, whereas the gate of Purgatory is closed
and guarded by the angelic warder.
+ The angel, observes Benvenuto, typifies the Priest and
Confessor. He does not at first utter a word, because, says
Francesco da Buti, the priest must not absolve anyone, unless
requested; but when asked he must be prompt and ready. The
three steps signify the three acts of penitence for purgation of
Canto IX. Readings on the Purgatorio. 215
80
We now drew nearer, and found that we had reached
a point, where what had at first appeared to me to be
an opening, like a mere fissure that parts a wall, I saw
to be a portal, and beneath three steps leading up to
it, of different colours, and likewise a warder, who, as
yet, spoke not a word.
The allegorical signification of this is, that he who
looks at repentance from afar thinks the entrance
much narrower and more difficult than when he has
mastered his will, and really turned himself to it.
He next describes the radiant angel and his flaming
sword.
E come l'occhio più e più v'apersi
Vidil seder sopra il grado soprano
Tal nella faccia, ch' io non lo soffersi.*
Ed una spada nuda aveva in mano
Che rifletteva i raggi sì vêr noi,
Ch' io dirizzava spesso il viso in vano.
sin :-1. Contrition of the heart; 2. Oral confession ; 3. Expi-
ation by works.
Scartazzini states that No. I is contrition; No. 2 confession;
and that the second step must, perforce, correspond to the
second stage of scholastic penitence, which is oral confession.
* The angel on the steps had a face that shone like that of
the one in the boat (see II, 37).
—“L'uccel divino, più chiaro appariva ;
Per che l'occhio da presso nol sostenne ;
Ma china' il giuso."
and in VIII, 35: “Ma nelle faccie l'occhio si smarria.”
Spada nuda. Benvenuto remarks that this sword means the
lingua sacerdotale, for the priest's words must be clear and
open, and, like the sword, penetrate to the heart. Philalethes
says it is the symbol of spiritual jurisdiction. Scartazzini explains
that the sword symbolizes the word of God, as is shown by the
use the angel makes of it, and he draws our attention to Ephes.
VI, 17, to “the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God.”

bec
m
216 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto IX.
And, as I opened my eyes more and more, I saw
that he was seated upon the highest step, but in his
face he was of such dazzling radiance that I could
not endure it. He held, moreover, in his hand a
naked sword, that so reflected the rays towards us,
that again and again did I in vain direct my eyes
towards him.

commands them to answer from the spot where they
are standing without advancing further. He asks
what is their business, and how they have come, and
on being informed that Dante has been moved by
the influence of divine love, guided also by reason,
expresses himself satisfied, and invites them to pass
into Purgatory by the three steps.
_“Dite costinci : che volete voi ?”_
Cominciò egli a dire :-—"ov’ è la scorta ?
Guardate che il venir su non vi nôi!”—
“Tell me from where you are standing, What is it
that you want ?” he began to say. “Where is the
escort—that is, the angel who usually accompanies
the spirits up to this point ? Take heed that your
coming up hither be not to your hurt.”
Virgil answers for Dante and himself :-
—“Donna del ciel, di queste cose accorta,»*_
Rispose il mio maestro a lui, —“pur dianzi
Ne disse ;† Andate là, quivi è la porta.”
90
* Accorta, that is, well-informed in the laws that prevail in
Purgatory.
+ Ne disse. Lucia had not spoken, but this clearly refers to
v. 61-2, where Virgil says
“e pria mi dimostraro
Gli occhi suoi belli quell' entrata aperta,"
she had simply given a sign with her eyes to Virgil.
Canto ix. Readings on the Purgatorio. 217
“A lady from heaven, who is conversant with
these matters,” answered my Master to him, “said
to us but a short while since, ‘Go thither, there is
the gate.'”
Virgil's explanation is quite satisfactory to the
angel, who thereupon says,
—“Ed ella i passi vostri in bene avanzi,”—
Ricominciò il cortese portinaio :
-“Venite dunque a' nostri gradi innanzi.”—
“And may she further your steps to a good end,"
the courteous warder began again. “Advance, then,
and stand before these steps of ours.”
The three steps, as already explained, are sym-
bolical of, 1. Contrition; 2. Confession ; 3. Expia-
tion. He now describes them in detail.
Là ’ve venimmo, allo scaglion primaio,*
Bianco marmo era sì pulito e terso,
Ch' io mi specchiai in esso quale io paio.
95

* Dean Plumptre says, “The three steps are ...
1. The white marble, in which he saw himself mirrored, indi-
cates the self-knowledge, without which contrition is incom-
plete, the purity of conscience which can recall the memories of
past sins without fresh guilt.
2. The dark gloomy hue, the broken and rough surface of the
second stair, symbolize the state of the heart as laid bare in
confession, in all its black unrighteousness.
3. The crimson hue of the porphyry is, in like manner, the fit
emblem of the charity which is the spring of all true works of
satisfaction, possibly also of the blood of price” shed upon
the cross; blood which was thought of partly as an expiation
for the sins of the world, partly as the outward token of a burn-
ing and consuming love. Lastly, the adamant-not diamond-
threshold upon which the angel was seated, represents at once
the rock foundation of the Church's power to pardon, and the
firmness of soul required in the confessor who is the instrument
by which that power is exercised."
218
Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto IX.
Thither, then, we came to the first of the steps,
which was of marble, so white and polished, that in it
I could see myself reflected as in a mirror.
Era il secondo tinto più che perso,
D'una petrina ruvida ed arsiccia,
Crepata per lo lungo e per traverso.
The second was of a darker hue than perse (sup-
posed to be a purple black), and of a rugged and
calcined stone, which, in all its length and breadth,
was full of cracks.
Lo terzo, che di sopra s' ammassiccia,
100
Porfido mi parea, sì fiammeggiante
Come sangue che fuor di vena spiccia.
The third, which stands highest above the other
two, appeared to me to be of porphyry, as flaming red
as blood that gushes forth from a vein.
Dante now describes the position of the angel, who
kept his feet upon the third or uppermost step, while
sitting upon a rock of adamant.
Sopra questo teneva ambo le piante
L'Angel di Dio, sedendo in su la soglia,
Che mi sembiava pietra di diamante.
105
Upon this last step the angel of God was resting
both his feet, while sitting upon the threshold of the
doorway, which appeared to me to be formed of solid
rock of adamant.* Benvenuto da Imola says that
diamante is “adamas indomabilis” (adamant that
cannot be broken).
Dante next shows how willingly he went forward

* The old commentators all interpreted pietra di diamante to
symbolize the firmness and constancy of the confessor ; but
the more modern see in it the image of the solid foundation on
which the Church rests. Compare Ezekiel III, 9: “As an
Canto ix. Readings on the Purgatorio.
219
to perform acts of penitence, and how graciously he
was received.
Per li tre gradi su di buona voglia
Mi trasse il duca mio, dicendo :-“Chiedi
Umilmente che il serramo scioglia.”—
Divoto mi gittai a' santi piedi :
Misericordia chiesi che m'aprisse :
Ma pria nel petto tre frate mi diedi.
Up the three steps did my leader, whom I followed
with good-will, lead me, saying, “ Ask, in all humility,
that the bolt may be unbarred.” Devoutly did I
ΙΙΟ
adamant, harder than flint, have I made thy forehead.” Matt.
XVI, 18 : “And upon this rock will I build my church.”
Milton describes the Gate of Paradise, Par. Lost, III, 501.
“Far distant he descries,
Ascending by degrees magnificent
Up to the wall of Heaven, a structure high;
At top whereof, but far more rich, appeared
The work as of a kingly palace gate,
With frontispiece of diamond and of gold
Embellished ; thick with sparkling orient gems
The portal shone, inimitable on earth
By model, or by shading pencil, drawn.
The stairs were such as whereon Jacob saw
Angels ascending and descending, bands
Of guardian angels bright, when he from Esau fled
To Padan-Aram, in the field of Luz
Dreaming by night under the open sky,
And waking cried, “This is the gate of heaven.'
Each stair mysteriously was meant, nor stood
There always, but drawn up to Heaven sometimes
Viewless; and underneath a bright sea flowed
Of jasper, or of liquid pearl, whereon
Who after came from earth, sailing arrived,
Wafted by Angels; or o'er the lake,
Rapt in a chariot drawn by fiery steeds."

220 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto IX.
throw myself at the feet of that holy being, and en-
treated him in mercy to open unto me: but first I
smote three times upon my breast.
Dante smote himself three times—once for sins of
thought ; twice for sins of word; thrice for sins of
deed. The angel, before making any signs of open-
ing the gate, imposed the penance upon Dante of
wearing upon his brow, during his passage through
Purgatory, the letter P marked upon it seven times
with the angel's sword. The seven P's represent the
seven capital sins,* and Dante must have one of
these erased by the guardian angel of each successive
cornice, before he can pass on and ascend to the next
above.
Sette P nella fronte mi descrisse
Col punton della spada, e :-“Fa che lavi
Quando se dentro queste piaghe,”—disse.
He then traced seven P's upon my brow with the
point of his sword, and, “See that thou wash these
scars away," said he, “when once thou art within the
gate.” Dante was not only to do penance in Pur-
gatory for the seven capital sins, but also to tear out
even the very roots of them.

* P. stands for Peccato.
Piaghe : scars or wounds; the latter is a frequent scriptural
term to denote sins.
Ps. XXXVIII: 5, “My wounds stink and are corrupt, through
my foolishness.”
Isaiah, I, 6 : “ There is no soundness in it, but wounds, and
bruises, and putrifying sores."
Jer. XXX, 12: “Thy bruise is incurable, and thy wound is
grievous."
Canto ix. Readings on the Purgatorio. 221
115
Division IV. We now enter upon the Fourth and
Concluding Division of the Canto, in which Dante
describes how the Guardian Angel admitted him into
Purgatory, with what keys he opened the gate, and
the peculiar attire which he wore.
Cenere, o terra che secca si cavi,
D'un color fôra col suo vestimento,
E di sotto da quel trasse duo chiavi.
Ashes, or earth when dug dry out of the ground,
would be of an equal colour with his attire, and from
beneath it he drew forth two keys.
The Angel kept the keys under a dress that was
of unassuming colour, showing that the Confessor
must not exercise his office with arrogance. The
keys are of two pure metals.
L'una era d'oro, e l' altra era d'argento:
Pria con la bianca, e poscia con la gialla
Fece alla porta sì ch'io fui contento.
120
One (key) was of gold, and the other was of silver,
and first with the white, and next with the yellow, he
so dealt with the gate that I was content (that is, he
opened it).*

* Compare Inf. XXVII, 103, where Pope Boniface VIII says
to Guido da Montefeltro :
“Lo ciel poss' io serrare e disserrare
Come tu sai; però son duo le chiavi,
Che 'l mio antecessor non ebbe care."
The power was here used by the bad Confessor for his own
iniquitous purposes.
Benvenuto says that the keys in theological writings have
always been taken to signify the power of binding and loosing,
for the ecclesiastical judge must receive the worthy and exclude
the unworthy. The gold key is the authority to bind and loose;
the silver key is the power of discrimination.
WE
222 | Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto IX.
The Angel first used the silver key, in order to dis-
cern Dante's fitness, and then the gold key to give him
absolution. The Angel goes on to explain to Dante
the necessity that there is for these two keys, showing
that the one comes to the aid of the other, and that
the one cannot perform its functions without the other..
-“Quandunque l' una d' este chiavi falla,
Che non si volga dritta per la toppa," —
Diss' egli a noi,-“non sapre questa calla.
Più cara è l' una; ma l' altra vuol troppa
D'arte ed'ingegno avanti che disserri, 125
Perch' ell' è quella che il nodo disgroppa.
“Whenever one of these keys fails, so that it does
not turn properly in the lock,” said he to us, “this
narrow entrance (lit. gap) will not open. The one
(the golden one), is the more precious; but the other
(the silver one), requires too much skill and sagacity,
before that it will unlock the door, for it is this one
which has to untie the knot (that is, has to solve the
difficulty).”
Both science and authority are necessary in the
confessor, and, at times, the one may be found
without the other. One priest may have legitimate
authority without discernment, while another may
have discernment without authority.* Genius and
study are both indispensably necessary to acquire
knowledge, before opening the door, for knowledge,
when combined with discernment, unlooses the en-
tanglement of sin. A confessor must know how to
separate what is good in a penitent from what is evil,
and to discern when some sins are mixed and in-

* Benvenuto says that discernment can be used without
authority, but to use authority without discernment would be sin.
Canto ix. Readings on the Purgatorio. 223
volved with other sins. The Angel goes on to tell
them that he has received the keys from St. Peter,
who has given him special instructions as to their use.
Da Pier le tengo; e dissemi, ch' io erri
Anzi ad aprir, che a tenerla serrata,
Pur che la gente a' piedi mi s' atteri.”—
I hold them from Peter, and he told me, rather to
err in opening the door, than in keeping it shut, so
long as they who ask for entrance prostrate them-
selves at my feet.”*
The Angel now opens the gate.
Poi pinse l' uscio alla porta sacrata,
130
Dicendo:—“Entrate; ma facciovi accorti
Che di fuor torna chi ’ndietro si guata.”—
* St. Peter consigned the keys to the angel, having received
them himself from Jesus Christ, with the words: “And I will
give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatso-
ever thou shall bind on earth, shall be bound in heaven; and
whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."
Matt. XVI, 19.
Let it be understood that St. Peter is not really supposed
by Dante to have had the authority to transmit to angels the
power of loosing and binding; but the angel in this passage is
only a symbol of the confessor, and typifies that, and that only.
The confessor is rather to run the risk of absolving an unworthy
person, than of denying absolution to a true penitent.
Compare Ezek. XXXIII, II: “As I live, saith the Lord God,
I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the
wicked turn from his way and live.” Also XVIII, 23, almost the
same words.
Scartazzini says that it is evident that this loving suggestion
takes for granted that this angel may fail from ignorance; which
would almost be blasphemy, if the intention of the poet was to
represent a celestial intelligence. This is another proof that the
angel here only represents the confessor, and the scrupulous
care to be taken by him in dealing with penitents.

224 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto ix.
Then he pushed open the holy portal, saying :-
"Enter in, but I give you this warning, that whoever
looks behind him will have to return forth out of Pur-
gatory.” This means, that divine grace is lost by
those who return to their former sins.* ..
Dante now describes the difficulty of the entrance,
by what Benvenuto calls “a noble comparison.”
What he wishes to express is, that in the opening of
that gate there was made as much noise and sound,
as was made formerly at Rome about the Treasury
on the Tarpeian Rock being robbed by Cæsar.
E quando fûr ne' cardinit distorti
Gli spigoli di quella regge sacra,
Che di metallo son sonanti e forti,
135
Non rugghiò sì, nè si mostrò sì acra
Tarpeia, come tolto le fu il buono
Metello, per che poi rimase macra.
And when the swivels of that sacred gate swung
round upon their hinges, which were made of metal
strong and resonant, Tarpeia roared not so harshly,

* Ozanam says: “Nous avons étudié un passage trop peu connu
de la Divine Comédie, et dans la scène qui retient le poëte à la
porte du purgatoire, nous avons retrouvé le souvenir d'une
grande époque de sa vie, son pélérinage au jubilée de Rome en
1300, la grande révolution qui se fit dans son âme, et des larmes
de cette glorieuse pénitence nous avons vu sortir un poëme
immortel.”
+ Cardini. Francesco da Buti says: “ Cardini sono le pietre
bucate nelle quali girano li subielli della porta.”
Benvenuto explains: “Cardine è quel ferro su cui gira la porta."
Compare Milton, Par. Lost, II, 879:
“On a sudden open fly
With impetuous recoil and jarring sound
The infernal doors, and on their hinges grate
Harsh thunder.”
Canto IX. Readings on the Purgatorio. 225
nor showed herself so shrill, when the good guardian
Metellus was taken from her, whereby afterwards she
remained lean (that is, was despoiled of her precious
contents).*
* Tarpeia was the place of the Ærarium, or public treasury of
Rome. When Julius Cæsar robbed it, he was opposed by the
tribune Metellus, who strove to defend it; but Cæsar drew his
sword, and said : “It is easier to do this than to say it." Cæsar
despoiled it twice : The first time he took from it three thousand
talents of gold and replaced it with false gold. The second time
he took four hundred thousand one hundred and twenty-five
vas
treasures supplied by the Scipios, Metelli, Pompey, and others.
It was after Cæsar had passed the Rubicon and had entered
Rome that he committed this outrage on the public treasury.
The facts are related by Lucan, Phars. III:
“The tribune with unwilling steps withdrew,

The brazen gates with thundering strokes resound,
And the Tarpeian mountain rings around.
At length the sacred storehouse, open laid,
The hoarded wealth of ages past displayed ;
There might be seen the sums proud Carthage sent,
Her long impending ruin to prevent.
There heaped the Macedonian treasures shone,
What great Flaminius and Æmilius won
From vanquished Philip and his hapless son.
There lay what flying Pyrrhus lost, the gold
Scorned by the patriots honesty of old :
Whate'er our parsimonious sires could save,
What tributary gifts rich Syria gave;
The hundred Cretan cities' ample spoil ;
Riches of captive kings by Pompey borne,
In happier days, his triumph to adorn,
From utmost India and the rising morn ;
226 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto ix.
Dante brings the Canto to a conclusion by describ-
ing how, on his entrance within the gate, he heard a
grand Te Deum rolling forth to celebrate the joy that
there is among the Angels of God over one sinner that
repenteth.
Io mi rivolsi attento al primo tuono,
E Te Deum laudamus mi parea
140
Udir in voce mista al dolce suono.*
At the first thundering sound which I heard on

Wealth infinite, in one rapacious day,
Became the needy soldiers' lawless prey :
And wretched Rome, by Robbery laid low,
Was poorer than the bankrupt Cæsar now."
* Scartazzini says that many commentators do not even
notice “al dolce suono," v. 141. Others interpret it as "words
mixed with music.” This he does not think logical, because a
whole cannot mix with itself. He feels greatly indignant with
others who would interpret “suono che faceva la porta che
rugghiava.” He says, “it would indeed have been beautiful
music for the angel to accompany the Te Deum by swinging the
portal on its hinges!” He says he has adopted the reading “Al
dolce suono” because it is in the best Codices, but he prefers
Fanfani's reading, also found in certain Codices, “a dolce suono"
which would imply an undefined sound that fell upon Dante's
ears, and which mingled with that of the voices that were
chaunting the Te Deum. Scartazzini is very positive that
those commentators (among whom is Benvenuto), are wrong
who think il primo tuono was caused by the crash of the massive
portal. Had Dante, after entering, turned back, he would at
once have disobeyed the orders of the Guardian Angel. Scar-
tazzini thinks the Te Deum was rolled out like thunder by the
voices of the spirits in Purgatory, now heard by Dante for the
first time, and far more likely to attract his attention. Besides,
we are expressly told by Dante, in the opening words of the
next Canto, that when he heard the door clash behind him, he
did not turn round.
OM.
re
W

Canto ix. Readings on the Purgatorio. 227
entering, I turned quickly half round, all attention,
and methought I heard a Te Deum laudamus in words
mingled with sweet melody.*
Tale immagine appunto mi rendea
Ciò ch' io udiva, qual prender si suole
Quando a cantar con organi si stea :
Che or sì or no s'intendon le parole.
145
That which I heard gave me exactly such an im-
pression, as one is wont to receive, when men are
engaged in singing to the accompaniment of an organ,
when at one moment the words are heard, at another
not. When a choir is chaunting with the organ, the
anthem sometimes sounds distinct, sometimes dies
away.
* Te Deum laudamus is the hymn of St. Ambrose, first used
when he converted St. Augustine, and sung also at the election
of the Pope. As St. Ambrose sung it for joy at having converted
so learned and wise a man as St. Augustine, so now the song is
sung when a great genius like Dante is introduced into Purga-
tory. It was on hearing the hymn that he turned either to the
right or left, on passing within the gate, not backwards.

END OF CANTO IX.
Q 2
228
Canto X.
Readings on the Purgatorio.
CANTO X.

THE PURGATORIO PROPER.
THE FIRST CIRCLE.
THE PROUD.
SCULPTURED EXAMPLES OF HUMILITY.
In the last Canto Dante gave a detailed account of his
admittance into Purgatory by the angel who sat on
guard at the entrance. In the present Canto he pro-
ceeds to describe how the sin of Pride, the first of the
seven capital sins, is punished in the first cornice of Pur-
gatory, being the cornice lowest down on the mountain,
and consequently the farthest removed from heaven.
Benvenuto divides the Canto into three parts.
In the First Division, from v. I to v. 27, Dante
shows the difficulty of the steep path to be surmounted,
and the precautions to be observed.
! In the Second Division, from v. 28 to v. 96, he de-
scribes the beautiful sculptured representations of ex-
amples of humility, which are placed in strong contrast
to the pride furnished on this cornice, in order, says
Benvenuto, to warn us against Pride, this first en-
countered and worst of all vices.
In the Third Division, from v. 97 to v. 139, he
describes the punishment of the spirits of the proud,
and concludes the Canto with a fierce invective against
them.

Canto x. Readings on the Purgatorio. 229
Division 1. In the last Canto, Dante described
hinges, when it swung open at the touch of the angel's
hand, and he commences this Canto by relating how
his ear (not his eye) was caught by the sound of the
gate shutting behind him, after that he and Virgil had
passed in, over the adamant threshold of the gateway,
Benvenuto particularly begs his readers to notice, that
Dante says in so many words, “I only knew that the
door had been shut again, by the sound it made in
swinging to, I did not know it by sight, for, had I
looked back, I should have violated the express com-
mands of the angel."
Poi fummo dentro al soglio della porta*
Che il malo amor dell' anime disusa,
Perchè fa parer dritta la via torta,
Sonando la sentii esser richiusa :
E s' io avessi gli occhi vôlti ad essa,
Qual fora stato al fallo degna scusa ?
So soon as we had passed within the threshold of
the gateway, which gateway the ill-directed love of
the spirits of men renders but little used, because it
makes the crooked path of sin appear to them straight,
I heard by its resounding, that it had been closed :

* Observe porta is the gateway in its strict sense. The gate
or door is “uscio”—see last Canto v. 124, “pinse l'uscio alla
porta sacrata.” The word “porta” says Francesco da Buti,
comes from “portare” to carry, and is derived from the custom
in very remote times of tracing the line of a city about to be
built by a plough, to which they used to harness- a bullock and
a heifer. When the plough reached one of the destined gate-
ways, the furrow was interrupted, and all cried “porta, porta”
(aratrum); the plough was thereupon carried over the space for
the gateway, and the furrow was resumed on the other side.
230 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto X.
and if I had turned back my eyes to look at it, what
excuse would have availed to explain away the fault
(after the warning of the angel)?*
Love is the motive power of all our actions, of
virtue, of vice, of good, and also of evil, where fa
parer dritta la via torta, deceiving people, making
them deceive themselves, calling evil good, and good
evil. Dante says he would have been without any
excuse had he turned back after the angels ad-
monition. Seneca says that were it not for excuses
no one would sin unwillingly.t.
Dante now describes how hard and difficult was
the commencement of the ascent.
Noi salivam per una pietra fessa,
Che sì moveva d'una e d'altra parte,
Sì come l' onda che fugge e s' appressa.
We had commenced the ascent, and were mount-
ing up through a hollow way in the rock, and which

* Dante looked simply at what was on one side of him, to see
whence came the sound of the angelic canticle. He shows that
this was a worthy object of his contemplation, but that he must
not even give a thought to what he was leaving behind him. He
must not turn back even to bury his father, but like St. Paul in
Epistle to Philippians III, 13, he must forget those things which
are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are
before, he must press forward towards the mark for the prize of
his high calling.
+ Benvenuto quotes the celebrated answer that a priest made
to a penitent, who, to excuse himself, said that St. Peter denied
Jesus Christ from timidity. The priest answered that, if St. Peter's
fall was to be quoted as an excuse for sin, he must also be imi-
tated in his deep penitence. Dante refrained from looking back
for fear of losing his soul, as Orpheus did his wife when leaving
the Infernal Regions.
Canto x. Readings on the Purgatorio. 231
undulated now to this side, now to that, first receding
and then approaching, just like the surf of the sea.
Benvenuto says that some wish, by the narrow way,
to understand humility as the contrary to pride, but
that he would rather take it that Dante wishes to
express how hard a thing is the first entrance into
the path of virtue, as he that would follow it expe-
riences constant difficulty in acting with equal temper-
ance and zeal, in letting his moderation be known
unto all men, but is in constant danger of running
into one extreme or the other, as we may see in these
spirits of the proud in this cornice. For the proud
man speaks of the proud as magnanimous, but of the
humble as pusillanimous. .
_“Qui si convien usare un poco d'arte,”—
Cominciò il duca mio,-“in accostarsi
Or quinci or quindi, al lato che si parte.”—
—“Here it behoves us to use a little art”—began my
Leader,—“in drawing now to this side, now to that,
according to the windings that the sides of the hollow
way take.”
Benvenuto explains that where there is most danger
there must be most precaution, and the man who
seeks the middle course must do like him who would
straighten a bent willow wand, which bends as much
in the opposite direction. And next Dante proves
how difficult the path was by showing what slow
progress they were making.
E ciò fece li nostri passi scarsi
Tanto, che pria lo scemo della luna*
Rigiunse al letto suo per ricorcarsi,
15

IO
10
* Lo scemo della luna. Della Valle says that if we put the full
moon in the night between Thursday and Friday,-see Inf. XX,
232
Canto X.
Readings on the Purgatorio.
Che noi fossimo fuor di quella cruna.*
Ma quando fummo liberi ed aperti
Su, dove il monte indietro si rauna,+
Io stancato, ed ambedue incerti
Di nostra via, ristemmo su in un piano 20
Solingo più che strade per diserti.
And this (art, this having to pick our way) made
our steps to be so few (that is, made our progress so
slow), that the decreasing orb of the moon had already
regained her bed, to lay her down to rest, before we

127: E già iernotte fù la luna tonda; (by iernotte meaning the
night of the Thursday before Dante entered into Hell on Good
Friday),—we shall there find that from that hour to the present,
there have passed four days and a half. Therefore the moon
was diminished to the extent that these four days and a half
import; that is, there wanted two days and a half for it to be
diminished by half. We saw in Purg. IX, 44, when Dante woke
that the sun was already, more than two hours old, and we may
therefore reckon that, by the time Dante had quieted himself
from the agitation of his dream and his awakening, the ascending
to the gate of Purgatory and conversation with the angel, and
then climbing up all that steep footway into which they entered
after passing through the gate, two full hours more must have
passed; therefore there would now be four hours and forty-five
minutes since sunrise—about 9.15. Dr. Moore puts it at 8.15.
* Dean Plumptre says of cruna that the use of the “needle's
eye,” by way of description, determines, if there had been any
doubt, its symbolical significance (Matt. XIX, 24, Mark X, 25,
Luke XVIII, 25.) The name has been applied also to the
narrow gateway of an eastern city, through which no beast of
burden could pass.
+ Si rauna means that they found themselves on a broad level
road that ran round the mountain, and that the cliff (l' alta ripa)
did not stand perpendicularly above this, but indietro si rauna,
but recedes backwards so that the next succeeding cornice
would be smaller still.
un
Canto x. Readings on the Purgatorio. 233
had issued from that needle's eye (that is, out of that
narrow path cut through the rocks). But when we
had come out free into the open space above, there
where the mountain recedes backwards, I, much fa-
tigued, and both of us uncertain as to our way, we
stayed our steps, on a level place more solitary than
roads through deserts.
By “su” in v. 18, he means to express the first
terrace or cornice of Purgatory. There seems to
have been a wide flat cornice winding upwards round
and round the mountain, divided into separate balzi,
gironi, cornici, or terraces. Each terrace is separated
from the next by a distinct door. By ristemmo su in
un piano solingo più che strade per diserti, Benvenuto
wishes us to understand that very few travel in the
road of penitence, and especially the proud.
Dante next gives the approximate dimensions of
the terrace.
Dalla sua sponda, ove confina il vano,
Al piè dell' alta ripa, che pur sale,
Misurerebbe in tre volte un corpo umano :
E quanto l'occhio mio potea trar d'ale
Or dal sinistro ed or dal destro fianco,
Questa cornice mi parea cotale.
From its margin, where it borders upon the empty
space (of the precipice below), to the foot of the lofty
cliff that still slopes upwards, the distance would
measure a human body. three times.* And as far as
* He means to say that the width of the terrace, from the
edge of the precipice to the foot of the cliff that sloped away
upwards, was about three times the stature of a man; and, if we
put the average height of a man at 5 ft. 8 in., we get a width of
17 ft. Philalethes reckons this measurement at 3 X 6= 18 ft.
Francesco da Buti at 3 X 5= 15 ft.

umano
25
234 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto X.
my eye could wing its flight, now to the right hand
side, now to the left, that cornice appeared to be of
an equal extent (i.e. of about the same measurement).
Division II. Here commences the Second Division
of the Canto, in which Dante tries to put a check
upon pride by some noble examples of the greatest
humility; and he describes how, on looking all over
the back wall of the terrace, he found it adorned with
bas-reliefs sculptured in white marble, more beautiful
than he felt equal to describe.
Lassù non eran mossi i piè nostri anco,
Quand' io conobbi quella ripa intorno,
Che, dritta, di salita aveva manco,
Esser di marmo candido, e adorno
D' intagli sì, che non pur Policleto,
Ma la natura lì avrebbe scorno.
Our feet had not yet begun to move (for the purpose
of encircling that cornice), when I realized that the
high cliff that ran round the mountain (as far as my
eye could follow), and which was so perpendicular
as. to be unscaleable, was of pure white marble, and
adorned with sculptures of such surpassing excellence,
that not only Polycletus,* but even nature itself,
would in that place have been put to shame.

a
.
* Dean Plumptre says of Polycletus that he flourished“ about
480 B.C., and was especially famous for a colossal statue of
Juno in the Temple of Argos. Dante had probably read of
him in Pliny, N. H. XXXIV, 8. A characteristic story is told
of him that may have seemed to him a commentary on the
Lascia dir le genti of Purg. V, 13. He made one statue entirely
Canto x. Readings on the Purgatorio. 235
Not only did the chisel which formed these sculp-
tures excel the skill of Polycletus, Praxiteles, Phidias,
etc. (that is, the highest known examples of human
art), but, being heaven made, they exceeded the most
beautiful works of Nature itself. They all represented
historical examples of humility ; * and first Dante
describes what Benvenuto calls the most excellent of
all humilities, which never was or can be equalled,
viz. : that the Son of God should so condescend from
his exalted nature to put on vile human flesh, and be
born of a woman; and Benvenuto says that both
Christ and Mary were humble throughout their lives.t

by himself, and another, of the same subject, as amateur critics
advised. He exhibited the first, and all admired it ; while the
critics themselves abused and despised the second. Ælian. V.”
Benvenuto thinks it a pity that Dante has not here quoted
Praxiteles, the most famous Greek sculptor in marble, instead
of Polycletus, who was a sculptor in bronze.
* Dr. Moore, in Time References on the Divina Commedia,
p. 132, notices that at the commencement of each cornice the
Poets are greeted with examples of the virtue which is opposed
to the vice being expiated in that cornice, that vice being in every
case one of the seven deadly sins recognised by the Church.
Towards the end of each cornice, there are similar examples of
each vice held up to odium. In each case the examples are
taken from sacred and profane history, except in the fifth
cornice, where the examples of the vice alternate thus in
groups. In every case some incident in the life of the Blessed
Virgin is the first instance of the virtue held up for admiration.
In every case they are dismissed from the cornice with the
utterance by an angel of a portion of one of the Beatitudes
from the Sermon on the Mount.
+ In the description of this subject, and in those of the other
sculptures, Dante is anxious to impress upon the reader the fact
of the startling realism of these works of art. The angel is
236 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto x.
L' angel che venne in terra col decreto
Della molt anni lagrimata pace
35
Che aperse il ciel dal suo lungo divieto,
Dinanzi a noi pareva sì verace
Quivi intagliato in un atto soave,
Che non sembiava imagine che tace.
The Angel who came down to earth with the
decree of that peace for so many years wept for in
vain, which peace reopened Heaven from its long pro-
hibition of being entered since the fall of Adam,
appeared before our eyes in such reality, represented
as he was in this sculpture in a gracious attitude, that
it did not seem to me a mere silent image.
This refers to the Annunciation by the Archangel
Gabriel to the Virgin Mary, that the long expected
Messiah would be born of her, bringing with Him
peace on earth, reconciliation with God, and redemp-

Giurato si sarìa ch' ei dicesse : Ave;
Perocchè ivi era imaginata Quella,
Che ad aprir l' alto amor volse la chiave.
Ed avea in atto impressa esta favella,
Ecce ancilla Dei, propriamente
Come figura in cera si suggella.
45
One would have sworn that he was saying: “Hail,
was also represented she, who turned the key of
divine love. And portrayed as she was in the act of
speaking, she seemed to have these words expressed
almost heard saying “Ave”; Mary saying “Ecce Ancilla
Dei”; David's procession is almost heard singing; the censers
are not only seen, but the very perfume of the incense seems to
be inhaled.
Canto x. Readings on the Purgatorio. 237
on her lips : “Behold the Handmaid of the Lord,” as
distinctly as a figure stamps itself upon wax.*
Benvenuto says that the act of Mary on this occasion
is a lesson of humility to the proud ; wherefore she
says: "For He hath regarded the lowliness of his
handmaiden ;” and again : “He hath put down the
mighty from their seat, and hath exalted the humble
and meek.” St. Luke I, 48 and 52. Virgil now enjoins
Dante not to confine his attention to one only of the
bas-reliefs.
-"Non tener pure ad un loco la mente,”—
Disse il dolce maestro, che m' avea
Da quella parte, onde il core ha la gente:
Perch' io mi mossi col viso, e vedea
Diretro da Maria, per quella costa,
Onde m'era colui che mi movea,
Un altra storia nella roccia imposta :
Perch'io varcai Virgilio, e fèmmi presso,
Acciò che fosse agli occhi miei disposta.
—“Do not fix thy mind upon one place only,” said

50

* Scartazzini says that these sculptures representing humility,
as though they were in a place of triumph or glory, appear on
the white and polished marble, all along the face of the cliff,
like a high wall extending towards heaven ; while those repre-
senting pride, as though they were in a spot of punishment and
shame, are seen on the hard pavement which has to be trodden
on by the slow steps of the penitents, who, weighed down by
their heavy burdens, are encircling the mount.
Compare the magnificent description of Homer, Iliad XVIII,
of the shield which Vulcan made for Achilles. Also Virgil's
description of the shield of Æneas, Æneid VIII, and of the
representations on the walls of the Temple of Juno at Car-
thage, Æneid I. Also “the noble kerving and the portrei-
tures” of the Temples of Venus, Mars and Diana, in Chaucer's
Knighte's Tale.

238 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto x.
my gentle Master, who had got me by him on that
side (viz. the left), where people have the heart : where-
upon I turned my sight, and beheld beyond the sculp-
ture representing Mary, another story graven on the
rock, on that side of me, where was he who was
guiding my movements: on which I passed across
Virgil, and drew near, in order that I might have it
before mine eyes.
The episode he now looks upon is that of David
dancing with all his might before the Lord, as
related in 2 Samuel VI, 14, on the occasion of his
bringing the Ark to Jerusalem from the house of
Obededom the Gittite.
Era intagliato lì nel marmo stesso
55
Lo carro e i buoi traendo l' arca santa,
Per che si teme ufficio non commesso.*
There in the very marble were engraved the cart
and the kine drawing the sacred Ark, from whence
it results that all men fear to exercise an office not
entrusted to them.f
* Scartazzini remarks here that Dante has related in this
passage as one fact, what were two distinct and separate facts.
First-David assembled the children of Israel and went to carry
the Ark to Jerusalem, and placed it on a new cart drawn by
oxen; but alarmed by the death of Uzzah, he feared to carry it
further, but placed it in the house of Obededom. Three months
after, hearing that the Lord had blessed the house of Obededom,
he again went to carry the ark to Jerusalem, and it was upon
this second occasion that David danced before the Lord with all
his might; and David was girded with a linen ephod, 2 Sam.
VI, 7. On this second occasion the ark was not drawn by oxen
but was carried by the Levites.
+ “And when they came to Nachon’s threshing-floor, Uzzah
put forth his hand to the ark of God, and took hold of it ; for
Canto x.
239
Readings on the Purgatorio.
Dinanzi parea gente ; e tutta quanta
Partita in sette cori, a' duo miei sensi
Faceva dir l' un No, l'altro Si, canta.
Similimente al fummo degli incensi
Che vera immaginato, gli occhi e il naso
Ed al Sż ed al No discordi fènsi.
One could see people walking in front of the Ark,
and divided, as they were, into seven choirs, they
caused my two senses of hearing and seeing to say,
the one, “No! they are not singing,” because I, Dante,
could not hear anything ; while they made the other
say “ Yes ! they are singing,” because I could almost
fancy I saw their lips move. In like manner the eyes
and the nose, at the smoke of the incense that was
delineated there, were both at variance whether to
say yes or no; for the sight affirmed “Yes,” but the
sense of smell said "No."
Dante now draws a contrast between the humility
of King David and the pride of Queen Michal, who,
seeing David leaping and dancing before the Lord,
despised him in her heart.

the oxen shook it. And the anger of the Lord was kindled
against Uzzah ; and God smote him there for his error; and
there he died by the ark of God.”—2 Sam. VI, 7. Uzzah had
been struck dead, because, not being a priest or Levite, he had
presumed to lay hands on the ark of God. So were Nadab
and Abihu destroyed by fire for offering incense with unconse-
crated fire.—Lev. X, 1. So was King Uzziah struck with leprosy
for offering incense in the Temple against the express remon-
strance of Azariah the priest.—2 Chron. XXVI. So was King
Saul censured by Samuel for offering a burnt offering.—1 Sam.
XIII, 8-14.

240
Canto X.
Readings on the Purgatorio.
Lì precedeva al benedetto vaso,
Trescando alzato, l' umile Salmista,
E più e men che re* era in quel caso.
Di contra effigiata ad una vistat
D'un gran palazzo Micol ammirava,
Sì come donna dispettosa e trista.
On this sculpture (lì) was likewise represented pre-
ceding the blessed vessel, the humble Psalmist, dancing
and in the very act of leaping from the ground, and
in that act he was both more and less than a king.
On the opposite side was portrayed Michal stand-
ing at the latticed window of a great palace, gazing
at David in astonishment, and wearing the expression
of a woman at once haughty, contemptuous and full
of vexation.
Dante moves on, and examines another sculpture
that represents an episode in the history of the Em-
peror Trajan, which is probably given as a lesson
to those haughty ones of the earth, who oppress and
injure their inferiors.I
* He was more than a king because he held the office of
priest, and was all absorbed in the service of God, and less than
a king because, in dancing without his royal robes, he humbled
himself in the sight of his people. He was more than a king as
seen by God, less than a king in the eyes of the proud.
+ Scartazzini says that “vista” in olden times was used to
express any opening at which a man could stand either to see or
to be seen.
I Francesco da Buti quotes a story which is told also by Bru-
netto Latini, in the Fiore dei Filosofi, and which Longfellow gives
as follows :-“ Trajan was a very just Emperor, and one day,
having mounted his horse to go into battle, with his cavalry, a
woman came and seized him by the foot, and, weeping bitterly,
asked him and besought him to do justice upon those who had
Canto X.
Readings on the Purgatorio.
Io mossi i piè del loco dov' io stava,
Per avvisar da presso un' altra storia
Che diretro a Micol mi biancheggiava.
Quivi era storïata l'alta gloria
Del roman principato, il cui valore
Mosse Gregorio alla sua gran vittoria :
Io dico di Traiano imperadore ;
Ed una vedovella gli era al freno,
Di lagrime atteggiata e di dolore.

I moved my feet from the place where I was
nai
res
without cause put to death her son, who was an upright young
man. And he answered and said, 'I will give thee satisfaction
when I return.' And she said, “And if thou dost not return ?'
And he answered, “If I do not return my successor will give
thee satisfaction. And she said, 'How do I know that ? and
suppose he do it, what is it to thee if another do good? Thou
art my debtor, and according to thy deeds shalt thou be judged ;
it is a fraud for a man not to pay what he owes; the justice of
another will not liberate thee, and it will be well for thy suc-
cessor if he liberate himself.' Moved by these words, the
Emperor alighted, and did justice, and consoled the widow, and
then mounted his horse, and went into battle, and routed his
enemies. A long time afterwards, St. Gregory, hearing of this
justice, saw his statue, and had him disinterred, and found that
he was all turned to dust except his bones and his tongue, which
was like that of a living man. And by this St. Gregory knew
his justice, for this tongue had always spoken it; so that then
he wept very piteously, through compassion, praying God that
he would take this soul out of hell, knowing that he had been a
Pagan ; then God, because of these prayers, drew that soul out of
pain, and put it into glory. And thereupon the angel spoke to
St. Gregory, and told him never to make such a prayer again,
and God laid upon him as a penance either to be two days in
Purgatory, or to be always ill with fever and side-ache. St.
Gregory as the lesser punishment chose the fever and side-ache
(male di fianco)."
nes
242
Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto x.
standing, for the purpose of looking more closely
white marble immediately beyond that of Michal.
Here was chronicled the exalted glory of that
Roman prince, whose great worth moved Pope
Gregory to obtain his great victory : I speak of the
Emperor Trajan ; and a poor widow was represented
clinging to his bridle, in an attitude of weeping and
sorrow.

80
Intorno a lui parea calcato e pieno
Di cavalieri, e l' aquile nell' oro
Sovresso in vista al vento si movièno.
La miserella intra tutti costoro
Parea dicer ;-“ Signor, fammi vendetta
Di mio figliuol ch' è morto, ond' io m' accoro.”—
Ed egli a lei rispondere :—“Ora aspetta
Tanto ch' io torni.”—E quella : “Signor mio.”—
Come persona in cui dolor s'affretta,
-“Se tu non torni ?” –Ed ei: “Chi fia dov' io
La ti farà.” E quella :-"L'altrui bene
85
Ond' egli :-“Or ti conforta, chè conviene
Ch' io solva il mio dovere, anzi ch' io mova :
Giustizia vuole e pietà mi ritiene.”—
Round about him the whole place appeared to be
trampled and crowded with horsemen, and above his
head the eagles, black on a field of gold, were visibly
moving in the wind.* The poor woman, represented
in the midst, seemed to be uttering the words :-
* Scartazzini says that we must infer from this passage that
Dante was not aware that the Roman eagles were made of solid
gold, but must have thought that the black eagle was embroidered
upon a gold field of the standards.
Canto x. Readings on the Purgatorio.
243
My Lord, avenge me for my son who is slain, for
whose loss my heart is bursting.” And he seemed to
be answering her with the words :—“Now only wait
till I return.” And she, like one in whom grief is
impatient, seemed to rejoin :-"But, my Lord, sup-
pose thou dost not return.” And he: “Whoever
shall occupy the position that I do now (viz. : that
of Emperor), will do it for thee." And she :“What
profit to thee will be the good deeds of another, if thou
art mindless of thine own?” Then he seemed to say
in conclusion, "Now take comfort, for I see that it is
necessary for me to fulfil my duty, before my de-
parture, by taking up thy case. Justice requires it,
and pity for thee holds me back to satisfy thy just
claims."*

va
* No Emperor ever extended the Roman Empire so far as
Trajan. He was renowned for valour, justice and clemency,
and for a statesman-like grasp of the events passing in his time,
he was unsurpassed if not unrivalled by any other emperor.
In a progress he made through his different provinces, both by
his outward appearance and by his courteous and winning
manners, by his speaking indiscriminately to everyone, by
lightening public burdens, he won for himself through all history
a name as a model of a prince. The episode recorded here
took place when he was just setting off on a military expedition
of considerable importance, surrounded by his great officers of
state, and his mind occupied with great matters, and yet, like all
systematic men, when most engaged he could spare time to give
his attention (though at first reluctantly) to the private wrongs
of a poor widow. Benvenuto says that in all his actions Trajan
was ever humble, peaceable and gentle ; and that when he was
once criticised for being too familiar with every one, he
answered that he ought to be such an emperor to his subjects,
as he would have his subjects be to him.
R 2

244
Canto x.
Readings on the Purgatorio.
Colui, che mai non vide cosa nuova,
Produsse esto visibile parlare,
95
Novello a noi perchè qui non si trova.
He (God) who never yet looked upon anything
new to Him, was the author of this conversation
that was actually visible to the eye, new to us,
because in the world such absolute perfection of
sculpture is not to be found.
Division III. Here begins the Third and con-
cluding Division of the Canto, in which Dante
describes the penalty of the Proud. And first he
relates how his attention was directed to them by
Virgil.
Mentr' io mi dilettava di guardare
Le imagini di tante umilitadi,*
! E per lo fabbro loro a veder care;
—“Ecco di qua, ma fanno i passi radi,”—
IOO
Mormorava il Poeta,—“molte genti :
Questi ne invïeranno agli alti gradi.”—
And while I was thus taking delight in fondly
* Di tante umilitadi. Scartazzini says that human art usually
neglects humble actions, and becomes rather the handmaid of
vanity and pride. Divine art, however, on the contrary, serves
to perpetuate the actions of the humble. He adds that the
Proud, the spirits of whom are approaching, when in the world
esteemed themselves as something great, but here they are the
lowest placed of all the spirits in Purgatory, and in the lowest
of the cornices seem to move along like beasts of burden, as
though they were the servitors of those above.
Canto x. Readings on the Purgatorio.
245
gazing upon the representations of such striking
instances of humility, and which were precious to
look at for the sake of the Divine Artificer who
had wrought them. “Behold,” said the poet (Virgil)
in a low voice, “a great multitude coming this way,
but at a very slow pace; they will direct us up to
the cornices above."
Dante was quite intoxicated with delight in con-
templating these sculptures, which were more dear to
him as being wrought by a master whose works of art
are like unto those of no other master, but on Virgil
drawing his attention to the band of approaching
spirits, he admits that his curiosity to see anything
new was so great, that his eyes immediately turned
that way.
Gli occhi miei che a mirar eran intenti,
Per veder novitadi, onde son vaghi,
Volgendosi vêr lui, non furon lenti.
105

My eyes, that were occupied in looking intently
upon the sculptures, were not slow in turning at
once towards Virgil, to see what new spectacle, for
which they are at all times eager, he might have
to point out.
Dante now addresses his readers in words, which
are intended to teach them that, when we are under-
going severe penance, we must not consider the
suffering so much as the good which will follow it,
which good will come at a determined and fixed time,
and therefore he figuratively says, that they must not
stop to consider the severity of the punishment, but
merely recollect that, at their duly appointed time,
they are certain to go into Life Eternal.

246
Canto x.
Readings on the Purgatorio.
IIO
Non vo' però, lettor, che tu ti smaghi *
Di buon proponimento, per udire
Come Dio vuol che il debito si paghi.
Non attender la forma del martire :
Pensa la succession ; pensa che, al peggio,
Oltre la gran sentenza non può ire.
I would not however, reader, that thou shouldest
be discouraged, and thus swerve from thy good pur-
pose (of turning to God by means of penance),
because thou hearest me relate how rigorously God
exacts the payment of the debt. Give not a thought
to the form of the torments: but think upon the
heavenly glory that will follow after them; think
also that, at the very worst, they cannot be pro-
longed beyond the Great Sentence on the Day of
Judgment.
Benvenuto says that this is true of the Essential
Purgatory, but with respect to moral Purgatory, we
ought to consider that if our humiliation falls heavily
on us, it is but for a little while, seeing that it is only
until death; and that therefore we ought to carry our
burden during this short human life, and reflect that
if we will not humiliate ourselves now of our own free
will, we shall be forced" one day to do so to all
eternity.
And now Dante describes the penalty of the Proud,
* V. 106, smaghi. Scartazzini says that smagare is equivalent
to the Old Portuguese word “esmaiar," to be discouraged ;
Provençal “esmajar," "esmagar," “esmaguar ;” Old French
“esmaier," "esmaiier,” “esmoier," to discourage; Spanish and
Portuguese “ desmayar," to faint. The word is derived from the
Gothic and Old German “mayan" power, to which was joined
the “” privative.

Canto x. Readings on the Purgatorio. 247
who have to carry very heavy stones on their shoulders
which bend them down to the earth, and oblige them
to move very slowly. By this is meant that in his
penitence the proud man must carry his head bent
as low towards the earth as he aforetime carried it
high and arrogant.*
Io cominciai :—“Maestro, quel ch' io veggio
Muover a noi, non mi sembran persone,
E non so che, sì nel veder vaneggio.”—
I began :—“Master, these forms that I see ad-
vancing towards us, do not seem to me like persons,
and I hardly know what they do look like, so much
is my sight at fault." .
Virgil had just before told him that a great multi-
tude of people (molte genti) were coming towards
them. Dante answers that he sees certain forms
approaching, but his sight is so confused by their
peculiar appearance that he cannot make out they
are persons, i.e. spirits with human forms.
115
Ed egli a me :-“La grave condizione
Di lor tormento a terra li rannicchia
Sì, che i miei occhi pria n’ebber tenzone.
* Benvenuto mentions, as a case in point, an episode in the
life of the Emperor Theodosius, who, having taken Milan, wished
to enter into the sacred precincts of the Church, but St.
Ambrose withstood him to the face, and reproved him sharply.
Theodosius, smitten with grief and shame, after much lamen-
tation and weeping, came humbly, of his own free will, and
besought absolution and penance, and was thus reconciled to
the Church. And Benvenuto adds that he has also heard of
many proud men who humbled themselves with ropes round
their necks.

248
Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto X.
And he to me:-“The grievous nature of their
torment bows them down to the ground so much that,
just at first, my own eyes (although endued with
supernatural powers of vision) had to strain very hard
(lit. had a contest) to make them out.*
Ma guarda fiso là, e disviticchia
Già scorger puoi come ciascun si picchia.”—† 120
But look there closely, and disentangle with thy
sight that which is coming towards us beneath those
stones yonder: already thou mayest discern how
each one of them strikes his breast with his knees
on account of the heavy burden on his shoulders
that crushes him down.
In the next nine verses Dante launches forth into
a fierce invective against haughty natures, and which
he probably intended as a self-reproach to himself,}
pride being distinctly his besetting sin.
* Scartazzini says that tenzone is, properly speaking, a
contest, a combat.
Inf. VI, 64: “Dopo lunga tenzone
Verranno al sangue.”
And hence comes the verb tenzonare, which signifies having
Inf. VII, III: —" ed io rimango in forse;
Chè il sì e il no nel capo mi tenzona.”
+ Benvenuto and others thus interpret “si picchia," but
Francesco da Buti and others, among whom is Scartazzini,
explain it that they were beating their breasts from contrition
and penitence.
# Possibly“ di sua colpa compunto,” he may have recollected
that a very proud man was not so far off who in Inf. X, 49, had
given this answer to Farinata degli Uberti :
“Sei fur cacciati ei’ tornâr da ogni parte
Canto X. Readings on the Purgatorio.
249
O superbi Cristian, miseri, lassi !*
Che, della vista della mente infermi,
Fidanza avete ne ritrosi passi ;
Non v'accorgete voi, che noi siam vermi
Nati a formar l' angelica farfalla,
125
Che vola alla giustizia senza schermi ?
Di che l'animo vostro in alto galla,
Poi siete quasi entomata in difetto,
Sì come verme, in cui formazion falla ?
O ye proud Christians, wretched and fallen, who,
blinded to the real condition of your minds (or blinded
in your minds), still have confidence in your back-
sliding footsteps. Do ye not perceive that we are
but caterpillars born to form the angelic butterfly

SO
Rispos' io lui, l'una e l'altra fiata ;
Ma i vostri non appreser ben quell' arte.”—
We may notice here that, although Dante has recorded the
fact in Par. XV, 91, that his great-grandfather Aldighiero was
actually among the spirits of the Proud at the time he visited
the cornice, yet family pride prevented him from giving any
description of him in so undignified an attitude ; but he devotes
three whole cantos to his great-great-grandfather Cacciagnida,
whom he describes among the Blessed in the Heaven of Mars.
He puts into Cacciagnida's mouth the information about
Aldighiero's penance in Purgatory.
—“Quel da cui si dice;
Tua cognazione, e che cent anni e piue
Girato ha il monte in la prima cornice,
Mio figlio fu, e tuo bisavo fue ;
Ben si convien che la lunga fatica
Tu gli raccorci con l' opere tue.”-
* Lassi from lapsi, i.e. fallen, glided down from your former
excellence by sin. Infermi nella vista della mente. “Blinded
as to the real condition of your mind.”——Benvenuto.
“As blind with your eyes, as you are darkened in your in-
telligence.”—Francesco da Buti.
250
Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto x.
(symbol of the soul), which has to wing its way up
to the justice of God without being able to oppose
any obstacle to it? On what account is it that your
spirit floats so high up in the air, (that is, what is it
that you have to be so proud about,) when you are
but, as it were, defective insects, whose formation is
imperfect? *
The natural process that the worm goes through
is first the stage of being a worm or caterpillar,
then the chrysalis, and finally the expansion into the
butterfly. The soul of man, according to Dante's
comparison, can only attain the final development,
when the soul quits the chrysalis and mounts up with
its newly formed wings to heaven. On earth man is
therefore but an incomplete and but half-formed
being, and can have nothing in him to justify his
being proud.t
In conclusion, Dante, having uttered his invective
against the Proud, proceeds to describe the form of

* Scartazzini remarks on the word entomata as being one of
the many proofs that Dante did not know Greek. He should
have used the word évtoped, but he probably read it in the
lexicons έντομα τά, instead of τα έντομα, and s0 joined the
definite article on to the word.
+ Benvenuto says that Dante is here following the reasoning
of Pliny, who contemptuously pities the poverty of the origin of
proud men. At the time of their birth the smell of a blown-out
candle can make them die, or the bite of an insect torment
them-better were it for them either not to be born, or at least to
die quickly. Benvenuto explains that the comparison especially
applies to the silk-worms, who require such care that either the
wind or an evil smell will cause them to rot; man also
deteriorates and dies from very small ailments. He says too
that the silk-worm resembles the fabulous phenix, which was
Canto x. Readings on the Purgatorio. 251
their punishment by comparing them to caryatides,
or figures in stone or marble, that, in contracted
attitudes, are often seen supporting the prominent
parts of a building.
Come per sostener solajo o tetto,
130
Per mensola talvolta una figura
Si vede giunger le ginocchia al petto,
La qual fa del non ver vera rancura
Nascere a chi la vede ; così fatti
Vid' io color, quando posi ben cura.
Ver è che più e meno eran contratti,
Secondo ch' avean più e meno addosso.
E qual più pazienza avea, negli atti
Piangendo parea dicer :-“Più non posso.”— 139
135
As, to support a ceiling or a roof, in the place of a
corbel, at times one may see a human figure, whose
knees are so bent up as to join its breast, the sight of
which, in the beholder, gives birth to real distress on
account of the apparent suffering (which is altogether
imaginary); just in the same plight beheld I those
beings, when I gave good heed to them. In truth
they were more or less bowed down, according to
whether they had more or less heavy burdens on
their shoulders. And even he who had the greatest
patience, appeared in his actions to say, weeping
bitter tears the while :-“More I cannot bear.” *

said to die in the fire, but to be born again from its own ashes,
so the caterpillar apparently dies in the chrysalis, and has a
new birth in the butterfly—the image of the immortal soul.-
Compare Job XXV, 6.—“How much less man, that is a worm ?
and the son of man which is a worm ?”
Psalm XXII, 6.—“But I am a worm, and no man."
* Scartazzini says that the explanation of this passage is that
252
Canto x,
Readings on the Purgatorio.
the spirits in Purgatory are required to exercise themselves in
the practice of the virtue opposed to the vice for which they are
doing penance. So with the spirits in this first cornice. On
earth they walked upright and carried their heads high, now
they go bent down, with their knees knocking against their
chests. Once in their stubbornness they caused others to weep,
now they weep themselves ; once in their vanity they believed
and boasted that they could do more than man can do, and
now they continually have to admit that they cannot bear more.

man
END OF CANTO X.
Canto XI.
253
Readings on the Purgatorio.
CANTO XI.
THE FIRST CORNICE (continued).
THE LORD'S PRAYER.
OMBERTO ALDOBRANDESCHI.
ODERISI D'AGOBBIO.
PROVENZANO SALVANI.

In the preceding Canto, Dante treated of the quality
and chastisement of the Proud in general; and now
he proceeds to consider the spirits of the Proud in
particular.
Benvenuto divides the Canto into Four Parts.
In the First Division, from v. I to v. 36, he gives
in detail the prayer that the spirits of the Proud are
chaunting.
In the Second Division, from v. 37 to v. 72, he
relates how Virgil asks the spirits to direct them on
their way, and how one of them, Omberto Aldobran-
deschi, Count of Santafiore, answers for his com-
panions.
In the Third Division, from v. 73 to v. 108, he
relates his recognition of Oderisi d'Agobbio, and his
conversation with him.
In the Fourth Division, from v. 109 to v. 142, he
receives from Oderisi d’Agobbio an account of the
life on earth of Provenzano Salvani of Siena.
Division 1. Dante told his readers in the last
Canto (v. 104) that he earnestly desired that they
should not be deterred by his description of the

254 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto xi.
discipline of purification from seeking that discipline,
but to look rather at what follows, and to recollect
that it cannot anyhow last beyond the Day of Judg-
ment.* We now find that the eleventh Canto opens
very appropriately with a paraphrase of the Lord's
Prayer as part of the discipline of the Proud. They
have to become as little children, and learn their
Paternoster in all the fulness of its meaning. Dean
Plumptre calls attention to the contrast between the
exceeding beauty of this paraphrase, and the poverty
of an apocryphal paraphrase falsely attributed to
Dante, and which is quoted in his second volume as
showing the prayer in its application by mediæval
theologians on the one hand, and on the other hand
showing with what thoughts Dante prayed it himself.
Benvenuto remarks that many have sneered at
Dante for having inserted here a prayer well known
to every little boy and girl ; but he says that Dante
knew full well how much need there was for certain
passages in the Lord's Prayer to be better understood,
and that is just what he proceeds to explain. And
he adds that it is to be noted that Dante purposely
places this holy prayer here rather than elsewhere in
his Poem, because these proud spirits were just those
who had sinned the most grievously against its simple
precepts. Benvenuto speaks of the prayer as being
worthy of all praise, on account of its perfection, and
its authenticity, having been made by God Himself
and not merely by a prophet or disciple; on account
Lans
* Compare St. Paul's Epistle to the Romans VIII, 18.—“I
reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to
be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.”
Canto XI. Readings on the Purgatorio. 255
of its comprehensiveness, as embracing all things
needful for man; and on account of its wonderful
brevity and terseness. He quotes St. Augustine as
saying: "If you were to attempt to run through the
words of all the holy prayers that have been written,
you would find no single petition, I believe, which
this prayer does not either contain, or specially
exclude.” St. Augustine further says that, whereas
in every prayer one must try and conciliate the
“benevolentia” of Him to Whom we pray, so a
short prologue is prefixed to the Lord's Prayer in
the shape of the words, “Our Father Which art in
Heaven.” The terrible “I God, I the Lord ”now,
under the new dispensation allows His creatures to
address him as Our Father, and thus gives to His
children by adoption the hope of obtaining from
Him what they ask. With stammering lips and
lisping tongue are they to lift up their voices to
the Throne of God.
“O Padre nostro, che ne' cieli stai,
Non circonscritto, ma per più amore,
Che a' primi effetti di lassù tu hai,
Laudato sia il tuo nome e il tuo valore
Da ogni creatura, com'è degno
Di render grazie al tuo dolce vapore.
“O our Father, Who dwellest in the Heavens, not
as circumscribed (i.e. not because Thou art confined
within those bounds), but by reason of the greater
love that Thou bearest to the first of Thy creations
there on high (i.e. the Angels). Praised be Thy
Name and Thine Omnipotence by every creature, as
it is meet to render thanks to Thy sweet effluence,
(i.e. to Thy Supreme Wisdom).

256 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto XI.
In the opening words of the prayer Dante evidently
wishes to reconcile the apparently finite localisation
implied in the words “Which art in Heaven," with
our conception of God as Infinite and Omnipresent.
“Behold the Heaven and Heaven of Heavens cannot
contain Him," and if we address Him as in Heaven it
is as the place where His Love is manifested most,
where the Angels dwell, the first works of his creative

power. *
Dante, having spoken of Him to Whom the petition
is made, next proceeds to state what is being asked
for; and first, he shows that God must be honoured
in His Name, and in His Omnipotence by everything
that He has created. Benvenuto says that after we
have invoked the name of Our Father, and proclaimed
that He dwells in the Heavens, we might fancy Him
answering us, “What wouldst thou ? what seekest
thou ?” to which the ideal perfect Christian should
answer, “I desire that Thy Name be hallowed.” A
truly dutiful son will before all things seek that his
father be honoured. It seems too a peculiarly ap-
propriate petition for those who lived to glorify
* St. Augustine says, “the immensity of the divine greatness
is that we should comprehend Him, as not enclosed or circum-
scribed within all things, and not excluded without all things,
that He is not more in Heaven than in earth or elsewhere, but
He constitutes an abode for Himself of loftiness and light in
which the angels and the blessed contemplate His Glory.”
I Kings VIII, 27.—“Behold the heaven and heaven of
heavens cannot contain thee !"
St. Thomas Aquinas, Summ. P. I. 2ae qu. CII, art. 4, says :-
“Deus nullo corporali loco clauditur.”
Canto XI. Readings on the Purgatorio. 257
themselves on earth, to have to say, Let us praise
Thy Holy Name, since it is right to render continual
thanks to Thy Supreme emanation (al tuo dolce vapore),
i.e. Thy Divine Wisdom.*
We now come to the second petition, in which,
after giving glory to God as our Father, we address
to Him that petition for our inheritance of his King-
dom, by praying that it may come to us. And as
this petition, applied literally, might seem somewhat
obscure, Dante proceeds to explain it, by showing that
by God's Kingdom is meant the peace of God's
Kingdom, as though we said: “We do not pray that
all things in heaven may descend to us, but that we
may be elevated to them by the link of that divine
light, which, descending upon us, may draw us up on
high.”+
Vegna vêr noi la pace del tuo regno,
Che noi ad essa non potém da noi,
Sella non vien, con tutto nostro ingegno.
May the Peace of Thy Kingdom come unto us,
for we unto it can nought of ourselves, with all our
striving, if it come not.
In the third petition we ask for what may more

* Dolce vapore : Compare Wisdom VII, 25: "For she"
(speaking of Wisdom) “is the breath of the power of God, and
a pure influence flowing from the glory of the Almighty.”
the Vulgate the words are: “Vapor est enim virtutis Dei.”
Scartazzini says that nearly all the old commentators by
“ vapore” understood divine Love, Grace, and Beneficence.
+ It is said by tradition of Dante that he was once asked at
the Monastery of Monte Corvo what he sought most, and that
he answered “Peace! Peace!” Here he shows that peace can
only be attained by its coming to man. In no way can man
attain to it himself.
258
Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto XI.
SD
directly bring us to God's Kingdom, viz. : sacrifice
of our will to that of God.
Come del suo voler gli angeli tuoi
10
Fan sacrificio a te, cantando Osanna,
Così facciano gli uomini de' suoi. *
As Thine Angels make sacrifice of their will to
Thee, singing Hosanna, even so let mankind make
sacrifice of theirs.
Dà oggi a noi la cotidiana manna,
Senza la qual per questo aspro diserto
A retro va chi più di gir s' affanna.
Give us this day the daily manna, without which, in

na.
15
* Benvenuto says that this passage was the subject of a good
deal of controversy in the original text of the Lord's Prayer.
Some understood by “Heaven” the just, and by “Earth” the
sinners.
A second interpretation understood “Heaven” to be the
spirit, and “Earth” the body.
A third interpretation, and the one adopted by St. Augustine,
understood “Heaven” to mean Christ, and “Earth” to mean
His Church. The meaning of which would be that, as Christ
did the Will of His Father, so may it be done by the Church.
The fourth interpretation (that given by St. Jerome, adopted
by St. Thomas Aquinas, and followed by Dante) understood
“Heaven” to signify angels, and “Earth” to signify men.
6 The Heaven in which the Will of God is done is not the
material Heaven," says Dean Plumptre, “in which that Will
reigns as law, but that of the angelic orders. As spiritual
beings, their obedience is the obedience of will, and in their
Hosannahs of praise, and their ministries, they offer up the
sacrifice of a will perfectly at one with God's; and this (though
in men the sacrifice may not be, even in the holiest, without
some sense of struggle) is the pattern to which we pray to be
conformed."
Here we may well turn to the beautiful words which Dante
puts into the mouth of his kinswoman Piccarda de' Donati in
Par. III, 67, beginning : “Con quell' altr' ombre pria sorrise un
Canto XI. Readings on the Purgatorio. 259
this rough desert, he goes backward who most toils to
advance.
This is the fourth petition, in which we ask for
the instrument for attaining the Kingdom. Some
interpret “Our daily bread” as spiritual, sacramental
and corporal. Others as meaning all necessaries of
human food. “Our” shows that food is common to
all, and St. Chrysostom says that he who eats his daily
bread, and does not give to the poor, not only eats his
own daily bread, but also that belonging to another.*
1SE
poco," .... and continuing down to “ciò ch'ella crea e che
natura face."
Compare St. Matthew XXVI, 39 : “Not as I will, but as
thou wilt.”
Dante appears to lay great stress on angeli tuoi, God's own
angels. Benvenuto says: “Some persons might ask, why
Christ did not put the words “ As by angels so by men' directly
into the Lord's Prayer. The answer to this is, that all angels
do not perform the will of God, but only those angels who are
in the Heavens, gli angeli tuoi. Likewise all men do not
perform the will of God, especially those whose souls are lost--
and also we do not pray for all men, not for instance for the
· Blessed Ones in Heaven, but only for those that are on the
earth.”
* Jacopo della Lana explains : “This 'manna' may bear two
interpretations : Manna properly means nourishment; and can
be understood as temporal, which would be the food that is
necessary to support the human body ; it can also be taken
to mean spiritual food in two different senses : the first apper-
taining only to those who are in their first life, and this would
distinctly refer to the Holy Eucharist ... spiritual food in the
other sense being that which is fitting for those spirits which are
in Purgatory, and this would mean that grace and salvation which
is a necessity for them.” Some think that the food, necessary
for the spirits in Purgatory, is the prayers that should be offered
up on their behalf by the living.

S 2
260 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto XI.
This day because the morrow will take care of the
things of itself. Dante interprets the daily bread as
the spiritual manna, “the bread that cometh down
from Heaven.” Only in that sense could it have any
meaning for the souls in Purgatory. The thought of
the manna naturally suggests the wilderness per quest
aspro diserto, in which, the desert of this world, a retro
va chi più di gir s' affanna. Elijah (as we read in
1 Kings XIX, 8, &c.) “ went on the strength of that
bread forty days and forty nights." Without it our
progress is naturally retrograde.*
E come noi lo mal che avém sofferto
Perdoniamo a ciascuno, e tu perdona,
Benigno, e non guardar lo nostro merto.
And as we forgive to each the evil we have endured,
do Thou also graciously forgive, and regard not our
deserts.
This is the fifth petition, in which we ask to be for-
given our trespasses, or debts, and the condition of
obtaining our request is that we forgive to others their
trespasses or debts to us, and that not only to those
who ask our pardon, but also to those who have not
asked it. And we must also pray for the forgiveness
of the sins of others. Forgive us our trespasses, not
forgive me my trespasses. Benvenuto says that some
have thought that he who makes this prayer, and does

* Compare Par. XVI, 7, where Dante is speaking of the pride
of birth, and nobility of race, and says that if men do not add
something on their own account to family renown, its fame must
derogate.
“Ben se tu manto che tosto raccorce,
Sì che, se non s'appon di dìe in die,
Lo tempo va d' intorno con le force.”
Canto XI. Readings on the Purgatorio. 261
not forgive, directly prays against himself. Dean
Plumptre remarks we are to forgive those who have
wronged us without thinking of their merits. Only on
that ground can we pray that God will not take our
merits as the measure of His pardon.*
Nostra virtù, che di leggier s'adona,+
Non spermentar con l' antico avversaro, 20
Ma libera da lui, che sì la sprona.
Our virtue, which is easily overcome, put not Thou
to the proof with the Old Adversary, but liberate us
from him who so assails (spurs) it. I
This is the sixth and last petition, in which, having
already sought for pardon for sins past, we now ask
for preservation against sins future. Human virtue
consists of two operations, (1) The inclining to Good;
(2) The declining from Evil. God alone proves us as
to the first, while as to the second we have three
adversaries :
(1) The world which tempts with its vanities.

* Jacopo della Lana observes that this is a specially appro-
priate prayer for the proud : “Non guardare il nostro merto.”
Unless Thou, O God, dost show mercy, we are so utterly
worthless that it is not possible for us to be forgiven.
+ Fanfani says “s'adonare” has the force of " deprimere.”
Scartazzini explains it: “cede, resta abbattuta, vinta." Dante
uses the word in Inf. VI, 34 :--
"l' ombre, che adona
La greve pioggia.”
The shades whom the heavy rain subdues, beats down to the earth.
I Dean Plumptre notices that Dante's paraphrase has the in-
terest of showing that he followed the Schoolmen and Fathers,
who read in the Greek of the Lord's Prayer, as the revised Ver-
sion has done :-
“Deliver us from the Evil One.”
262 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto XI.
(2) The flesh which tempts with concupiscence.
(3) The Devil who tempts directly to vice.
And therefore Dante paraphrases “Do not prove our
weak virtue or strength too hardly, O Lord, for it is so
easily crushed down by letting us get into the snares
of our adversary the Devil, “the dragon, that old ser-
pent, which is the Devil,' and Satan, and bound [by
the Angel] a thousand years” (Rev. XX, 2).
We saw in Canto VIII, 98, that the souls waiting
in the Happy Valley for admission to Purgatory were
still subject to the temptation of the Serpent. Once
within the gates, the Tempter ceases to have any
power to hurt them, and therefore they add the
following clause to their Prayer :-
Quesť ultima preghiera, Signor caro,
Già non si fa per noi, chè non bisogna,
Ma per color, che dietro a noi restaro.”—
This last petition, O dear Lord, is not indeed made
for ourselves, who need it not, but for those who have
remained behind us on earth.”
This clause is an intercession for those left on
earth, and, might we not add, also for those in the
Anti-Purgatorio. In all that follows, as in what goes
before, we have to remember that the sin of pride
was that which Dante recognized as his own beset-
ting temptation.* He had found in the Lord's Prayer
the most effective charm against it. We might
notice that, among the sinners doing penance on

* See XIII, 136:-
• “Troppa è più la paura, ond' è sospesa
L'anima mia, del tormento di sotto,
Che già lo incarco di laggiù mi pesa.”
Canto XI. Readings on the Purgatorio. 263
this cornice, was Dante's own great-grandfather, Aldi-
ghiero Aldighieri, as we know from the words of
Cacciaguida, Par. XV, 91-5. Did Dante see him ?
If he did, why is he silent about it? Might it not be
that this same family pride would not allow him to
describe one of his family in so undignified and
humiliating a posture. He is not so silent about the
blessed condition in which he found his Great-Great-
Grandfather Cacciaguida in the Fiery Cross of the
Heaven of Mars.
Having concluded by praying for a prosperous issue
to their own journeying as well as that of the Poets, the
spirits proceed on their way, and Dante contemplates
their sufferings with deep compassion and sympathy.
Così a sè e noi buona ramogna*
25
Quell' ombre orando, andavan sotto il pondo,
Simile a quel che tal volta si sogna,
Disparmente angosciate tutte a tondo,
E lasse su per la prima cornice,
Purgando le caliginit del mondo.
Thus these spirits, praying good speed for them-
selves and for us, were going round and round up
along the first cornice, unequally tormented (that is,
some bore heavier weights than others), and all of

30
* Ramogna may be derived from Ramier, a pilgrim, so called
by the ancient French on account of the ramicello di palmi
that a pilgrim used to bring back from Jerusalem. Fraticelli and
Jacopo della Lana say it means “journey."
Benvenuto, “happy augury."
Francesco da Buti, Landino, Vellutello and others, “pros-
perity in a journey."
+ Caligini, St. Augustine says: “Behold the smoke like unto
pride, ascending, swelling, vanishing."
264 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto XI.
them weary under a burden like unto one that one
dreams of at times, purging away the gross darkness
of the world.
Jacopo della Lana says that Dante here wishes to
describe the weights that are often seen in dreams,
and especially by melancholy persons, because heavy
smoke which mounts up into the brain makes the
sleeper fancy that he has got rocks above him, or
that he is supporting a great weight.* Benvenuto
calls attention here to the good will of those who, bur-
dened as they were, yet could bestow kind thoughts
on Dante. When suffering from incubus or night-
mare, one feels as if the whole world was on one's
head. Pride darkens the mind more than all the
other vices, because it is a sin which wishes to make
a man into God, or like unto God.
Se di là sempre ben per noi si dice,
Di qua che dire e far per lor si puote
Da quei, ch' hanno al voler buona radice?
Ben si dee loro aitar lavar le note,
Che portar quinci, sì che mondi e lievi
Possano uscire alle stellate ruote.
If there (in Purgatory), they for ever offer up prayers
for us, who remain alive, what, here (on earth), should
be said and done for them, by those who have a good
root to their will? (i.e. what should not be uttered by us
on earth in prayers, what could not be effected by
fasting, alms, pilgrimages and the like, provided these

35
* In Canto X, 136, Dante expressly mentions that different
degrees of punishment were apportioned to the penitent spirits.
“Ver è che più e meno eran contratti,
Secondo ch' avean più e meno addosso.”
Canto XI. Readings on the Purgatorio.
265
good works be performed by those who are living in
the grace of God, which is the root of good will ? for
the prayers of those who are living in the wrath of
God, cannot be of any avail, as Belacqua told Dante
in Canto IV, 134).* Certainly we ought to assist
them to wash off the stains (of sin) which they bore
on this side of the grave; so that, purified and
lightened, they may issue forth into the starry spheres
(of Paradise.)
Division II. Now begins the Second Division of the
Canto, in which we read how Virgil asks the spirits of
the proud to direct them on their way, and how one of
them, Omberto Aldobrandeschi, Count of Santafiore,
answers for himself and his companions. Dean
Plumptre says: “The Poets have advanced thus far,
when Virgil, who, as representing human wisdom, has
no adequate experience of the processes of spiritual
purification, addresses himself to the band of peni-
tents near them, feeling the necessity of applying to
those who are being taught by experience how to con-
quer pride. The way is afterwards found in discerning

* Belacqua says :-
6 Prima convien che tanto il ciel m'aggiri
Di fuor da essa, quanto fece in vita,
Perch'io indugiai al fin li buon sospiri,
Se orazione in prima non m' aita,
Che surga su di cor che in grazia viva :
L' altra che val? che in ciel non è udita.”
-Purg. IV, 130-5.

266
Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto XI.
the consequence of that sin as seen in others, and so
learning, partly by example, and partly by sympathy;'
and sympathy, to be genuine, must be given in a tender
spirit, for, if given grudgingly or contemptuously, it is
but double-distilled pride.
Benvenuto notices that Virgil addresses the spirits
in a brief and graceful speech, making first his exor-
dium, then his petition, and finally his confirmation.
He first conciliates their favour by wishing them what
they desire beyond everything, viz. a speedy libera-
tion from their sufferings :
-“Deh! se giustizia e pietà vi disgrevi
Tosto, sì che possiate muover l' ala,
Che secondo il disio vostro vi levi,
Mostrate da qual mano invêr la scala
40
Si va più corto; e se c' è più d'un varco,
Quel ne insegnate che men erto cala:*
Chè questi che vien meco, per l' incarco
Della carne d'Adamo,t ond' ei si veste,
Al montar su, contra sua voglia, è parco.”— 45
May justice tempered with mercy soon relieve you
of your burdens, so that ye may be enabled to spread
the wings which will raise you up on high in accord-
ance with your desires, (and I, who make this prayer
on your behalf, ask you to) show us on which hand it
is shortest to go to the stairway; and, if there be
more than one passage, point out the one that is
least steep, for this man who comes with me, from
* v. 42, men erto cala: compare Purg. III, 52:-
—“Or chi sa da qual man la costa cala,”—
Disse il maestro mio, fermando il passo,
-“Sì che possa salir chi va senz' ala ?"
+ carne d' Adamo: Compare Purg. IX, 10:-
“Quand 'io, che meco avea di quel d'Adamo, &c.”
66
Canto XI. Readings on the Purgatorio. 267
being still burdened with the flesh of Adam with
which he is clothed, is slow to mount up, though
sorely against his will.”
the justice and mercy of God that Dante refers in v. 37.*
* Longfellow here refers us to his own note on Inf. XII, 1-2.
which contains an extract from Ruskin's Modern Painters ;-
“Era lo loco, ove a scender la riva
Venimmo, alpestro ...."
Ruskin, referring to Dante's idea of rocks and mountains, says:
“At the top of the abyss of the Seventh Circle, appointed for
the violent, or souls who had done evil by force, we are told,
first, that the edge of it was composed of great broken stones in
a circle; then, that the place was Alpine, and becoming there-
upon more attentive, in order to hear what an Alpine place is
like, we find that it was like the place beyond Trent, where the
rock, either by earthquake, or failure of support, has broken
down to the plain, so that it gives any one at the top some means
of getting down to the bottom. This is not a very elevateå or
enthusiastic description of an Alpine scene; and it is far from
being mended by the following verses, in which we are told that
Dante began to go down by “lo scarco di quelle pietre," by this
great unloading of stones, and that they moved often under his
feet by reason of the new weight. The fact is that Dante, by
many expressions throughout the poem, shows himself to have
been a notably bad climber; and being fond of sitting in the
sun, looking at his fair Baptistery, or walking in a dignified
manner on flat pavement in a long robe, it put him seriously out
of his way when he had to take to his hands and knees, or look
to his feet; so that the first strong impression made upon him
by any Alpine scene whatever is, clearly, that it is bad walking.
When he is in a fright or hurry, and has a very steep place to go

+ St. Thomas Aquinas (Summ. Theol. P. I, qu. XXI, art. 4)
says, “that in all the works of God, His justice and His mercy
are manifested ”....“Some works are attributed to justice, and
some to mercy, for in some, justice is more strongly apparent,
Sa
11
IS mo
268 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto XI.
Le lor parole, che rendero a queste,
Che dette avea colui cu' io seguiva,
Non fur da cui venisser manifeste;:
Ma fu detto :-“A man destra per la riva
Con noi venite, e troverete il passo
50
Possibile a salir persona viva.
Their words, which they returned to these which he
whom I followed (Virgil) had spoken, were not easily
to be discerned from whom they came; but this was
said :—“Come with us to the right along the bank,
and ye shfall find the passage, by which it is possible
for a living person to ascend."
The words that the spirits answered were sufficiently
clear as to their meaning, but as the voice came forth
from the group of bent-down figures, one could not
distinguish from which personage it proceeded, for the
stone was so broad, says Benvenuto, as well as heavy,
that the proud spirit under it, who in former days
would love to display himself, now strives, as far as
possible, to conceal his identity, and, when obliged to
mention it, does so in terms so modest, as if it were
hardly worthy of Dante's notice. The speaker was the
once proud Omberto Aldobrandeschi, Count of Santa-
fiora, mentioned before in Canto VI, III, in Dante's
fierce invective against the divisions and factions in
Italy, and he there mentions him as a chief offender.*

in others mercy. And yet, in the damnation of the wicked,
mercy is apparent, not indeed loosening altogether, but some-
what alleviating.”
* Compare Purg. VI, 109 :-
“Vien, crudel, vieni, e vedi la pressura
De' tuoi gentili, e cura lor magagne,
E vedrai Santafior com'è sicura.”
Santafiora was in the Sienese Maremma. The family were
Canto XI. Readings on the Purgatorio. 269
He deplores his inability to look upwards, or he
would gladly gaze upon the living being who has
come amongst them, and see if it is any one that he
knows.
Che la cervice mia superba doma,
Onde portar convienmi il viso basso,
Cotesti che ancor vive, e non si noma,
55
Guardare io, per veder s'io 'l conosco,
E per farlo pietoso a questa soma.
And were I not prevented from raising my head by
the stone which presses down my haughty neck, and
by which I am compelled to keep my face downcast,
I would look up at this one (Dante) who is still alive,
and has not been mentioned by name, to see whether
I know him, and to invite his compassion for this
burden that I have to bear (meaning, I would induce
him to pray for me himself, and obtain for me the
prayers of my living friends as soon as he returns to
the world).
Io fui Latino, e nato d' un gran Tosco :
Guglielmo Aldobrandesco fu mio padre :
Non so se il nome suo giammai fu vosco.* 60
I was an Italian, and born of a great Tuscan :
Guglielmo Aldobrandeschi was my father: I know
not if his name ever came under your notice.
Omberto may either have mentioned his father's

Ghibellines, took part with Henry VII, and fought under
Counts of Santafiore were in perpetual conflict with Siena on
questions of jurisdiction. The Sienese invaded the Castle of
Campagnatico, and Omberto was killed in a sortie, or some
think murdered in his bed by Sienese emissaries.
* Vosco is equivalent to vobiscum, con voi.
270 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto XI.
greatness by way of actual information, and then has-
tened to assure Dante that he was so humbled about
it, that he did not even expect Dante to know it. Or
he may have been tempted into a momentary return
of family pride, which he hastened to check by a
direct act of humility. The former seems to be the
most probable conclusion, and he is simply stating
what was the actual truth, that his family was very
great (which every one in Dante's time knew), but
he makes a clean breast of it, and adds :
L'antico sangue e l' opere leggiadre
De' miei maggior mi fêr sì arrogante,
Che non pensando alla comune madre,
Ogni uomo ebbi in dispetto tanto avante
Ch' io ne mori'; come i Sanesi sanno,
E sallo in Campagnatico ogni fante.*
The ancient blood and gallant deeds of my an-
cestors made me so arrogant, that, not thinking upon
the common mother (that is, forgetting that all men in
common descend from Eve), I had such an exaggerated
contempt for all mankind, that it was eventually the
cause of my death ; as the men of Siena, who slew
me, know, and every soul endued with speech in
Campagnatico knows likewise.
He now bitterly censures the sin of pride, which
has not alone been the cause of his own destruction,
but also of that of his family.

65
* Ogni fante : Some take it to mean every one with speech;
others, every one who has attained reasoning power; or, every
child knows it; or, every servant knows it ; or, every infantry
soldier knows it; for one account says that he was killed in a
gallant sortie, while besieged by the Sienese in his Castle of
Campagnatico, while attended by very few fanti.
Canto XI.
271
Reading's on the Purgatorio.
Io sono Omberto: e non pure e me danno
Superbia fa, chè tutti i miei consorti
Ha ella tratti seco nel malanno.
E qui convien ch' io questo peso porti
70
Per lei, tanto che a Dio si soddisfaccia,
Poi ch' io nol fei tra’ vivi, qui tra’ morti.”—
I am Omberto : and not alone to myself does my
pride occasion harm, for all my kinsfolk has it dragged
with itself into adversity. And here for it must I
bear this burden, until God is satisfied, here among
the dead, since I did it not among the living."

Division III. This is the Third Division of the
Canto, in which we see instances of pride caused
by distinction in the arts and sciences. Oderisi
d'Agobbio, the illuminator, is personally introduced,
and Franco di Bologna, Cimabue, Giotto, Guido
Cavalcanti, and Guido Guinicelli, incidentally men-
tioned. Dante's chief maxim in this division seems
to be that men maintain their pre-eminence only if
they live in an epoch of ignorance, which produces
no worthy competitors to them.
Ascoltando, chinai in giù la faccia;
Ed un di lor (non questi che parlava)
Si torse sotto il peso che lo impaccia;
E videmi, e conobbemi, e chiamava,
Tenendo gli occhi con fatica fisi
A me, che tutto chin con loro andava.
I bent my head down to listen ; and one of them
(not he who was speaking) twisted himself round
under the weight that hampered him, and saw me,
and recognized me, and called to me, keeping his
75
272 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto XI.
eyes laboriously fixed upon me, who was going along
with them bent quite down..
Dante bent his head down to the level of the toiling
penitents, the better to follow the words of Omberto
Aldobrandeschi, as he accompanied them on their slow

addressed Dante was not a great and magnificent per-
sonage like Omberto, but a certain poor and plebeian
He twisted his body under the stone, so as to get a
glimpse sideways of the stooping figure of Dante,
and having known him in life called to him.*
-“Oh (dissi lui) non sei tu Oderisi,
L'onor d' Agobbio, e l'onor di quell' arte
Che alluminare chiamata è in Parisi?”—
“O,” said I to him, “art not thou Oderisi, the
honour of Gubbio, and of that art which in Paris is
called illuminating ?”+
Oderisi was a contemporary of Dante's, and had
attained great renown at Bologna in the once famous
art of illumination, and became so elated at his pre-
* Benvenuto, alluding to Dante's walking bent down beside
the penitent proud, says it may have the moral significance
that he was here learning the lesson of bending his own pride
and learning humility.
+ Oderisi of Gubbio, in Urbino, was a celebrated miniature
painter, and illuminator of books. Vasari relates that he was
brought to Rome by Benedict XI, or more probably by Boni-
face VIII, “e miniò molti libri per la libreria di Palezzo, in gran
parte oggi consumati dal tempo. E nel mio libro di disegni
antichi sono alcune reliquie di man propria di costui, che in
vero fu valente uomo.” Scartazzini says that Oderisi's name is
not to be found in any of the histories of art, and that he
probably would have been completely forgotten had he not
been immortalized in the verses of Dante.

Canto XI. Readings on the Purgatorio.
273
eminence in it, as to think, that he never could be
surpassed. Dante was, it seems, fully aware of this
overweening vanity of Oderisi, and Benvenuto thinks
that he wishes to test how far he has become changed
in his new state of penitence; and so addresses him
ironically: “O, art thou not Oderisi, who didst so
inuch honour to Gubbio by being born there, and
didst so much honour to the art of illuminating ?”*
Oderisi shows himself, in his answer, to be fully
conscious of his former jealousy and pride, and in
proof of his sincere repentance makes a full confession
of his inferiority to his former pupil, and subsequently
successful rival, Franco Bolognese.
-“Frate."--diss' egli,—“ più ridon le carte
Che pennelleggia Franco Bolognese:t
L'onore è tutto or suo, e mio in parte.

O was
* Benvenuto here remarks that the expression miniare is
a much more appropriate one than illuminare, for it comes
from the colour minium, a red pigment, from which comes
our word miniature. In ancient times the minium was held of
great value, and Benvenuto says that, when Scipio Africanus
was holding his great triumph after the defeat of Hannibal
(according to Pliny), he entered the city with his face dyed
with minium. The old French word was enluminer. Oderisi
was already dead in 1300, and Franco was in high repute
some thirteen years after. The latter was the originator of
painting, as opposed to illuminating, in Bologna.
† Lanzi says of Oderisi being master of Franco: “Rendo
questo miniatore alla scuola di Bologna, probabilmente come
allievo, sicuramente come maestro, e sulla fede del Vellutello,
come maestro di Franco, miniatore e pittore insieme.” Lanzi
adds that Franco was the Giotto of that school, and that very
few specimens of his brush remained in the Museo Malvezzi,
the best authenticated being a Madonna seated on a throne
with the date 1313.
was
274 . Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto XI.
—“Brother,"—said he,—“the leaves touched by
the brush of Franco Bolognese are more delightful
to behold : to him all the honour, while to me but
a part.
And further :-
Ben non sare' io stato sì cortese
Mentre ch' io vissi, per lo gran disio
Dell' eccellenza, ove mio core intese.
Most certainly I should not have made so generous
an admission during my lifetime, on account of my
hungry desire to excel, whereon my whole heart was

Di tal superbia qui si paga il fio;
Ed ancor non sarei qui, se non fosse
Che, possendo peccar, mi volsi a Dio. 90
For such pride here is paid the penalty; and
indeed I should not even be here, were it not that,
while I had power to sin, I turned to God.
Some explain this that he means he would have
been in Hell, but Scartazzini agrees with the Ottimo,
and the Anonimo Fiorentino, in preferring that he
meant he would have been relegated to Outer Pur-
gatory, there to pass the long probationary time that
* Benvenuto here remarks that many, through ignorance,
have wondered that Dante should here have made mention of
men of unknown name and of “a low art," when he might
much more readily make mention of men of eminence, who,
very eager for glory, had wrought brilliant and noble deeds ;
it to be understood that the thirst for renown so generally
occupies all men, that even small artizans are eager to acquire
it, as we see when painters append their names to their works.
Canto XI. Readings on the Purgatorio. 275
must elapse before those who were negligent of re-
pentance could ascend to the Gates of Purgatory.*
And now Dante makes Oderisi launch forth in the
next eighteen verses into a sharp reproach against the
passing nature of earthly glory.
O vanagloria dell' umane posse ! +
Com' poco verde in su la cima dura,
Se non è giunta dall' etati grosse!
O thou vain-glory of the human powers, how short
a time does the verdure last upon thy summit, if it be
not overtaken by ages of ignorance !
Dante here wishes to show what a useless and empty
appetite this is, how very few attain really to the
highest glory, and, even when these very few have
done so, how extremely rare it is for it to last.
And now Dante confirms, still in the mouth of
* If there had been no power to sin, there would have been
no freedom of the will, and no true conversion.
† L' umane posse: Human powers and studies, such as arms,
sciences and arts. Benvenuto says that this passage about vain-
glory is very obscure, and he wishes it to be noted how many
erroneous interpretations have been given of it. Some interpret
that glory only lasts for a while, and soon dries up unless it is
reached or attained by aged wise men who know how to use it
with moderation; but that is not correct, for many intemperate
youths (like Alexander the Great) have obtained worldly glory,
and old men ought to despise it. Others say that by etati grosse
Dante implied the great constellations which were supposed to
exert an influence on earthly affairs. Benvenuto thinks Dante
means that a man's fame soon vanishes unless followed by a dark
age of ignorance, in the midst of which it shines forth like a star.
Plato's star was eclipsed by Aristotle's, but as no great genius
closely followed the latter, his fame endures still. Had Virgil
possessed rivals as great as himself, who had treated the same
subject equally well, his reputation would not be what it is.
6. There were Giants in the earth in those days.”—Gen. VI, 4.


T 2
276 . Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto XI.
Oderisi, what he has said before, by citing a few con-
temporary examples, which clearly give the proof to
his explanation, and first he brings forward as an
example, the comparison between the careers of his
two distinguished countrymen—the painters Cimabue
and Giotto, the latter being his intimate friend. He
shows how, for a time, Cimabue had held the field
against all comers, but Giotto, who was his pupil, had
so far surpassed him, as to throw all Cimabue's renown
into the shade.
Credette Cimabue nella pintura
Tener lo campo, ed ora ha Giotto il grido,
Sì che la fama di colui è oscura
At one time Cimabue thought he held the field in
painting, and now Giotto has the cry, so that the
reputation of the other is obscured.
Cimabue’shopes are disappointed, for he does not find
himself in a time of decadence (etate grossa), a dark age
of painting, but in a golden age, where he is quickly
overtaken and surpassed by his young pupil Giotto.*
* Cimabue died in 1308. He was a Florentine, and one of the
first to liberate art from its traditional Byzantine routine. The
delight of the Florentines at his picture in Sta. Maria Novella
was so great, that they made a solemn procession of exuberant
joy; and this is supposed to have given the name Borgo Allegri
to the quarter where Cimabue lived. Giotto, whose father was
Bondone da Vespignano, was a shepherd boy, whose natural
talent for drawing was noticed by Cimabue, who made him his
pupil, and he soon excelled his master. He was born in 1276,
according to Vasari, and would thus have been eleven years
younger than Dante, whose intimate friend he was.
Benvenuto tells an amusing story of Giotto, which may be left
in the obscurity of the original: “Accidit autem semel quod dum
Giottus pingeret Paduæ, adhuc satis juvenis, unam cappellam in
loco ubi fuit olim theatrum, sive harena, Dantes pervenit ad


Canto XI. Readings on the Purgatorio.
277
Così ha tolto l' uno all'altro Guido
La gloria della lingua ; e forse è nato
Chi l'uno e l' altro caccerà di nido.
In like manner the one Guido (Cavalcanti) has taken
from the other Guido (Guinicelli) the chief glory for
speech in our mother tongue; and perchance one may
yet be born who will drive both of them out of the nest.*
We have seen how, in Inf. X, 63, Dante, while con-
versing with Guido, Cavalcanti's father, spoke of his
learning—now he speaks of his eloquence.
locum: quem Giottus honorifice receptum duxit ad domum suam,
ubi Dantes videns plures infantulos ejus summe deformes, et ut
cito dicam, simillimos patri, petivit : egregie magister, nimis
miror, quod cum in arte pictoria dicamini non habere parem,
unde est, quod alienas figuras facitas tam formosas, vestras vero
tam turpes ! Cui Giottus subridens, præsto respondit : Quia
pingo de die, sed fingo de nocte. Hæc responsio summe placuit
Danti, non quia sibi esset nova, cum inveniatur in Macrobio libro
Saturnalium, sed quia nata videbatur ab ingenio hominis."
* Both these were poets and contemporaries. One Guido
Guinicelli of Bologna, mentioned as undergoing penance in ano-
ther part of Purgatory. The other Guido Cavalcanti of Florence,
the superior genius of the two, and also a dear friend of Dante.
Scartazzini, in commenting on “forse è nato chi l'uno e l'altro
caccierà di nido,” says that many (and among them is Ben-
venuto da Imola) have tried to show that Dante was here speak-
ing of himself, and that he is boasting that one day he will throw
into the shade the glory and reputation of the two Guidos above
mentioned. But Scartazzini is far more disposed to agree with
those who think that Dante was only speaking generally, for he
says that it would have been but little to Dante's credit, that
just in the very place where he puts before his readers examples
of humility, and the punishment of pride, he were to be boasting
of his own attainments. Benvenuto says that this super-eminent
poet, Dante, not only ousts the two Guidos out of possession of
the abode of fame (nido), but also all others before himself, and
after himself, even unto this day. More than five hundred years

COL
278 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto XI.
romor
IOO
Dante now sums up and concludes his remarks on
the emptiness of renown, by comparing it to the wind
which passeth away and cometh not again.
Non è il mondan romore altro che un fiato
Di vento, che or vien quinci ed or vien quindi,
E muta nome, perchè muta lato.
Che voce avrai tu più, se vecchia scindi
Da te la carne, che se fossi morto
Innanzi che lasciassi il pappo e il dindi, 105
Pria che passin mill' anni? ch'è più corto
Spazio all' eterno, che un muover di ciglia,
Al cerchio che più tardi in cielo è torto.
For earthly fame is nothing but a breath of wind,
which now comes this way and now that way, and
changes its name because it changes its quarter.
What greater reputation wilt thou have if thou loosest
thy flesh from thee (if thou diest in old age), than
if thou hadst died in infancy before thou hadst left
the pappo and dindi,* ere a thousand years have
passed? which, as compared with eternity, is a shorter
space of time than the twinkling of an eye is, when
compared to that sphere of heaven (of the Fixed
Stars), which revolves slowest.t.

have elapsed since Benvenuto's words were written, and since
then but one poet has flourished worthy to stand in the same
rank with Dante, viz. our own Shakespeare.
Benvenuto remarks that some have tried to show that Dante
was speaking of a third Guido, viz. : Guido Novelle Lord of
Polenta, in whose house Dante lived and died, but he adds that
he does not believe it.
* Pappo and dindi are supposed to be a child's way of
prattling the words pane (bread), and denaro (money). The
meaning is “than if thou hadst died ere thou hadst ceased to
prattle as a child."
+ According to the Ptolemaic system prevalent in the time of
re
Canto XI. Readings on the Purgatorio.
279
Benvenuto, alluding to this passage, says it is an
admirable simile, for reputation is fleeting like the
wind, and very quickly traverses great spaces of the
earth, with much noise; and as the wind is called
“Scirocco,” “Tramontana," “Libeccio," “Greco," ac-
cording to the point from which it blows, so fame now
picks out one name to celebrate, now another, and the
same wind has quite another power and influence,
as well as a different name, in various countries. So
what rouses enthusiasm and commendation in one
country, causes disapprobation and censure in another.
For instance, adds Benvenuto, if the Doge of Venice,
who is treated with such conspicuous deference by his
own people, were to travel into lands adjoining his
states, which are uncivilized, he would certainly become
an object of derision on account of the horn on the
top of his ducal cap. As the wind also comes at times
with great force, and overthrows everything, so also
fame causes great commotions, but soon loses its force,
and vanishes away.
And then, having pointed out the emptiness of
fame, Dante next shows how short-lived it is, even
were the reputation of a man to last a thousand years,
or a thousand thousand years, that is as nothing com-
pared to eternity ; for there is no proportion between
the finite and the infinite.

Dante, the Heaven of the Fixed Stars, the Ninth Sphere in
Paradise, was supposed to revolve only once in thirty-six thou-.
sand years. Compare Ps. XC, 4: “For a thousand years in
thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in
the night.”

280 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto XI.
Division IV. We now enter upon the Fourth Divi-
sion of the Canto, in which Oderisi d' Agobbio points
out to Dante the shade of Provenzano Salvani, a great
Ghibelline chief, proud and haughty, who was governor
of Siena when the Florentines were defeated at the
battle of Montaperti, in 1260, by the troops of Proven-
zano and those of King Manfred. In 1269, when the
Florentines in their turn routed the Sienese at Colle,
he was taken prisoner and beheaded on the field of
battle by order of Zanni Bertaldo. It is related of him,
amongst other anecdotes, that King Charles of Anjou
was keeping a friend of his in prison, and announced
that, were his ransom of 10,000 florins of gold not paid
within a month, he would have him put to death.
The friend's name was Vinea, and he had been taken
prisoner while fighting under Conradin against Charles
at the battle of Tagliacozzo. Provenzano, on hearing
this, had a bench with a carpet on it placed in the
Piazza del Campo at Siena and, taking his place upon
it, asked alms from all that passed by until he had
obtained the sum required. In the Corte d'Assisi at
Siena there is a large picture by my friend Professor
Cassioli, representing this interesting episode.
Oderisi points out Provenzano :-
Colui, che del cammin sì poco piglia
Dinanzi a me, Toscana sono tutta,
ΙΙΟ
Ed ora a pena in Siena sen pispiglia,
Ond' era sire quando fu distrutta
La rabbia fiorentina, che superba
Fu a quel tempo, sì com' ora è putta.
With the name of him in front of me, who, from
his doubled-up posture, takes up so little of the
causeway, at one time all Tuscany resounded, whereas
Canto XI. Readings on the Purgatorio. 281
now you would hardly hear his name whispered in
Siena, of which city he was lord, when (at the battle
of Montaperti), the rabid populace of Florence was
exterminated, which at that time was as arrogant as
now it is abject. Arrogant because the Florentine
rabble insisted on being led against the Sienese
against the advice of all their wisest leaders.
Dante next makes Oderisi compare the mutability
of fame with the grass.*
La vostra nominanza è color d'erba,
115
Che viene e vá; e quei la discolora
Per cui ell esce della terra acerba.”—
Your reputation is as the hue of the grass, which
comes and goes; and he (the Sun), by the influence
of whose heat it issues fresh from the earth, dries it
up and discolours it.”+

* Compare Ps. XC, 5-6: “Thou carriest them away as with a
flood ; they are as a sleep : in the morning they are like grass
which groweth up. In the morning it flourisheth, and groweth
up; in the evening it is cut down and withereth.”
+ Dante wishes to show that it is time which both gives and
takes away man's reputation and renown. We often see that he
who was glorified and extolled but yesterday, is to-day reviled
and dishonoured. It was but a few hours after the Jewish crowd
had shouted “Hosannah," that they yelled “Crucify! Crucify!”
He says that the populace is a most unjust judge, and on
their hands, or rather tongues, hangs men's reputation. Benve-
nuto here mentions a doubt that occurs to him, at the apparent
contradiction of Dante, who, at his entrance into Hell, ex-
pressed a strong opinion that the man who dies without fame
in the world, vanishes like smoke, or like foam on the water;
but here he likens that very fame to a breath of wind or to the
grass. He says, however, that Dante is quite correct in both
passages, for renown and glory follow after virtue, and that man
may honestly aspire to honour, praise and glory, for his merits,

282 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto XI.
I20
Dante commends Oderisi for what he has said, but
asks him of whom he was speaking before.
Ed io a lui :-“Lo tuo ver dir m'incuora
Buona umiltà, e gran tumor m' appiani.
Ma chi è quei di cui tu parlavi ora ?”—
And I to him: “Thy true words instil into my
heart the wish to be good and humble, and thou
layest low my turgid pride.” This is a confession by
Dante that love of fame and pride of race was a be-
setting sin of his. He then asks Oderisi : “But who
is he of whom thou wert speaking just now ?”
Oderisi tells him both his name and his fault.
_“Quegli è,"—rispose,—“Provenzan Salvani ;
Ed è qui, perchè fu presuntuoso
A recar Siena tutta alle sue mani.
Ito è così (e va senza riposo)
Poi che morì. Cotal moneta rende
125
A soddisfar chi è di là tropp’ oso.”—
—“That,”—he replied,—“is Provenzano Salvani, and
he is here because he had the presumption to bring
Siena entirely into his own hands. He has been going
along thus, in this degrading posture, and he has to
move on continually without any rest. In such coin
must the debt be rendered in repayment, by whoever
is too audacious in his arrogance in the world.”
if he bears it to God, and not to the injury of his fellows : but he
must not stake all his happiness upon it, nor become proud and
arrogant on account of it. It is the glory and honour of the
proud and arrogant that Dante condemns, for it has to be
atoned-for by penitence and penance in Purgatory.
Herod arrayed in all his pomp was struck by the angel of
God, because he gave not God the glory, and he was eaten of
worms.-See Acts XII, 23.
Canto xi. Readings on the Purgatorio. 283
Dante now expresses a doubt as to how it had
happened that Provenzano Salvani had been able to
penetrate into Purgatory at all, for, according to
Manfred, Purg. III, 139-141, and Belacqua, Purg.
IV, 127-135, he ought to have been detained in the
Anti-Purgatorio, seeing that he delayed his repentance
until his death.*
Ed io :—“Se quello spirito che attende,
Pria che si penta, l'orlo della vita,
Laggiù dimora, e quassù non ascende,
Se buona orazïon lui non aita,t
130
Prima che passi tempo quanto visse,
Come fu la venuta a lui largita ?”—
And I:-“If that spirit, who awaits the extreme
end of his life before he repents, has to delay down
there (in Anti-Purgatorio), and is not permitted to
ascend up there, unless the fervent prayer of a righteous
man comes to his aid, until he shall have passed a
space of time equal to the duration of his life, how is
it that admittance was conceded to him?”.
Oderisi answers Dante's question by explaining to
him that Provenzano had, in the closing years of his
life, performed a great act of humiliation, which, being
in accordance with mediæval theology, was accepted as

* Manfred says that one dying under the Ban of the Church
has to remain in Anti-Purgatorio thirty times the duration of the
time that he was in life under the Ban of Excommunication.
Belacqua says that he who delays his repentance unto the
moment of death has to remain in Anti-Purgatorio the same
number of years that he lived on earth, and Dante does not see
why Provenzano was admitted to Purgatory immediately after
his death.
+ Buona orazion: Compare Purg. IV, 134 :-
“Che surga su di cor che in grazia viva.”

284 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto XI.
a satisfaction. Charity had, in this case, covered the
multitude of his sins.
Oderisi says :-
—“Quando vivea più glorioso,"—disse,
_“Liberamente* nel Campo di Siena,
Ogni vergogna deposta, s'affisse:
135
E lì, per trar l'amico suo di pena,
Che sostenea nella prigion di Carlo,
Si condusse a tremar per ogni vena.
He said :-“ At the time that he (Provenzano) was
living at the very zenith of his renown, he, of his own
free will, laying aside all feeling of shame, planted
himself in the (Piazza del) Campo at Siena, and there,
to liberate his friend (Vinea) from the sufferings he
was undergoing in the prison-house of Charles, he
brought himself to tremble in every vein. (To a noble
and haughty spirit, nothing can be more painful and
zano did.)
Oderisi now concludes :-
(Più non dirò; e scuro so che parlo;
Ma poco tempo andrà che i tuoi vicini 140
Faranno sì, che tu potrai chiosarlo.)
Quesť opera gli tolse quei confini.”—
I will not add more ; and I know that my speech
is obscure; yet but a little time shall pass it was
only two short years) before thy neighbours will take
able to interpret it. It was this that removed for
him those boundaries.”
* Liberamente=spontaneously. Compare Par. XXXIII, 18:
“La tua benignità non pur soccorre
A chi dimanda, ma molte fiate
Liberamente al domandar precorre."
Canto XI. Readings on the Purgatorio. 285
In these last words Oderisi gives Dante one of those
mysterious hints or semi-prophecies, of which several
occur in the three Cantiche, and about which Dante
asks an interpretation from Cacciaguida (in Par.
XVII), who explains them, and foretells to Dante his
exile, his poverty, his dependence on others, and
above all the odious company of his fellow exiles. It
is with this meaning that Oderisi says, that Dante will
soon be able to interpret his words, and declare to
succeeding ages that, with shame and trembling, he is
learning to ask alms from others.*
* See Cacciaguida's prophecy, Par. XVII, 55:-
“ Tu lascerai ogni cosa diletta
Più caramente ; e questo è quello strale
Che l'arco dell'esilio pria saetta.
Tu proverai sì come sa di sale
Lo pane altrui, e com'è duro calle
Lo scendere e il salir per l' altrui scale.
E quel che più ti graverà le spalle
Sarà la compagnia malvagia e scempia,
Con la qual tu cadrai in questa valle.”

END OF CANTO XI.

286
Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto XII.
CANTO XII.
SCULPTURED EXAMPLES OF PRIDE.
THE ANGEL OF HUMILITY.
ASCENT TO THE SECOND CORNICE.
DANTE, after having, in the last Canto, defined the
purification of pride in particular, and of empty fame,
eldest daughter of pride, now teaches us in this Twelfth
Canto how to avoid both these vices.
Benvenuto divides the Canto into three parts.
In the First Division, from v. I to V. 24, Dante
describes his preparation for the matter that follows,
and touches on the substance of what he is going to
speak about
In the Second Division, from v. 25 to v. 72, he
briefly runs through several memorable examples of
proud persons, and demonstrates the unhappy results
of Pride.
In the Third Division, from v. 73 to v. 136, he
describes an angel, who cleanses him from the sin of
pride and directs him to the second cornice, where
envy is purged.
Division 1. Dante begins the Canto by describing
how he was walking by the side of Oderisi, and he
illustrates his description by an apt and beautiful
comparison.
Canto XII. Readings on the Purgatorio. - 287
Ca
Di pari, come buoi che vanno a giogo,*
M' andava io con quell' anima carca,
Fin che il sofferse il dolce pedagogo.+
Ma quando disse :—“Lascia lui, e varca,
Chè qui è buon con la vela e coi remi,
Quantunque può ciascun, pinger sua barca ;"—.
Dritto, sì come andar vuolsi, rifèmi
Con la persona, avvegna che i pensieri
Mi rimanessero e chinati e scemi.
With even pace, like oxen that go yoked together,
I went along with that heavy laden soul (Oderisi), as
long as my gentle teacher would permit. But when
he said :-“Leave him, and pass onward, for here it is
good for every one, as much as he can, to urge
forward his bark with the sail and oars ;”—I raised
my body at once into the erect position that is re-
quisite for walking, notwithstanding that my thoughts
were humbled and downcast.
Benvenuto finds the simile of the oxen most ap-
* Compare Homer, Il. Bk. N. (XIII) 704.-Lord Derby's
translation :
“But as on fallow land, with one accord,
Two dark-red oxen drag the well-wrought plough.
Streaming with sweat that gathers round their horns ;
They, by the polished yoke together held,
The stiff soil cleaving, down the furrow strain';
So closely side by side those two advanced.”
+ Dean Plumptre thinks the word pedagogue or schoolmaster
(derived from dywyń the training, zaldós of a boy) is probably
chosen with special reference to Gal. III, 24 : “Wherefore the
law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might
be justified by faith.” Dante had found Virgil a schoolmaster
leading him to Christ. In the Greek Testament the word for
schoolmaster is “traidaywyós.” Dante calls Virgil dolce peda-
gogo because the word “pedagogue” usually conveys the idea
of severity ; whereas Virgil was gentle and affectionate.


288 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto XII.
propriate, for he says that, as the stubborn ox is placed
under the yoke in order that it may be tamed, and
made humble and gentle, and learn no longer to
attack with its horns and hoofs, so is the once con-
ceited Oderisi placed under the stone, that he may be
tamed -and made humble and gentle, and forget in
future to wound others with his tongue : while Dante,
who had himself been proud, walked evenly with him,
that he might the more readily converse, and learn to
be bent down and humbled; but Virgil made him
break off his conversation, by reminding him that the
word must be “Onward."
The lesson he enforced was in accordance with that
of all masters of the spiritual life. Each must advance
as rapidly as he can. The pilgrim could not really
lighten the burden of his fellow-sufferer, and a pro-
longation of outward sympathy might delay his own
progress. What was needed and what had actually
been gained, was humility of soul, not the bodily act
which was but its outward symbol.*
Dante obeyed Virgil at once, and stood erect at his
bidding, though in his thoughts he was bent down
and downcast.t
* Francesco da Buti says of the simile of the boat, that whoso
is in a state of penitence must walk in it with good works done
for the sake of themselves, which are symbolized by the oars ;
and with the prayers, alms, and good works of others, which
are symbolized by the sail which causes a man to move forward
without any labour of his own ; and he says the simile is carried
on in the words quantunque può, ciascun pinger sua barca. He
takes the bark as symbolising the will, which leads us into
works either good or bad, as the boat would carry us into waters
either still or stormy.
+ On this passage we have two interpretations. Benvenuto
Canto XII. Readings on the Purgatorio. 289
IO
The two poets now proceed rapidly.
Io m'era mosso, e seguia volentieri
Del mio maestro i passi, ed ambedue
Già mostravam come eravam leggieri,
Quando mi disse :-“Volgi gli occhi in giùe.
Buon ti sarà, per tranquillar la via,
Veder lo letto delle piante tue.
15
I had moved on, and was following willingly in the
footsteps of my master, and we were both already
showing how light of foot we were, when he said to
me : “Turn thine eyes downward, it will be good for
thee to ease the way by looking at what is delineated
on the bed of thy footsteps" (the pavement).
The penitents are constrained by the heavy weights
on their shoulders to fix their eyes on the sculptures
of the pavement, and trample them under their feet;
Dante, though not under compulsion, does the same,
by the advice of Virgil*
And here, says Benvenuto, the question arises why
our Poet, in Canto X, told us of the examples of
humility as sculptured in white marble, upright, on
the high wall-like bank on the side of the cornice,
while now he is about to tell of examples of proud
persons as carved on the ground, and trodden on by
Jacopo della Lana, Buti, and other ancient commentators say
that it means that Dante's thoughts were sorely weighed down
by the load of care caused him by Oderisi's obscure hints of his
future exile, and that he would soon learn how hard it is to have
to ask. But the modern commentators agree in seeing in the
humility of Dante the proper state of lowliness into which he had
been reduced by witnessing the penance of the proud.
* Jacopo della Lana says that Virgil means that it is good
for man to look down to temper his pride, inasmuch as, if man
thinks that he is himself of earth earthy, pride will greatly lower
its sails.

290 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto XII.

the feet of the passers by. But Dante has made this
contrast with much elegance, as indicating that he
who humbles himself shall be exalted and made
glorious ; but that he who exalts himself shall be
debased.
Dante then, by an ingenious comparison, gives a
description of the sculptures that he was about to see.
Come, perchè di lor memoria sia,
Sovra i sepolti le tombe terragne
Portan segnato quel ch'elli eran pria
(Onde lì molte volte se ne piagne
Per la puntura della rimembranza,
Che solo ai pii dà delle calcagne);
Sì vidio lì, ma di miglior sembianza,
Secondo l' artificio, figurato
Quanto per via di fuor dal monte avanza.
As, to perpetuate their memory, above the buried
dead, their graves, level with the pavement, bear
epitaphs to denote what they had been (whence one
often weeps afresh from the pricking of remembrance,
the sting of which is only to be found in the heart of
the compassionate); so saw I there, but of better
semblance, from its being a master-piece of a divine
artificer, the whole of the pathway, that jutted out
from the mount, decorated with figures.
Benvenuto speaks of this simile with great admi-
ration, and imagines one walking within a sacred
enclosure, passing from tomb to tomb, examining the
figures or inscriptions on each, and speculating, even
with tears, on what may have been the man whose
dust lies below; so now Dante, seeing these images
of the proud once so exalted and glorious, and now
so prostrate and cast down, while in deep humility
he considers what they once were, laments over the
Canto XII. Readings on the Purgatorio. 291
misery of man, and the irreparable ruin of the proud,
whose glory he sees trampled under foot.*
Division II. Here begins the Second Division of
the Canto, in which Dante teaches his readers how
to avoid pride by reminding them of several more
notable examples of it. The passage is noteworthy
from its artificial structure from v. 25 to v. 63. First
there are four stanzas beginning “Vedea”; then four
beginning “O”; then four beginning “Mostrava”; and
finally a stanza which resumes and unites them all.
Venturi remarks on the description we are about to
read, that it is an ugly medley of sacred and profane,
of revealed truth and fiction.
The first kind of pride of which a representation is
given is the worst of all, viz.: that of the chief angel,
he who wished to become like unto the Most High.
Vedea colui che fu nobil creato
Più d'altra creatura, giù dal cielo
Folgoreggiando scender da un lato.
I beheld on one side him who was created more
noble than all other creatures, that is, Lucifer, falling
down like lightning from heaven.t

25
* Compare Gray's Elegy,
6 Perhaps in this neglected spot is laid
Some heart once pregnant with celestial fire,
Hands that the rod of empire might have swayed -
Or waked to ecstasy the living lyre.”
+ Milton in Par. Lost, I, 44, describes the fall of Lucifer-
“Him the Almighty Power
Hurled headlong flaming from the ethereal sky,
With hideous ruin and combustion, down
U 2
292
Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto XII.
Benvenuto takes “ da un lato" to mean “from our
hemisphere," an interpretation which appears far-
fetched and unnecessary, for the words seem to stand
in direct contrast to verses 25-26:
Vedeva Briareo .... giacer dell'altra parte.
I sáw Lucifer on one side, I saw Briareus on the
other.
Benvenuto says that Petrarch, who was his intimate

To bottomless perdition, there to dwell
In adamantine chains and penal fire,
Who durst defy the Omnipotent to arms."
And in Shakespeare's Henry VIII, Act III, Sc. 2, Wolsey
says:
“O how wretched
Is that poor man that hangs on prince's favours !
There is, betwixt that smile we would aspire to,
That sweet aspect of princes, and their ruin,
More pangs and fears than wars or women have ;
And when he falls, he falls like Lucifer,
Never to hope again."
“And Jesus said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall
down from heaven."--St. Luke X, 18.
“How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the
morning ! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst
weaken the nations ! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will
ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God:
I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides
of the north : I will ascend above the heights of the clouds : I
will be like the Most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to
Hell, to the sides of the pit. They that shall see thee, shall
narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying: 'Is this
the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake
kingdoms ?'”—Is. XIV, 12-17.
St. Thom. Aqu. (Summ. Theol. P. I. qu. LXIII, art. 7) quotes
St. Gregory's words : “Primus Angelus qui peccavit, dum
cunctis agminibus Angelorum prælatus eorum claritatem trans-
cenderet, ex eorum comparatione clarior fuit."
293
friend, writing in a similar case, and giving the best
remedy against pride, observes : “The foundation of
tation exist that does not get dimmed and obscured
by pride: and that Being knows it well, who, created
glorious above all others, by striving presumptuously
to exalt himself further, not only was found to deserve
obscurity, but also to become the prince of darkness.”
Having given the greatest and most authentic in-
stance of the fall of pride that the universe ever saw,
in the person of Lucifer, Dante now supplies a striking
instance from mythology in the person of the giant
Briareus (mentioned in Inf. XXXI, 97), who attempted
to wrest the Kingdom of Olympus from Jupiter.
Vedeva Briaréo,* fitto dal telo
Celestial, giacer dall' altra parte,
Grave alla terra per lo mortal gelo.
30

* Briareus was supposed to have a hundred hands and arms.
It is probable that he really was a famous pirate, and the fable
of the hundred hands arose from the hundred men who manned
his ship.
Homer in the Odyssey (Odyss. XI, 709), describes the fate of
the giant Tityus in Hell for having insulted Latona, the mother
of Apollo and Diana.
Και μεν Τίτεoν είσειδον κρατερ' αλγε' έχοντα
Kêtuevově v daned, 8 S'ÉT évvea KÊLTO TENEbed,
Υμπε δεμιυ εκατέρθε παρημενω ήπαρ εκέιρον,
Δερτρον εσω δυνoντες, ο δ' ουκ άπαμυνετο χερσιν
Λητω χάρ ηλκησε, Διος κυδρην παρακοιτην.
There Tityus large and long, in fetters bound,
O’erspreads nine acres of infernal ground;
Two ravenous vultures, furious for their food,
Scream o'er the fiend, and riot in his blood,
The' immortal liver grows, and gives the immortal feast.
294 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto XII.
On the other side I saw the giant Briareus, pierced
through by the dart of Jove, lying heavy on the
ground in the chill of death.*
He then speaks of the other giants, the companions
of Briareus, whom Jupiter, aided by Apollo, Minerva,
and Mars, destroyed with his thunderbolts at Phlegra
in Thessaly.
Vedea Timbréo,t vedea Pallade e Marte,
Armati ancora intorno al padre loro,
Mirar le membra de Giganti sparte.
I saw Thymbræus Apollo, I saw Pallas and Mars,
standing yet armed around their father, gazing on the
scattered limbs of the giants.
“And here, reader,” says Benvenuto, “I wish you
to notice one thing for the better understanding of
this text, and to explain many sayings of many
authors, viz. : that the ancient philosophers and poets,
although they made mention of many gods and
goddesses, yet had in reality but one God, who was
the primal cause of all things ; but the poets, by all
the gods and goddesses, understood the various in-
For as o'er Panopé's enamelled plains
Latona journeyed to the Pythian fanes,
With haughty love the audacious monster strove
To force the Goddess, and to rival Jove.
Pope's Translation.
* Lamenais translates this last verse very well-
“Appesanti par le froid de la mort."
† Apollo was surnamed Oupßpaîos, Thymbræus, from Thym-
bra, a city of the Troad where he had a temple.
Virgil says in Æn. 111, v. 85-
“Da propriam, Thymbræe, domum ; da mænia fessis."
6 le membra ... sparte," cf. Ovid, Metam. X, 150.
Cecini plectro graviore Gigantas
Sparsaque Phlegræis victricia fulmina campis.

Canto XII. Readings on the Purgatorio.
295
fluences, attributes, and effects of one God, so that
Jupiter was one and the same with Apollo and
Minerva in wisdom, Mars in power, Mercury in
eloquence, and so on. And in this passage, Dante
only means to express that God, in His wisdom and
power, struck down the giants, that is, the arrogant
who presumed to defy Him, as He ever has done, and
ever will do." *
Dante then gives examples of pride punished alter-
nately from sacred and profane history.
Vedea Nembrot appiè del gran lavoro,
Quasi smarrito, e riguardar le genti
35
Che in Sennaar con lui superbi foro.
I saw Nimrod standing at the foot of his great
work (the Tower of Babel), looking as one confounded,
on the people that had been proud with him in Shinar.t
The people had shown their pride in joining with
him in his presumptuous work; he was confounded,
because he could no longer understand his followers
or be understood by them. “The Lord scattered them

* Francesco da Buti makes remarks very similar to these, and
especially notices the birth of Minerva, or Pallas, symbolizing
wisdom from the brain of God.
+ See Gen. X, 8, “And Cush begat Nimrod, he began to be
a mighty one in the earth : ...."
v. 10, “And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel and
Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar."
According to popular Italian tradition the Tower of Babel
was so high, that whoever mounted to the top could hear the
Angels sing.
Compare Inf. XXXI, 76:
Poi disse a me : Egli stesso s'accusa :
Questi è Nembrotto, per lo cui mal coto,
Pure un linguaggio nel mondo non s'usa.
296 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto XII.
abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth;
and they left off to build the city. Therefore is the
name of it called Babel ; because the Lord did there
confound the language of all the earth.”—Gen. XI, 8-9.
Wehave next the representation of the story of Niobe.
- O Niobe, con che occhi dolenti
Vedeva io te segnata in su la strada
Tra sette e sette tuoi figliuoli spenti !
O Niobe, with what grief did my eyes behold thee
traced upon the pathway between thy seven and
seven children slain! (i.e. between thy seven sons and
seven daughters destroyed by the avenging shafts of
Apollo and Diana).
Niobe was daughter of Tantalus, and wife of Am-
phion, King of Thrace. According to Homer she had
six sons and six daughters ; according to Ovid seven
of each. She presumed to mock Latona, wife of
Jupiter, who had only two, Apollo and Diana. They,
to avenge the insult offered to their mother, des-
troyed Niobe's fourteen children with their arrows;
Apollo killed the sons, and Diana the daughters.
Niobe was herself turned into stone.*
* Compare Hom. Il. XXIV, 704. Lord Derby's Translation.
Not fair-haired Niobe abstained from food,
When in the house her children lay in death,
Six beauteous daughters and six stalwart sons.
The youths, Apollo with his silver bow,
The maids, the Archer Queen, Diana, slew,
With anger filled that Niobe presumed
Herself with fair Latona to compare,
Her many children with her rivals two;
So by the two were all the many slain.
Nine days in death they lay ; and none was there
To pay their funeral rites ; for Saturn's son
Had given to all the people hearts of stone.

Canto XII. Readings on the Purgatorio.
297
The death of Saul is then depicted.
O Saúl, come in su la propria spada
40
Quivi parevi morto in Gelboè,
Che poi non sentì pioggia nè ruggiada !
O Saul, how thou didst appear fallen dead on thine
own sword on Mount Gilboah, which thereafter felt
neither rain nor dew.
Saul is supposed to be represented at the moment
when his three sons, Jonathan, Abinadab, and Mel-
chishuah having fallen in the defeat of Israel on
Mount Gilboah, he and his armour-bearer threw
themselves on their swords (1 Sam. XXXI, 4-5).
David in his celebrated “Song of the Bow” invoked
an imprecation on the mountains of Gilboah, which
Dante quotes. *
The following episode is from mythological history,
in which we read of a woman's pride and presumption
and the result.
O folle Aragne, † sì vedea io te
Già mezza aragna, trista in su gli stracci
Dell'opera che mal per te si fe'.

45
The tenth the immortal gods entombed the dead.
Nor yet did Niobe, when now her grief
Had worn itself in tears, from food refrain.
And now in Sipylus, amid the rocks,
And lonely mountains, where the goddess nymphs
That love to dance by Achelöus' stream,
'Tis said, were cradled, she, though turned to stone,
Broods oër the wrongs inflicted by the gods.
See also Ovid, Met. VI. Croxall's Translation.
* “Ye mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew,
Neither let there be rain upon you.”—2 Sam. I, 21.
+ The story of Arachne is related by Ovid, Met. VI:
One at the loom so excellently skilled,
That to the goddess she refused to yield.
298
Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto XII.
O foolish Arachne, so did I behold thee, already half
spider, lying on the shreds of the work (torn to pieces
by Minerva), which in an evil hour was woven by thee.
Low was her birth, and small her native town,
She from her art alone obtained renown.
Nor would the work, when finished please so much,
As, while she wrought, to view each graceful touch ;
Whether the shapeless wool in balls she wound,
Or with quick motion turned the spindle round,
Or with her pencil drew the neat design,
Pallas her mistress shone in every line.
This the proud maid with scornful air denies
And even the goddess at her work defies :
Disowns her heavenly mistress every hour,
Nor seeks her aid, nor deprecates her power.
Let us, she cries, but to a trial come,
And if she conquers, let her fix my doom.

The unhappy maid, impatient of the wrong,
Down from a beam her injured person hung;
When Pallas, pitying her wretched state,
At once prevented and pronounced her fate :
Live ! but depend, vile wretch ! the goddess cried,
Doomed in suspense for ever to be tied ;
That all your race, to utmost date of time,
May feel the vengeance and detest the crime.
Then going off, she sprinkles her with juice
Which leaves of baneful aconite produce.
Touched with the poisonous drug, her flowing hair
Fell to the ground, and left her temples bare ;
Her usual features vanished from their place,
Her body lessened all, but most her face !
Her slender fingers hanging on each side
With many joints, the use of legs supplied ;
A spider's bag the rest, from which she gives
A thread, and still by constant weaving lives.
Benvenuto remarks that we must not lose sight of the beautiful
allegory concealed in this fable. He says: “For by Pallas
Canto XII. Readings on the Purgatorio. 299
Arachne was a skilful weaver in the city of Colophon
in Asia Minor, and was the daughter of Idmon.
Having presumed to consider herself superior to
Minerva, the goddess appeared to her as an old woman,
and urged her to repent of her rashness, but Arachne
arrogantly threatened her. A trial of skill between the
two was brought about, in which Minerva figured the
glory of the immortal gods, whereas in Arachne's
work what was to their disparagement was recorded.
Minerva, incensed at this, struck Arachne on the head
with her shuttle, on which the weaver hanged herself in
despair, and Minerva changed her into a spider, which
is perpetually engaged in a work, that is, however
ingenious, fragile and liable to easy destruction.
We next have an act of pride from Sacred History.
O Roboám,* già non par che minacci

Quivi il tuo segno ; ma pien di spavento
Nel porta un carro prima che altri il cacci.
thou must understand the truly wise man, by Arachne the wordy
sophist who disembowels himself, and labours with all his
might, that he may perchance make some ingenious work or
other, as in truth at the present time (Benvenuto wrote in
1375) those modern English logicians do ; but work of that
kind endures but as the web of the spider; and like as the fine
web of the spider is of no use except for deceiving and catching
flies in the air and other minute animals, so their work is of no
use but to catch vain young men, but not old men who are true
philosophers. So the poets have rightly imagined the spider
as hateful to Pallas, who thus condemned its work, and put it
to confusion."
* See I King's XII, 3-16, and I Kings XII, 18—“Then
King Rehoboam sent Adoram, who was over the tribute ; and
all Israel stoned him with stones, that he died. Therefore King
Rehoboam made speed to get him up to his chariot, to flee to
Jerusalem.”
300
Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto XII.
0 Rehoboam, thy likeness is here portrayed as that
of one who no longer threatens, but instead, a chariot is
bearing thee away panic-stricken before anyone pursues.
We have now an instance of the pride of a woman
in ancient story.
Mostrava ancor lo duro pavimento
Come Almeone a sua madre fe' caro 1: 50
Parer lo sventurato adornamento.
Furthermore the hard pavement displayed how
costly Alcmcon made the ill-fated ornament appear to
his mother.
The ill-fated ornament here alluded to was a golden
necklace made by Vulcan, which had the power of
rendering unhappy whosoever possessed it. It was
given by Argia, wife of Polynices, to Eriphyle, as a
bribe to induce her to reveal the hiding place of her
husband-Amphiaräus, the soothsayer, who had con-
cealed himself, that he might avoid taking part in the
war of the Seven against Thebes; foreseeing that if he
did he would be slain.* Alcmeon,t in obedience to

* Æschylus, Sept. contra Theb. :-“ I will tell of the sixth, a
man most prudent, and in valour the best, the seer Amphiaräus.”
Further on Amphiaräus is made to say: “I, for my part, in very
truth shall fatten this soil, seer as I am, buried beneath a hostile
earth.”
+ Alcmcon is alluded to in Par. IV, 100-105–
Molte fïate già, frate, addivenne
Che, per fuggir periglio, contro a grato
Si fè di quel che far non si convenne ;.
Come Almeone, che di ciò pregato
Dal padre suo, la propria madre spense,
Per non perder pietà si fè spietato.
Ovid, Met. IX
The son shall bathe his hands in parent's blood,
And in one act be both unjust and good.
Canto XII. Readings on the Purgatorio. 301
the injunctions of his father, avenged his death by
slaying Eriphyle as the proper reward for her
treachery.
The next instance is the death of Sennacherib,
after his pride had been humbled by God.
Mostrava come i figli si gittaro
Sovra Sennacherib dentro dal tempio,
E come, morto lui, quivi il lasciaro.
It showed how his own sons fell upon Sennacherib
within the temple, and how, when he was dead, they
left him there.
In Isaiah XXXVII, 37, we read : “So Sennacherib
King of Assyria departed, and went and returned, and
dwelt at Nineveh. And it came to pass as he was
worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god, that
Adrammelech and Sharezar, his sons, smote him with

Statius, Thebaid IV, 47, Lewis's Translation.
Bought of my treacherous wife for cursed gold,
And in the list of Argive chiefs enrolled,
Resigned to fate I sought the Theban plain ;
Whence flock the shades that scarce thy realm contain ;
When, how my soul yet dreads, an earthquake came,
Big with destruction, and my trembling frame,
Rapt from the midst of gaping thousands, hurled
To night eternal in my nether world.
And Thebaid II, 355:--
Fair Eriphyle the rich gift beheld,
And her sick breast with secret envy swelled,
Not the late omens and the well-known tale
To cure her vain ambition aught avail.
O had the wretch by self-experience known
The future woes and sorrows not her own !
But fate decrees her wretched spouse must bleed,
And the son's frenzy clear the mother's deed.
In Inf. XX, 33, Amphiaraus is mentioned in Malebolge among
the Diviners.
302 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto XII.
the sword; and they escaped into the land of Ar-
menia ; and Esarhaddon his son reigned in his stead.”
Let us for one moment compare the conduct of Heze-
kiah with that of Sennacherib. Hezekiah, on receiv-
ing the arrogant and overbearing letter of the most
powerful king then living, a letter blaspheming the
most High God, went humbly, in sackcloth and ashes,
into the house of the Lord, and though his cause which
he committed to God was well nigh desperate, yet the
Assyrian host were scattered and consumed as if they
had been a breath of wind. Sennacherib, humiliated,
but not humbled, returned to Nineveh. Hezekiah
found life and deliverance before the throne of God.
Sennacherib died in the house of his false deity.*
Benvenuto is very indignant with Josephus, who
says that the host of Sennacherib was destroyed by
sickness. “But why,” he says, “incredulous man, do
you not believe this (the account given by Isaiah), you,
who give credence to all the books of the Gentiles ?
Did not that haughty Brennus, who had overthrown
proud Rome and done much evil to Italy and Greece,
and was on his way to sack the famous temple of
Apollo at Delphi, see his army overthrown by earth-
quake, hail and tempest, and then slay himself with the

sword.”
The next example is that of Cyrus, of whom Ben-
venuto remarks that he took proud Babylon, and
restored the Hebrew people from the captivity of
* On a subsequent occasion, related in Isaiah XXXVIII,
Hezekiah is delivered from death of sickness, because he com-
mitted his cause unto God, whereas (2 Kings I) his neighbour
King Ahaziah, who sent to consult Baal-zebub the god of Ekron,
dies in his bed according to the word of God.
Canto XII. Readings on the Purgatorio. 303
55
Babylon. Both in this instance, and in the following
one of Judith and Holophernes, the pride of man is
overthrown by the stratagem of a woman.
Mostrava la ruina e il crudo scempio
Che fe’ Tamiri, quando disse a Ciro:
Sangue sitisti, ed io di sangue ť empio.
It showed the overthrow and cruel butchery of the
army of Cyrus by Tomyris, when she said :—“Thou
didst thirst for blood, and with blood I fill thee."*
Mostrava come in rotta si fuggiro
Gli Assyri, poi che fu morto Oloferne,
Ed anchè le reliquie del martiro.
It displayed how the Assyrians fled in utter rout,
after the death of Holophernes, and also the remainder
of that slaughter.
60

ce
* Herodotus (Book I, 212, Rawlinson's Translation) relates the
story in these words :-“ Tomyris, when she found that Cyrus
paid no heed to her advice, collected all the forces of her king-
dom, and gave him battle. Of all the combats in which the bar-
barians have engaged among themselves, I reckon this to have
been among the fiercest. The greater part of the army of the
Persians was destroyed, and Cyrus himself fell, after reigning
nine and twenty years. Search was made among the slain, by
order of the queen, for the body of Cyrus, and when it was found,
she took a skin, and filling it full of human blood, she dipped the
head of Cyrus in the gore, saying, as she thus insulted the corse,
' I live, and have conquered thee in fight, and yet by thee am I
ruined ; for thou tookest my son with guile; but thus I make
good my threat, and give thee thy fill of blood."" Of the many
different accounts that are given of the death of Cyrus, this
which I have followed (says Herodotus) appears to me to be the
most worthy of credit. Tomyris had sent her young son against
Cyrus, who had defeated and killed him.
Scartazzini observes that this account by Herodotus is purely
fabulous, as we know from Xenophon, Anab. I, 10, and Plut. Artax.
X, 11, that no certain information exists as to the death of Cyrus.

304
Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto XII.
Most of the commentators take this to mean the
remains of the army of Holophernes, the killed and the
wounded, but Francesco da Buti understands it to
betoken the head of Holophernes carried on a spear.*
The concluding example is that of Troy after it had
been sacked, and the terzina resumes and unites in
itself the three different headings “Vedeva,” “O” and
“ Mostrava."
Vedeva Troia in cenere e in caverne :
O Ilión, come te basso e vile
Mostrava il segno che lì si discerne!
I saw Troy reduced to ashes and caverns. O Ilion,
how abased and abject did it display thee, the sculp-
ture that was to be seen there.
Dante then launches forth into an enthusiastic pane-
gyric of the surpassing excellence of these wonders.
Qual di pennel fu maestro, e di stile,
Che ritraesse l'ombre e i tratti ch' ivi
Mirar farieno ogn' ingegno sottile?
What master was there ever of the brush or graving
tool that could trace the shadows and the features,
which were here so marvellously delineated as to have
struck with admiration every subtile genius ?
Morti li morti, ei vivi parean vivi.
Non vide me' di me chi vide il vero,
Quant' io calcai fine che chinato givi.

65
WE
* In the book of Judith XV, I, the flight of the Assyrians is
described—“And when they that were in the tents heard, they
were astonished at the thing that was done. And fear and
trembling fell upon them, so that there was no man that durst
abide in the sight of his neighbour, but, rushing out all together,
they fled into every way of the plain, and of the hill country.”
.... and v. 5, “Now when the children of Israel heard it, they
all fell upon them with one consent, and slew them unto
Chobai.”
Canto XII. Readings on the Purgatorio. 305
70
No one who was actually present, and saw the
reality of these scenes that I have related, saw them
better than I did, over as much of the pavement as I
trod upon in a stooping attitude, for the dead appeared
to be really dead, and the living to be really living.
Benvenuto quotes Pliny as describing a horse which
saw another horse so beautifully painted that it
neighed.
Dante then severely censures the stubbornness of
the proud, who will not profit by these examples.
Or superbite, e via col viso altiero,
Figliuoli d' Eva, e non chinate il volto,
Sì che veggiate il vostro mal sentiero.
Now give vent to your wretched pride, and pass on
with haughty mien, ye children of Eve, and do not
walk as I did with face bent down, so that you may
avoid seeing how evil is your path; or, as some inter-
pret it, so that you may avoid looking upon the path-
way of that cornice, whose sculptures tell of the
punishment of pride.
| Benvenuto adds : “And mark well here, Reader,
that Dante gave this compendious lesson about pride
to be avoided ; but if thou dosť wish for more copious
matter, look into that most lucid mirror, in which thou
canst more clearly and fully be reflected ; I mean the
Book called De Casibus virorum illustrium, which Boc-
caccio de Certaldo, the most humble of men, ha's pub-
lished.” Let us remember that Boccaccio was the
intimate friend of Benvenuto da Imola.

Division III. Here begins the Third and last Divi-
sion of the Canto, in which Dante describes how an
Angel purified him from the sin of Pride, the first of

306 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto XII.
the seven to be expiated in Purgatory, and directed his
steps to the Second Cornice, in which Envy is punished.
First he shows how Virgil invited him to look at the
Angel.
Più era già per noi del monte vôlto,
E del cammin del sole assai più speso,
Che non stimava l' animo non sciolto :
Quando colui che sempre innanzi atteso
Andava, cominciò :—“Drizza la testa ;
Non è più tempo da gir sì sospeso.
Vedi colà un Angel che s'appresta
Per venir verso noi : vedi che torna
Dal servigio del dì l'ancella sesta.
We had already wound further round the mount,
and more of the path of the sun had been consumed,
than our* preoccupied minds had measured, when he
(Virgil), who was walking in front, ever watchful.
began :-“ Lift up thy head; it is no more the time to
walk thus in meditation. Behold over yonder an Angel
who is preparing to come towards us : see also how
the sixth handmaiden is returning from the service of
the day.t
ryers
да
80
* They had already gone round the greater part of the cornice,
and their minds had been so taken up with the contemplation
of the sculptures on the pavement, that they had not noted the
time that had elapsed, and, as we shall see in verse 81, it was
now noon.
+ The sixth handmaiden means the sixth hour of the sun, and
is meant to show that midday has just passed, as the Poets are
leaving the First Cornice of Purgatory, where Pride is punished,
and in which they had passed about 32 hours. See Canto X, 14.
In Purg. XXII, 118, we find :-
“E già le quattro ancelle eran del giorno
Rimase addietro, e la quinta era al temo.
Drizzando pure in su 1' ardente corno.
Canto XII. Readings on the Purgatorio.
307
Benvenuto invites his readers to compare the dif-
ference with which, in Hell, the evil Angels were
always trying to impede their entrance into the
different circles ; whereas in Purgatory the Holy
Angels are for ever greeting them with words of
welcome, inviting them to purge away their sins, and
speeding them on their way.
Virgil prepares Dante to receive so welcome a
visitor with due honour, as he had done on their meet-
ing with Cato, and likewise on the first appearance of
the Angel pilot.
Di riverenza gli atti e il viso adorna,
"Sì che i diletti lo inviarci in suso :
Pensa che questo dì mai non raggiorna.” —
Give to thy actions and thy countenance the grace
of reverence, and thereby propitiate him to speed us
on the upward way. Reflect that this day will never
shine again.”* Dante took in Virgil's meaning imme-
diately.
Io era ben del suo ammonir uso
85
Pur di non perder tempo, sì che in quella
Materia non potea parlarmi chiuso.
I had become well used to his admonitions not on
any account to lose time, so that in this matter it was
impossible for the meaning of his wòrds to be
obscure.
Dante now describes how the Angel, the guardian

* Dante in Convito, Tr. IV, ch. 2, says :-
“ Tutte le nostre brighe, se bene vegnamo a cercare li loro
principii, procedono quasi dal non conoscere l'uso del tempo.”
2 Cor. VI, 2, “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now
is the day of salvation."
+ Parlarmi chiuso, parlar oscuramente. Cf. Par. XI, 73–
“Ma perch' io non proceda troppo chiuso," &c.
X 2
308
Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto XII.
90
of the Second Cornice and of the stairway leading to
it, approached them.
A noi venia la creatura bella
Bianco vestita, e nella faccia quale
Par tremolando mattutina stella.
The beautiful being came towards us clad in white
raiment, and his countenance such as appears the pale
tremulous light of the morning star.
By the morning star he means the planet Venus, *
which, shortly before dawn, surpasses the other stars
in brilliancy. Benvenuto remarks that whereas the
first Angel that Dante saw at a distance bore a resem-
blance to the planet Mars in his flaming splendour, so
this one, who is quite near, is compared to the planet
Venus, which is fairer and brighter than Mars. The
Angel welcomes him full of gentleness and mercy.
Le braccia aperse, ed indi aperse l' ale ;

Disse :-“Venite ; qui son presso i gradi,
Ed agevolmente omai si sale.
A questo annunzio vengon molto radi.
O gente umana, per volar su nata,
95
Perchè a poco vento così cadi ?”
He opened his arms, and then spread his wings, and
said :-“Come, the stairway is close at hand, and from
this time it can be ascended with ease.”+
* Cf. Purg. I, 19:-
“Lo bel pianeta che ad amar conforta,
Faceva tutto rider l' orïente,
· Velando i Pesci ch' erano in sua scorta.”
+ The reception of the Poets by the Angel recalls the words of
the “cortese portinaio” in Purg. IX, 93:-
"Venite dunque a' nostri gradi innanzi.”
The Angel is just about to erase the first P from Dante's brow,
to purify him from the sin of pride, and Dante being lightened
Canto XII. Readings on the Purgatorio. 309
There seems to be some doubt as to who spoke the
next three verses. Some think they are a reflection of
Dante, others that they are the concluding words of
the Angel. We will take the latter to be intended].
Few! few! indeed are they, who come in response
to these glad tidings. O human race, born to fly
upward (that is, to go to Paradise), why do ye fall so
low at the slight wind (of empty fame ?)"
We may gather from the words aperse l' ale that the
angel flew before them, and
Menocci ove la roccia era tagliata :
Quivi mi battèo l' ale per la fronte,
Poi mi promise sicura l' andata.
He led us on to where the rock was cleft, there
with one waft of his wings he struck me on the brow,
then he promised that my passage would be safe.
We may infer from verse 122, that, with this stroke
of his wings, the Angel erased the first of the seven
P's that the sword of the Angel-Warder had traced
upon Dante's brow, as a token that the sin of Pride
had been now purged away.
Dante describes the actual ascent, by comparing it
with a spot only too familiar to him.

from that burden, will not find the subsequent ascents so hard.
How different had been his ascent from the shore through the
Antipurgatorio, described in Canto III, 47.
“Quivi trovammo la roccia sì erta,
Che indarno vi sarien le gambe pronte.
Tra Lerici e Turbia, la più deserta,
La più romita via è una scala,
Verso di quella agevole ed aperta."
Benvenuto says :-“Superbia aufert Deum
Invidia proximum
Ira seipsum."
310
Canto XII.
Readings on the Purgatorio.
IOO
Come a man destra, per salire al monte,
Dove siede la Chiesa che soggioga
La ben guidata sopra Rubaconte,
Si rompe del montar l' ardita foga,
Per le scalée che si fero ad etade
Ch'era sicuro il quaderno e la doga ;
Così s' allenta la ripa che cade
Quivi ben ratta dall'altro girone :
Ma quinci e quindi l' alta pietra rade.*
105

stands the Church, which towers above Florence, the
so admirably governed city (spoken in irony), just over
the Bridge of Rubaconte (now Ponte alle Grazie),†
the terrible steepness of the ascent is broken by the
* Benvenuto da Imola says :-“To understand this passage
the Arno, without the walls, as you go towards Arezzo, there is
the Church of San Miniato on a hill, of much sanctity and beauty.
Now in the ascent up to this Church, as the way was too abrupt
and steep, there were formerly made certain stone steps after the
fashion of a staircase, almost from the root of the mount up to
the entrance of the Church itself; that, in that way, men and
women going to Church for indulgences might ascend more
Florentine Dante when about to ascend from the cornice of the
proud to be purged in the cornice above, found the ascent
made in the manner of stairs.” The hill that Dante indicates
here, is Monte alle Croci, outside Porta S. Miniato, and which
one ascends by a staircase of stone flanked by cypresses.
+ The bridge in question was built in 1237 by the Podestà of
Florence, Messer Rubaconte da Mandello of Milan, but Villani
says that in his time it was called Ponte alle Grazie, from a little
Chapel being built upon it in 1471 and dedicated to the Madonna
delle Grazie. The design was by Lapo, the father of Arnolfo,
and the bridge was constructed with such solidity that it alone
was able to resist the inundations by which all the other bridges
in the town were overthrown.
a. S
па.
Canto XII. Readings on the Purgatorio. 311
gradual steps of the staircase that was made in that
happy time (described by Cacciaguida in Par. XV
and XVI) when the public ledger and the bushel
measure* were safe ; so is lightened the steepness of
the slope which descends very abruptly from the
Cornice above, but the lofty cliff on either side grazes
him who is passing up.
And now Dante relates how, when they had turned
to ascend the stairway, he heard voices singing, Beati
Pauperes.
Noi volgendo ivi le nostre persone,
Beati pauperes spiritu voci
Cantaron sì che nol diria sermone.
As we were turning our forms thitherward, certain
voices sang—“Blessed are the poor in spirit”-in
ΙΙΟ

In Convito IV, 27, Dante writes :—“O misera, misera patria
mia ! quanta pietà mi strigne per te, qual volta leggo, qual volta
scrivo cosa che a reggimento civile abbia rispetto !”
scrivo
* Dante, in speaking of il quaderno and la doga, alludes to
two facts that happened in his time; one that Messeri Niccolò
Acciajuoli and Baldo d' Aguglione tore a leaf out of the public
ledger to conceal some delinquency they had committed ; the
other, that Messer Duronte de Chiaramontesi, at the head of the
Salt Impost Department, reduced the size of the bushel measure
by one doga or stave, so as to appropriate the balance of the salt
accounted for.
For Baldo d' Aguglione, see Par. XVI, 55-6:-
.."E sostener lo puzzo
Del villan d' Aguglione”...
For the Chiaramontesi, see Par. XVI, 105:-
....“e quei ch' arrossan per lo staio.”
These public frauds appear to have been perpetrated while
Dante was in exile, so says Vellutello, but Scartazzini appends
a " !” to this statement. Dino Compagni, Book I (Edition of
Barbera, Florence, 1862, page 43), gives a full account of the
delinquencies.
312
Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto XII.
tone so sweet, that it would not be possible for speech
to describe it.
This is the first of the evangelical Beatitudes, one of
which is chanted in Dante's ears when he is about to
leave each successive cornice, by the Angel guarding
the exit. Some commentators think that the voices
were those of the spirits of the proud rejoicing over
one of their number having accomplished his purgation.
Dante now cannot resist taking note of the difference
of his reception as he enters the Cornices of Purgatory,
to that which met him at every one of the Circles in
Hell.
Ahi! quanto son diverse quelle foci
Dalle infernali; chè quivi per canti
S'entra, e laggiù per lamenti feroci.
Ah me! how different are these passages from those
of Hell ; for here one's entrance is greeted with song,
and there with fierce lamentations.
On Dante's entrance inside the Gate of Purgatory
a beautiful Te Deum enchanted his ears. · On his first
passing through the Gate of Hell the first sounds that
he heard were blasphemies, against God, Nature and
their lot, from the spirits of the damned.
Charon roars out a refusal to ferry him over the
Acheron, Minos gives him anything but a welcome,
Plutus bellows a meaningless imprecation, Cerberus
barks at him, the pilot Flegias shrieks vituperation,
the devils and furies oppose his entrance into Dis, the
Minotaur tries to impede his exit from it; and though
Geryon was less rude, his fraud and deceit were
known. In Malebolge the devils attack him; further
down the discordant sound of Nimrod's horn is fol-
lowed by a confused jumble of abuse in Hebrew,


Canto XII. Readings on the Purgatorio. 313
Aramaic, Syriac, and Arabic; but here the disturbing
memory of all these horrors is being gradually dis-
pelled by the sounds of holy melody that fill his
ears. Benvenuto explains that this is morally true,
for he that enters into penitence of his own free will,
from his devout feeling does so with much joy of
mind, his conscience being purified ; whereas he who
enters into the state of punishment which usually neces-
sarily follows after sin, enters into it with weeping
and gnashing of teeth ; as, for instance, the gluttonous
under the heavy rain, the luxurious in the fierce wind,
they who are boiling in blood, they who are burning
in the flames, and so on.
Dante now feels an unwonted lightness and ease in his
movements, after the Angel's wing had fanned his brow.
Già montavam su per li scaglion santi,
115
Ed esser mi parea troppo più lieve,
Che per lo pian non mi parea davanti.
Ond' io :-“Maestro, di', qual cosa greve
Levata s'è da me? che nulla quasi
Per me fatica andando si riceve.”—
Already we had begun to ascend the sacred stairs,
and I seemed to myself to have become far lighter
than I had felt before, even when on the level.
Whereupon I said :-“Say, Master, what heavy thing
has been lifted from me ? for I hardly feel any fatigue
at all as I walk along."*—

120
* Scartazzini remarks that the first of the seven P's having
been effaced, and the stigma of pride overcome, the nerves of
all the other vices are cut, on account of the marvellous con-
nection that all the virtues have with each other.
Buonaventura (Compendium theol. verit. Book I, ch. 7) says:
“If one virtue increases, all increase, and thou hast an example
of this in the lute, in which, if there must be a due proportion of

314
Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto XII.
125
Virgil explains the reason.
Rispose :—“ Quando i P, che son rimasi
Ancor nel volto tuo presso che stinti,
Saranno, come l'un, del tutto rasi,
Fien li tuoi piè dal buon voler si vinti,
Che non pur non fatica sentiranno,
Ma fia diletto loro esser su pinti.”—
He answered me: “When the P's that still remain
upon thy brow all but extinguished, shall have been
entirely effaced, as one of them has already been,
then thy feet will be so overcome by good-will, that
not only will they no longer feel fatigue, but it will
become a delight to them to be urged upwards.”
Benvenuto says that Dante now assures himself by
touch, of what he could not ascertain by sight: he
could not see his forehead, so he touched it.
Allor fecio come color che vanno
Con cosa in capo non da lor saputa,
Se non che i cenni altrui sospicar fanno ;
Per che la mano ad accertar s' aiuta,
130
E cerca e trova, e quell'ufficio adempie
Che non si può fornir per la veduta ;
E con le dita della destra scempie *
Trovai pur sei le lettere, che incise
Quel dalle chiavi a me sopra le tempie : 135
A che guardando il mio duca sorrise.
I then did as do they who go with something on
their heads unknown to them, except that the
gestures of the bystanders rouse their suspicions; and
for that reason the hand is brought to their assistance
sounds, it is necessary that when one of the chords is stretched,
so must all the others be stretched likewise, lest there be dis-
sonance in the harmony."
* Scartazzini gives to scempie the double meaning of “stretched
out” and “disjoined.”

Canto XII. Readings on the Purgatorio. 315
to verify what is in doubt; it both searches and finds
the object, and performs that service which cannot, in
this instance, be done by the eyes ; and so, with the
fingers of my hand stretched out, and apart, I found
six only of the seven letters which he of the keys (that
is, the Angel Warder of the Gate of Purgatory) had
graven on my brow: and, as he marked my action,
my Leader smiled.
The smile was one of pleasure at the gratifying
discovery that his pupil's first purgation was com-
pleted. So did Virgil, in Limbo, smile with pleasure
when the four Poets, Homer, Horace, Ovid, and
Lucan turned to Dante with a courteous salute. See
END OF CANTO XII.

316
Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto XIII.

CANTO XIII.
THE SECOND CORNICE.
THE ENVIOUS.
EXAMPLES OF CHARITY.
SAPÌA OF SIENA.
In the last Canto we saw Dante purified from the
sin of pride, and in company with Virgil, in the act
of passing up the narrow stairway that leads from the
First Cornice, where pride was being purged, to
the Second, in which the sin of Envy has to be ex-
piated.
Benvenuto divides the Canto into three parts.
In the First Division, from v. I to v. 42, Dante
describes the pathway of the second cornice, and
shows how one is admonished against envy by ex-
amples of love and charity, that are diametrically
opposed to it.
In the Second Division, from v. 43 to v. 72, he
gives a description of the penalty and purgation of
the envious in general.
In the Third Division, from v. 73 to v. 154, he
relates his interview and conversation with Sapia of
Siena, who in her life had previously sinned from
envy.
Division I. We left Dante, at the close of the last
Canto, ascending the steps to the Second Cornice.
Now he has reached the summit.
Canto XIII. Readings on the Purgatorio. 317
Noi eravamo al sommo della scala,
Ove secondamente si risega
Lo monte, che salendo altrui dismala.
We had arrived at the summit of the stairs, where,
for the second time, the mountain is narrowed (lit. cut
away) into a cornice, which by the ascent frees any

As the spirits gradually mount up the successive
cornices, so are they purified from each sin. Dante
then goes on to describe this second cornice, touching
upon its points of similarity or the reverse, compared
with that which they have left.
Ivi così una cornice lega
Se non che l'arco suo più tosto piega.
Here a terrace girds and goes round the hill, just
like the one we were on before, save that its arc is
curved more suddenly.
The sharper curve results from the gradual decrease
of the diameter of the mountain, which, says Jacopo
della Lana, means that the mountain gradually tapers
into a cone, and this second cornice, in consequence,
has a smaller circumference than the preceding
one.
Dante now points out in what way this cornice
differs from the preceding one.
Ombra * non gli è, nè segno che si paja ;
Par sì la ripa, e par sì la via schietta
Col livido color della petraja.
* Ombra. Dean Plumptre says that the word shade has been
taken in many different senses ; as that of trees; as meaning
souls ; or as equivalent to an outline or intaglio design. Of
these the last is beyond all question the most satisfactory. What
318 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto XIII.
This cornice has no imagery, nor are figures to be
seen in it, but the wall of rock overhanging it appears
as bare as does the pathway, both being as unvaried
in tint as the livid colour of the rock itself. The
livid colour is the symbol of Envy. “And here note,"
says Benvenuto, “that under this artful fiction the
author most cleverly gives you to understand that the
vice of pride is a thing most manifest, and lets itself
be known by many signs; whereas the vice of envy
is quite concealed, and only at times is manifested by
the livid colour ; as appears from the fact that one
will turn livid, if he but hears of the happiness, the
glory, or the honour of another, as one spirit, viz, :
that of Guido del Duca, does in the next Canto.”
Purg. XIV, 81-85:*

is meant is, that this cornice had no historical illustrations like
those described in the two previous Cantos.
Scartazzini has a very long note in which he shows that the
vast majority of the commentators, with whom he agrees, take
ombra to mean shading of portraiture; some understand
“spirits”; some the shade of trees—but as Mr. Haselfoot very
aptly observes, that a word noscitur a sociis, and here ombra is
coupled with segno (image) and may therefore be expected to
mean something of the same kind.
Tommaseo says that the envious being blind, they can only
hear or feel, but would not have been able to see the carved
examples of that virtue which is the opposite to their sin.
* Lividus in Latin is “blackish blue," and is also used to
express the colour of bruises black and blue.” Dante uses it
as the colour of dark grey rock in Inf. XIX, 13-15.
Io vidi per le coste, e per lo fondo,
Piena la pietra livida di fori
D'un largo tutti; e ciascuno era tondo.
Ovid in Met. II, 761, thus describes the House of Envy:
Canto XIII. Readings on the Purgatorio. 319
Dante now tells us that Virgil, from these un-
promising signs, did not appear to have much hope of
finding any one to point out the way.
-“Se qui per dimandar gente s' aspetta,”— . 10
Ragionava il Poeta,—“io temo forse
Che troppo avrà d'indugio nostra eletta.”—
—“If we wait here,"—said the Poet, “to inquire of
people, I fear that our decision may cost us too much
delay.”—
Dean Plumptre says that “in the first circle the
pilgrims had waited till the souls that were journeying
onward had shown them the way. Here it was the
doom of the Envious, who had looked grudgingly on
the progress of others, not to move onward, but to
stand still. Virgil therefore does not wait to ask his
way, but looks to the sun, the symbol of Divine
illumination, working through Nature,t for guidance.
As it was now afternoon, and they were looking
southwards, they had the sun on their right, and the

-Domus est in vallibus antri
Abdita, sole carens, non ulli pervia vento,
Tristis et ignavi plenissima frigoris, et quæ
Igne vacet semper, caligine semper abundet
He says of Envy in v. 775 :
Pallor in ore sedet, macies in corpore toto,
Nusquam recta acies, livent rubigine dentes,
Pectora felle virent, lingua est suffusa veneno.
+ See Inf. I, 16:
I raggi del pianeta,
Che mena dritta altrui per ogni calle.
It must be remembered that Cato in Canto I, 107, had advised
them to take the sun for their guide.
“Lo Sol vi mostrerà, che surge omai
Prender lo monte a più lieve salita."

320 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto XIII.
movement described indicates that they turned their
steps in that direction; ever to the right in Purgatory,
as ever to the left in Hell.” Benvenuto says that as
Virgil did not see any human assistance at hand, he
had recourse to Divine help.
Poi fisamente al sole gli occhi porse;
Fece del destro lato al muover centro,
E la sinistra parte di sè torse.
15
He then fixed his eyes steadfastly on the sun ; he
made his right side the centre of his movement, and
turned the left round.
This means that Virgil used his two legs as com-
passes, keeping the right foot fixed as the centre, and
described the circle with the left ; in a word, he made
a half turn to the right. Benvenuto sees in this
movement a wish on his part to bring his heart, which
was on his left side, towards the Sun, i.e. God, im-
ploring His Grace; and he adds that Virgil, symbol-
izing human reason, could only have shown him Hell,
but not Purgatory without the help of God's Grace.
Dante now puts into Virgil's mouth a devout ad-
dress to the sun.
_“O dolce lume, a cui fidanza i' entro
Per lo nuovo cammin, tu ne conduci,
(Dicea), come condur si vuol quinc' entro :
Tu scaldi il mondo, tu sovr' esso luci ;
S'altra ragione in contrario non pronta,
Esser dèn sempre li tuoi raggi duci.”-
20
—“O sweet light, trusting in whom I now enter
upon this new pathway, do thou lead us” (he said)
"in the way that we ought to go while we are here :
Thou, an unfailing lamp, warmest the world, thou
Canto XIII. Readings on the Purgatorio. 321
shinest upon it, thy rays must ever guide the wayfarer,
if other reason urges not the contrary."*
At this point, Benvenuto wishes us to pause for a
while, and consider well the difficulty that arises.
Why does Dante here treat so minutely of the sin of
envy, of the punishment of which he makes no sort of
mention in Hell? And why does he in Purgatory
speak so magnificently of vain-glory, and altogether
omit it in Hell? The solution seems to be that
Dante can be said to have punished both envy and
vain-glory in Hell, but only by implication, and
obscurely. For he has considered that these two sins,
although they appear different, and to have different
effects from pride, yet both spring from one stem.
In Purgatory, however, he treats of them openly
and separately, because he saw them from two dif-
ferent points of view in Hell and Purgatory. For the
man placed in Hell, that is, in a state of sin, does not
discern or recognise sins, except in a confused or
general way; it would never occur to him to acknow-
ledge more than that he was proud; he would not say
to himself, I am envious, I am boasting, I am pre-
sumptuous, or guilty of any other fault that springs
from pride. But, when in Purgatory, that is, in a
state of penitence, he discerns and ponders over all
his sins, both principal or accessory, and grieves over

* Francesco da Buti believes the grace of God would always
be a lantern to our path, if we did not render ourselves unworthy
of it by our vices and sins.
Benvenuto says that as the sun is always illuminating the
world, and yet at times a cloud, large or small, will veil it from
our sight, so the light of Divine Grace is always illuminating us,
unless the darkness of sin deprive us of it.
OU
322
Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto XIII.
each, and does penance for each. In fact you can see
that in Hell, Dante crowded all up together (tractavit

anger, gloomy-sluggishness, in a general way, without
naming any special miser, spendthrift, angry or morose
person. But, in Purgatory, he treats of each distinctly
and at length, and devotes, not one, but several cantos
to them; and names divers persons connected with
each sin. But then at once there arises another
doubt, of equal or of no less difficulty. For some will
argue very justly, that if the poet, in Purgatory, so
minutely seeks out and discusses all sins, why does
he not there punish so many kinds of violence and
fraud, which, with such consummate skill, he describes
and distinguishes in Hell; for throughout the whole
of Purgatory he makes no mention whatever of
blasphemers, usurers, flatterers, thieves, diviners, schis-
matics, forgers, or traitors, of whom he speaks indi-
vidually and severally in Hell ? Benvenuto thinks
the answer is briefly this, viz. : that Dante, who weighs
all things with such a well balanced mind, carefully
treats of the seven principal sins of those who sinned
from incontinence, for of such are found many who
come to Purgatory, and indeed to penitence in life, or
in death. But they who sin through malice rarely
come to Purgatory either in life or death ; so Dante
was unwilling to treat of those here, as he had done
in Hell.
Dante now proceeds to show how Virgil's prayer
for the guidance of Divine Grace had been heard, for
they seem to have begun their progress along the
exhort them to guard against envy by bringing to
Canto XIII. Readings on the Purgatorio. 323
nen
their notice special examples of love and charity as
instances of the opposite qualities to it.
Quanto di qua per un migliajo si conta,
Tanto di là eravam noi già iti,
Con poco tempo, per la voglia pronta.
E verso noi volar furon sentiti,
Non però visti, spiriti, parlando
Alla mensa d'amor cortesi inviti.
We had already been walking there (di là) a distance
equal to what one reckons a mile on earth (di quà),
and, from the good will that we had put into our
movements, we had been but a short time about it.
And spirits, albeit invisible, were heard, flying to meet
us, uttering courteous invitations to love's table.
Fraticelli says that, in the precepts against Envy
that Dante is now about to hear from the voices in
the air, which are those of angels, three different kinds
of Charity are inculcated.
I. To give aid to those who lack it, as did the
Blessed Virgin when she said Vinum non habent.
II. To expose oneself even to death to save another,
as Pylades did for Orestes.
III. To return good for evil.
And Benvenuto begs us to observe the contrast of
the admonitions against pride, and those against envy.
All the teaching against pride was at once exposed
to their view and the punishment of the proud dis-
played before them, while here, in the Cornice of
Envy, the admonitions of Christian love are given in
a mysterious and invisible manner, because, while
pride is at once apparent in man, envy is a thing
concealed in his bosom. As the nature of the punish-
ment of the envious has closed their eyes, their

Y 2
324
Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto XIII.
30
meditations are therefore guided by what they hear,
as inviting them to the table of that love which had
been conspicuous by its absence during their lives.*
La prima voce che passò volando,
Vinum non habent, altamente disse,
E dietro a noi l' andò reſterando.
The first voice that flew by, proclaimed aloud :
Vinum non habent (they have no wine), and passed
on repeating the same words behind us.
The words seem to have been shouted aloud by
an angel, whose rapid flight past them met their
rapidly walking footsteps, and the cry was heard by
them reverberating through cliff and ravine as the
sacred messenger was borne farther and farther
away.t
The poets now hear a second voice, and this time
the instance quoted by it is from profane history.

* The first lesson given in Charity is to render aid to those
who lack it, and, as we noticed before, Dante has arranged the
teaching in the cornices of Purgatory on a uniform system,
always beginning with some incident in the life of the Blessed
Virgin Mary. As we saw her, in the First Cornice, depicted in
marble, seeming to utter the words, “Behold the handmaid of
the Lord !” as an example of complete humility at a moment of
intense exaltation, so now we are led to recall her presence and
inobtrusive interposition at the marriage feast in Cana of Galilee,
where, by a kindly forethought she saw that the modest quantity
of wine would not suffice for the wedding guests, and thereupon
became the instrument that set in motion for the first time the
Divine and miraculous powers of her Son.
+ Benvenuto says that the application of this episode as
correcting envy is this, that most women love too much to see
honour given to their own excellence at weddings and feasts,
but look with livid (that is green) eyes at the adornments and
Canto XIII. Readings on the Purgatorio.
325
E prima che del tutto non s'udisse
Per allungarsi, un'altra : Io sono Oreste.
Passò gridando, ed anco non s'affisse.
And before it ceased to be altogether heard, from
its having got so far away from us, another passed
crying aloud: “I am Orestes," and likewise stayed
not. *
While Dante is in the act of asking Virgil the
meaning of these mysterious sounds passing through
the air, a third voice is heard :
-“O (diss' io) Padre, che voci son queste ?"
E com' io dimandai, ecco la terza S35
Dicendo: Amate da cui male aveste.
“O,” said I, “Father, what voices are these ? ”
And even as I asked, behold a third voice saying :
Love those from whom ye have had evil.
We do not read that this third voice was either
spoken "altamente ” like the first, nor "gridando”
like the second, and perhaps it was the still small

beauty of the wedding feasts of other women; and perhaps try
to detract from their excellence through envy ; because
“Vulpes amat fraudes, “The fox loves frauds,
Lupus agnum,
The wolf loves the lamb,
Fæmina laudes.”
The woman loves praises."
The Blessed Virgin, instead of feeling envious at anything in
this feast, only thought, and that from love, of gladdening the
hearts of all present.
* The episode of the two friends, in which Pylades feigned
himself to be Orestes in order to be put to death in his stead,
and Orestes in his turn came forward and proclaimed who he
was, is meant to inculcate the second lesson in Christian
Charity, viz. : To be ready to expose oneself to death for
another. Compare St. John XV, 13, “Greater love hath no
man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."
326
Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto XIII.
voice, softly whispering the words of our Lord in
St. Matt. V, 44, "Love your enemies, bless them that
curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for
them which despitefully use you, and persecute you."
The voice seemed to say: It is not enough to love
your benefactors; that is merely fulfilling an ordinary
law of nature, which even the brute beasts do.
In the next twelve verses, of which six are in the
first, and six in the second division of the Canto,
Virgil answers Dante's question, and explains to him
why these voices are heard giving admonitions
against envy.
E'l buon Maestro :-“Questo cinghio * sferza
La colpa della invidia, e però sono
Tratte da amor le corde della ferza +
And the good Master said :—“This circle punishes
the sin of envy, and that is why the lashes of the
scourge are wielded by love. I

* Cinghio. This is the only instance of this word as applied
to one of the circles of Purgatory. Dante calls them indifferently
piani; cerchi; giri; gironi ; cornici ; but he calls the terraces
in the Antipurgatorio by the name of cinghio in Purg. IV, 51 :
Tanto che il cinghio sotto i piè mi fue.
And in Inf. XXIV, 72–73, he also so speaks of the circles of Hell:
... Maestro, fa che tu arrivi
Dall'altro cinghio, e dismontiam lo muro.
+ Ferza means a scourge of small cords. Sferzare to strike
with the ferza.
I Francesco da Buti explains that the sin of envy is hatred of
the happiness of others, and stands in the way of our duty of
loving our neighbour; and as the envious man is sad at hearing
of his neighbour's prosperity, so it is by the exercise of that love
that he must purge himself from the sin of envy, and però that
is why le corde della ferza sono tratte d'amor, the lashes of the
scourge are wielded by love.
Canto XIII. Readings on the Purgatorio. 327
Lo fren vuol esser del contrario suono;
- 40
Credo che l' udirai, per mio avviso,
Prima che giunghi al passo del perdono.
The curb will have to be to a tune quite opposed
to the gentle precepts thou hast just heard ; I think,
as far as I can be certain, that thou wilt hear voices
proclaiming the words that are to act as a stern
deterrent to envy, ere thou reach the Pass of Pardon,
(that is, the stairway where the second P of Envy will
be erased.)*
We shall see in Canto XIV, 130-140, that Virgil's
surmises are proved to be correct by the words of
Cain and Aglauros.

Division II. Here begins the Second Division of
the Canto, in which Dante describes the penalty and
the purgation of the envious in general, and Benvenuto
* Francesco da Buti says that to purge sin two things are
required. First, to curb the tendency to fall into the sin ; and
secondly, the incitement to move one to the virtue opposed to
that sin. We have heard the three angel voices uttering the
incitements to Christian Love, and now Virgil tells Dante what
is to be the curb (freno) to act as a deterrent, and that he
explains to be the adversity into which have fallen those who
gave way to the sin of envy. Francesco da Buti notices, in
Inf. VI, 74, that Ciacco, replying to Dante as to the causes of
the dissensions at Florence, tells him that pride, envy and
avarice are the three sparks that have kindled the hearts of the
people of Florence. “La superbia fa esaltazione di sè, fa l' uomo
cercare depressione del prossimo suo ; l' invidia, solamente per
non vedere ad altri meglio di sè ; l' avarizia, per potere usurpare
quello del prossimo, e quello del comune.
mo
mu

328
Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto XIII.
remarks how eminently appropriate it is. Dante
pictures them sitting on the ground all along the side
of the cliff, each propping up his neighbour by the
shoulder, devoutly praying, wearing coarse sackcloth
under their livid coloured garments, their eyes sewn
up with wire, while they shed perpetual tears, and cry
and chant out their litanies to God without any
cessation.
Francesco da Buti observes that these are the new
conditions necessary to one who would expiate envy.
He must sit still, and can no longer go about gos-
sipping, and seeing sights that may move his envy.
He must lean against the hard livid rock of penitence.
He must rest his head on the shoulders of other
may both correct his neighbour, and be corrected by
him. He must have his eyes sewn up with wire, that
is, with strength of mind and resolution, he must
the sackcloth continually pricking him is to remind
him continually of his sin: the continuous flow of
tears is to show the grief of his heart within himself,
while the cloak of livid hue is to signify that in
addition to the contrition within, shown by the tears,
he must make confession, not only to his confessor,
but also to others, that they may take warning by
him. Confession must be the outward, as contrition
the inward manifestation of his penitence. The
chanting of litanies is to invoke the Divine aid for
their neighbours, as well as for themselves, for, as in
life they have always felt spite against their neigh-
bours' well-being, so must they now rejoice at it, and
pray for it. And Francesco da Buti adds that Dante
Canto XIII. Readings on the Purgatorio. 329
45
wishes to speak allegorically of living persons, as well
as of those in Purgatory.
Virgil begins by engaging Dante's attention.
Ma ficca gli occhi per l'aër ben fiso,
E vedrai gente innanzi a noi sedersi,
E ciascuno è lungo la grotta assiso.”—
But fix thine eyes steadfastly through the air, and
thou wilt see people seated before thee, and each is
seated along the cliff.”
Allora più che prima gli occhi apersi;
Guarda' mi innanzi, e vidi ombre con manti
Al color della pietra non diversi.
I then opened my eyes more than before; I looked
in front of me, and beheld spirits wearing mantles in
no wise different from the livid colour of the rock.
Dante now hears the prayers that these are uttering.
E poi che fummo un poco più avanti,
Udi gridar: Maria, ora per noi;
• Gridar: Michele, e Pietro, e tutti i Santi.
And when we had stepped on a little further, I
heard cried out: Mary pray for us; St. Michael,
St. Peter, and all the saints, pray for us.
They were chanting the Litany of the Saints, in
which the invocation to the Archangel St. Michael
succeeds the invocation to the Virgin Mary.*

ve
S ar
Ба и
* Benvenuto says that these spirits of the envious are offer
ing up prayers that are quite the opposite of those that they
were wont to use before the time of their repentance; and he
quotes a well-known fable, in which a certain miser and an
envious man went into the Temple of Jupiter to pray, and
Mercury was sent to tell them that what the one prayed for,
the other should receive double; on which the envious man
prayed that he himself might lose one eye, in order that the
miser might lose both his eyes.

330
Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto XIII.
Dante next mentions the deep compassion he felt
as he looked on the sufferings of the penitent envious.
Non credo che per terra vada ancoi
Uomo sì duro, che non fosse punto
Per compassion di quel ch' io vidi poi:
Chè, quando fui sì presso di lor giunto,
55
Che gli atti loro a me venivan certi,

I do not believe there walks on earth, even at the
present day, any man so hard, that he would not be
stricken with compassion at what I next saw, for
when I had drawn so near to them, that their move-
ments became distinctly visible to me, bitter tears
were wrung from my eyes (lit. through my eyes, I
was milked of great grief).
Di vil cilicio mi parean coperti,
E l' un soffería l'altro con la spalla,
60
They seemed to me to be covered with coarse
shoulder, and all were sitting against the cliff.*
Dante compares them to the blind beggars that are
always to be seen sitting at the doors of the churches
in Italy.
Così li ciechi, a cui la roba falla,+
Stanno a' Perdonit a chieder lor bisogna,
* During their life-time they were not wont to support each
other, but now they sympathetically do so, fulfilling the Apostolic
precept in Gal. VI, 2. “Bear ye one another's burdens, and so
fulfil the law of Christ.”
† A cui la roba falla. Comp. Inf. XXIV, 7.
Lo Lo vilanello, a cui la roba manca.
# Perdoni. People go to the churches for the perdoni or
indulgenze, and Dante uses the word perdoni for the churches,
the places where the perdoni were to be obtained.
Canto XIII. Readings on the Purgatorio.
331
365
E l'uno il capo sopra l'altro avvalla,
Perchè in altrui pietà tosto si pogna,
Non pur per lo sonar delle parole,
Ma per la vista che non meno agogna.
So blind men, to whom means of subsistence are
lacking, sit at the doors of the churches, to beg for
alms, and each one inclines his head against the
other, and they do it that pity may be excited in the
hearts of those going in, not only at the lamentable
sound of the words they utter, but also at the sight of
their appearance, which is no less distressing.
Dante nowdescribes their penalty of blindness, which
means to signify that, as blind men cannot see the
sun, so the envious cannot see the sun of justice, that
is, God.
E come agli orbi non approda il sole,
Così all'ombre, dov' io parlavora,
Luce del ciel di sè largir non vuole;
Chè a tutte un fil di ferro il ciglio fora,
E cuce sì, come a sparvier selvaggio
Si fa, però che queto non dimora.
And as the sun does not come to the blind, so, to
the spirits whom I have just mentioned, the Light of
Heaven, will not be bounteous of itself, for an iron
wire pierces the eyelids of them all, and sews them
up, as is done to a wild falcon, because it will not
keep still.
Dante is particular to mention the sight being
sealed, as it were hermetically, with wire. He
compares their condition to that of young falcons,
whose eyes it was a cruel custom to sew up with
thread. The Emperor Frederick mentions the fact
in his treatise, De Arte Venatica.*
* Dean Plumptre, in a short biographical notice of Dante,

332
Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto XIII.
Benvenuto notices how very noble and appropriate
this simile is. For the falcon always attacks and
wounds birds that are fat, such as quails and the like;
so is the envious man ever maliciously seeking to
injure persons who are rich and well-to-do, and if he
cannot strike with his talons, that is, his hands, he will
do so with his beak, that is, with his tongue, and if he
cannot injure their substance, he will endeavour to
injure their good name. Benvenuto also remarks that
the Sicilian tyrants Dionysius and Phalaris, never
invented any worse torture than envy, for the envious
man suffers continually. Therefore, it is good for
those who desire to be purged from envy, to have

mentions his education and various accomplishments, and adds :
“ Nor was the young man's life that of a student, littérateur,
artist only. He threw himself into the sports of his age and
class, and became a master of the art of falconry, which the
Emperor Frederick II, who wrote an elaborate treatise on it,
had made popular throughout Italy. Manuscripts of that
treatise are extant (according to d' Agincourt, History of Art,
1847) copiously illustrated with illuminations of every detail,
which Dante may have seen, and which, over and above his
own manifest delight, and keenness of observation, may have
suggested some of the similes in the Commedia drawn from the
falcon, and the falconer.”
In Inf. XVII, 127, he compares the descent of Geryon to the
flight of the falcon wheeling downwards.
In Inf. XXII, 130, he describes the falcon angry and dis-
appointed at missing the duck who has dived to avoid its swoop.
In Purg. XIX, 64, he mentions God, as the falconer using
the logoro or lure to recall him to the truth, and compares
himself to the falcon obeying.
In Par. XIX, 34, he compares the angels, grouped in the
form of an eagle, to the falcon whose jesses have just been cast off.
The operation of sewing up the eyes of newly caught falcons
was called accigliare.

Canto XIII. Readings on the Purgatorio. 333
their eyes closed, lest they behold the prosperity of
others, and thus fall back into that sin again.*
Division III. Here begins the Third and last
Division of the Canto, in which Dante relates his
interview with Sapia of Siena, of whose mind envy
had had the complete mastery.
Dante feels a repugnance to stand watching the
shades who cannot see him, and is about to consult
Virgil on the subject, when the latter, unasked, gives
him the counsel he was going to seek.
A me pareva andando fare oltraggio,
Vedendo altrui, non essendo veduto :
Perch' io mi volsi al mio consiglio saggio. 75
Ben sapev ei, che volea dir lo muto;
E però non attese mia dimanda ;
Ma disse :-“Parla, e sii breve ed arguto.”—
It seemed to me I was committing an outrage
walking about and looking at people who could not
see me: wherefore I turned to my sage counsellor.
He well understood what the dumb man wished to
say (that is, what I meant, although I spoke not), and
did not therefore wait for my demand, but said :-
"Speak, and be brief, and to the point.”—T
*“If thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out.”—St. Matt. V, 29.
Horace says (1 Epist. II, 57), “Invidus alterius macrescit
rebus opimis.” The envious man grows thin at the prosperity
of his neighbour; and also (1 Epist. II, 58) “Invidiâ Siculi non
invenere tyranni Majus tormentum.”
+ Compare Virgil's injunction to Dante, on his first seeing
Farinata degli Uberti. Inf. X, 39.
334 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto XIII.
He then describes the relative positions of Virgil,
himself and the spirits doing penance on the cornice.
Virgilio mi venía da quella banda *
Della cornice, onde cader si puote,
80
Perchè da nulla sponda s' inghirlanda :
Dall'altra parte m' eran le devote
Ombre, che per l'orribile costura +
Premevan sì, che bagnavan le gote.
Virgil was walking by me on that side of the
cornice, from which one might fall, because it is not
encircled by any parapet. On the other side were
seated the shades of the envious praying devoutly,
who were so pressing out their tears, through the
horrible seam (with which their eyes were sewn up),
that they bedewed their cheeks.
Dante was so placed that he could neither fall over
the precipice on the one side, or draw back from the
sight on the other. Dante now, in obedience to the
injunctions of Virgil, addresses the spirits in a brief
speech, which however he prefaces with an exordium
and a prayer for their deliverance.

E l'animose man del Duca e pronte
Mi pinser tra le sepolture e lui
Dicendo :—“Le parole tue sien conte.”—
I notice, by the way, that in Inf. X, 43, although ordered by
Virgil to speak concisely, Dante told Farinata degli Uberti all
about his ancestors (tutto gliel' apersz), and, we may be sure, at
some length ; but when Farinata spoke disparagingly of them,
then there came a remarkably short, sharp and telling reply ;
a regular Florentine retort, full of wit, fact and pungency.
* Some commentators, among whom is Benvenuto, read,
instead of banda, the edge, landa, even surface ; that is, a terrace
without a border, or parapet.
+ Costura is for cucitura.
Canto XIII. Readings on the Purgatorio. 335
Volsimi a loro, ed :-“O gente secura,"
Incominciai,—“di veder l' alto lume *
Che il disio vostro solo ha in sua cura ;
Se tosto grazia risolva le schiume
Di vostra coscienza, sì che chiaro
Per essa scenda della mente il fiume,
90
Ditemi + (chè mi fia grazioso e caro)
S'anima è qui tra voi, che sia latina ;
E forse a lei sarà buon, s' io l' apparo.”—
“O folk, happy in the certainty that you have of
beholding with unveiled eyes the Light on high (God),
on Which alone your desires are set ; may Grace soon
loosen from your consciences all the scum, that is, the
impurities that yet defile them, so that the stream of
the mind may flow clear and limpid through them
(your consciences). Tell me (for it will be gracious
and dear to me to know it), Is there among you any
Latin soul ? and perchance it may be well for that
one, if I learn his name.”
Benvenuto notices here how Dante as usual asks
after the spirits of Italians, as being more noble and
worthy of memory than others, even though sinners;
and he says this may be widely seen throughout the
whole poem. I
Dante's question to Virgil is answered by the voice
of one who administers to him a gentle reproof for
the preeminence he is giving to Italy over other

* L'alto lume. Compare Purg. VII, 26:
6 L'alto Sol che tu disiri."
+ Benvenuto thinks that Dante's concise speech began with
the word Ditemi.
| Compare Inf. XXVII, 33 :
“Parla tu, questi è latino."
336
Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto XIII.
countries. The speaker is a woman of Siena, by
name Sapla, of the family of the Bigozzi. She says:
_“O frate mio, ciascuna è cittadina
D'una vera città ; ma tu vuoi dire,
Che vivesse in Italia peregrina.” _*
"O my brother, each among whom I am, is a citizen
of one true city (the heavenly Jerusalem), but it is thy
meaning, I suppose, to ask if there is any spirit here
which inhabited Italy in the days of its pilgrimage on
earth.”
Sapia's soul had risen from the narrow limitations
of its earthly jealousies to the thought of the heavenly
citizenship.
“The human life," remarks Benvenuto, “is but a
pilgrimage on earth.” And Dante says that this voice
appeared to come to him from afar off, on which he
drew nearer to the sound, so as to know whence it
came.

* Peregrina. Compare Gen. XLVII, 9, “ And Jacob said
unto Pharaoh, The days of the years of my pilgrimage are
an hundred and thirty years ; few and evil have the days
of the years of my life been, and have not attained unto the
days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their
pilgrimage.”
And Ps. CXIX, 54, “Thy statutes have been my songs in the
house of my pilgrimage."
And Heb. XI, 13, “These all died in faith, not having re-
ceived the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were
persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that
they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.”.... And
verse 16, “But now they desire a better country, that is, an
heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their
God; for he hath prepared for them a city."
And 1 Pet. II, II, “Dearly beloved, I beseech you as
strangers and pilgrims, &c.”
as
Canto XIII. Readings on the Purgatorio. 337
Questo mi parve per risposta udire
Più innanzi alquanto che là dov' io stava ;
Ond' io mi feci ancor più là sentire.
It seemed to me that I heard this, by way of an
answer, a little further on than the place where I was.
standing; whereupon I made myself to be heard still
further in that direction.
Scartazzini explains this to mean, that Dante step-
ped more forward to see which of the spirits had
spoken, and when he found it was Sapia, by her
appearance of expectation, he spoke the words that
follow in v. 103.
Tra l'altre vidi un ombra che aspettava
100
In vista ; e se volesse alcun dir : Come ?
Lo mento, a guisa d'orbo, in su levava.
I saw, among the others, a spirit with expectant
face, and if any of my readers were to ask me, “How
did you make that out?” It was holding its chin
raised up in the air after the manner of blind people.
He at once addresses the shade :
-“Spirto (diss' io) che per salir ti dome,
Se tu se' quelli che mi rispondesti,
Fammiti conto o per luogo o per nome."- 105
—“Spirit,” said I, “who art subduing thyself by
penance, in order to ascend (to God), if thou art that
one that answered me, make thyself known by telling
me the place of thine origin, or thy name.”
: The spirit (Sapia of Siena) at once tells him her
name and birthplace, and the sin of which she is being
purged. And here Benvenuto notices that, whereas
Dante's words had been few, concise and clear, this
spirit, a woman, and a vain one, gives a long frivolous
dreary narration all about her own envious nature.


338
Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto XIII.
—“I' fui Senese (rispose), e con questi
Altri rimondo qui la vita ria,
Lagrimando a colui, che se ne presti.*
IIO
Fossi chiamata, e fui degli altrui danni
Più lieta assai, che di ventura mia.
"I was of Siena (she answered), and, with these
others, I am here purifying my guilty life, praying
was not wise, although I was called Sapia (which
means 'sapient'), and I was far happier at the ad-
versity of others than at my own good fortune.
This is one of the special characteristics of envy.t
And now, to make good her words, Sapia tells Dante
of her sin in general terms.
E perchè tu non credi ch' io t' inganni,
Odi se fui, com' io ti dico, folle.
Già discendendo l'arco de' miei anni,
* Compare Par. I, 22 : “O divina virtù, se mi ti presti tanto."
+ Benvenuto says he will tell his readers in a few words what
is the pith of Sapìa's long rambling discourse. He says that to
understand it clearly one must remember what was written in
the eleventh canto about Provenzano Salvani, that when he
went to attack Colle, a fortress of the Florentines near Volterra,
Sapìa burning with hatred of the Sienese, merely from envy,
placed herself at the window of a palace that overlooked the
battle-field, hoping and praying for the defeat of her own
countrymen. On their being defeated, and Provenzano be-
headed on the field of battle, she was so exalted that she said :
“Now, O God, do with me what Thou wilt, all the ill that Thou
canst; for now I shall live happy and die content."
I Già discendo l'arco de' miei anni. In the Convito, IV,
23, Dante says : « Tornando dunque alla nostra (vita) sola,
della quale al presente s'intende, sì dico ch'ella procede ad
immagine di questo arco montando e discendendo.”
Canto XIII. Readings on the Purgatorio. 339
Eran li cittadini miei presso a Colle
115
In campo giunti coi loro avversari,
Ed io pregava Dio di quel ch' ei volle.
And that thou mayest not think I am deceiving
thee, listen and hear whether or no I was foolish.
When I was descending from the summit of the cycle
of my years (more than 35 years old), my country-
men the Sienese, with their leader Provenzano Salvani,
had joined battle near Colle with their enemies the
men of Florence; and I prayed to God that He
would do, what, in fact He did of His own good
pleasure, and not because of my prayers, viz. : to over-
throw the Sienese.
Rotti fur quivi, e vôlti negli amari
Passi di fuga ; e veggendo la caccia,
Letizia presi ad ogni altra dispari :
Tanto che io volsi in su l' ardita faccia,
Gridando a Dio : Omai più non ti temo;
Come fa il merlo per poca bonaccia.
They (the Sienese) were routed there, and turned
into the bitter passes of flight; and, beholding the

I 20
other I had known : so much so, that I turned my
presumptuous eyes up to Heaven, crying to God :
Henceforth I fear Thee no more ; as the blackbird
does for a short period of fine weather.*
"I have heard,” says Benvenuto, “that this cursed
found shelter in a house during the winter. When a fine day
came at the end of January (such days are known in Lombardy
as giorni di merla), he began to rejoice, and “fuggissi dal
padrone cantando : ‘Domine, più non ti curo, che uscito son
dal verno;' ma presto se ne pentì, perchè il freddo ricominciò,
e così conobbe che quel po' di bonaccia non era la primavera.”
Z 2
340
Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto XIII.
woman was so furious in her mind, that she actually
said beforehand that, if the Sienese won the day, she
would cast herself out of the window. She was said
to have come from the family of the Bigozzi, and to
have hated the Sienese as much as Cianghella hated
the Florentines. She hated them for their long period
of prosperity, and success in arms. The greater the
glory and virtue, the greater the envy of the envious
person. It is only poverty that has no envier.”
And now that Sapìa has related her sins, she ex-
plains how she came to be saved through her repent-
ance, although it was tardy.
Pace volli con Dio in su lo stremo
Della mia vita ; ed ancor non sarebbe
125
Lo mio dover per penitenza scemo,
Se ciò non fosse, che a memoria m' ebbe
Pier Pettignano in sue sante orazioni,
A cui di me per caritade increbbe.
When I was at the extreme end of my life, I
desired peace with God, and even then my debt (of
sin) would not have been sufficiently diminished by
penance had it not happened that Pier Pettignano,
who, through charity, felt sorrow for me, remembered
me in his holy orisons.*

* Piero Pettignano, or Pettinaio, was a holy hermit of great
celebrity. He had been by trade a seller of combs, and the
Anonimo says that he used to buy them at Pisa, and, before
returning to Siena with his goods, he used to take them to the
Ponte Vecchio at Pisa, and carefully examine them. Any
defective combs he used to throw into the Arno. When people
pointed out to him that he ought not to throw them away, and
that even a defective comb might be sold as such, and was
worth some money, he replied that he did not wish any one to
have bad merchandize from him. From these and other acts of
Canto XIII. Readings on the Purgatorio. 341
130
“He, out of Christian love,” says Benvenuto,“ with
much fervent prayer, interceded God for Sapia, who,
from the envy of her stubborn heart, had ardently
prayed God to exterminate her countrymen."
And now, Sapia, having told Dante about herself,
asks him (just as Nino di Gallura had done in Purg.
VIII, 67), to what singular mark of grace he owes it
that he is able to walk through the regions of the
dead, alive, and with his eyes open.
Ma tu chi se', che nostre condizioni
Vai dimandando, e porti gli occhi sciolti,
Sì come io credo, e spirando ragioni?”—
But who art thou, who walkest about inquiring
into our conditions, and hast thine eyes free (not sewn
up), and, as I believe, breathest as thou dost speak ?”
Dante answers concisely. He does not tell her who
he is, for fear of seeming proud.
—“Gli occhi (diss'io) mi fieno ancor qui tolti ;
Ma picciol tempo; chè poca è l' offesa
Fatta per esser con invidia vôlti.
135
Troppa è più la paura, ond' è sospesa
L'anima mia, del tormento di sotto
Chè già lo incarco di laggiù mi pesa."--
—“My eyes (said I) will indeed have to be closed
here (in this circle of the envious) when my time comes;
but only for a short time, as the offence is but small that
I have committed through their being turned to envy.

honesty he got a reputation for great sanctity, and in 1328,
thirty-nine years after his death, the Senate of Siena decided to
meet every year, to celebrate the anniversary of his death, in
the church of St. Francis, where a tomb, an altar, and a ciborium
were dedicated to him, and where there is also a picture of him.
Sapìa is said to have often given him alms.
342
Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto XIII.
[But lest he should appear self-righteous to her, he
explains his meaning by adding:]
Far greater is the fear by which my soul is held
in suspense at the thought of the torment in the circle
below; so great that already I even seem to feel the
weight of the heavy stone down there."*
Sapia then puts a further question:
Ed ella a me:-“Chi ha dunque condotto
Quassù tra noi, se giù ritornar credi?”— 140
Ed io :—“Costui ch'è meco, e non fa motto.
E vivo sono; e però mi richiedi,
Spirito eletto, se tu vuoi chi' io muova
Di là per te ancor li mortai piedi.”—
And she to me:-“Who then has conducted thee
up here among us, if thou thinkest to return below
(to the world)?”—And I:—“He who is with me, but
speaks not (Virgil.) And I am alive, and therefore
O Spirit, elect for salvation, ask me if thou dost wish
that when I return to the world, I should move my
mortal feet on thy behalf.”
He means, does she wish him to go to any of her
relations or friends, and ask them for their prayers for
her more speedy liberation from Purgatory. Sapia is
* Villani describes Dante as haughty, proud, and scornful,
eager for glory and popular applause, disdaining the converse of
all but scholars.
Benvenuto tells us that Dante was, from his youth up, proud
of his birth, learning, and good estate; but in very truth, he
adds, did he in life carry his burden of exile, poverty, and the
envy of others.
And Benvenuto says of himself: “And in truth I certainly
may venture with a good conscience to say the same thing of
myself, to wit, that at times I have been more proud than
envious; but assuredly I have borne my heavy stone in the
world.”

Canto XIII. Readings on the Purgatorio.
343
thunderstruck at the wonderful grace that has been
conceded to Dante, and asks him to cause prayers to
be offered up for her.
—“O questa è ad udir sì cosa nuova," —
145
Rispose—“che gran segno è che Dio t ami;
Però col prego tuo talor mi giova.
-“O”-answered she,—"this is such a marvellous
fact to hear, that it is a great sign that God loves
thee; and therefore I pray thee sometimes to give me
the benefit of thy prayers.
She begs him to restore her good name by letting
her friends and neighbours know that he found her
among the saved.
E chieggioti per quel che tu più brami,
Se mai calchi la terra di Toscana,
Che a miei propinqui tu ben mi rifami. 150
And I entreat thee by thy hopes of whatever thou
most desirest, that, if ever thou treadest again upon
the Tuscan soil, thou wilt restore my reputation
among my kinsfolk.
Tu li vedrai tra quella gente vana*
Che spera in Talamone; e perderâgli
Più di speranza che a trovar la Diana;
Ma più vi metteranno gli ammiragli.”
154
Thou wilt see them among that vain people (the
Sienese), who continue to build their hopes on the
success of Talamone, whereas they will lose in it more
hope than in their attempts to discover the Diana; but
the admirals will lose even more in that concern.
* Gente vana, applied to the Sienese. Compare Inf. XXIX,
121.
Or fu giammai
Gente sì vana come la sanese,
Certo non la francesca sì d'assai.

344 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto XIII.
Dante here speaks in general terms of the vanity of
the Sienese, and cites two notable instances of it.
Talamone was a fortress on the Sienese Maremma,
not far from Orbetello, where the people of Siena had
expended vast sums of money in the attempt to make
a harbour, in order that they might become a com-
mercial power, and rival the Republics of Pisa and
Genoa; but they found their labours were wasted, for
the port kept filling up again with sand, and the town
was found to be quite uninhabitable from the pesti-
ferous malaria of the place; and yet were there many
who, even after the work had been abandoned, still
hoped. And when Dante says that they will lose
there more hope than in discovering the Diana, he
was alluding to a still greater vanity. The abundance
of water, with which the fountain of Fontebranda and
others in the city were supplied, led the Sienese to
the belief that there existed a subterraneous river, to
which popular tradition gave the name of Diana.*
The meaning of the last verse and the word ammi-
ragli, has given rise to a great deal of controversy.
* Longfellow says that in Dante's time this belief was evidently
looked upon as an idle dream, but it must be said to the credit
of the Sienese that they persevered, and finally succeeded in
obtaining the water so patiently sought for. - The Pozzo Diana,
or Diana's Well, is still to be seen in the court-yard of the
Convent of the Carmine.
Benvenuto says that he had himself heard from a certain
Sienese, who was a great author (autorista) and a “Dantist,"
(Benvenuto uses the word Dantista), that the ammiragli were
certain persons who contracted to excavate so many rods or poles
measure of earth. Jacopo della Lana says Benvenuto's view
is the correct one, and that that of Francesco da Buti, who
thought that they were “ Capitani di mare che comandavano
venti galere,” is quite wrong.

Canto XIII. Readings on the Purgatorio.
345
Dante's sarcasm on the public works of the Sienese, may
remind one of the satire on Leopoldo II, Grand Duke of Tus-
cany, of whom, in his poem, L'Incoronazione, Giusti says:
Il Toscano Morfeo vien lemme lemme
Di papaveri cinto e di lattuga
Che per la smania d' eternarsi sciuga
Tasche e Maremme.
The more common interpretation seems to be gli ammiragli,
that is the captains of the naval forces, and directors of the
works in the port, vi metteranno, will adventure something
more than treasure and hope, for they will lose their lives in the
undertaking.
S

END OF CANTO XIII.
346
| Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto XIV.
CANTO XIV.

THE SECOND CORNICE.
GUIDO DEL DUCA.
RINIERI DA CALBOLI.
EXAMPLES OF THE PUNISHMENT OF ENVY.
In the last Canto, Dante treated the subject of the
purgation of envy generally; but in this one he
specially deals with the Tuscans and Romagnoles :
their envies, jealousies, factions and treacheries.
Dean Plumptre says that the whole Canto appears
to have been written in one of the darkest hours of
the Poet's life, when he was most tried by the grief of
exile, and the sense of baseness and treachery in those
around him, perhaps also by the utter failure of the
hopes which had been centred in Henry VII. Dante
utters a denunciation against Tuscany and Romagna
alike.*
Benvenuto divides the Canto into four parts.
In the First Division, from v. I to v. 24, Dante
describes his interview with the spirits of two Romag-
nole nobles, Guido del Duca, and Rinieri da Calboli,
who ask him questions about himself.
In the Second Division, from v. 25 to v. 72, he
makes a long digression, in which he describes the
* See also Dante's letter to the Florentines entitled : “Dantes
Allagherius florentinus, et exul immeritus, scelestissimis Floren-
tinis intrinsecis.”—Fraticelli's Dante, Opere Minori, Vol. III,
450-8.

Canto XIV. Readings on the Purgatorio.
347
Val d'Arno and its inhabitants, and puts into the
mouth of Guido del Duca a severe invective against
their feuds and disturbances.
In the Third Division, from v. 73 to v. 126,
Dante gives some account of Guido del Duca and
Rinieri da Calboli, with whose names he is now made
acquainted; and he next deplores the change that
has come over Romagna.
In the Fourth Division, from v. 127 to v. 151, he
speaks of the proper checks to be used against the
sin of Envy.
Division 1. Two of the spirits sitting side by side
against the cliff have heard Dante's conversation with
Sapia of Siena. Benvenuto describes the one as a
noble and prudent Romagnole of Brettinoro, by name
Guido del Duca ; the other an upright man of Forli,
of the noble house of Calboli. From Dante's words,
they have learnt, to their intense astonishment, that
he is walking through Purgatory with his mortal
body, and with his eyes open ; and marvelling greatly
at the favour conceded to him by the Grace of God
they inquire who he is, and whence he comes.
Guido del Duca begins by saying to Rinieri da
Calboli:
-“Chi è costui che il nostro monte cerchia,
Prima che morte gli abbia dato il volo,
Ed apre gli occhi a sua voglia e coperchia ?”—
“Who is this who is travelling round our mountain
from circle to circle, before that death has caused him
to take his flight, and at his pleasure opens and shuts
his eyes?”
Rinieri da Calboli answers :
348
Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto XIV.
-"Non so chi sia; ma so ch' ei non è solo :
Dimándal tu che più gli ť avvicini,
E dolcemente, sì che parli, accôlo.”_*
—“I know not who it is; but I know he is not
alone (Rinieri had heard Dante tell Sapia that he had
a companion with him who was silent]: do thou ask
him to draw nearer to thee, and greet him gently, in
order that he may speak willingly.”—
Benvenuto says that probably these two spirits were
speaking in the Romagnole dialect, and could hear
that Dante's accent and speech were Tuscan. Ben-
venuto adds that there are many interpretations of
this text, but that the best is Accoglilo, accarezzalo
dolcemente, give him a pleasing and cordial reception,
in order to propitiate him, and incline him to talk
freely. Another interpretation (to which Benvenuto
does not allude) is that of Francesco da Buti, who
says that Guido del Duca was a haughty imperious
man, and his companion Rinieri wishing to give
him a gentle reminder of his failing, says, “thou art
nearest to him, ask him, but do pray speak gently to
him, so that he may be encouraged to pursue the
conversation.”+
Dante next describes how the two spirits spoke to

* Benvenuto compares accôlo, in the sense of accarezzalo, with
the opening lines of Canto VII.
Poscia che l'accoglienze oneste e liete
- Furo iterate tre e quattro volte
Sordel si trasse, e disse :-“Voi chi siete ?"
† Scartazzini says that some read a colo and interpret sè che
parli a colo, so that he may talk in a perfect way, lovingly, with
reverence, but adds that these interpreters have forgotten to bring
forward any proof that a colo has ever been used in the Italian
language in the sense into which they wish to twist it here.
Canto XIV. Readings on the Purgatorio. 349
each other, how they were sitting side by side, their
position as regards himself, and their attitude of ex-
pectation, with upturned faces, like that of Sapia.
Così due spirti, l' uno all' altro chini,
Ragionavan di me ivi a man dritta ;
Poì fêr li visi, per dirmi, supini :
E disse l' uno :“anima, che fitta
Nel corpo ancora, invêr lo ciel ten vai,
Per carità ne consola, e ne dittat
Onde vieni, e chi sei ; chè tu ne fai.
Tanto maravigliar della tua grazia,
Quanto vuol cosa che non fu più mai.”I- 15
Thus did two spirits, the one leaning against the
other, discourse about me, further on to my right; then
they both, in order to converse, turned up their faces
towards me, and one of them (Guido del Duca) said:
—“O soul, that art still kept fast (fitta) within thy
body, and art on thy way towards Heaven, in charity

* Ivi a man dritta. Benvenuto speaks of this as being ex
parte montis, on the side of the cliff; but if, as we know, Dante
had turned to the right on entering the cornice from the stair-
way, the cliff must have been on his left as he walked. I
venture to suggest that the explanation is that Dante had half
turned to converse with Sapìa, and that he was, at the moment
when this dialogue of the two spirits fell upon his ear, facing
the cliff, and they being at a point that he had not yet reached,
would be on his right.
+ Ne ditta. Petrarch (Canz. XII, 5-6) also uses dittare in the
sense of dire :
“Mi lascia in dubbio ; sì confuso ditta."
I Benvenuto writes : “ Many others have been to Purgatory
while still alive, in the moral sense of the word (moraliter
loquendo), but no one ever went there in the way that Dante
did, that is, in poetic speculation. And see how well that spirit
wishes Dante joy, nay more, how sweetly he flatters him in
accordance with what the other spirit had begged him to do.”
350
Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto XIV.
comfort us, and declare unto us whence thou comest
and who thou art, for thou makest us to marvel as
much at the grace conceded to thee,* as must a prodigy
never seen before."
And now Dante answers the spirit, but he begins
by dealing with the first part of his question, viz. :
whence he comes.
Benvenuto says: "To understand this text, and
what follows, it is first important to remark, that the
Poet often names the Arno, and says it is a river of
Tuscany which rises on the right side of the Apen-
nines, in a mountain called Falterona, which runs
towards the west ; at its beginning it flows through
the precipitous valleys of the Casentino with but little
water ; then, increased by other streams, it attains a
certain size, leaves Arezzo on the right, and then
enters the plain of Florence, flowing past Ancisa, a
fortress which has given its name to our illustrious
contemporary poet Petrarch. Then passing through
Florence, the flower of all Tuscany, it enters Pisa, that
most ancient city, and cuts it into two halves, and not
far from there it flows into the Mediterranean.”
Ed io :-“Per mezza Toscana si spazia
Un fiumicel che nasce in Falterona,+
E cento miglia di corso non sazia.
* On the words :
“Ne fai tanto maravigliar della tua grazia.”
Compare Purg. VIII, 64 :
“Su Currado,
Vieni a veder che Dio per grazia volse."
And next line : “Per quel singolar grado
Che tu dèi a colui che si nasconde
| Il suo primo perchè, che non gli è guado.”
+ The Tiber, as well as the Arno, takes its rise in Monte
Falterona, which lay within the dominions of the Conti Guidi

Canto XIV. Readings on the Purgatorio.
Di sovr esso rech'io questa persona :
Dirvi ch' io sia, saria parlare indarno,
20
Chè il nome mio ancor molto non suona."
And I (Dante), “There takes its winding course
through the middle of Tuscany, a small river (the
Arno) which rises in Mount Falterona, and a hundred
miles of course suffice not for it.*
“From its banks do I bring this body (implying, I
was born at Florence). To tell you who I am, would
be wasting words; for as yet my name is not much
celebrated.”—
Benvenuto lays much stress on the word ancor (as
yet), as though Dante would say, “I have not as yet
attained much fame in the world, but shall soon do so,
when I have completed this journey, by the grace of
God ;” and Benvenuto remarks how true this would be,
for, before Dante wrote the Divina Commedia, he was
only known in his own circle, but as soon as that
great work had been published, his name was cele-
brated throughout Italy.
Guido del Duca seems at first to have hesitated for

near the borders of the Romagna. Ampère, Voyage Dantesque,
p. 246, says:
“Dante has certainly climbed the top of the Falterona. It is
upon this summit, from which all the valley of the Arno is
embraced, that one should read the singular imprecation which
the poet has uttered against this whole valley. He follows the
course of the river and, as he advances, marks every place he
comes to with fierce invective. The further he goes, the more
his hate redoubles in violence and bitterness. It is a piece of
topographical satire, of which I know no other example.”
* Benvenuto says that the actual course of the Arno is 120
miles; but that its source is not more than 20 miles from
Florence, while its windings are excessive.
352 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto XIV.
an instant, in doubt as to which of the two rivers, that
take their rise in Monte Falterona, Dante was alluding,
the Arno or the Tiber, but suddenly exclaims that
he now understands that Dante is speaking of the
Arno: and Francesco da Buti says that it was quite
necessary that the definite distinction should be made,
in order to avoid any misunderstanding.
-“Se ben lo intendimento tuo accarno.*
Con lo intelletto,”—allora mi rispose
Quei che diceva pria,—“tu parli d' Arno.”—
-“If,”—then answered me he who had been the
first to speak, i.e., Guido del Duca,—"I rightly pene-
trate thy meaning with my understanding, it is of the
Arno that thou talkest.”

(CTC)
Division II. Here begins the Second Division in
which Dante makes a long digression about the Arno,
and the inhabitants of its valley, putting into the
mouth of Guido del Duca a severe vituperation of
their feuds and disturbances.
During Dante's interview, the two seem to have
kept up a running commentary to each other, upon
the words that fell from Dante's lips (a very natural
proceeding for two blind men, when conversing with
a third person), and Rinieri da Calboli notices to his
companion that Dante had spoken of the Arno with-
out naming it.
* Accarnare is properly to penetrate into the flesh; but in
this passage has simply the meaning to penetrate.
Canto XIV. Readings on the Purgatorio.
353
E l'altro disse a lui:-“Perchè nascose
Questi il vocabol di quella riviera,
Pur com'uom fa delle orribili cose?”
And the other (Rinieri) said to him (Guido):-"Why
did he hide the name of that river, as a man doth in
describing things too terrible to be named.
Benvenuto says that men are wont to turn a phrase
so as to avoid pronouncing anything horrible.
Guido del Duca answers that while he knows not
Dante's motive for suppressing the name of the river,
he is quite of opinion that it would be well, could the
whole valley be forgotten, as a thing unworthy of
remembrance.
E l'ombra che di ciò dimandata era,
Si sdebitò così :-"Non so, ma degno
Ben è che il nome di tal valle pera:
30
And the shade (Guido del Duca), to whom the
question was addressed, acquitted himself as follows:-
“I know not, but it is but right that the name of the
whole valley should perish.
Benvenuto, commenting on the next lines, says that
both the text, as well as the meaning, are very obscure,
but, to speak briefly, Guido, by way of stating the rea-
sons for what he said before, wishes to show, that in the
whole of the Val d'Arno, from its source to its mouth,
the inhabitants are so desperately wicked, that they,
in general, flee from virtue as from their bitterest
enemy.
Chè dal principio suo dov'è sì pregno*
L'alpestro monte, ond' è tronco Peloro,
Che in pochi luoghi passa oltra quel segno:

* Pregno. A number of commentators, including Petrarch,
Dante, Benvenuto, Buti, Landino, Tommaseo and Fanfani,
A A
354
Red
Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto XIV.

-
35
Infin là, 've si rende per ristoro
Di quel che il ciel della marina asciuga,
Ond' hanno i fiumi ciò che va con loro,
Virtù così per nimica si fuga
Da tutti come biscia, o per sventura
Del luogo, o per mal uso che li fruga :
interpret pregno in the sense of lofty, elevated, and think Dante
was imitating Lucan, Phars. II, 394.
Hæc placuit belli sedes; hinc summa moventis
Hostis in occursum sparsas extendere partes,
Umbrosis mediam qua collibus Apenninus
Erigit Italiam, nulloque a vertice tellus
Altius intumuit propiusque accessit Olympo.
But Scartazzini thinks Dante never has used pregno in the
sense of “lofty” anywhere else, and he says that the point
where the Arno rises is not a more particularly elevated one
than many others. He rather inclines to agree with Volpi,
Lombardi, Costa, Biagioli, Cesari, Br. Bianchi, Fraticelli, Phila-
lethes, Witte, and others in interpreting pregno, as “full,” “rich
in waters;" and he says that as a matter of fact Dante does use
the word in that sense in Purg. V., 118.
Si, che il pregno aëre in acqua si converse:
and Par. X, 67.
Così cinger la figlia di Latona
Vedem tal volta, quando l' aëre è pregno
Sì, che ritegna il fil che fa la zona.
Camerini rejects both the above interpretations; he says that,
as regards height, the Apennines are not at all elevated at that
point; nor is there any special fulness of water there; he thinks
it means rather swelled to a great extent, for he says there is a
very great dilatation of the Apennines near Monte Falterona,
several spurs jutting out into the plain, both to the east and to
the west.
Benvenuto observes that we are to notice that the Apennine
chain used to be prolonged into Sicily, as many authors relate,
but it was torn asunder either by an earthquake or by the simul-
taneous shock of the Adriatic and Tyrrhenian seas, at that
point where is now the Faro of Messina; the mountains that
a
Canto XIV. Readings on the Purgatorio. 355
For, from its source, where that mountain-chain
(the Apennines), whence Cape Pelorum was cut off,
swells up to so great an elevation, that in few places
does it (the Apennine chain) exceed the height that it
attains on Monte Falterona, down to that point where
it (the river) yields itself up to restore what the sky
has dried up from the sea in vapours, whence the rivers
receive, in the form of rain, that which goes with them,
that is, the water which flows in their beds; (between
these two points, viz: the source of the Arno and its
mouth) virtue is thus hunted away by all, even as a
serpent, and this is either owing to some evil destiny
remained on the Sicilian side of the strait were called Mount
Pelorus after Pelorus the pilot, whom Hannibal in his wrath cast
into the sea, under the erroneous impression that Pelorus had
deceived him, but on learning that he had been mistaken, he
raised a magnificent tomb over him. See Virgil Æn. III, 410.
Conington's Translation.
But when Sicilia's shore you near,
And dim Pelorus' strait grows clear,
Seek the south coast, though long the run,
To make its round: the northern shun.
These lands, they say, by rupture strange
(So much can time's dark process change)
Were cleft in sunder long agone,
When erst the twain had been but one:
Between them rushed the deep, and rent
The island from the continent,
And now with interfusing tides
'Twixt severed lands and cities glides.
There Scylla guards the right hand coast:
The left is fell Charybdis' post;
Thrice from the lowest gulf she draws
The water down her giant jaws,
Thrice sends it foaming back to day,
And deluges the heaven with spray.

en
A A 2

356 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto XIV
inherent in the locality, which disposes men's minds
to vice, or through bad habit that stimulates them to
evil.
Benvenuto states that we learn here, as also in
Canto V, that the sun attracts the aqueous vapours into
clouds, which in their turn are dissolved into rain, and
so rivers give back to the sea that which the stars
had taken from it.
Dean Plumptre says: “Simple as the physical
theory may seem to us of the rivers being replenished
by the evaporation from the sea, we note that it was
one of the new theories in which Dante, as a student
of science, prided himself (comp. Par. II, on the
spots on the moon's surface), and the dominant
mediæval view, as set forth by his master, Brunetto,
in the Tesoro (II, 36), was that the springs from which
rivers flow were replenished by filtration from the sea
through the crevices of the earth.”
Francesco da Buti, alluding to sventura del luogo,
says that Dante here speaks in accordance with a
popular opinion, which attributed special good or bad
luck to particular places.
Dante then shows how the inhabitants of the Val
de' Arno have deteriorated : and he says, that owing
to the change from their primitive virtue to gross vice,
they are like the men who were transformed into
swine by the incantations of Circe.
Ond' hanno sì mutata lor natura,
Gli abitator della misere valle,*
Che par che Circe gli avesse in pastura.
* Compare Virgil, Æn. VII, 19, Conington's Translation:
Next skirting still the shore, they run
Fair Circe's magic coast along,
Canto XIV. Readings on the Purgatorio. 357
Wherefore the dwellers in this miserable valley have
so changed their nature that it would seem as though
Circe had them in her feeding. *
Where she, bright daughter of the sun,
Her forest fastness thrills with song,
And for a nightly blaze consumes
Rich cedar in her stately rooms,
While, sounding shrill, the comb is sped
From end to end adown the thread.
Thence hear they many a midnight roar:
The lion strives to burst his cell:
The raging bear, the foaming boar
Alternate with the gaunt wolfs yell:
Whom from the human form divine
For malice sake the ruthless queen
Had changed by pharmacy malign
To bristly hide and bestial mien.
* Longfellow thinks that when Dante wrote this invective
against the inhabitants of the Val d'Arno, he probably had in
mind the following passage of his favourite author Boëthius,
Cons. Phil. IV, Pros. 3, Ridpath's Translation :—“Hence it again
follows that everything which strays from what is good ceases to
be; the wicked therefore must cease to be what they were, but
that they were formerly men their human shape, which still
remains, testifies. By degenerating into wickedness, then, they
must cease to be men. But as virtue alone can exalt a man
above what is human, so it is, on the contrary, evident that vice,
as it divests him of his nature, must sink him below humanity;
you ought therefore by no means to consider him as a man
whom vice has rendered vicious. Tell me. What difference is
there betwixt a wolf, that lives by rapine, and a robber, whom the
desire of another's wealth stimulates to commit all manner of
violence? Is there anything that bears a stronger resemblance
to a wrathful dog who barks at passengers than a man whose
dangerous tongue attacks all the world? What is liker to a
fox than a cheat, who spreads his nets in secret to undermine
and ruin you ? to a lion, than a furious man who is always ready

358 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto xiv.
Circe is supposed to have changed men into the
forms of different animals, such as swine, dogs, wolves,
etc. Dante follows out this belief in his comparison
of the valley of the Arno to the abode of Circe. In
one place he compares the inhabitants to swine, in
another to dogs, in a third to wolves, and in a fourth
to foxes. And first he speaks of the people of the
Casentino as swine.
Tra brutti porci, più degni di galle
Che d' altro cibo fatto in uman uso,
Dirizza prima il suo povero calle. - 45
It first directs its insignificant course through a
country inhabited by foul hogs, more deserving of
acorns than any other food created for human use.*

to devour you? to a deer, than a coward who is afraid of his own
shadow ? to an ass, than a mortal who is slow, dull and indolent?
to the birds of the air than a man volatile and inconstant ? and
what, in fine, is a debauchee, who is immersed in the lowest
sexual gratifications, but a hog who wallows in the mire ? Upon
the whole it is an unquestionable truth that a man who forsakes
virtue ceases to be a man; and, as it is impossible that he can
ascend in the scale of beings, he must of necessity degenerate
and sink into a beast."
* Benvenuto explains that this passage refers to the vassals
and dependents of the Conti Guidi, whom Dante calls swine on
account of their gross licentiousness, and deservedly. It seems
that they had once been lords of Ravenna, but had roused out-
raged popular feeling against them to such an extent that all
were slain but one, from whom descended the heads of the family
in Dante's time, and these had great power in Romagna and
Tuscany. Their castle was called Porciano. Compare Inf.
VIII, 49.
Quanti si tengon or lassù gran regi,
Che qui staranno come porci in brago
Di sè lasciando orribili dispregi !

Canto XIV. Readings on the Purgatorio. 359
The next mentioned are the dwellers in and around
Arezzo, whom he compares to noisy curs.
Botoli trova poi, venendo giuso,
Ringhiosi più che non chiede lor possa,
Ed a lor disdegnosa torce il muso.
And as it comes lower, it finds curs more snarling
than is befitting their power; and from them it con-
temptuously turns away its snout.
Benvenuto states that near Arezzo the Arno turns
to the east, and for about three miles keeps away from
Arezzo, as though it would say to it: “I will not
come to thee.”
Guido now names the Florentines as the third set
of inhabitants in this valley, and calls them wolves,
from their insatiable cupidity and avarice.
Vassi caggendo, e quanto ella più ingrossa,
Tanto più trova di can farsi lupi
50
La maledetta e sventurata fossa.
It flows on downwards, and in proportion as that
accursed and ill-fated ditch (the valley of the Arno)
increases in size, so much the more does it find the
dogs turning into wolves. "For dogs,” says Ben-
venuto, “are the natural enemies of wolves, and so
the Aretines are foes of Florence, but the stronger
wolves have overthrown the dogs.” Benvenuto adds
that this discord applies, not only to Tuscany, but to
all Italy, and even to all the world, and that Dante
once being asked why he had placed more Christians
in Hell than heathens, replied that he knew the
Christians better.
Dante now speaks of the Pisans as the fourth and
last race of the inhabitants of the valley, and compares
them to foxes.
360
Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto XIV.
nce
Discesa poi per più pelaghi cupi,
Trova le volpi sì piene de froda*
Che non temono ingegno che le occupi.
Descending after this through many a dark gorge,
it finds the foxes (the Pisans) so full of fraud, that
they have no fear that any cunning can ever master
theirs.
Guido goes on to foretell the renewed disturbances
* In Inf. XXVII, 75, Guido da Montefeltro, Captain of Pisa,
says :-
.. L' opere mie
Non furon leonine, ma di volpe.
Dante always expresses the greatest abhorrence for Pisa. In
Inf. XXXIII, 80 :
Ahi ! Pisa vituperio delle genti
Del Bel paese dove il sì suona, &c.
Che le occupi.—One sense of occupare is superare, vincere to
master.
sense
Pisa was conspicuous for the craftiness of its citizens in the
time of Dante. Benvenuto, however, speaks of it in his time as
having already had its power destroyed, and, ancient city
though it was, it would seem to have run its full course. He
alludes to its prosperity in 1282, its distinguished leaders, its
great possessions and dependencies. Sardinia, Corsica, and
Elba were under its sway, on the sea its war galleys and
merchant ships had had supremacy up to that time, but from
the time that they were defeated by the Genoese in the naval
action at Meloria, its power was annihilated, nor had the Pisans
ever an opportunity of again holding up their heads.
In Inf. XV, 67, the Florentines are spoken of as 'blind, in
allusion to a perfectly erroneous story of their having been taken
in by the Pisans, who covered with red cloth and sold to them
as new, two porphyry columns that had been injured by fire.
Brunetto Latini says :-.
Vecchia fama nel mondo li chiama orbi ;
Gente avara, invidiosa e superba :
Da' lor costumi fa che tu ti forbi.


Canto xiv. Readings on the Purgatorio. 361
that would shortly take place at Florence, and, as it
were, apologizes to Rinieri for speaking of the evil
deeds of the latter's descendants, on the ground that
Dante forewarned will be forearmed.
55
Nè lascerò di dir perch' altri m' oda :
E buon sarà a costui, se ancor s' ammenta
Di ciò, che vero spirto mi disnoda.
Nor will I cease to speak because another person
can hear me: and it will be well for that man if here-
after he recall to mind that which the Spirit of Truth
reveals to me. What he would say is, I must not
forbear to speak the prediction that I have to utter
against thy grandson, Fulcieri da Calboli, because
Dante, who is himself a Tuscan, is listening to our
conversation, and I wish that he too should mark my
words, so that he, Dante, may by my warning be fore-
armed and know of his approaching banishment.
Io veggio tuo nipote, che diventa
Del fiero fiume, e tutti gli sgomenta.
60
those wolves (the people of Florence), on the bank of
that ferocious river (the Arno), and terrifies them all.
Fraticelli explains fiero fiume as meaning that the
banks of the Arno weré inhabited by men that were
almost fiere, wild beasts, in their bestial nature.
Messer Fulcieri da Calboli of Forlì was grandson
of Rinieri, and was called in as Podestà of Florence
in 1302. Being bribed by the Neri, he seized the
persons of the chief of the Bianchi and the Ghibel-
lines and, having put them to the torture, had
them beheaded. On the Bianchi generally, he in-
362
Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto XIV.
flicted severe penalties ; torture, death, confiscation of
goods, and exile.*
Vende la carne loro, essendo viva ;
Poscia gli ancide come antica belva :
Molti di vita, e sè di pregio priva.
He sells their flesh while it is yet alive; after which
he slaughters them like worn out oxen; he despoils
many of life, and deprives himself of what is worth
more, viz. : an honourable name. The word vende
implies that his ferocity had the additional baseness
of cupidity, which, it seems, was the case, as he was
bribed by one of the agents of Charles de Valois.
Sanguinoso esce della trista selva ;
Lasciala tal, che di qui a mill' anni
Nello stato primaio non si rinselva.”--
Bloody he issues from the ill-fated wood (Florence);
he leaves it in such a plight, that not in a thousand
years from now can it be reforested in its primeval
state."
Benvenuto says this means that it cannot ever be
restocked with those same wolves, many of whom
have been banished, and many slain.

* In the Le Monnier edition of Dino Compagni e la sua
Cronicu par Isidoro del Lungo, Vol. II, Book II, page 239, there
is a graphic account of the cruel treatment of Messer Donato
Alberti by Fulcieri da Calboli, after being taken prisoner at
Borgo San Lorenzo. He was placed on an ass, with the smock
frock of a countryman on his back, and thus brought to Florence
and before the ferocious Podestà, who, after enquiring whether
he was Donato Alberti, had him put to the torture of the cord
and, leaving him in that agonizing and humiliating position,
caused all the windows and doors of the palace to be opened,
and then gave audience to many of the citizens, right under the
beam from which his victim was hanging by the wrists, so that all
might see the treatment and the derision to which he put him.
Canto xiv. Readings on the Purgatorio. 363

Rinieri da Calboli is much distressed at the pre-
diction of Guido del Duca with reference to the
inhumanity of his grandson Fulcieri when Podestà of
Florence, and shows it in the pained expression of his
countenance.
Come all'annunzio de' dogliosi danni
Si turba il viso di colui che ascolta,
Da qualche parte il periglio lo assanni ;
Così vid' io l' altr' anima, che volta
70
Poi ch' ebbe la parola a sè raccolta.
As, at the announcement of impending evils, the
face of him who listens is disturbed, no matter from
what side the danger may assault him; thus did I see
the other spirit (Rinieri), who had turned to listen,
grow perturbed and distressed, as soon as he had
gathered the words.
Benvenuto says that the facts here predicted, were
in reality'accomplished facts when Dante wrote them,
regard to the supposed date of his vision,
Division III. This is the Third Division, in which
Dante supposes himself now for the first time to hear
the names of Guido del Duca and Rinieri da Calboli,
of which, up to this time he has been ignorant.
Guido del Duca, after giving him this information,
goes on to speak of Romagna, and the great changes
that have taken place there.*
Dante begins by saying that he had been so struck
* It is worth while here to notice the contrast between the
knowledge that these spirits have of the actual condition of the
364 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto XIV.
by the conversation of the two spirits, their language
about Tuscany, and the prophetic words about himself,
that he felt a desire to know something more about
them.
Lo dir dell' una, e dell' altra la vista
Mi fe voglioso di saper lor nomi,
E dimanda ne fei con prieghi mista.
75
The words of the one (Guido), and the expression
of the other (Rinieri), made me desirous of learning
their names, and I not only requested, but I entreated
them to tell me.
Guido del Duca answers : *
Romagna, and the total ignorance which Guido da Montefeltro
manifests in Hell, when he says (Inf. XXVII, 28):
Dimmi se i Romagnoli han pace o guerra :
Ch' io fui de monti là intra Urbino
E’l giogo, di che Tever si disserra.
In Inf. X, 94, Dante asks Farinata degli Uberti how it is that
those in Hell are able to foresee coming events, but are ignorant
of the present. Farinata tells him that his supposition is
correct that they can only see things far off, but that when they
draw near or actually are taking place, they are hid from the
dwellers in Hell.
Noi veggiam, come quei c'ha mala luce,
Le cose, disse, che ne son lontano;
Cotanto ancor ne splende 'l sommo Duce.
Quando s' appressano, o son, tutto è vano
Nostro intelletto, e s' altri nol ci apporta,
Nulla sapem di vostro stato umano."
—Inf. X, 100-105.
* Compare the above passage with the beautiful lines in
Par. III, 34, in which Dante asks his kinswoman Piccarda de'
Donati to tell him her own name and the condition of herself
and of the spirits who are with her.
Ed io all' ombra che parea più vaga
Di ragionar, drizzaimi, e parlai
Quasi com'uom cui troppa voglia smaga :

Canto XIV. Readings on the Purgatorio.
365
Per che lo spirto, che di pria parlòmi,
Ricominciò :-“Tu vuoi ch' io mi deduca
Nel fare a te ciò, che tu far non vuômi ;
Ma da che Dio in te vuol che traluca
Tanta sua grazia, non ti sarò scarso : 1 .80
Però sappi ch' io son Guido del Duca.
Whereupon the spirit that had first spoken to me,
recommenced (for he had finished his long discourse):
“Thou wouldst have me condescend to do that for
thee, which thou wilt not do for me (that is, to tell
thee my name); but, as God wills that so large a
measure of His Grace should shine forth in thee, I will
not be niggardly in telling thee: know then that I
am Guido del Duca.*
Beyond the fact that Guido del Duca came from
Bertinoro, near Forlì, nothing is known of him except
what he records of himself in this passage. He now
tells for what he is being punished.
Fu il sangue mio d' invidia sì riarso,
Che se veduto avessi uom farsi lieto,
Visto m'avresti di livore sparso.

O ben creato spirito, che ai rai
Di vita eterna la dolcezza senti
Che non gustata non s'intende mai,
Grazioso mi fia, se mi contenti
Del nome tuo, e della vostra sorte :
* Here again we have a marked resemblance to the passage
in which Dante asks Guido da Montefeltro to tell him his name,
just after the magnificent lines in which he has described to him
the pitiable condition of the Romagna, oppressed by tyrants,
and torn by factions.
Ora chi se ti prego che ne conte :
Non esser duro più ch' altri sia stato ;
Se 'l nome tuo nel mondo tegna fronte.
|--Inf. XXVII, 55-7.
366
Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto xiv.
Di mia semenza cotal paglia mieto.
85
O gente umana, perchè poni il core
Là 'v'è mestier di consorto divieto.*
My blood was so consumed by the fire of envy that,
had I even seen a man rejoice, thou wouldst have
seen me turn green with jealousy (lit. overspread with
a green hue). As I sowed, so have I to reap (lit. I
reap the straw corresponding to the seed I sow). ()
human race! why do ye set your hearts on things,
wherein there must be an interdict of partnership ?
It was a favourite theory of Dante that, as earthly
possessions could not belong to everyone, and the not
having them being consequently a cause of envy, man
ought to set his desires on spiritual possessions.t

* Compare Purg. XV, 43, where Dante, referring to the
words of Guido del Duca, asks Virgil what they mean,
E drizza' mi a lui sì dimandando :
—“Che volle dir lo spirto di Romagna,
E ‘divieto' e 'consorto' menzionando?"-
To which Virgil answers, v. 49 :
Perchè s'appuntan li vostri desiri
Dove per compagnia parte si scema,
Invidia S muove il mantacol a' sospiri.
plies the bellows S
† Compare also Par. III, the whole of the beautiful passage
from 70 to 87, in which Piccarda de' Donati tells Dante that,
even in spiritual possessions, one must not be envious of those
who are more blest than ourselves.
Se disiassimo esser più superne,
Fôran discordi gli nostri disiri
Dal voler di Colui che qui ne cerne;
Anzi è formale ad esto beato esse
Tenersi dentro alla divina voglia,
Perch' una fansi nostre voglie stesse.
Canto xiv. Readings on the Purgatorio. 367
Guido now tells Dante the name of his companion.
Questi è Rinier ; quesť è il pregio e l'onore
Dalla casa da Calboli, ove nullo
Fatto s'è reda poi del suo valore..
90
This is Rinieri ; this is the boast and honour of the
house of Calboli, where no one has since made him-
self an inheritor of his worth.
In the lines that follow, and to the end of Division
III, Dante makes Guido deplore the general deterio-
ration of the nobility of the Romagna, while he com-
mends, in favourable comparison with their present
degenerate descendants, many distinguished and vir-
tuous men, with whom, in days not long past, the
province abounded, whereas now virtue is extinct
there.
E non pur lo suo sangue è fatto brullo
Tra il Po e il monte, e la marina e il Reno
Del ben richiesto al vero ed al trastullo;
Chè dentro a questi termini è ripieno
Di venenosi sterpi, sì che tardi
95
Per coltivare omai verrebber meno.
And his is not the only family that is left denuded
of all the advantages requisite for enjoying the truth,
as well as the ornaments of love and courtesy, in that
country (the Romagna), that lies between the Po and
the Apennines, the sea and the Reno. For the whole
region within these boundaries is full of roots so
venomous, that tardily indeed would they diminish
by cultivation.
Benvenuto explains this to mean that Romagna
is full of pestilent tyrants, great and small, who
are always at wars and feuds with one another, and
that just as bad weeds, when extirpated by the plough,
swarm up again like the heads of the Hydra, so, in the

368 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto XIV.
Romagna, no amount of good government and legis-
lation would suffice to root out the flagrant abuses
that prevail there.*
Dante now makes Guido run briefly over the names
of a few of the most illustrious persons in the different
parts of the Romagna, considering that the chief glory
of a country is the virtue of its inhabitants. Guido
begins by the town of Brettinoro, nearly in the centre
of the Romagna, and speaks of two of the nobles there
as worthy of fame.
Ov' è il buon Lizio, ed Arrigo Manardi,t
Pier Traversaro, e Guido di Carpigna ?
O Romagnoli tornati in bastardi !

* Dante says to Guido da Montefeltro :
Romagna tua non è, e non fu mai
Sanza guerra ne' cuor dei suoi tiranni.
-Inf. XXVII, 37.
+ Lizio, of Valbona, was Lord of Ravenna, and a citizen of
Forlì. He was conspicuous for large-hearted courtesy and
hospitality. On one occasion (according to the Ottimo and
Boccaccio), in order to give a dinner at Forlì, he sold half of his
silken bed quilt for sixty florins. Benvenuto applies this story
of Guido di Carpigna.
Arrigo Manardi was a gentleman of Brettinoro, noted for his
courtesy and honour. He was fond of entertaining guests,
made presents of robes and houses, loved honourable men, and
all his life was devoted to largesse and good living. The mar-
riage of Riccardo Manardi with the daughter of Lizio is the
subject of one of the tales in the Decameron of Boccaccio.
Both Pietro, Dante and Benvenuto tell that, when Lizio was
informed of the death of his dissipated son, he replied : “ It is
no news to me, he never was alive."
Pier Traversaro is described by the Ottimo as, “A man of
most gentle blood of Ravenna."
Benvenuto says that he gave his daughter in marriage to
Stephen, King of Hungary; he flourished in the time of

Canto xiv. Readings on the Purgatorio. 369
Where is the good Lizio, and Arrigo Manardi, Pier
Traversaro, and Guido di Carpigna? O ye Romag-
noles turned into bastards !*
Dean Plumptre says : “ The contrast between the
good old times of Romagna and its later degeneracy
presents a parallel to the like contrast between the
past and present of Florence, as painted by Caccia-
guida (Par. XV and XVI). Both bring out what one
may call the archæological element of Dante's mind,
the love of the old world stories, which were fused by
his genius into materials for his poem. To us these
names are like old world coins, on which we can
scarcely trace the image and superscription. To him
they were, as the Border legends were to Scott, full of
life, associated with memories of romantic scenes, and
stories which he had heard from the lips of eye
witnesses."
Guido next mentions two virtuous Romagnoles, one
of Bologna, the other of Faenza.
Quando in Bologna un Fabbro si ralligna?+
Quando in Faenza un Bernardin di Fosco,
Verga gentil di picciola gramigna?

ΙΟΟ
Frederick II, and actually dared to desert his party. After his
death, Frederick besieged and took Ravenna.
Guido di Carpigna was of Montefeltro. “He dwelt most of
his time at Brettinoro, and surpassed all others in generosity, he
loved for the sake of loving, and lived handsomely." (Ottimo.)
* Romagnoli tornati in bastardi. Benvenuto remarks that
this is much too courteous an expression ! and that Guido ought
to have said : “turned into abortions,” in fact into mules, having
changed their very species.
† Some think Fabbro ought to be fabbro, and that he was an
artisan, but Benvenuto gives the interpretation that I have
followed. He says that Fabbro de' Lambertazzi was a noble
BB
370
Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto XIV.
When will another Fabbro be born in Bologna, or
another Bernardin di Fosco in Faenza,* a noble scion
of a humble stock?
Benvenuto, commenting on verga gentil di picciola
gramigna, says that gold is found in the dirtiest-
looking ore, and the rose among the thorns.
Dean Plumptre observes: “The stress which Dante
· lays on the goodness of men of low estate falls in
with the whole tone of Canz. XVI, and Conv. IV,
which is based on it, as to the nature of true nobility.
His Ghibellinism assumed an ideal emperor, an ideal
aristocracy, and he had broken loose from the baser
feudalism which postulated a hereditary noblesse."
The Canzone gives the first utterance in point of
time, then comes the prose expansion in the Convito;
then the historical induction, which we have here.
Guido now addresses his speech to Dante personally,

man
and distinguished soldier, a wise man and prudent in counsel.
6 Nor are you,” says Benvenuto, “to understand this man to be
the same as a certain Fabro, a tribune of the people who was
murdered at Bologna.”
* The ancient name of Faenza was Forum Favii. Frederick II
took it, after he had taken Ravenna.
Benvenuto relates that in those days, while Faenza was in
great prosperity under the pastors of the church, it was captured
by treason by some English mercenaries, in the pay of the
Church (ab anglicis stipendiariis ecclesiæ); the citizens were all
turned out, no blood was shed, but the city was sacked and held in
the hands of the barbarian robbers for about the space of one year.
Bernardin di Fosco. The Ottimo says of him that he was the
son of a farmer, of humble occupation, that he became so
excellent by his good works, that he was an honour to Faenza;
that he was spoken of with much praise, and that the heads of
the oldest and greatest families were not ashamed to visit him,
to see his magnificence, and to hear his pleasant jests. ·
Canto XIV. Readings on the Purgatorio. 371
and names two other Romagnoles, who lived in the
neighbourhood of the Florentine territory.
Non ti maravigliar s'io piango, Tosco,
Quando rimembro con Guido da Prata*
Ugolin d' Azzo, che vivette nosco;t
105
Federigo Tignoso e sua brigata, I
La casa Traversara, e gli Anastagi
(E l' una gente e l' altra è diretata),
Le donne e i cavalier, gli affanni e gli agi,
Che ne invogliava amore e cortesia, ΙΙο
Là dove i cuor' son fatti sì malvagi.
Marvel not, Tuscan, if I weep, when I remember
such men as Guido da Prata and Ugolin d' Azzo, who
lived with us; Federigo Tignoso and his friends, the
house of the Traversari, and the Anastagi (there are

-
* Guido da Prata is described by Benvenuto as a most worthy
and upright man, of the village of Prata in the Apennines, and
who lived on terms of friendship with the person next mentioned.
Ugolin d' Azzo is mentioned by Benvenuto as a noble and
courteous gentleman of the Ubaldini, who were a most illustrious
family having possessions on both sides of the Apennines.
† Nosco=nobiscum, with us.
I Federigo Tignoso. Another rich Romagnole noble of Rimini,
whose house was the home of liberality, and closed to no honest
man. He joyfully conversed with all good and true men ; and
that is why Dante mentions the circle of friends and followers
that he gathered round him as worthy of all praise. Benvenuto
tells us he has heard that Tignoso had a most beautiful head of
yellow hair.
La casa Traversara. Benvenuto says that Dante was not
satisfied with naming Pier Traversaro at v. 98, but he now
speaks of his family, who were all most renowned and illustrious.
Gli Anastagi. Another noble family of Ravenna of great in-
fluence, who gave their name to the Porta Anastasia. One of
them, Messer Guido degli Anastasi, died of love for a noble lady
of great beauty, whose affections he was unable to gain.
BB 2
372 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto Xiv.
no heirs surviving to either of these houses); the
ladies and the knights, the alternate toils and luxu-
ries, which roused in our souls both love and courtesy,
there (in Romagna), where now all hearts have be-
come so wicked.*
Benvenuto wishes us to note that Guido del Duca
is only represented as mentioning a few men of noble
birth who were living in his time. As a soldier he
had nothing to do with historical or antiquarian re-
search. But Ravenna had, in previous times, pro-
duced more illustrious men, such as San Petro Da-
miano, Par. XXI, 121, and San Romualdo de' Hones-
tis, Par. XXII, 49. Benvenuto gives a very long ac-
count of Ravenna. He mentions how St. Peter sent

* Scartazzini says that verses 109-111 express the true spirit
of the poetic age of chivalry.
Cary thinks that “agi” does not mean “the ease procured
for others by the exertions of knight-errantry," but rather the
alternation of ease with labour. Scartazzini says the opening of
the Orlando Furioso-
Le donne, i cavalier, l' arme, gli amori.
Le cortesie, l' audaci imprese in canto, &c.
originated in this passage.
Cortesia. In Convito, Dante says : “ Courtesy and honour
are all one; and because anciently virtue and good manners were
usual in courts, as the contrary now is, this term was derived from
thence ; courtesy was as much as to say, custom of courts; which
word, if it were now taken from courts, especially from those of
Italy, would be no other than turpitude, turpezza.” Compare
Milton in Comus :
... 66 ... Courtesy,
Which oft is sooner found in lowly sheds,
With smoky rafters, than in tapestry halls
And courts of princes, where it first was named,
And yet is most pretended."
US
Canto XIV. Readings on the Purgatorio. 3713
Sant' Apollinare to Ravenna to sow the seed of the
Faith, and relates how the vast port got gradually
filled up. In the book of the Chronicles of Ravenna,
qui dicitur pontificalis,' the city is said to have been
founded by the great-grandsons of Noah, 2499 B.C.,
but he does not believe it, for no authors that he has
seen can be authentic, who profess to write about
events of such remote antiquity. According to Pliny,
Ravenna was a colony of the Sabines, who, coming
by sea, founded the city. No wonder then, observes
Benvenuto, that our noble poet should have elected
to live and die in a noble city, where he lies in the
Church of the Frati Minori, in a sarcophagus of great
size and importance. [We must remember that this
was the case in the time of Benvenuto, and that it
was only in the fifteenth century that Bernardo Bembo,
the Venetian Ambassador, erected to him the monu-
ment which is now to be seen]. And certainly, adds
Benvenuto, Dante lies more worthily in ground mois-
tened with the blood of martyrs, and where he was
honoured during his life-time, than in that malevolent
and ungrateful land, whence he was sent forth an
exile, while, as he says himself, he was living worthily
and honourably.
And now Guido, having referred to his country in
general, and having deplored the fact that the hearts
of all in the Romagna are changed from love to
hate, and from liberality to cupidity, now addresses
himself to Bertinoro, his own place of origin.
O Brettinoro, chè non fuggi via,
Poichè gita se n'è la tua famiglia,
E molta gente per non esser ria ?
O Brettinoro, why dost thou not flee away, so as

374 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto xiv.
not to become polluted with guilt, seeing that thy
family (Guido is speaking of his own race) and many
of thy inhabitants, have passed away ?*
Ben fa Bagnacaval, che non rifiglia,
115
E mal fa Castrocaro, e peggio Conio,
Che di figliar tai Conti più s' impiglia :
Bagnacavallo does well in not begetting more sons,
Castrocaro does ill, and Conio still worse, which con-
tinue to take trouble to produce such counts.
Guido next commends another noble family of
Romagna, the Pagani, whose territories, which were in
the mountains above Imola, were called Podere Pagan-
orum. The most distinguished member of it was
Maghinardo, noble in nature, handsome in person,

* Benvenuto begs his readers to note whether or no there was
great nobility of mind among the former inhabitants of Bret-
tinoro, for in the time of this same Guido del Duca, when any
noble and honourable person "applicabat ad terram' came to
that place, there was a great contention among the nobles of
Brettinoro as to whose guest he should be. Thereupon, by
mutual agreement, a stone column was erected in the plain below
with as many rings as there were heads of families in Brettinoro,
and any stranger on arriving was to be the guest of him to whose
ring he had attached his bridle.
Brettinoro, now Bertinoro, is a small town with a castle on
a hill, between Forlì and Cesena. Bagnacavallo, Castrocaro
and Conio are three castellated towns, all belonging to families
that had been liberal and virtuous. Bagnacavallo is between
Imola, Ravenna and Faenza; Castrocaro above Forlì in Val
Montone; Conio near Imola. The lords of Bagnacavallo,
before their recent extinction, had greatly degenerated. Castro-
caro had belonged to some Ghibelline Counts, who were suc-
ceeded by the Ordelaffi of Forlì. Dante looked on the owners
of Castrocaro and Conio as unworthy representatives of the Ghi-
belline cause, and says it would be well if they would die out
like those of Bagnacavallo.
Canto XIV. Readings on the Purgatorio. 375
powerful in limb, valiant in arms, brave as a lion,
which device, says Benvenuto, he bore on his shield.
He ruled over Faenza and Imola.
Ben faranno i Pagan, dacchè il Demonio
Lor sen girà ; ma non però che puro
Giammai rimanga d' essi testimonio.
120
The Pagani will do well, when their demon (Main-
ardo Pagani) shall have taken himself away ; but
not so much so, after all, that a pure reputation can
ever remain to them.
The sons of Mainardo Pagani will govern well after
his death, but not so much so that they can ever be
free from the reproach that their father has left on the
family, for he has bequeathed a reputation so bad
that the Pagani will always suffer in name from
that cause.*
Guido, in conclusion, congratulates the spirit of
* Benvenuto notes that the word Demonio comes from
daluwv, and is to be interpreted as learned ; that there are
good Demons and bad Demons. Mainardo was exceedingly
able and cunning, as were most of the Romagnoles, and that is
why Dante places them among the fraudulent and crafty in
Inf. XXVII. As the Romagna has some angelic minds, so also
has it some diabolical. Mainardo had been brought up by the
Ghibellines in Florence, to which party he also belonged by
descent, but he was constantly changing sides, as Dante tells
Guido da Montefeltro in Inf. XXVII, 49, but Benvenuto denies

Le città di Lamone (Faenza), e đi Santerno (Imola)
Conduce il leoncel dal nido bianco
Che muta parte dalla state al verno.
The Pagani were lords of Faenza and Imola, and their arms
were a lion's cub azure on a field argent. Mainardo died
in 1302. It was as being at the same time cruel, implacable,
plausible and false that Dante branded Mainardo with the
376 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto XIV.
Ugolino de' Fantoli, on not having left behind him
any sons, who by degenerating can tarnish his good
name.
O Ugolin de’ Fantolin, sicuro
E il nome tuo, da che più non s' aspetta
Chi far lo possa tralignando oscuro.

O Ugolin de' Fantoli, thy good name is secure, since
none are to be expected, who can dim its lustre.
Ugolino de' Fantoli of Faenza had been a loyal
adherent of Manfred. He died without issue in 1282.
Benvenuto wishes his readers to notice that Dante,
himself noble, has placed two nobles of Faenza in the
ice in Hell (Ganellone and Tribaldello, Inf. XXXII,
122), while here he redeems the good name of that
city by giving the names of two distinguished ple-
beians that belonged to it. Benvenuto says that Dante
has honoured no province so much as Romagna, for
in this Canto, while describing Tuscany, and Florence,
his own birthplace, he names no individual person.
Again, when he speaks of Lombardy in Canto XVI,
he only makes three exceptions to this rule. Benve-
nuto adds that he has never met an ancient author
who specially casts a slur on the Romagna. On the
contrary, it used to be called Flaminia, from the
number of Flamens, or priests, that lived in it. “But
why should I add more? when Rimini is the only
place in Romagna that has not fallen into decadence ?"
Guido ends his long digression by dismissing Dante
with the words :
Ma va via Tosco, omai, ch' or mi diletta
Troppo di pianger più che di parlare,
Sì m'ha nostra ragion la mente stretta."-
But now go thy way, Tuscan, for now but too much
125
Canto XIV. Readings on the Purgatorio. 377
shall I prefer to weep than to speak; so greatly has
our conversation constrained my mind with grief.
Division IV. This is the Fourth and concluding
Division of the Canto, in which Dante, after his long
digression, speaks of the principal curb to envy, which
Virgil, in Canto XIII, 40-42,* told him would be, in
all probability, imparted to him, before he reached the
stairway at the end of the Cornice.
He first relates how he and Virgil departed from the
spot where they had been standing while conversing
with Guido del Duca and Rinieri da Calboli.
Noi sapevam che quell' anime care
Ci sentivano andar: però tacendo
Facevan noi del cammin confidare.
We knew that those kind souls could hear our de-
parting footsteps; therefore their silence gave us con-
fidence that we were following the right path.
Poi fummo fatti soli procedendo,
130
Folgore parve, quando l' aer fende,
Voce che giunse di contra, dicendo :
Anciderammi qualunque m' apprende ;
E fuggio, come tuon che si dilegua,
Se subito la nuvola scoscende.
135
So soon as by passing on we found ourselves alone,
a voice coming towards us seemed like thunder as it
rolls away ; saying:
“Every one that findeth me shall slay me;"

* Lo fren vuol esser del contrario suono;
Credo che l' udirai, per mio avviso,
Prima che giunghi all passo del perdono.

378
Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto XIV.
and the voice passed on like the reverberation of
thunder, when the storm cloud is suddenly rent.
These were the words spoken by Cain (Gen.
IV, 14).
Benvenuto points out that Dante has, in introducing
this allegorical picture, wished to express that the
man who desires effectually to curb envy, should bear
in mind the effects of the first envy that ever existed
on earth. For the first man born on earth, solely by
that diabolical hatred, which the wicked bear to the
good (as St. Augustine says), slew his brother, Abel,
who was just and innocent. Dante lets us imagine
Cain's voice resounding in his ears.*
Dante now tells us of another voice that he heard,
teaching that envy has the effect of turning man's
heart into stone.
This is the second curb against Envy.
As in the Holy Scripture the brother is seen envying
the brother, so, in this story, does the sister envy the
Cecrops, King of Athens, whose other daughters were
Pandrace and Aglauros. The latter, bribed by
Mercury with a whole heap of gold, consented to
procure him an interview with Herses, but when he
came, she, being seized with a fit of jealousy, refused
* As Cain was in Hell in the Caina, this voice must have
been a supernatural utterance.
Benvenuto relates the story of Cain and Abel in very concise
language, in which he makes Cain say to God that he would be
slain by all the wild beasts (se occidendum ab omnibus feris):
and yet that he was afterwards slain in the woods by an arrow
shot by one of his grandsons.
Canto XIV. Readings on the Purgatorio. 379
to admit him, and the god, in anger, turned her into
stone.*
Come da lei l'udir nostro ebbe tregua
Ed ecco l' altra con sì gran fracasso,
Che somigliò tuonar che tosto segua :
Io sono Aglauro, che divenni sasso.
Ed allor per istringermi al Poeta,
140
Indietro feci e non innanzi il passo.
As soon as our ears had respite (from hearing the
voice), behold another one resounded in the air with
such an awful crash, that it seemed a clap of thunder
following close upon the first, “I am Aglauros, who
was turned into stone." And on this, I, to press
closer up to the Poet (Virgil), took a step backwards
instead of forwards.t

* The story of Aglauros is related by Ovid, Met. I. Addison's
Translation.
“Then keep thy seat for ever, cries the god,
And touched the door, wide opening to his rod.
Fain would she rise and stop him, but she found
Her trunk too heavy to forsake the ground ;
Her joints are all benumbed, her hands are pale,
And marble now appears in every nail.
As when a cancer in the body feeds,
And gradual death from limb to limb proceeds,
So does the chilliness each vital part
Spread by degrees, and creeps into her heart;
Till hardening everywhere and speechless grown,
She sits unmoved and freezes into stone.
But still her envious hue and sullen mien
Are in the sedentary figure seen.
+ Francesco da Buti explains that Dante, in an allegorical
sense withdrew his own will, in order to submit it to reason,
represented by Virgil, and thus avoid falling into error and sin.
For he that is in a state of penitence for fear of a sin, practises

380 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto XIV.
Dante now shows how Virgil interprets the effect
of these voices.
Già era l'aura d' ogni parte queta,
Ed ei mi disse :-“Quel fu il duro camo,*
Che dovria l' uom tener dentro 'a sua meta.
Ma voi prendete l' esca, sì che l'amo
145
Dell'antico avversario a sè vi tira ;
E però poco val freno o richiamo.*
And now the air was quiet all around; and he
(Virgil) said to me :-“That was the hard bit, that
ought to keep a man within the proper bounds. But
you mortals take in the bait, so that the hook of the
ancient adversary (the Devil) drags you towards him,
and therefore, but little will the curb or the call avail.”
Benvenuto says that the Devil was first envious
against God, for which cause he fell, and secondly
against man, whom he drew into his own destruction.
And now Virgil concludes in beautiful language,
showing that neither fear of punishment, nor hope of
glory, can move us. Benvenuto thinks the noble
so much abstinence, that, did he not draw near to reason which
regulates the will, he would exceed the bounds of moderation,
and run into the opposite extreme.
* Camo comes from the Greek word xáuos, which was the
muzzle put upon a led horse to keep it from biting. In the
Psalms the words in the Authorized Version :
“Whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle,”
in the Vulgate are :
“In camo, et freno maxillas eorum constringe."
+ Richiamo is the call, which the falconer uses for the falcon
when on the wing, and here means, the incitements to virtue.
Compare Purg. XIII, 38-39.
.... e però sono
Tratte da amor le corde della ferza.
Canto xiv. Readings on the Purgatorio.
381
phrase which Virgil enunciates, should be written in
letters of gold.
Chiámavi il cielo, e intorno vi si gira,
Mostrandovi le sue bellezze eterne,
E l'occhio vostro pure a terra mira ;
150
Onde vi batte chi tutto discerne.”—
The Heavens are calling you and, wheeling around
you, display to your gaze their eternal beauties, and
yet your eye is fixed upon the earth; and for this
cause, He, the All-Seeing One, smites you.*
* Compare Col. III, 2 : “Set your affection on things above,
not on things on the earth.”
Ovid, Met. I, 84, Dryden's Translation :
Thus, while the mute creation downward bend
Their sight, and to their earthly mother tend,
Man looks aloft ; and with erected eyes
Beholds his own hereditary skies.
Beaumont and Fletcher, The Laws of Candy, IV, 1:
Seldom despairing men look up to heaven,
Although it still speak to 'em in its glories ;
For, when sad thoughts perplex the mind of man
There is a plummet in the heart that weighs,
And pulls us, living, to the dust we came from.

END OF CANTO XIV.
382
Canto xv.
Readings on the Purgatorio.
CANTO XV.

ASCENT TO THE THIRD CORNICE.
THE ANGRY.
As in the two preceding Cantos we have seen Dante
and Virgil walking through the Second Cornice, in
which Envy has to be atoned for and purified, we now
accompany them to the Third Cornice, where Anger
is punished.
Benvenuto divides the Canto into four parts.
In the First Division, from v. I to v. 39, Dante
describes the appearance of an Angel, who purges him
from the sin of Envy, and directs him and Virgil to the
Cornice of Anger.
In the Second Division, from v. 40 to v. 81, he
confides to Virgil that he had not understood the words
“Divieto consorto,” mentioned at v. 87 of the preced-
ing Canto.
In the Third Division, from v. 82 to v. 114, he de-
scribes a Vision that he saw, by which he points the
moral to his readers to beware of Anger.
In the Fourth Division, from v. 115 to v. 145, he
relates how Virgil interpreted the Vision to him,
Division I. Dante begins by describing the appear-
ance of an Angel, but before doing so, he tells us what
time it was. Dr. Moore, in his admirable treatise,
Time-References in the Divina Commedia, calls this
rather an obscure passage. He says:
Canto XV. Readings on the Purgatorio. 383
“The first five lines express with a good deal of
circumlocution, that three hours of daylight remained
in Purgatory; in other words, that it was about 3 p.m.
Consequently it was “Vespero là ” that is, the fourth
of the divisions of the day, viz: from 3 to 6 p.m. in
Purgatory, and “ qui ”i. e. in Italy, from which Dante
is writing, it was midnight.”
Comparing a similar passage in Par. 1. 55,* Dr.
Moore says: “The context shows that “qui," means
here on earth, and “la” in the Earthly Paradise. So,
in the opening lines of this Canto, we have 3 p.m. indi-
cated as the hour at which they pass from the Cornice
of Envy to that of Anger. And here it will be well to
note again, that whereas, in the Inferno, Dante seems
purposely to avoid all reference to the sun, so that,
instead of speaking of the hour of sun-rising, he speaks
of moon-setting, in the Purgatorio, which, unlike the
Inferno and Paradiso, is supposed to have a definite
longitude, the references to the sun are very numerous
throughout the Cantica. In the Purgatorio, too, we
have far more indications of time to help us to follow
Dante's steps than in the Inferno. To begin with, he
was only twenty-five hours in Hell, while he was four
days in Purgatory. He was on Easter Day in Ante-
Purgatory. On Easter Monday and Easter Tuesday
in Purgatory proper. On Easter Wednesday in the
Earthly Paradise at the summit of Purgatory. The
references to time are very numerous and minute. .....
Some persons are very anxious to prove that these
astronomical references are not what is generally be-
lieved, from some demonstration of geometric accuracy
not allowing of this or that interpretation."
* Molto è licito là, che qui non lece.—Par. I, 55.


384 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto xv.
Quanto, tra l'ultimar dell' ora terza
E il principio del dì, par della spera,
Che sempre a guisa di fanciullo scherza :
Tanto pareva già invêr la sera
Essere al sol del suo corso rimaso;
Vespero là, e qui mezza notte era.
· As much as, between the close of the third hour and
the beginning of the day, there appears of that sphere
(i.e. the Heaven of the Sun in which was supposed to
be the Ecliptic), which like a child is ever in restless
motion,* so much there now appeared remaining to
the Sun of his course towards the fall of night; there
(in Purgatory) it was the vesper hour, here in Italy)
it was midnight.
Purgatory, 3 P.M.
Italy, midnight.
Jerusalem, 3 A.M.
Purgatory, 3 P.M.
Spain.
India,
→
→
→
>
-
1800
900
450
00
LONGITUDE.
900
1800
W.
* Benvenuto says that as a boy is small and weak from his
birth, and continues to grow and increase up to middle age, and
then declines as he tends gradually towards the end of his life,
so does the sun rise weak at first, continues to increase in
strength until it reaches the meridian, and then declines until it
sets at vesper time.
Canto xv. Readings on the Purgatorio. 385
It was the last of the four divisions of the day there
in Purgatory; viz. from 3 to 6 p.m., and midnight in
Italy, where Dante was writing
E i raggi ne ferían per mezzo il naso,
Perchè per noi girato era sì il monte,
Che già dritti andavamo invêr l' occaso ;
And the rays were striking me in the middle of the
nose (right into my eyes), because we had already gone
so far round the mountain that we were now walking
straight towards the West.
Dante was walking round and round the mountain
upon the successive Cornices, and ever going upwards,
so that at one time he had the sun at his back, and at
another right in his eyes. He now describes the approach
of an Angel, of whom he became aware by a radiance so
powerful that he could not bear it, but he first makes
particular mention of the glaring rays of the setting
sun. These, when they strike full into one's face hori-
zontally, are at all times difficult to endure. He
describes them as being a preparation for the far more
dazzling brilliancy caused by the angel.
Quand' io sentii a me gravar la fronte
IO
Allo splendore assai più che di prima,
E stupor m' eran le cose non conte :
When I felt that my forehead was being over-
powered by the radiance far more than at first, I mar-
velled, and the unknown things were to me a cause of
stupor.
Not having as yet seen the Angel, Dante was igno-
rant of the cause of this sudden increase of light. He
then did what any one would do who comes suddenly
out of the shade into the full glare of the summer sun;
he put up his hands to shade his eyes.
сс

386 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto xv.
15
Ond' io levai le mani invêr la cima
Delle mie ciglia, e fecimi il solecchio,
Che del soverchio visibile lima.
Whereupon I raised my hands towards the top of
my eyebrows; and formed for myself the sunshade,
(lit. parasol, umbrella) which tempers (lit. files down)
the superabundance of the object seen.*
Benvenuto remarks that Aristotle puts the ques-
tion: How is it, that when we put up our hand
towards the sun against the light, we can see better?
And he answers his own question by explaining
that the superabundance of light warded off prevents
the sight from being injured. Dante, knowing that
the rays were striking horizontally into his face, had
put his hands up to shelter his eyes from the sun,
but, to his great astonishment, he found himself
more dazzled than ever by a light coming up from
the ground, which far exceeded that of the rays of
the sun. It was the angel flying towards him that
produced this phenomenon, which, as he shows, was
caused by one of the first laws of optics, viz. that the

* Compare Exodus, XXIV, 17: “And the sight of the glory
of the Lord was like devouring fire on the top of the mount in
the eyes of the children of Israel."
And Exod. XXXIV, 29: “And it came to pass when Moses
came down from Mount Sinai ..... that Moses wist not that
the skin of his face shone while he talked with him (the Lord)."
And verse 30: “And when Aaron and all the children of
Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone; and they
were afraid to come nigh him."
And v. 33 : “And till Moses had done speaking with them,
he put a veil on his face."
On the allegorical application of this, see 2 Cor. III, from v. 7
to the end of the chapter.
Canto XV. Readings on the Purgatorio. 387
20
line of reflection is equal to the line of incidence. The
light of the angel fell on the ground and was reflected
up into Dante's eyes. Benvenuto thinks possibly that
the light of the angel was reflected in the sun, so far
less brilliant than the Angel.
Come quando dall' acqua o dallo specchio
Salta lo raggio all' opposita parte,
Salendo su per lo modo parecchio
A quel che scende, e tanto si diparte
Dal cader della pietra in egual tratta,
Sì come mostra esperïenza ed arte;
Così mi parve da luce, rifratta
Ivi dinanzi a me, esser percosso,
Per che a fuggir la mia vista fu ratta.
As when from water, or from a mirror, the ray is
reflected (lit. leaps up) in the opposite direction, and
ascends again in the similar way to that in which it
falls, and divides itself equally from the plummet line
(which by Albertus Magnus of Cologne was termed
the fall of the stone), at equal distance,* as we can
learn by experience and general laws, so I seemed to
be smitten by light reflected upwards from the ground
in front of me, and on that account my sight was
quick to fly (i. e. I shut my eyes immediately).
The inward eye can only bear to gaze on the glory
of heavenly things in proportion as it is purified from
sin.
Dean Plumptre writes : “The angels are represented
at every stage of the mount as rejoicing in the grow-

* Francesco da Buti explains that if the sun were in the east,
the ray reflected from the water would be towards the west ; if
the sun is in the south, the reflected ray would be towards the
north; and if the sun were perpendicularly above the water, the
ray would return perpendicularly up again.
CC 2

388 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto XV.
ing purity of the repentant souls, and meeting them
with words of welcome and encouragement. So there
is “joy in the presence of the angels of God over one
sinner that repenteth.'”
See Cantos XII. 88.—XVII. 67.—XIX. 46.—XXII.
1.—XXIV. 136.—XXVII. 55.-*
Dante turns with wonder to Virgil.
-“Che è quel, dolce Padre, a che non posso
Schermar lo viso, tanto che mi vaglia,
(Diss' io), e pare invêr noi esser mosso ?”—
“What light is this kind father, said I, from which I
cannot, in any effective manner, screen my eyes, and
which seems to be moving towards us?”
Benvenuto draws attention to the art with which
* Francesco da Buti begs us to notice that the Angels, whom
Dante introduces on each of the Cornices of Purgatory, are the
special graces sent by God to sinners, viz. : prevenient grace,
illuminating grace, cooperating grace and fervent grace, to draw
them out of sin. These graces our animal nature cannot com-
prehend, when seen from afar, except by personal effort and
control of oneself. And therefore he pictures himself warding
off the excess of light with his hand; because, if we were not
able to understand the greatness of the grace of God for any
other reason, we can take it in partly by personal effort, sym-
bolized by the hand; but the co-operating and fervent graces,
which follow the prevenient and illuminating graces, cannot be
comprehended and known, if the animal nature be not mastered
by reason : and therefore he represents that his sense of sight
hid itself, and that he then asked Virgil the question: What is
that which my sense of sight cannot take in ?
Compare also Purg. II, 37—
“Poi come più e più verso noi venne
L'Uccel divino, più chiaro appariva
Per che l' occhio da presso nol sostenne
Ma china 'l giuso."
Canto xv. Readings on the Purgatorio. 389
Dante has described this second angel as the symbol
of purgation, for as the sin of envy is more secret and
obscure, so must its purgation be all the more full and
open—and he makes Virgil's answer very clear.
-“Non ti maravigliar, se ancor ť abbaglia
La famiglia del cielo,”—a me rispose :
-“ Messo è, che viene ad invitar ch' uom saglia. 30
Tosto sarà che a veder queste cose
Non ti fia grave, ma fieti diletto,
Quanto natura a sentir ti dispose.”—
“Marvel not,” he answered me, “ if thou art still
blinded by the radiance of the family of heaven ; this
is a messenger sent to bid one ascend.*
[He then gives Dante good hope of strengthening
his weak vision within a short time, by adding :]

grievous unto thee to gaze upon such sights, but it
will become to thee as sweet a bliss as nature has
given thee the power to feel.”+
Benvenuto says that Virgil, in the last line, seems
hope to contemplate the angels in the same perfect
way that the souls of the Blessed can see them, for,
while he remains alive, he cannot have so much grace
and virtue.
Dante now tells how the angel purges him from
the sin of envy, and invites him to enter upon the
stairway leading up to the next Cornice.
* Compare Inf. IX, 85–
“Ben m' accorsi ch' egli era dal ciel messo,
E volsimi al Maestro ; e quei fe segno,
Ch' io stessi cheto, ed inchinassi ad esso.”
+ Compare Purg. II, 30—
“ Omai vedrai di sì fatti ufficiali.”

390
Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto xv.
Poi giunti fummo all' Angel benedetto,
Con lieta voce disse :-“Entrate quinci*
Ad un scaléo vie men che gli altri eretto.”—
As soon as we had come nigh unto the blessed
Angel, he said with joyful voice :--"Enter from here a
stairway considerably less steep than were the others.”
The Angel was not standing still, but was advancing
towards them.
Noi montavamo, già partiti linci,*
E Beati misericordes fue
Cantato retro, e, Godi tu che vinci.
We had already commenced the ascent having
taken our departure from thence, and suddenly we
heard sung behind us, “Blessed are the Merciful ;"
and “Rejoice thou that conquerest.”+
The voices were those of the spirits of the envious,
who, to show the sincerity of their repentance, sang
the words, “rejoice ye that have conquered the sin of
envy. We rejoice at your happiness, and we rejoice
without envying you.” The last words may be
quoted from an anthem of the Roman Commune
Sanctorum. Anyhow they are taken from Rev. II, 7:
* Quinci, from Latin illinc=di lì. Qui, lì, costè, when com-
bined with the syllable ci form the words quici, lici, costici,
which signifies abiding here or there, but when the letter n is
introduced, forming the words quinci, linci, costinci, the signifi-
cation is that of departure from a place.
+ Scartazzini says that these words were chanted by the
Angel, and that by them he was pointing to the practise of
one of the most exquisite acts of love, viz. compassion for the
misfortunes of others, an act that is directly opposed to envy.
Benvenuto thinks the words were chanted by the spirits
themselves.
Canto xv. Readings on the Purgatorio. 391
“To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the
tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of
God.”
SY
nel
On
Division II. Dante now tells how he asked Virgil
the meaning of the expression used by Guido
del Duca in the preceding Canto at v. 87: Divieto
consorto ;” and how Virgil explains it.
Lo mio maestro ed io soli ambedue
40
Suso andavamo ; ed io pensai, andando,
Prode* acquistar nelle parole sue ;
E dirizza' mi a lui sì dimandando :
—“ Che volle ir lo spirto di Romagna,
E divieto e consorto menzionando ?”—
My Master and I were ascending (the new stairway),
we two alone, and, as we went, I began to think
how to profit from his conversation.t
* Prode, from the Latin prodesse, utility, profit, advantage.
+ It may be noticed that on all the stairways of Purgatory
Dante draws Virgil into conversation likely to profit himself.
Compare Canto IV, 61-96, the conversation while ascending
the Antipurgatorio heights.
Canto XII, 115, when he finds that his forehead is disencum-
bered of the first P out of the seven.
Canto XVII, 55. The ascent from the Cornice of the Angry
to that of the Slothful.
Canto XIX, 52. The ascent from the Cornice of the Slothful
to that of the Avaricious.
Canto XXII, 19. Conversation between Virgil and Statius when
ascending to the Cornice where the sins of appetite are purged.
Canto XXV, in the first 100 lines, during the ascent to the
last Circle, conversation as to why spirits can appear starved and
famished, who are in no need of food.
And finally in XXVII, 120, Virgil's last exhortation to Dante
on their approaching the Terrestrial Paradise.


392 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto xv.
And I turned myself round to him, and thus asked :
“What did the spirit from Romagna (Guido del
Duca) mean, when he made use of the words inter-
dict (divieto) and partnership (consorto)?”
The passage referred to is in Canto XIV, 87:
Dov' é mestier di consorto divieto ?" Guido had said
“O race of men, why do ye set your affections on
earthly things in which there must of necessity be
'consorto divieto' interdict of partnership?” As earthly
goods cannot be held by all, envy is generated in
those who have them only in a moderate degree, or
not at all, whereas in spiritual matters, says Benve-
nuto, the contrary is the case.
Virgil, in his answer, explains to Dante that Guido
del Duca, in those words, wished to touch upon the
sin which had beset him, and therefore, out of love,
he implored the human race to avoid it.
Perch' egli a me :-“ Di sua maggior magagna*
Conosce il danno ; e però non s' ammiri
Se ne riprende, perchè men sen piagna.
Therefore, he to me: “He knows the penalty of his
greatest sin; and for that reason it must not be won-
dered at if he reproves thee, so that thou mayest
have less to weep for.
Benvenuto interprets the words “ Perchè men sen
piagna” differently. He says one might not give
way to the sin of envy, so as to avoid its unpleasant
consequences on one's-self. For envy carries its own
punishment with itself, without having given any
temporary gratification. In all other sins there is
some sort of enjoyment, however fleeting and tran-
* Magagna=vice, defect (Scartazzini).

Canto xv.
393
Readings on the Purgatorio.
instant it is felt. Virgil then shows how and whence
envy arises, by adding:
Perchè s'appuntan li vostri disiri,
Dove per compagnia parte si scema,
50
Invidia muove il mantaco a' sospiri.
For your aspirations are directed to worldly goods,
in which, from your being compelled to share them
with others, your portion is a diminished one, and
envy sets in motion the bellows that kindles your
sighs.*
And then he goes on to show Dante how the
very opposite is the case in spiritual things :
Ma se l' amor della spera suprema
Torcesse in suso il desiderio vostro,
Non vi sarebbe al petto quella tema.
your desires upwards, you would not have in your
breast that fear (of diminution of portion).
Chè per quanti si dice più lì nostro,
55
Tanto possiede più di ben ciascuno,
E più di caritate arde in quel chiostro.”—
Because the more persons there are by whom “Ours”
is said up there (in heaven), so much the more of good
does each in turn possess, and so much the more is
there of sacred love burning in that cloister. I”
The greater the number of the blessed in Heaven,
“Envy doth ply the bellows to your sighs."
+ Scartazzini explains “spera suprema” as the heavenly bene-
fits that are to be found in the Empyrean.
# Scartazzini quotes St. Augustine, De Civ. Dei, XV, 15,
“Nullo enim modo fit minor, accedente sed permanente con-

394
Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto xv.
the greater is the glory and bliss of the heavenly
mansions.
Virgil's answer does not satisfy Dante, and he asks
for further explanations.
--“Io son d'esser contento più digiuno,*
(Diss' io), che se mi fossi pria taciuto,
E più di dubbio nella mente aduno. - 60
“I am less satisfied (lit.: more fasting from being
satisfied), after thy answer (said I), than if I had been
silent from the first, and I gather more doubts into
my mind than I had before.
Com' esser puote che un ben distributo
I più posseditor faccia più ricchi
Di sè, che se da pochi è posseduto ?”—
How can it be that one good, distributed among
many recipients, can of itself render them more rich,
than if it were in the hands of only a few ?”—
Jacopo della Lana explains that Dante intends to
ask: How can it be that the glory of Paradise, if it
has many recipients, should not be doled out in smaller
shares than if the recipients were few in number?
IICCHI
sorte, possessio bonitatis; immo possessio bonitatis tanto fit
latior quanto concordior eam individua sociorum possidet
charitas. Non habebit denique istam possessionem qui eam
noluerit habere comunem et tanto eam reperit ampliorem,
quanto amplius ibi poterit amore consortem.”
* Compare Inf. XVIII, 42.
“Di già veder costui non son digiuno."
And Par. XV, 49, where Cacciaguida, Dante's great-great-
grandfather says to him-
“Grato e lontan digiuno * * *
*
*
*
*
*
Soluto hai figlio."
In the present passage the word “digiuno" must be com-
pared with ti disfama (satisfies thy craving) at v. 76.
Canto xv. Readings on the Purgatorio. 395
Benvenuto says : Supposing for example that I divide
my apple or my loaf into ten portions, am I not
thereby the poorer, and does not the apple or the loaf
undergo diminution?
Virgil tells Dante the reason of these doubts.
Ed egli a me :-“Però che tu rificchi
La mente pure alle cose terrene,
65
Di vera luce tenebre dispicchi.*
And he to me:-“Because thou wilt fix thy mind
only on earthly things, consequently, out of true
light thou gatherest darkness.
In beautiful simile, he goes on to show, that God
pours the light of His grace into the human mind,
just as the sun pours its rays into a looking-glass,
but more or less in proportion to the receptiveness
of the individual.
Quello infinito ed ineffabil bene
Che lassù è, così corre ad amore
Come a lucido corpo raggio viene.
That infinite and ineffable Good which is a
descends in haste to meet the souls that are filled
with Love, like the rays of the sun fall on a shining
body.t

* Compare Par. III, 25—
-“Non ti maravigliar, perch' io sorrida,”—
Mi disse—"appresso il tuo pueril coto
Poi sovra il vero ancor lo piè non fida,
Ma te rivolve, come suole, a vôto.
+ In Convito IV, 20, Dante says :-“Secondo la parola dell'
Apostolo : Ogni ottimo dato, e ogni dono perfetto di suso viene,
discendendo dal Padre de lumi.” Dice adunque che Iddio solo
porge questa grazia all' anima di quelli, cui vede stare perfetta-
mente nella sua persona acconcio (prepared) e disposto a questo

396
Tanto si dà quanto trova d' ardore :
70
Sì che quantunque carità si estende,
Cresce sovrà essa l' eterno valore.
So much does it give of earnest desire as it finds ;
so that in the same proportion as love extends, so also
does the everlasting worth increase with a magnified
effect.
God beatifies the souls of them that love Him in
proportion to the ardour of their love.
Benvenuto here gives a very interesting illustration,
in which he makes a distinct allusion to his lecturing
in public as a professor at Bologna. He says :-
“ But, that one and the same good thing is not di-
minished by the participation in it of many persons
is clear, for my single voice penetrates into the ears
divino atto ricevere ; .. .
. . . .
onde se l' anima è imperfettamente posta, non è disposta a
ricevere questa benedetta e divina infusione ; siccome se una
pietra margarita (a precious stone) è male disposta, ovvero im-
perfetta, la virtù celestiale ricevere non può, siccome disse quel
Fuoco d'amore in gentil cor s' apprende
Come virtù in pietra preziosa ;
Chè dalla stella valor non discende,
Anzi che il sol la faccia gentil cosa :
Poi che n'ha tratto fuore .
Per la sua forza il sol ciò che gli è vile,
La stella i dà valore.
Puote adunque l' anima stare non bene nella persona per
manco di complessione (temperament) e forse per manco di
temporale (time); e in questa cotale questo raggio divino non
risplende. E possono dire questi cotali, la cui anima è privata di
ovvero spelonche sotteranee dove la luce del sole mai non dis-
cende se non ripercossa da altra parte da quella illuminata.”
Canto xv. Readings on the Purgatorio. 397
of many scholars, and any doctrine of mine is dif-
fused through the minds of many listeners, and only
is it so in different ways, according to the quality of
the minds who receive it, and yet in me my voice is
not diminished, but rather gains in power, as I can
remember I was always accustomed to say, when I
was delivering these lectures at Bologna."
Hence Dante argues :
E quanta gente più lassù s'intende,*
Più và è da bene amare, e più vi s' ama,
E come specchio l'uno all' altro rende.
And the more the folk who comprehend each other
on high, the more there are to love rightly, and the
more love there is, and as a mirror one renders it to
another.t
The love from one blessed soul is reflected on to
another, just as light is from one mirror to another;
and Benvenuto says that as we see one lamp can
kindle a thousand or even a hundred thousand lamps,
so is it with wisdom and faith.
The Poets have now reached the top of the stair-
way, and Virgil refers Dante to a wiser intelligence
than his own, should his answer not have been suffi-
ciently clear.

* Benvenuto interprets “più lassù intende” idest, intenditur
et multiplicatur in coelo, vel intelligunt se invicem.
In Conv. III, 15, Dante says:
" Li santi non hanno tra loro invidia ; perocchè ciascuno
aggiugne il fine del suo desiderio, il quale desiderio è colla
natura della bontà misurato.”
+ I follow Mr. Butler's translation of this difficult and much
disputed passage, and I commend his admirable note upon it to
my readers.

398 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto XV.
E se la mia ragion non ti disfama,
Vedrai Beatrice, ed ella pienamente
Ti torrà questa e ciascun' altra brama.
· And if my reasoning does not satisfy thy craving,
thou wilt see Beatrice (Theology); and she will fully
take away from thee this and every other want.
She will dispel the doubts and fears of thy weak
faith. Virgil adds :
Procaccia pur, che tosto sieno spente,
Come son già le due, le cinque piaghe, 1 80
Che si richiudon per esser dolente.”—
Only strive that the five scars (the P's that repre-
sent the sins of Anger, Sloth, Avarice, Gluttony and
Luxury) may be quickly erased, as are already the
two (Pride and Anger), for through the sorrow of
penitence these will heal up.”
Division III. Here we enter upon the Third
Division of the Canto, in which Dante describes his
vision of certain famous personages, who, while having
just cause for anger, acted with clemency and kindness.
Com' io voleva dicer: Tu m' appaghe:
Vidimi giunto in su l' altro girone,
Sì che tacer mi fêr le luci vaghe.*
As I was just wishing to say: “Thou dost satisfy
* Benvenuto translates : vaghe as "avidi videndi novitates."
Fraticelli: “Gli occhi miei qua e la vaganti per desiderio di
veder cose nuove."
Dean Plumptre:
“ So that by restless eyes my lips were sealed.”
Canto xv. Readings on the Purgatorio. 399
85
me;" I saw that I had reached the next Cornice, so
that my eyes, eager to see what new sights there
might be, caused me to hold my peace.
Ivi mi parve in una visïone
Estatica di subito esser tratto,
E vedere in un tempio più persone :
Ed una donna in su l' entrar con atto
Dolce di madre dicer:-“Figliuol mio,
Perchè hai tu così verso noi fatto?
Ecco dolenti lo tuo padre ed io
Ti cercavamo.”—E come qui si tacque
Ciò che pareva prima disparìo.
There methought that I was suddenly cast into an
ecstatic vision, and saw a multitude of persons in
a temple : and at the threshold, a lady (the Blessed
Virgin) with the sweet demeanour of a mother,
saying: "My Son, why hast thou thus dealt with
us? Behold, thy father and I were seeking thee
sorrowing.” And as here she held her peace, that
which had at first appeared disappeared, that is, the
whole temple scene faded from Dante's view.*
rcar

But vago has the distinct meaning in Dante of “desirous.”
Compare Par. III, 31, 35:
Però parla con esse, ed odi, e credi
Che la verace luce che le appaga
Da sè non lascia lor torcer li piedi.”—
Ed io all' ombra, che parea più vaga
Di ragionar, drizza' mi, e cominciai.
* Scartazzini remarks that these salutary visions come upon
Dante before seeing the spirits and the smoke, perhaps to teach
us that we must arm ourselves against anger, before we come to
feel its effects.
Benvenuto explains that extasis is when the mind is alienated,
not by real revelation, but by strong imagination, which draws and
takes such complete possession of it, as no other thing would do.

400
Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto xv.
As usual, the first example offered for Dante's con-
templation, as an admonition against the sin of evil
temper, is an incident in the life of the Virgin Mary.
It is the episode related by St. Luke II, 41-52, where
we read that when the long caravan of worshippers
started on their return to Nazareth, after the feast of
the Passover, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jeru-
salem, Joseph and Mary not seeing Him, supposed
Him to be among the many friends and relations who
were travelling in their company. They had accom-
plished a whole day's journey before they missed Him.
They then had to go all the way back to Jerusalem,
and were three days there seeking for Him in anxious
sorrow, before they found Him in the Temple sitting
among the doctors. The words spoken by the Virgin
were but a gentle remonstrance addressed to Her Son
without a trace of anger.
The next example quoted is that of the wife of
Pisistratus, who, enraged beyond measure, is calmed
by the moderation of her husband.
Indi m' apparve un altra con quelle acque
Giù per le gote, che il dolor distilla,
Quando di gran dispetto in altrui nacque ;
E dir :—“Se tu se sire della villa,
Del cui nome ne' Dei fu tanta lite,
Ed onde ogni scienza disfavilla,
Vendica te di quelle braccia ardite
IOO
Che abbracciâr nostra figlia, o Pisistráto.”—
E il signor mi parea, benigno e mite,
Risponder lei con viso temperato :
“Che farem noi a chi mal ne desira,
Se quei che ci ama è per noi condannato?”- 105
There next appeared to me another with those
waters running down her cheeks, which grief distils

Canto XV. Readings on the Purgatorio. 401
(forces) from the eyelids, when it has been excited in
any one, from great indignation against another; and
she said: “If thou art lord of the city (Athens)
about whose name there was so great a contest among
the gods,* and from which every science brightens
forth, avenge thee, O Pisistratus, on that young man
whose audacious arms embraced our daughter.”—
And her lord seemed to me to answer with a tem-
perate aspect:-“If he who loves us is by us con-
demned, what shall we do to those who wish us ill ?”—
The story illustrates the wrath of the mother, and
the patience of the father, under circumstances of great
provocation. A young Athenian loved, and wished
to marry the daughter of Pisistratus. Without waiting
until he obtained her parents' consent, he rudely em-
braced her in public. Pisistratus was tyrant of Athens
B.C. 560-527, and used his power so nobly as to make
the people forgive the usurpation by which he had
attained it. He was the first to form a public library
at Athens, and collected the Homeric poems, which,
but for him, might have perished.
There are other instances of his gentle forbearance,
besides the episode mentioned here.
Dante, having, as usual, first given an example out
of the life of the Virgin Mary, followed by an in-
cident in profane history, now turns back to Holy
Writ, and quotes the example of the protomartyr
St. Stephen.
* There was a contest between Neptune and Minerva ('ABývn),
as to which of them should give a name to Athens. Neptune
struck the earth with his trident and produced a horse; Minerva
produced an olive-tree, and the latter being considered the more
valuable gift, the city was named after her.
D D

402 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto XV.
ΙΠΟ
Poi vidi genti accese in foco d' ira,
Con pietre un giovinetto ancider, forte
Gridando a sè pur: Martira, martira:
E lui vedea chinarsi per la morte,
Che l'aggravava già, invêr la terra,
Ma degli occhi facea sempre al ciel porte;
Orando all' alto Sire in tanta guerra,
Che perdonasse a' suoi persecutori,
Con quell' aspetto che pietà disserra.
After this I saw a crowd of people kindled with
anger, slaying a young man with stones, crying aloud
to each other only, “Kill him ! kill him!” and I
beheld him (St. Stephen) bow himself, from the pains
of death that were already weighing him down to-
wards the earth ; but, with his eyes, he continued to
make gates to Heaven (that is, kept his eyes still open,
and turned towards Heaven.)* Praying to the High
God in the midst of mortal pain (lit. in the din of so
great a battle), that He would forgive his persecutors,
with that look which unlocks compassion.
For, as Benvenuto says, those that execute injury
have more need of pity than those that suffer it. And
* Scartazzini says that Cesari describes Far porte degli
occhi al cielo" as a Dantesque expression, and implies that the
sight of Christ in heaven entered by St. Stephen's eyes into his
heart.
+ The martyr first whose eagle eye
Could pierce beyond the grave;
Who saw his Master in the sky,
And called on Him to save ;
Like Him with pardon on his tongue,
In midst of mortal pain,
He prayed for them that did the wrong.
Who follows in his train ?
Bishop Heber (Hymn for St. Stephen's Day).
Canto XV. Readings on the Purgatorio. 403
he begs us also to note the miraculous effect of this holy
prayer, for St. Paul was converted to the faith by the
prayers of St. Stephen, and became so great a cham-
pion of the Christian faith, that, with the sword of the
Spirit, he defended it nobly against its foes.
Division IV. Dante now interprets the vision,*
and first relates how he awoke out of his trance.
Quando l'anima mia tornò di fuori
115
Alle cose che son fuor di lei vere,
Io riconobbi i miei non falsi errori.
When my mind did at last turn itself outwards, and
recommenced perceiving things really existing outside
itself, I recognized that the visions seen by me were
illusions (errori), but not false.
Benvenuto says that this passage seems to many
very obscure: but Dante means it in this sense, that
although it was not true that he saw those visions in
the degree that he fancied he saw them, none the less
was it the fact that these things were really just as
true as he had fancied them to be, when he saw them
in his ecstatic vision.

* Boccaccio (Vita di Dante) makes especial reference to
Dante's self abstraction : “ Dilettossi similemente d' essere soli-
tario e rimoto dalle genti, acciocchè le sue contemplazioni non
gli fossero interrotte ; e se pure alcuna che molto piaciuta gli
fosse ne gli veniva, essendo esso tra gente, quantunque di alcuna
cosa stato fosse addomandato, giammai a tanto che egli o
fermata o dannata la sua immaginazione avesse, non avrebbe
risposto al dimandante ; il che molte volte, essendo egli alla
mensa, e essendo in cammino con compagni, e in altre parti
dimandato, gli avvenne."
D D 2

404 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto xv.
He recognized that his vision was a sight of things
that had really happened. And now in verse 118 he
shows how, after he had come to his senses, he was
walking like a man drunk, or still half asleep, and how
Virgil asked him the reason of his walking in such a
manner.
Lo duca mio, che mi potea vedere
Far sì com'uom che dal sonno si slega,
Disse :—“Che hai, che non ti puoi tenere ? 120
Ma se venuto più che mezza lega
Velando gli occhi, e con le gambe avvolte
A guisa di cui vino o sonno piega ?”—
My Leader, who could see me acting like one who
is shaking himself out of sleep, said :-“What ails
thee, that thou canst not support thyself? Nay, thou
hast gone for more than half a league, with thine eyes
closed, and thy legs tottering, just like one who is
overcome by wine or sleep.”
Dante answers :
—“O dolce padre mio, se tu m'ascolte,
Io ti dirò (diss' io) ciò che mi apparve
Quando le gambe mi furon sì tolte.”—
—“O my gentle Father (said I), if thou wilt listen
to me, I will tell thee what I fancied I saw, when the
use of my legs was taken from me.”
Benvenuto begs us to remark with what great
ingenuity Dante has represented this fiction : for he
pictures himself as being completely prostrated by
the vision, which was intended rather to give him
strength against anger; and, by that, he wishes to
imply that anger, an appetite of revenge, is natu-
ral to man. Homer says anger is sweeter to man
than honey. The precepts inculcated in the vision
appeared to him very hard; namely, that like Mary he
125
Canto XV. Readings on the Purgatorio. 405
ought to learn to restrain himself towards a son, even
when greatly provoked to anger; that like Pisistratus
he ought to forgive an insult to a daughter; that like
St. Stephen he ought to forgive those who were
murdering him when he was innocent. It certainly
appeared harder to him to forgive the man who did
him an injury, than to substitute humility for pride,
or pity for envy. For he had, at times, longed for
revenge, as the Florentines in particular are accus-
tomed to do; and it certainly does seem difficult for
a man to forgive that, which many, even in articulo
mortis, and generally in charity with all their fellow-
creatures, could, by no process of reasoning or persua-
sion, be induced to forgive. Moreover, Benvenuto
says, in conclusion, that this canto is marvellously
ingenious in many of its passages.
Virgil now tells Dante that he perceives what is
passing through his mind.
Ed ei :-“Se tu avessi cento larve*
Sovra la faccia, non mi saríen chiuse
Le tue cogitazion', quantunque parve.f
And he:—“Even if thou hadst a hundred masks
upon thy face, thy thoughts, however insignificant,
would not be hid from me."
Benvenuto says larva is that figure or image which

* Larve, see Par. XXX, 91 :
Poi, come gente stata sotto larve
Che pare altro che prima, se si sveste
La sembianza non sua in che disparve
+ Compare Inf. XVI, 118-120 :
Ahi quanto cauti gli uomini esser denno
Presso a color che non veggon pur l' opra
Ma per entro i pensier miran col senno !

406 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto XV.
is placed upon the face, to conceal a man's identity,
for the purpose of frightening boys.
Ciò che vedesti, fu perchè non scuse *
130
D'aprir lo cuore all' acque della pace
Che dall' eterno fonte son diffuse.
That which thou sawest was shown thee that thou
mayest not excuse thyself from opening thine heart
to the waters of peace, which are poured forth from
the eternal fountain (God).
Benvenuto says that is as though Virgil would say
to Dante: “What thou sawest admonishes thee to
forgive, if thou wouldst have peace with God who
forgives thee. Art thou, because thou art noble, to
be disinclined to that forgiveness to which Augustus
Cæsar was often moved, and Julius Cæsar always ?”
He quotes an act of great magnanimity in Julius Cæsar,
when, in Thessaly, there were brought to him a num-
ber of chests full of letters, and all kinds of writing
belonging to Pompey, and he immediately caused
them to be burnt unread; and he had previously done
the same thing in Africa with some letters written by
Scipio, the father-in-law of Pompey, as Pliny relates
in his seventh book of natural history.
Virgil now answers an imaginary question of Dante,
as though asking, "If thou then knewest the secret
cause of my perturbation, why didst thou ask me
* Scartazzini says that one may gather from this passage that
Dante was not to be supposed exempt from the sin of anger, to
which his haughty nature predisposed him, and he quotes from
Boccaccio (Vita di Dante) that it was a known fact in Roinagna,
that even to hear a woman or a little child abuse the Ghibelline
party would have so moved him to wrath, that he would have
been capable of throwing stones at the reviler.
Canto XV. Readings on the Purgatorio.
407
what ailed me?" And Virgil shows that he did so,
not from the point of view of one who looks with the
eye of the body, but from that of him who only sees
with the spiritual eye. He did not ask him for
information, but to draw him out so that he might
make Dante know for himself that which was lacking
to him, and then give him advice to strengthen him
in all his doubts.* And so Virgil says :
Non dimandai : Che hai, per quel che face
Chi guarda pur con l'occhio, che non vede,
Quando disanimato il corpo giace ;
135
Ma dimandai per darti forza al piede:
Così frugar conviensi i pigri, lenti
Ad usar lor vigilia quando riede.”—
I did not ask : What ails thee? for the reason that
a man would do, who only looks with that mortal eye,
which ceases to see, as soon as the body lies inanimate,
but I asked to give strength to thy foot (which was
tottering from the effect of thy trance) :† It is thus
that we must rouse up lazy sluggards and stimulate

* Compare Par. XVII, 7 :
Per che mia Donna :-“Manda fuor la vampa
Del tuo disio,"—mi disse.-“ sì ch' ell' esca
Segnata bene della interna stampa ;
Non perchè nostra conoscenza cresca
Per tuo parlare, ma perchè ť aúsi
A dìr la sete, sì che l' uom ti mesca."
# Dean Plumptre says: “Another touch of conscious self-
portraiture. A man may, like Balaam, fall into a trance, and
see visions, and yet be none the better for them. Conscience,
the higher self, speaking through Virgil, warns the poet that
the vision and faculty divine are given that they may lead to
action. Apparently Dante had felt the fatal tendencies of the
dreaminess of the poet's temperament."
408 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto xv.
them to make use of their wakefulness, when it
returns.
Benvenuto thinks that perhaps Dante was entering
very unwillingly into the region, where anger can only
be purged by a thorough forgiveness of injuries, and
complete renunciation of all thoughts of revenge.
While reason was prompting him to enter into the
Cornice, passion was inciting him to go through all
Hell again, rather than here.
And now Dante, at the conclusion of this Canto,
touches on the subject matter of that which follows,
but he first describes his own movements.

Oltre, quanto potean gli occhi allungarsi,
140
145
Ed ecco a poco a poco un fummo farsi
Verso di noi, come la notte oscuro,
Nè da quello era loco da cansarsi.
Questo ne tolse gli occhi e l' aër puro.
We were passing on through the twilight, looking
in front of us, as far as our eyes could stretch, against
the horizontal and dazzling rays of the sun. And lo!
by slow degrees, a smoke as dark as night appeared
rolling towards us; nor was there a place to hide
ourselves from it (for, as Buti says, it occupied the
whole Cornice), this deprived us at once of the sight
of our eyes, and of the pure air.
The smoke was both blinding and suffocating.
They could neither see nor breathe. This was Dante's
first view of the penance to be undergone by the
Angry, and of which a full account is given in the
END OF CANTO XV.
Canto XVI. Readings on the Purgatorio.
409

CANTO XVI.
THE THIRD CORNICE.
THE ANGRY.
MARCO LOMBARDO.
FREE WILL.
DETERIORATION OF THE INHABITANTS
OF LOMBARDY.
As in the preceding Canto Dante taught his readers
how to avoid the sin of anger, so now he follows on
to show how it is expiated in the Third Cornice.
The Canto may be divided into four very unequal
divisions.
In the First Division, from v. I to v. 24, the
penalty of the Angry is described generally.
In the Second Division, from v. 25 to v. 51, is
introduced the spirit of a remarkable man, Marco
Lombardo, who was very prone to anger.
In the Third Division, from v. 52 to v. 114,
Dante puts certain questions to Marco, who (as Ben-
venuto says), makes him a noble reply.
In the Fourth Division, from V. 115 to v. 145,
the great change for the worse of the inhabitants of
modern Lombardy is described.
Division 1. Dean Plumptre says :—“The opening
words of the Canto are deliberately chosen. To be
conscious of wrath is to be in Heil, with all its black-
410
Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto XVI.
ness of darkness, its bitterness and foulness. In the
remedial methods which Dante depicts, we may find
that which he had found effective in his own experi-
ence. To keep close to the highest human wisdom in
its calmness was something, but the true remedy was
found in the Agnus Dei, which the worshipper heard
at every Mass and Litany. . . . Of all sins, that of
anger was the most difficult for an Italian temper,
with its tendencies to the proverbial vendetta, to over-
come, and Dante's letter to Henry VII against the
Florentines, and the immediately preceding Canto
show how strong a hold it had on him, even about
the time that he was writing this Canto.”
Benvenuto considers Dante happy in his mode of
depicting the purgation of wrath. The angry are
represented as doing penance in the midst of a very
dense, black, and foul smoke, so that one can neither
see, nor discern anything in it. Now smoke is pro-
duced by fire, and anger is a kind of fire, for it is the
kindling of the blood round the heart. And as there
cannot be smoke without fire, so cannot anger exist
without a preliminary obfuscation of the faculties.
He, therefore, who would be thoroughly purged from
this sin must well understand its nature and property,
for it both extinguishes the light of reason, and chokes
it, as it were, in smoke.
In the opening lines Dante says he never saw dark-
ness equal to this; meaning that both in his passage
through Hell, which was all dark, and during the time
that he had lived in the world.
Buio d' inferno, e di notte privata
D'ogni pianeta sotto pover cielo,
Quant esser può di nuvol tenebrata,


Canto XVI. Readings on the Purgatorio.
411
Ne a-
Non fece al viso mio sì grosso velo,
Come quel fummo ch' ivi ci coperse,
Nè a sentir di così aspro pelo ;
The gloom of Hell, and of a night, which, under a
poor (that is, an overcast) sky, is deprived of the light
of every star, and as much darkened by clouds as it
possibly can be, did not make to my eyes so dense a
veil, as did that smoke that enveloped us there, nor of
so rough a texture to one's sense of feeling. *
Benvenuto commends this simile, for he says that a
veil is usually both light and transparent, so that a
person wearing it can both see through it, breathe
through it, and feel it of a soft texture to the skin ;
whereas this smoke blinded the eyes, choked the
breath, and irritated the skin. “And note," he ob-
serves, “how clearly Dante has represented this, for,
in truth, no sin is committed among the living, or
is punished in Hell among the dead, which so much
darkens the eyes of the intellect as anger; and there-
fore he has done well to depict the angry in Hell
tearing and rending each other barbarously with their
teeth.”
The Poet next shows that the effect of that pun-
gent smoke was to compel him to shut his eyes, by
which one may understand the intellectual vision.
Chè l' occhio stare aperto non sofferse;
Onde la scorta mia saputa e fida
Mi s'accostò, e l' omero m' offerse.
For it suffered not the eye to remain open; whereat
* Following out the simile of the veil, Dante calls “aspro
pelo” the acrid and pungent particles of the smoke, which
not only impeded sight, but also irritated and scorched his
eyes. Compare Inf. IX, 75.
412
Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto XVI.

my experienced and faithful guide drew near to me
and offered me his shoulder.
Dante could no longer see Virgil. The man blinded
Virgil, allegorically representing Reason, was able
calmly to encounter the darkness himself, and to offer
his aid and support.*
Benvenuto remarks that Dante wished in this beau-
tiful simile to admonish the angry to follow the
examples of many wise men. He says that Plato,
after a long journey, in which he had visited the
philosophers of Egypt, Italy and Sicily, on his return
found, that by his steward's negligence, his property
had been nearly destroyed, and yet, because he felt
angry, would not exact penalties from him. And
Archytas, the Tarentine, from whom Plato had learnt
ΙΟ
slave himself, though he did not omit to entrust the
correction to another. Dante takes advantage of
Virgil's proffered assistance.
Sì come cieco va dietro a sua guida
Per non smarrirsi, e non per dar di cozzo
In cosa che il molesti, o forse ancida ;
M' andava io per l' aere amaro e sozzo,
Ascoltando il mio duca che diceva
Pur :-“Guarda che da me tu non sie mozzo.”—15
* Francesco da Buti says that when a man falls into the
else he will not be able to disentangle himself from it without
falling into sin; for anger is natural to man, and is at times
justifiable. “Be ye angry, and sin not.” Reason will show us
how the one thing is compatible with the other.
It is not easy to extract all that the different commentators
have to say on this passage.
Canto XVI. Readings on the Purgatorio. 413
Just as a blind man goes behind his guide, so as
not to lose his way, or to knock against anything that
might injure or even kill him, so did I go through
that pungent and foul air, listening to my guide, who
said only: “Take heed that thou dost not get sepa-
rated from me."
Benvenuto points out that the angry man is worse
off than the blind, for the latter only loses his
bodily sight, while his mental perception is preserved
to him and even rendered more sensitive, but the
angry man loses the light of reason.* According to
Livy, the Romans fought against the Samnites with
such ferocity that their eyes literally seemed to blaze
in battle, and such was their fury that, after they had
won the victory, they turned their swords against the
horses.
Dante now describes the devout prayer of the
shades of the angry.
Io sentía voci, e ciascuna pareva
Pregar, per pace e per misericordia,
L'Agnel di Dio, che le peccata leva.
Pure Agnus Dei eran le loro esordia ;
Una parola in tutti era, ed un modo,
20
Sì che parea tra esse ogni concordia.
I heard voices, and each seemed to be uttering a
prayer for mercy and peace to the Lamb of God, who
taketh away sins. Their prayers ever began with the
words "Agnus Dei” (O, Lamb of God); there was

* Had Dante lived 300 years later, he could not have found
a more beautiful instance of patience under great provocation
than that of Sir Isaac Newton, who, on finding his little dog
tearing to pieces papers that represented the calculations of
years, only exclaimed, “Diamond! Diamond ! thou little know-
est the harm that thou hast done me!”
W-
414
Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto XVI.
but one word and one measure for all of them, so that
there appeared among them complete agreement.
Benvenuto says that this means that whereas in life
they were ever seeking each other's destruction, now
they ever pray for their common liberation.
Dante asks Virgil:
-“Quei son spirti, maestro, ch' i' odo?”—
"Diss 'io. Ed egli a me :—“Tu vero apprendi;
E d'iracondia van solvendo il nodo.”—
“Are those spirits,” said I, “my master, that I
hear?” And he to me; “Thou dost apprehend truly;
and they march on to loose the knot of anger."
For anger is a hard knot, which binds a man, and
deprives him of his liberty.

Division 11. Here begins the Second Division of
the Canto, in which the spirit of Marco Lombardo
ascertains from Dante that he is alive, tells him who
he himself was, and asks for the same information.
_“Or tu chi se', che il nostro fummo fendi, 25
E di noi parli pur, come se túe
Partissi ancor lo tempo per calendi ?” —
“Now who mayest thou be, who art cleaving our
smoke, and yet speakest of us as though thou wert
one of those who still divide their time by calends ?”
He means to ask Dante if he is a mortal man, for
in Purgatory the spirits do not count time at all.
Benvenuto says Marco had probably felt a movement
in the thick black smoky air, caused by Dante's
mortal body. He would also have heard his voice.
Canto XVI. Readings on the Purgatorio.
415
30
Così per una voce detto fue.
Onde il maestro mio disse :-“Rispondi,
E dimanda se quinci si va súe.”—
Thus were words uttered by a single voice. On
which my Master said to me: “Answer, and ask if it
is in that direction that one ascends."
Ed io :—“O creatura che ti mondi,
Per tornar bella a Colui che ti fece,*
Maraviglia udirai se mi secondi.”—
And I :-“O spirit, who art purging thyself so as
again to put on the garb of beauty, and to return to
thy Maker, if thou wilt accompany me, thou shalt
hear a marvellous thing."
Marco replies that he will go with Dante as far
as it is permitted.
_“Io ti seguiterò quanto mi lece
(Rispose); e se veder fummo non lascia,
L' udir ci terrà giunti in quella vece.”—
“I will follow thee as far as it is allowed me (he
answered); and if the smoke prevents our seeing,
hearing instead shall keep us together.”
Allora incominciai :-“Con quella fascia,
Che la morte dissolve, men vo suso,
E venni qui per la infernale ambascia ;
I then began : “I am going my way up wearing
these integuments which death will dissolve (my
mortal body), and I have come hither through all
the anguish of Hell.
Benvenuto says it is as though he had said: “Do not
be astonished at my walking alive through Purgatory,
for I have already passed alive through Hell.” Or :

35
* Compare Purg. II, 75–
“Quasi obbliando d' ire a farsi belle."

416 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto XVI.
“In my toilsome journey through Hell I acquired the
going to get them purged away in Purgatory.”
E se* Dio m’ha in sua grazia richiuso - 40
Tanto, ch' e vuol ch' io veggia la sua corte
Per modo tutto fuor del moderno uso,
Non mi celar chi fosti anzi la morte;
Ma dilmi; e dimmi s' io vo bene al varco ;
E tue parole fien le nostre scorte.”—
45
And since God has so greatly enfolded me in His
Grace, as to will that I should (while still alive) behold
His Court, by a mode entirely foreign to our modern
usage,t do not hide from me who thou wast before
thy death ; but tell it me, and tell me also if I am on
my right way to the entrance to the next stairway ;
and let thy words be our escort (that is, let thy infor-
mation be our guidance in this thick smoke, in which
we are unable to distinguish our way.)”
Marco now tells Dante who he had been.
* Benvenuto says that se is here to be taken in the sense of
quia, and Scartazzini that it is not conditional but declarative,
and he cites several examples of its use in the sense of because,
since, &c.
+ Fraticelli explains verse 45 to mean that the mode was totally
different to the usual routine which would require death to pre-
cede the possibility of ascending to Heaven, but Benvenuto,
Jacopo della Lana and Francesco da Buti all interpret the pas-
sage as meaning that it had gone completely out of fashion for
poets to describe a vision in which they ascended up to Heaven.
ere were
grimage in the visions of ancient monks and hermits, like St.
Alberigo and St. Brandan. The words imply that that kind of
literature had gone out of fashion under the influence of the
earlier Renaissance.
Canto XVI. Readings on the Purgatorio. 417
50
-“Lombardo fui, e fui chiamato Marco.*
Del mondo seppi, e quel valore amai
Al quale ha or ciascun disteso l' arco.
“I was a Lombard (or, as some, among whom is
Boccaccio, interpret it, one of the family of Lombardi
of Venice), and my name was Marco. I knew the
ways of the world well, and I loved that virtue, to aim
at which now-a-days has every one unbent his bow ;
that is, in these degenerate days, no one aims at
virtue; fon the contrary, says Benvenuto, every one
has his bow bent to drive virtue away.]
Marco then answers Dante's second question.
Per montar su dirittamente vai.”-
Così rispose ; e soggiunse :-“Io ti prego
Che per me preghi, quando su sarai.”—
Thou art going quite right for mounting upwards."-
Thus he answered ; and added :-"I beseech thee
to pray for me when thou shalt have arrived there (in
Paradise)."
* There are different accounts about this Marco. We may
at once dismiss the idea of his being the navigator Marco Polo,
who survived Dante, and died 1323. All seem to agree that he
was a Venetian nobleman, a man of wit and learning, and a
friend of Dante. L' Otimo tells us that nearly all he gained he
spent in charity. Benvenuto says he was a man of a noble mind,
but disdainful, and easily moved to anger. Francesco da Buti
says he was a Venetian, and his name was Marco Daca; he was
a very learned man, had many political virtues, and was very
courteous, giving to poor noblemen all that he gained, and he
gained much; for he was a courtier, and was much beloved for
his virtue, and much was given him by the nobility; and as he
gave to those who were in need, so he lent to all who asked him.
And when he was at the point of death, having much still owing
to him, he made a will, and, among other bequests, this, that
whoever owed him aught should not be held to pay the debt,
“Let whoever has," said he, “keep."
ΕΕ

418 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto XVI.
Division III. Here begins the long and difficult
Third Division of the Canto, in which Dante, having
heard Marco deploring the open hostility to virtue,
and the general corruption that prevailed throughout
all Italy, and remembering also the words of Guido
del Duca on the same subject (Canto XIV), asks
Marco why this is so. He prefaces his question by a
propitiatory assurance that, when he reaches Heaven,
he will do what Marco had asked him.
Ed io a lui :-“Per fede mi ti lego
Di far ciò che mi chiedi. Ma io scoppio
Dentro a un dubbio, s' io non me ne spiego.
And I to him :—“I pledge myself in good faith to
perform what thou askest me: but I am bursting with
an inward doubt, if I do not get it explained to me.
He shows how greatly the reiteration by Marco of
opinions expressed by Guido del Duca had influenced
him to ask the question.
Prima era scempio, ed ora è fatto doppio
Nella sentenzia tua, che mi fa certo
Qui ed altrove, quello ov' io l'accoppio.
First it was a simple* doubt (when I had only heard
the opinion of Guido del Duca), and now it has be-
come a double one, from thy words, which have made
it a certainty to me here, and elsewhere (Guido's
words), when I couple them together.
The two opinions of Marco and Guido put together
seem to harmonize, so as to strengthen in Dante's
mind the doubt as to whence comes so great wicked-
ness in men.
Dante then proceeds.

55
* Fanfani says :—“Scempio è il contrario di doppio.”
Canto XVI. Readings on the Purgatorio.
419
Lo mondo è ben così tutto diserto
D'ogni virtute, come tu mi suone,
E di malizia gravido e coverto :
60
The world is, in truth, utterly devoid of virtue,
as thou tellest me; and is pregnant and covered with
all wickedness.
Benvenuto says that wickedness grows in the same
way that tares spread quickly all over a field, and
choke the good wheat.
Dante asks Marco the reason.
Ma prego che m' additi la cagione,
Sì ch' io lo vegga, e ch' io la mostri altrui ;
Chè nel cielo uno, ed un quaggiù la pone.”—
But I beg of thee to point out to me the cause, that
I may discern it, and explain it to others; for one
opinion (which Benvenuto says is the erroneous one)
ascribes it to the influence of the planets, and another
ascribes it to 'down here' (on earth), that is, that sin
comes to man by his free will.” Now this latter, says
Benvenuto, is the healthy opinion, the true one, to be
cultivated by all.
Marco answers Dante's question at considerable
length.
Alto sospir che il duolo strinse in hui !*
Mise fuor prima; e poi cominciò ;—“Frate, 65
Lo mondo è cieco, e tu vien ben da lui.
He first breathed a deep sigh, which grief com-
pressed into Ah! me! and then commenced : “Bro-
ther, the world is blind, and thou showest well that
thou comest from it.
Benvenuto says, in proof of the world being blind,

* Hui ! interjection equivalent to ohimè! and to the Latin
heu!
EE 2
420
Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto XVI.
that many who are reputed great sages, men of great
minds, were in that blind ignorance, that they took
everything as coming from necessity, not perceiving
that things foreseen by God can be altered by the
exercise of the Free Will that He has given to man.
In like manner Cicero, in wishing to avoid one error,

St. Augustine censures him severely in his book, De
Civitate Dei.
Benvenuto also comments on the words, e tu vien
ben da lui, by supposing Marco to say: “And thou
evidently comest from this world of blindness, for thou
admittest that this doubt is so great in thy mind that
thou art nearly bursting with it."
Marco next explains what is this doubt of the
blind.
Voi che vivete, ogni cagion recate
Pur suso al ciel, sì come se tutto
Movesse seco di necessitate.
Ye who live in the world, assign every cause up to
the planets only, as if they moved all things with
them of necessity.*
* We find in Boëthius, Consol. Philos. V, Pros. 2: “But in this
indissoluble chain of causes can we preserve the liberty of the
will ? Does this fatal necessity restrain the motions of the
human soul? There is no reasonable being, replied she, who
has not the freedom of will ; for every being distinguished by
this faculty is endowed with judgment to perceive the difference
e
what a person deems desirable he desires ; but what he thinks
ought to be avoided he shuns. Thus every rational creature
hath a liberty of choosing or of rejecting. But I do not assert
that this liberty is equal in all beings. Heavenly substances,
who are exalted above us, have an enlightened judgment, an
Canto XVI. Readings on the Purgatorio.
421
Benvenuto says that Seneca used often to quote a
saying of the ancient Stoic philosopher Cleanthes :
Fata volentem ducunt, volentem trahunt, which is the
exact opposite of the erroneous views which Marco
censures, for Cleanthes shows that some future things
are necessary, from having their predeterminate causes,
as for instance that man must die, that the sun must
rise to-morrow; while other things may depend on
some contingency which may or may not take place.
And Benvenuto goes on to show the opinion of
Plotinus and others that the planets were not active
comm
incorruptible will, and a power ever at command effectually to
accomplish their desires. With regard to man, his immaterial
spirit is also free ; but it is most at liberty when employed in
the contemplation of the Divine mind; it becomes less so when
it enters a body; and it is still more restrained when it is
imprisoned in a terrestrial habitation composed of members of
clay; and is reduced in fine to the most extreme servitude
when, by plunging into the pollutions of vice, it totally departs
from reason; for the soul no sooner turns her eye from the
radiance of supreme truth to dark and base objects, but she is
involved in a mist of ignorance, assailed by unholy aspirations ;
by yielding to which she increases her thraldom, and thus the
freedom she derives from Nature becomes, in some measure,
the cause of her slavery. But the eye of Providence, which
sees everything from Eternity, perceives all this; and that
same Providence disposes everything she has predestinated, in
the order it deserves. (As Homer says of the sun), 'It sees
everything, and hears everything.'”
Compare also Milton, Par. Lost, II, 557 :
Others apart sat on a hill retir'd,
In thoughts more elevate, and reasoned high
Of providence, foreknowledge, will, and fate,
Fix'd fate, free will, foreknowledge absolute,
And found no end, in wandering mazes lost.

422 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto XVI.
agents to bring good or evil, but were only the signs
of things about to happen to us. Others have said
that some good or evil would happen to man by the
influence of the planets, not however so that it must
happen of necessity, but that that which nature, or
God through nature, works, should take place through
the influence of the planets. St. Augustine has treated
this very fully in his fifth book of De Civitate Dei.
Then Marco strongly condemns this error, on
account of the great inconvenience that would follow

it. He says:
Se così fosse, in voi fora distrutto
70
Libero arbitrio, e non fora giustizia,
Per ben letizia, e per male aver lutto.
And were this true, all Free Will would be destroyed
in you; and it would not be just that joy should be
the reward of what is good, and grief the penalty of
what is evil.
There would be no necessity for Hell, Purgatory or
Paradise, says Benvenuto, and all good counsels and
prayers would be in vain, and many other conse-
quences destructive to the world would follow from
this, as Boëthius shows in his fifth book.*
St
* Boëthius (Consol. Philos. V, prosa 3) also says : “But I
shall now endeavour to demonstrate that, in whatever way the
chain of events is disposed, the event of things which are
foreseen is necessary; although prescience may not appear to
be the necessitating cause of their befalling. For example, if a
person sits, the opinion formed of him that he is seated is of
necessity true ; but by inverting the phrase, if the opinion is
true that he is seated, he must necessarily sit. In both cases
then, there is a necessity ; in the latter, that the person sits ; in
the former, that the opinion concerning him is true ; but the
Canto XVI. Readings on the Purgatorio. 423
And now Marco begins to explain away Dante's
doubts, first, by showing how things come by heavenly
influence, or the contrary.
Lo cielo i vostri movimenti inizia
Non dico tutti : ma, posto ch' io il dica,
Lume v è dato a bene ed a malizia,
75
E libero voler che, se fatica
Nelle prime battaglie col ciel dura,
Poi vince tutto, se ben si nutrica.
The heavens certainly do give the first impulse to
your movements (such as walking, sitting, &c.). I do
not say all (for the movements of the mind do not
fall under planetary influences, but under man's free
will, such as to understand, to will, &c.), but even sup-
pose I were to affirm that they were so influenced,
yet, until you have had given to you light to discern
between right and wrong, and Free Will, which, even

person does not sit because the opinion of his sitting is true,
but the opinion is rather true because the action of his being
seated was antecedent in time. Thus, though the truth of the
opinion may be the effect of the person taking a seat, there is,
nevertheless, a necessity common to both. The same method
of reasoning, I think, should be employed with regard to the
prescience of God, and future contingencies ; for allowing it to
be true that events are foreseen because they are to happen,
and that they do not befall because they are foreseen, it is still
necessary that what is to happen must be foreseen by God, and
that what is foreseen must take place." See also Par. XVII,
37-42 :
La contingenza, che fuor del quaderno
Della vostra materia non si stende,
Tutta è dipinta nel cospetto eterno.
Necessità però quindi non prende,
Se non come dal viso in che si specchia
Nave che per corrente giù discende.
424
Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto XVI.
if in your first resistance to the influence of the planets
(that is, resistance to the sins to which you are most
easily predisposed), it (your will) finds the battle
hard, still in the end it overcomes in the whole, if only
it well nourishes itself.*
Scartazzini says that, if we recapitulate what Marco
explains from v. 67, we obtain the following points,
as believed by Dante.
1. Men seek to excuse their evil actions by attri-
buting the cause to planetary influences, as though
they were driven by necessity.
2. Such a doctrine destroys free will, and accuses
of injustice that God, Who rewards good and punishes

evil.
man his first inclinations, though not all, for some
take their origin in the evil habits that have been
contracted.
4. If man will only make use of the light of reason
and revelation, as also of his free will, he can and
ought to be able to resist planetary influences, or
* According to the astrological belief in the middle ages,
everything on earth is subject to the influence of the planets.
See Par. XIII, 64. Every one of the heavens is endowed with
a particular power, which kindles the first appetites in us.
Dante does not deny the action of the planets, but only the
necessity of obeying their influence. Man is endowed with
them to what is good.
Compare St. Thomas Aquinas, Summ. Theol. p. II, 2ae, qu.
XCV, art. 5. On verse 78, vince tutto, compare St. Thomas
Aquinas, Summ. Theol. p. I, qu. CXV, art. 4.
VE
Canto XVI. Readings on the Purgatorio. 425
5. This resistance is at the first exceedingly hard
and laborious; yet
6. Man can succeed in completely overcoming the
planetary influences if only his Free Will gets properly
nourished (ben si nutrica) with the food of wisdom
and of grace.*
Marco next shows that if men are subject to
planetary influences, they are, in their freedom, subject
to the greater might of God, to that better nature,
which, through baptism or otherwise, they may claim
as his gift to them. Dante solves the problem that
has vexed the souls of men in all ages, and leaves them
with the gift of freedom, and therefore the burden of
responsibility. Throughout he follows Aquinas, as
Aquinas had followed Augustine.
A maggior forza ed a miglior natura
Liberi soggiacete, e quella cria
La mente in voi, che il ciel non ha in sua cura.
Although free, yet are you all subject to a greater
might, and to a better nature (that of God) than the
planetary influences, and that creates in you your
mind, over which the planets have no influence.†

80
* Ptolemy is supposed to have said :
“The wise man shall control the stars."
And a Turkish proverb says:
“ Wit and a strong will are superior to fate.”
+ Benvenuto says it is too absurd to suppose that man is
under the influence of the planets, when one may more reason-
ably suppose that the planets were created on account of man.
He relates, in confirmation of this, a story which he considers a
very merry one. Not long ago there flourished in the city of
Padua one Pietro de Abano, a distinguished philosopher,
astrologer and physician, who at one time held this pernicious
426 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto XVI.
Benvenuto says that Marco, having condemned the
first part of the distinction as being false (namely that
all things must happen of necessity), concludes that
the second part is true :
Però, se il mondo presente disvia,
In voi è la cagione, in voi si cheggia,
Ed io te ne sarò or vera spia.
Hence, if the people at present in the world go
astray, the cause is in you, not in the planets, it must
therefore be sought for in you, and I will now be to
thee a real expounder of the matter.*
Now follows a fine description of the newly-created
soul.

doctrine. One day, being very angry with his servant who had
come home late, he wanted to beat him, but the servant, who
was very intelligent, said with ready wit :-"My Master, and
Lord, I confess that I have done wrong ; but pray condescend
to hear one word from me, before thou givest me my well
deserved punishment. I have often heard thee say that all
things arise from necessity; how then could I come home more
quickly?”—Pietro, more angry than ever, exclaimed while
brandishing his stick :—“And it is necessary, thou good-for-
nothing servant, that I should give thee a good beating for
thine insolence.” The servant nothing daunted, laying his
hand upon his dagger, said : “And certainly, insensate Master,
it is necessary for me to bury this in thine entrails.” Fear
tempered Pietro's wrath, and he said: “Thou shalt always
remain with me, an thou wilt; and I promise thee that I will
never again hold or teach those doctrines.”
* v. 84. Spia, according to Scartazzini, is verace indicatore,
esploratore. Fraticelli says that, in ancient use, the word had
not the same invidious meaning that it has now. Compare
Shakespeare, King Lear, act V, sc. 3:
“ And take upon us the mystery of things,
As if we're God's spies."
Canto XVI. Readings on the Purgatorio.
427
Esce di mano a Lui, che la vagheggia
Prima che sia, a guisa di fanciulla
Che piangendo e ridendo pargoleggia,
L'anima semplicetta, che sa nulla,
Salvo che, mossa da lieto fattore,
Volontier torna a ciò che la trastulla.*
90
The soul, so simple that it knows nothing save that,
set in motion by a joyful Creator, it turns eagerly to
what gives it pleasure, comes forth from the hand of
Him Who takes delight in it before it exists, like a
little child, that acts as a child (pargoleggia) by weep-
ing and laughing.t
Di picciol bene in pria sente sapore;
Quivi s'inganna, e dietro ad esso corre,
Se guida o fren non torce il suo amore.
At first it enjoys the savour of a trifling pleasure;
herein it deceives itself (thinking that to be the highest
good), and runs after it, unless guide or bit turn

Benvenuto, taking this passage nearly in its literal
sense, gives some intimate details of infantine delights,
beginning with a baby's first impressions of its first warm
* v. 90. La trastulla. Compare Dante, Conv. IV, 12.
+ Dante, in stating that the newly-created soul knows nothing,
shows that he followed the doctrine of the Peripatetics, who
said that the human soul, when it is first created by God, is
made apt to learn everything, but does not thereby have any
knowledge or innate ideas. And this, says Fraticelli, is the
most probable and general opinion. The Platonists thought
the contrary, holding that the soul, from the instant of its
creation, has in itself the germs of knowledge, which in time
are developed and brought out by instruction or study. Dante
also followed the doctrine of St. Thomas Aquinas (Summ.
Theol. p. I. qu. LXXXIV).
428
Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto XVI.
time when the full grown man seeks greedily after
riches, next after honour, glory, fame; and thence
falling into pride and envy. Fraticelli explains en-
tirely allegorically ; by guida he understands educa-
tion, and by fren, the restraints of the law.
Marco adds that for this reason the law was invented,
and a shepherd given to the flock.
Onde convenne legge per fren porre ;
Convenne rege* aver, che discernesse
95
Della vera cittade almen la torre.
Whence it became necessary to establish laws as a
restraining bit; it became necessary to have a ruler,
who should at least discern the tower of the true city.
Mr. Butler says of “la vera cittade," that there is
implied here the mystical connection which Dante is
fond of suggesting between the empire with its capital
on earth, and the heavenly city “onde Cristo è
Romano.” (XXXII, 102). Compare XIII, 95.

* Rege. Benvenuto explains this to mean a spiritual ruler,
who should declare to men by his doctrine the summit of bliss
(summam felicitatum) of the Eternal City of God; but Francesco
da Buti, Jacopo della Lana, Fraticelli and others, say that it
became necessary to have a ruler who should make men observe
the laws, and who, at least in a general way, should have such
understanding of the real good as to know that justice is the
bulwark (la torre) and defence of the eternal city.
Francesco da Buti observes : “Let the Ruler know that what
guards our rationality is justice, and if he cannot know all the
other species of virtues, let him at least have a general know-
ledge of them. . . . All gentlemen are not philosophers, though,
from being placed above others they ought to be ; but, at least,
they ought to have their intellects disposed towards justice; and
this is shown by Dante making Marco speak of men being the
cause of the corruption of the world.” Compare De Monar-
chia I, 12, 13; also Conv. IV, 4.
Canto XVI. Readings on the Purgatorio. 429
Marco having declared that laws are necessary to
direct men to what is good, next upbraids the rulers
who administer the laws in word only but not in
deed ; the consequence of which is general depravity.
In the lines that follow Marco shows that “consue-
verat in vita bene scire mordere."
Le leggi son, ma chi pon mano ad esse ?
Nullo ; però che il pastor che precede
· Ruminar può, ma non ha l' unghie fesse.
The laws exist, but who puts a hand to them? (to
get them observed ?) No one; because the shepherd,
who takes precedence in dignity, can chew the cud,
but does not divide the hoof.
Benvenuto contends that Dante means the modern
Shepherd, the Pope, chewing the cud in the sense of
having the law of God constantly on his lips, and
fully discussing it, and he adds that in very truth
Boniface VIII had a thorough knowledge of the laws
and the Holy Scriptures, and wrote treatises on cano-
nical law, but did not divide the temporal power from
the spiritual, but rather confounded the two together.*
Marco then proceeds, from the above premises, to
infer the conclusion which he had been gradually de-

* “Dieu défendit aux Hébreux de ne se nourrir d'aucun
animal qui ne ruminât, et n'eût les ongles fendus (Lev. XI).
Selon les interprètes de l'Ecriture, le ruminer, dans le sens
mystique, signifie la sagesse, et les ongles fendus, l'action.
Appliquant cette image à la doctrine développée par lui dans
son livre De Monarchia, Dante dit que le Pasteur qui précède
le Pape, dont la fonction est la plus noble, peut ruminer, c'est-
à-dire préparer l'aliment spirituel pour le corps de la République
chrétienne, mais qu'il n'a pas les ongles fendus, ou le pouvoir
temporel, lequel appartient à l'Empereur."--Lamennais.
430 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto XVI.
veloping, viz. : that the wickedness of the Shepherd
is the principal cause of the perversion of the world.
Per che la gente, che sua guida vede
100
Pure a quel ben ferire ond' ella è ghiotta,
Di quel si pasce, e più oltre non chiede.
And on this account the people, who see their guide
only aiming at those temporal goods for which they
are eager, feed in their turn on the same, and ask for
nothing further.
The Papacy becomes a temporal and worldly power,
seeking after worldly good, and clergy and laity alike
follow its example. *
| And therefore Marco adds :
Ben puoi veder che la mala condotta
E la cagion che il mondo ha fatto reo,
E non natura che in voi sia corrotta.
105
Well canst thou perceive that evil guidance is the
cause that has made the world guilty, and not that
nature is corrupt in you.
What Marco would say is: “From what I have set
forth, you can now recognize that the cause of the
world being so empty of virtue, and so charged with
vice, cannot be attributed either to the influence of the
planets or to the corruption of human nature, but to
the evil guidance, and bad government of the world.”'t

* In some old French satirical verses the following lines
occur :-
“Au temps passé du siècle d'or,
Crosse de bois, évêque d'or ;
Maintenant changent les lois,
Crosse d'or, évêque de bois."
+ Compare Isaiah LVI, II: “They are shepherds that can-
not understand : they all look to their own way, every one for
Canto XVI. Readings on the Purgatorio. 431
And now Marco gives a kind of retrospect of the
early Empire, which Dante also speaks of (Convito,
IV, 5) as a golden age. Perhaps the period of
the Antonines is meant, when the Emperor ruled
righteously in temporal things, and the successor of
St. Peter exercised an independent authority over
the church in spiritual things. But the endowment
of the church of Rome by Constantine had spoiled
everything.
Soleva Roma che il buon mondo feo,
Due Soli aver, che l' una e l'altre strada
Facean vedere, e del mondo e di Deo.
Rome, that reformed the world, was accustomed to
have two suns, who pointed out the one and the
other way, (the Emperor) that of the world, and (the
Pope) that of God.*
Marco goes on to show that the cupidity and
ambition of the Shepherd has destroyed this harmony.
L'un l'altro ha spento; ed è giunta la spada
Col pastorale, e l' un con l' altro insieme 110
Per viva forza mal convien che vada ;
The one has quenched the other; and the sword is
joined with the crosier, and that the one should go
with the other must perforce ill suit.
And to show that one person cannot well administer
offices so dissimilar he adds :

his gain, from his quarter.” And Jer. L, 6 : “My people hath
been lost sheep : their shepherds have caused them to go
astray, they have turned them away on the mountains."
* Benvenuto says this was the case when Constantine was
Emperor and Sylvester Pope; when Justinian was Emperor
and Agapitus Pope; when Charlemagne was Emperor and
Adrian Pope.
432
Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto XVI.
Però che, giunti, l' un l'altro non teme.
Se non mi credi, pon' mente alla spiga ;
Ch' ogni erba si conosce per lo seme.
For when joined the one no longer fears the other.
If thou dost not believe me, turn thy attention to the
full grown ear of corn (spiga, the effect) for every
plant is known by its fruits.
Marco means that, if Dante wants to know the
cause of the world going astray, he will find it in the
confusion of the two powers, and let him look at the
bad habits that are the fruit of a disordered civil
government. From the strife between the Pope and
the Emperor Frederick II, Lombardy, the flower of
Italy, was nearly annihilated.

Division IV. We now enter upon the concluding
Division of the Canto, in which Marco by way of
confirming what he has said before, proceeds to
describe the great change that has come over Lom-
bardy, which, on account of the above-mentioned
strife between the Pope and the Emperor, has lost
both its temporal and its spiritual goods.
In sul paese ch’ Adige e Po riga
115
Solea valore e cortesia trovarsi,
Prima che Federigo avesse briga :
In that land (Lombardy) which the Adige and the
Po water, worth and courtesy were wont to be found
before that Frederick had his conflict.*
* Dean Plumptre remarks that, “ Dante's retrospect of the
history of the previous century is as an induction, proving his
position. Lombardy, Romagna, and the Marca Trevigiana,
Canto XVI. Readings on the Purgatorio. 433
Or può sicuramente indi passarsi
Per qualunque lasciasse, per vergogna,
Di ragionar co' buoni o d'appressarsi. 120
Now can it be travelled over in perfect security by
any one, who, from sense of shame, would abstain from
speech or association with good men.
Meaning, that whoever would feel ashamed, because
himself bad, to converse with good and courteous
folk, can safely go through Lombardy from end to
end, for now he will not find any good men left there.
Benvenuto relates several anecdotes illustrating
Marco's pungent and ready wit, and says that having,
with biting sarcasm, applied to the people of Lom-
bardy a general rule of unworthiness, he next, by
way of a sop to their feelings, makes a special excep-
tion : for he observes that in these two provinces there
do still survive three worthy men, who retain some of
the old-fashioned virtue and courtesy.
Ben vèn* tre vecchi ancora, in cui rampogna
L'antica età la nuova, e par lor tardo
Che Dio a miglior vita li ripogna:+
described after Dante's manner (Purg. XIV, 92. Inf. XVIII,
61), by their rivers, had, in the good old days of the emperors,
from Barbarossa onwards, presented bright examples of a
chivalrous life. All had been ruined by the long conflict of
Frederick II with Honorius III, Gregory IX, and Innocent IV,
and in that long conflict, each party, the Popes pre-eminently,
had usurped an authority which belonged to the other. In
contrast with that ideal excellence, the grave irony of Dante
speaks (perhaps from personal experience), of the safety with
which a man may travel to and fro in that region, subject only
to the condition that he avoids those who are like-minded with
himself."
* V' èn, venno; old Italian for “vi sono."
+ Benvenuto thinks this is said hyperbolically. They wish to
FF

434
Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto XVI.
There are indeed, still surviving three aged men,
in whom the ancient age seems to reprove the present;
and it appears long to them ere God remove them to
a better life.
They are :
Corrado da Palazzo,* e il buon Gherardot
E Guido, da Castel,I che me' si noma
Francescamente il semplice Lombardo.

nome
125
be put back to a better life, that is, to a more virtuous one
than is that of modern times.
* Benvenuto tells us : “Corrado da Palazzo was a noble of
hands had been cut off, he hugged the standard with his stumps
until he died.” He was Captain of the people at Florence in
1279. Compare (Ballad of Chevy Chace) -
For Witherington I needs must wayle
As one in doleful dumpes ;
For when his legs were smitten off,
He fought upon his stumpes.
+ Gherardo, of the noble house of Camino, was a soldier
and lord of Treviso, a principality always held by his family.
He was kind, humane, courteous, liberal, and a friend of good
men, and surnamed the good.
I Guido da Castello was of the family of the Roberti of
Reggio, of which there were three branches, namely, the Roberti
di Tripoli, the Roberti di Furno, and the Roberti da Castello.
He flourished at Reggio in the time of Dante, when that State
was in great prosperity, and was governed liberally. He was a
prudent and upright man, beloved and honoured, and wise in
counsel. His liberality was great, and Dante himself experi-
enced it, having been received into his house with much honour.
As to his being called semplice lombardo, some persons have
tried to explain that on account of his great courtesy, his
fame extended to France, and he was called the simple Lom-
bard. “But that,” says Benvenuto, “is absurd, for you must
know that the French call all Italians Lombards, and hold them
Canto XVI. Readings on the Purgatorio. 435
Corrado da Palazzo, and the good Gherardo, and
Guido da Castello, who is better named, in the French
mode, the honest Lombard.
From this point Marco, in concluding his long
speech, summing up its substance, and drawing his
deduction from it, teaches Dante what answer he
ought to make in the future to any one who should
question him on this great matter.
Di' oggimai che la Chiesa di Roma,
Per confondere in sè duo reggimenti,
Cade nel fango,* e sè brutta e la soma.”—
Say thou henceforward that the Church of Rome,
from confounding in itself two governments, falls
into the mire, and befouls both itself and its charge."
Dante now tells us how he himself confirmed
Marco's words by the authority of Holy Scripture,
saying :-
—“O Marco mio,”—diss'io,-“bene argomenti;
Ed or discerno, perchè dal retaggio
Li figli di Levì furono esenti;
[He then asks Marco why he simply called Ghe-
rardo by his Christian name, while he had given to
Conrad and Guido their family names.]
Ma qual Gherardo è quel che tu per saggio

I 30
Di' ch'è rimaso della gente spenta,
In rimprovério del secol selvaggio ?”— 135
to be uncommonly sharp ; and therefore Marco says well that,
in the French mode of speaking, he would properly be called
merely a Lombard.” See Purg. VII, 130, "il re della semplice
vita.”
* Throughout De Monarchia Dante contends against the
Papacy absorbing the inherent rights of the Empire, and cen-
sures it for not dividing the hoof.
FF 2
436 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto XVI.
"O my Marco,” said I, “thou reasonest well; and
now I understand why the sons of Levi were excluded
from the heritage.* But what Gherardo is it who
thou sayest has remained a sample of an extinct
class, as a reproof to this savage age ?”
Marco answers Dante's question :
_“O tuo parlar m'inganna o e' mi tenta," —
Rispose a me ;—“chè, parlandomi Tosco,
Par che del buon Gherardo nulla senta.
Per altro soprannome io nol conosco,
S' io nol togliessi da sua figlia Gaja.
140
Dio sia con voi, chè più non vegno vosco.
“Either thy words deceive me," he answered me,
“or they are meant to prove me (to see if I know
anything more about him), for, addressing me, as thou
dost in Tuscan, it would seem that thou hast no
knowledge of the good Gherardo,t I know him by no
other surname, unless I were to take it from his
daughter Gaja. [Marco then takes leave of the two
Poets :) May God be with you, for I accompany
you no further.
Benvenuto owns that he feels a doubt as to Marco's
meaning, when he declares that he does not know

* dal retaggio: see Numbers, XVIII, 20, and Joshua, XIII,
14. Dante can now comprehend, on account of the evil arising
from churchmen being invested with temporal power, why God
had forbidden the Levites to have an inheritance like the other
tribes, and left them to depend for all beyond their dwellings
on the tithes and offerings of the people, and the Christian
priesthood ought to have followed their example. See Canto
XIX, 115. Mon. III, 10.
+ Scartazzini notices that Marco has twice spoken of Gherardo
as il buono, in verses 124 and 138.
Canto XVI. Readings on the Purgatorio.
437
Gherardo by any other surname, for the family name
of the De Camino was famous, not only in Lom-
bardy, but throughout all Italy. And especially was
Marco intimate with the family and the former head
of it, Riccardo, father of Gherardo.* Benvenuto
thinks that this apparent want of knowledge was
feigned for a double reason :—that he (Dante) might
mention Gherardo's extreme goodness, for he under-
stood that Gherardo ought to be more celebrated for
his goodness than from the distinction of the noble
family of De Camino; and that he might have an

daughter Gaja, who was unfortunately but too well
known as mulier vere gaia et vana ; et Tarvisina
tota amorosa; and as though Marco would say:
“ Neither do his noble blood, or his private virtues
* In this same Canto, where Marco is first introduced, Ben-
venuto relates how on one occasion, Marco having been taken
prisoner, and an immense ransom demanded for his liberation,
he sent a messenger to Riccardo de Camino, Lord of Treviso,
begging him not to let him die in prison. Riccardo, feeling real
pity for the straits in which his friend found himself, wrote at
once to several great princes in Lombardy, at whose courts
Marco had been a frequent and welcome guest, in order that
they might confer with him as to the best means of effecting his
liberation. Marco was very indignant on hearing this, and sent
off another messenger to inform Riccardo de Camino that he
would rather die in captivity than become a slave so often, and
to so many people (servus tot et tantorum). Riccardo, struck
with shame, and cursing his own meanness, at once, by himself,
Marco could hardly, therefore, have spoken literally when he
said : “Per altro sopranome io nol conosco.” He must have
said it in a figurative sense.
438
Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto XVI.
render him so celebrated as does the unfortunate
notoriety of his daughter.”
Finally Marco, having bid the Poets God-speed,
points out to them the pure light into which they are
about to pass, whereas he himself must still remain
in the black smoke.
Vedi l' albór, che per lo fummo raja,
Già biancheggiare, e me convien partirmi,
L'Angelo è ivi, prima ch' io gli appaja."-
Così tornò, e più non volle udirmi.
145
Behold the dawn, that radiates through the smoke,
is already beginning to whiten, and it behoves me to
part from you (for the Angel is yonder) before I be
seen by him.” So he turned back, and would not any
longer listen to me.
Marco had to turn back into the smoke before the
appearance of the Angel, into whose presence he
could only come, when his penance should have been
completed.

END OF CANTO XVI.
Canto XVII. Readings on the Purgatorio.
439
CANTO XVII.
7
PASSAGE FROM THE CORNICE OF ANGER INTO
THE CORNICE OF SLOTH.
ACCIDIA.
As in the preceding Canto Dante treated of and
defined the purgation of anger in general, so he now
follows on to speak of the remedial measures for curb-
ing fierce anger in particular, and he then proceeds to
treat of Accidia, for which there is no very good
English equivalent, but I believe “spiritual sloth "
best expresses its meaning.
The Canto is divided by Benvenuto into three
parts.
In the First Division (from v. I to v. 39), Dante
points out what is the best curb to anger.
> In the Second Division (from v. 40 to v. 75), he
relates how the Angel purified him from the sin of
anger, and showed him the way to the fourth cornice,
where Accidia (spiritual sloth) is chastened.
In the Third Division, from v. 76 to v. 139,
Dante, before treating of Accidia, proceeds, with con-
summate skill, to inquire into the source and origin of
it, and of the other capital sins.

Division 1. Before teaching how to put checks
upon anger, Dante relates that when he was issuing
from the smoky cloud which enveloped the angry, the
setting sun appeared. He seems to say: "Shall I tell
you, in language that you can understand, how I
440 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto XVII.
issued from that pitchy smoke, and came forth into
the luminous air ? Imagine at some time or other,
when crossing the Alps or Apennines, a cloud has
covered you so that you could see nothing, and then
after a while, as the cloud gets rarified by the sun,
you begin to recover the sight of things around, but

supposed to do."
Ricorditi, lettor, se mai nell'alpe
Tì colse nebbia, per la qual vedessi
Recollect, reader, if ever a mist has overtaken thee,
through which thou couldest not see otherwise, than
does the mole through the membrane (of its eye) ;*
Come, quando i vapori umidi e spessi
A diradart cominciansi, la spera
Del sol debilemente entra per essi ;
How when the humid and condensed vapours begin
to dissipate themselves, the orb of the sun feebly pene-
trates through them.
“It is well here to remember," says Benvenuto," that
although there are divers Alps in differents parts of
the world, yet our poet is probably speaking of the
* Benvenuto quoting natural history as he knew it, writes :-
“Take note that the mole appearing to see is shown in a double
manner. First, because it has eyes, and nature creates nothing
in vain; and secondly, because we know that the mole dies as
soon as it beholds the light; so it is made to see feebly, because
a beneficent and foreseeing Nature has given it this membrane
over its eyes, that they may not be injured, seeing that it lives
entirely underground.” And he adds that the angry man in the
heat of passion is very like a mole.
+ Fanfani explains diradare: “to take away the thickness or
density."
Canto XVII. Readings on the Purgatorio. 441
Apennine Alps, and of that part of it which lies
between Bologna and Florence, where he had met
with such an experience as he describes.” Benvenuto
himself remembered this passage, when a cloud* enve-
loped him in the same way on the Apennines.
Dante now gives the application of his simile.
E fia la tua immagine leggiera
In giugnere a veder, com' io rividi
Lo sole in pria, che già nel corcare era.
And thy imagination will be quick in coming to

My friend, Dr. Moore, puts the picture very clearly
before us
"In XVII, 9, as they are leaving the third cornice,
the sun is on the point of setting, and in the lower
valleys his light had already departed (see v. 12). As
they ascend to the fourth cornice, where Accidia, or
Sloth, is punished, twilight has come on, the last light
in the sky is rapidly fading, and the stars are begin-
ning to appear here and there (see v. 62 and v. 70-2).
It was the sun-set of Easter Monday, about 6-30 p.m.)”
And he concludes the account:
Sì, pareggiando i miei co' passi fidi
IO
Del mio maestro, uscii fuor di tal nube
A' raggi, morti già nei bassi lidi.
* Compare Homer (Iliad III, 10, Lord Derby's Translation).
As when the south wind o'er the mountain tops
Spreads a thick veil of mist, the shepherd's bane
And friendly to the nightly thief alone,
That a stone's throw the range of vision bounds
So rose the dust-cloud, as in serried ranks
With rapid step they mov'd across the plain.
+ The proper meaning of Alpe is simply a lofty mountain.
442 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto XVII.
Thus, regulating my own by the faithful steps of
my Master (we must remember that Dante was walk-
ing with his hand upon Virgil's shoulder, see XVI, 9],
I issued forth from such a cloud into the rays, already
dead upon the low shores.
In the next four verses Dante, having himself a
powerful fancy, invokes the imaginative powers, asking
them whence comes their motive force.
O immaginativa,* che ne rube
Talvolta sì di fuor, ch' uom non s' accorge,
Perchè d' intorno suonin mille tube,
Chi muove te, se il senso non ti porge?
Muoveti lume, che nel ciel s' informa
Per sè, o per voler che giù lo scorge.
O Imagination, thou that dost at times abstract us
so completely outside ourselves,t that one does not

15
222
* immaginativa, the imaginative power or fantasy.
Compare St. Tho. Aqu. (Summ. Theol., P. I. qu. LXXVIII,
art. 4), “Ad harum autem formarum retentionem aut conserva-
tionem ordinatur phantasia, sive imaginatio, quæ idem sunt; est
enim phantasia, sive imaginatio quasi thesaurus quidam forma-
rum per sensum acceptarum."
And again (P. I., qu. LXXXIV, art. 6), “Procul dubio oportet
in vi imaginativa ponere non solum potentiam passivam, sed
etiam activam."
And (P. III, qu. XXX, art. 3), “Imaginatio est altior potentia
quam sensus."
+ Benvenuto relates the following anecdote of Dante's self-
abstraction : “It happened once to him (Dante) in the City of
Siena, that he was shown a book of great reputation, and which
he had never seen before, and as he could not get any better
opportunity of seeing it, he leant his breast against an apothe-
cary's counter, and read the whole book through with such atten-
tion (steadfastly keeping his eyes fixed upon it from the sixth
hour until vesper time), that he was not aware of anything pass-
Canto XVII. Readings on the Purgatorio.
443
perceive even though a thousand trumpets were bray-
ing around one, who is it that moves thee if the senses
do not place it before thee? [He then answers his
own question.] The light (of the intellect) which is
formed in heaven, sets thee in motion, either spon-
taneously (per sè), or by the will of God) which sends
it down.
Or, according to Benvenuto: “By the Divine will,
which transmits the light itself to man without the
intermediation of the heavens ; or, as though he would
say: Such powers of imagination are set in motion by
light from heaven formed spontaneously or trans-
mitted from God.”
Dante now demonstrates by three examples, how,
in a kind of mystic imagination, he fancied he saw
three effects of anger, one bad, another worse, and the
third worst of all.
Dell' empiezza* di lei, che mutò forma
Nell'uccel che a cantar più si diletta,
Nell'immagine mia apparve l' orma.

20
ing around him, although a bridal procession was passing close
by, with shouts, songs and music. And when people asked him
how he could manage to go on reading without noticing so dis-
tinguished a festival, with its agreeable sight of so many of the
ladies of Siena, and the beautiful music of so many instruments,
he answered that he had not perceived that anything was going
on; and after that people had marvelled greatly at that, they
were struck with a second wonder even greater, when they
remembered that Dante was an especial admirer of love sonnets,
such as were being sung close to him.”
* Scartazzini says empiezza means cruelty, and quotes the
following words from Jacopo della Lana, : “Empiezza è una
specie pestifera d' iracondia.” He adds that it is all the worse
when perpetrated of malice aforethought.
Swee
444 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto XVII.
Of the cruelty of her (Philomela), who changed her
form into that of the bird that most delights in sing-
ing (the nightingale) there appeared the trace (the
outline) in my imagination.

.
which of the two sisters is here meant, Procne, whom
Jupiter changed into a swallow, or Philomela, who
became a nightingale.
E quì fu la mia mente sì ristretta*
Dentro da sè, che di fuor non venia
Cosa che fosse allor da lei recetta.
And hereupon my mind was so concentrated within
itself, that whatever thing was received by it, did not
come from without.
Dante now touches on a second instance of anger
that is worse than the first, for at times anger so in-
flames a man, that on account of a little injury done
him by one person, he will set his mind to work the
destruction of a great many of the innocent.
Poi piovve dentro all' alta fantasia
Un, crocifisso dispettoso e fiero
25
Then there descended into my elevated fancy one
(Haman), of a haughty and contemptuous mien, being
• crucified and with that demeanour (cotal) was he
dying.t
Intorno ad esso era il grande Assuero,
Ester sua sposa e il giusto Mardocheo,
Che fu al dire ed al far così intero.
30
* Compare Purg. III, 12-13.
“ La mente mia, che prima era ristretta
. L'intento rallargo.”
+ It is more than probable that Haman was empaled.
Canto XVII. Readings on the Purgatorio. 445
Around him were the great Ahasuerus, Esther his
Consort, and the just Mordecai, who was of such in-
tegrity both in words and deeds.*
We now come to the third example, that of a self-
destroyer from wrath. Benvenuto considers this the
worst kind, and says there is no greater sin. The story
is that of Amata, wife of King Latinus; she hanged
herself in anger and despair, because she thought
Turnus had been slain, to whom her daughter Lavinia
was betrothed.t

* Notwithstanding Dante's panegyric of Mordecai, I prefer
Bishop Wordsworth's view, which is that there is no single
person in the Book of Esther of any very lofty elevated charac-
ter, or of a devout mind. But the Bishop says that the book of
Esther must be read in connection with those of Ezra and
Nehemiah, and then the whole plot is clear. The devout Jews
had all departed to undergo privations and persecutions while
rebuilding Jerusalem. Those who sought their own ease and
comfort stayed in Persia, and of these were Mordecai and
Esther.
+ The story is told in the Æneid XII, 875, Dryden's
Translation.
“Mad with her anguish, impotent to bear
The mighty grief, she loathes the vital air.
She calls herself the cause of all this ill,
And owns the dire effects of her ungoverned will:
She raves against the gods, she beats her breast;
She tears with both her hands her purple vest :
Then round a beam a running noose she tied,
And fastened by the neck obscurely died.
Soon as the fatal news by fame was blown,
And to her dames, and to her daughter known,
The sad Lavinia rends her yellow hair,
And rosy cheeks : the rest her sorrow share :
With shrieks the palace rings, and madness of despair.”
446
Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto XVII.
E come questa imagine rompeo
Sè per sè stessa, a guisa d'una bulla
Cui manca l' acqua sotto qual si feo;
Surse in mia visïone una fanciulla,
Piangendo forte, e diceva :-“O regina, - 35
Perchè per ira hai voluto esser nulla ?
Ancisa thai per non perder Lavina ;
Or m'hai perduta. Io son essa che lutto,
Madre, alla tua pria ch' altrui ruina." —
And as this image broke up of itself, just as a
bubble* when the water under which it was formed
fails it; there uprose in my vision a young maiden
weeping bitterly, saying: “O Queen, why through
wrath hast thou chosen to be naught? Thou hast
slain thyself so as not to lose (me) Lavinia, now thou
hast lost me. I am the one that remains to mourn,
Mother, for thy destruction, before that of another.”
By altrui, Lavinia means Turnus, who had not yet,
as Amata thought, been slain by Æneas.
Benvenuto says Virgil adapted this story from one
in Homer's Odyssey, where Anticlea appears to her
son Ulysses in Hades, and tells him that she had hung
herself, thinking that she had lost him. In his Epistle
to the Emperor Henry VII, Dante refers to this
episode as a warning against yielding to selfish pas-
sions, instead of accepting apparent evil for the sake
of a greater good.

* Compare Shakespeare (Macbeth I, 3).
“ The earth hath bubbles, as the water has,
And these are of them."
Canto XVII. Readings on the Purgatorio. 447
Division II. Here begins the Second Division of
the Canto, in which Dante describes the appearance
of an angel, who purifies him from the sin of anger,
and directs him to the stairway leading up to the
next cornice.
Before proceeding to speak of other matters, Dante
relates how he was suddenly roused from his ecstatic
trance, and he compares his own case to that of a
man fast asleep in his room, on whose face the full
rays of the sun, striking through the window, cause
him to awake with a great start of fear; so now did
the brilliancy of the Angel awake Dante from his
vision, and strike him with awe.
Come si frange il sonno, ove di butto *
40
Nuova luce percuote 'l viso chiuso,
Che fratto guizza pria che muoia tutto;
Così l' immaginar mio cadde giuso
Tosto ch' un lume il volto mi percosse,
Maggiore assai, che quello ch' è in nostr' uso. 45

As sleep is broken, when on a sudden, a new light
strikes on the closed eyes, which broken slumber
struggles ere it wholly dies. Thus did my vision
vanish, when suddenly there smote me on the face a
* Biagioli says that in Par. XXVI, 70-75, one can extract the
“E come al lume acuto si disonna
Per lo spirito visivo, che ricorre
Allo splendor che va di gonna in gonna ;
E lo svegliato ciò che vede abborre,
Sì nescia è la sua subita vigilia,
Fin che la stimativa nol soccorre."
(the faculty of judgment.)

448 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto XVII.
light far exceeding in brilliancy that one which is in
our use (i.e. the sun).*
Having described his shining appearance, Dante
tells us what the Angel said to them.
Io mi volgea per vedere ov' io fosse
Quand' una voce disse : Qui si monta,
Che da ogni altro intento mi rimosse ;
E fece la mia voglia tanto pronta
Di riguardar chi era che parlava,
50
Che mai non posa, se non si raffronta.
I turned me round to see where I was, when a voice
said: “Here is the ascent," and this withdrew me
from every other thought, and made my will, to be-
hold who it was that was speaking, so eager, that it
would never have ceased longing, unless brought face
to face (with him who spoke).
The voice had caused an interruption of Dante's
meditations on anger, and prepared him for further
wonders. Just as the effulgence of the Angel sur-
passed all lights hitherto seen by Dante, so the voice
must have sounded like no mortal voice, and hence
his desire to behold the speaker.

* We learn from Canto XVI, 144, that the sudden light which
blazed into Dante's eyes was from the radiant form of the
Angel.
Compare Purg. VIII, 36 :
“Come virtù che a troppo si confonda.”
And Milton (Par. Lost, III, 380) :
“Dark with excess of bright
Thy raiment."
And (Par. Lost, I, 593):
“The excess of glory obscured.”
And Moore (National Melodies) :
“And like the lark that sunward springs,
T'was giddy with too much light."
Canto XVII. Readings on the Purgatorio. 449
Many of the old commentators attach a deeper
signification to the foregoing passage, especially Jacopo
della Lana, who interprets it as below.*
Dante then goes on to relate how he totally failed
to discern the Angel, whom he compares to the sun,
for as the human eye cannot gaze on its rays, so
much less could his eye sustain the brilliancy of the
Angel.
Ma come al sol, che nostra vista grava,
Così la mia virtù quivi mancava.
But as before the sun, which subdues our sight, and
from its excess (of light) conceals its form, so here did
my power fail.
Virgil, seeing Dante's inability to look upon the
angel, explains the cause of the radiant vision.
-“ Questi è divino spirito, che ne la
Via d' andar su ne drizza senza prego,
E col suo lume sè medesmo cela.

directing us into the way up, and who (like the sun)
conceals himself in his own light.t
Benvenuto tells us that the true love of the angel
is shown by an appropriate comparison:
Sì fa con noi, come l' uom si fa sego ; #
Chè quale aspetta prego, e l'uopo vede,
Malignamente già si mette al niego.
60
* “That voice sounded to me of such sweetness that my mind
will never more rest until I am able to hear it again face to face,
that is, when this first life is ended.”
+ Compare Ps. CIV, 2 : “Who coverest thyself with light as
with a garment.”
I Sego for seco. In all old Italian the interchange of g and c
is frequent, e.g. : preco for prego; laco for lago; draco for drago ;
GG
450 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto XVII.
He so deals with us, as one does for himself; for
whosoever sees the need, and expects the petition,
prepares himself beforehand unkindly to deny it.*
As though Virgil would say: "Just as man supplies
his own needs without any one else asking him, so
now does the Angel come spontaneously to us, and
forestalls our petitions.” And in this passage Ben-
venuto considers that Virgil censures (arguit) a com-
mon error of men, who, seeing their neighbour have
need, although they wish to help him, yet expect and
desire to be asked.
Virgil tells Dante that he ought to show his appre-
ciation of the Angel's courtesy by at once moving
forward.
Ora accordiamo a tanto invito il piede ;
Procacciam di salir pria che s' abbui,
Che poi non si poría, se il dì non riede.”—
Now let us accord our feet to such an invitation,
let us endeavour to ascend before it gets dark ; for
after, it will not be possible until the day return."
Virgil was anxious that they should reach the top
before darkness arrested them, so that they need
not sleep on the steps, as they had to do on the
following night (see XXVII, 70).

figo for fico; siguro for sicuro; Gostanza for Costanza ; and in
Conv. I, 8, “li tegni di Galieno,” which Scartazzini's note says
is “antica corruzione di Tecni, da téxvn, Arte, titolo dato da
Galeno ad un suo libro dell'arte medica."
* This opinion is quoted from Seneca, who says (De Benef. II,
1): Nulla res carius constat, quam quæ precibus emta est.”
Dante himself writes in the Convito, I, 8: “ Onde, acciocchè
nel donno sia pronta liberalità, e che essa si possa in esso notare,
allora si conviene essere netto d'ogni atto di mercatanzia,
conviene essere lo dono non domandato."
Canto XVII. Readings on the Purgatorio.
451
65
Così disse il mio duca, ed io con lui
Volgemmo i nostri passi ad una scala ;
E tosto ch' io al primo grado fui,
Senti' mi presso quasi un mover d'ala,
E ventarmi nel viso, e dir : Beati
Pacifici, che son senza ira mala.
Thus spoke my leader; and I with him turned our
steps to a stairway; and as soon as I reached the
first step, I felt as if a wing moved near me and
fanned my face, and I heard : “ Blessed are the Peace-
makers, who are free from sinful anger."
Benvenuto begs us to remark that Dante has used
the word mala,“ sinful,” intentionally, for some anger
can be righteous, and without sin, though Cicero in
his Tusculan Disputations, and Seneca, in his book
on Anger, have endeavoured to demonstrate at length,
that all anger is sinful and detestable.* .
Dante now describes the time of day at which they
entered on, and began to ascend the new stairs up to
the next cornice, on which Dr. Moore observes :
“ As they ascend to the Fourth Cornice where Sloth
(Accidia) is punished, twilight has come on, the last
light in the sky is rapidly fading, and the stars are
beginning to appear here and there.”

* Scartazzini contends that all wrath is not sinful, for in Holy
Scripture the wrath of God, which cannot be unrighteous, is
repeatedly spoken of.
Comp. Ephes. IV, 26: “Be ye angry, and sin not.” St. Thos.
Aquinas (Summ. Theol. P. II, 22., qu. CLVIII, art. I) quotes
from St. Chrysostom : “ Qui sine causa irascitur, reus erit; qui
vero cum causâ, non erit reus ; nam si ira non fuerit, nec doc-
trina proficit, nec judicia stant, nec crimina compescunter."
And St. Tho. Aqu. adds: “Ergo irasci non semper est malum."
G G2
457 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto XVII.
Vd
Già eran sopra noi tanto levati
70
Gli ultimi raggi che la notte segue,
Che le stelle apparivan da più lati.
Already the last rays, upon which the night follows,
were so high above us, that the stars were shining
forth all around.
At this point Dante begins to feel symptoms of
fatigue, and laments that his strength is failing.
-“ O virtù mia, perchè sì ti dilegue ?”—
Fra me stesso dicea, chè mi sentiva
La possa delle gambe posta in tregue. 75
“O my strength, why art thou thus melting away?”
I kept saying within myself, for I began to perceive
that the power of my legs had ceased for awhile (lit.
had been placed in truce).
The reason for this sudden weakness was the
approach of night, which, according to the laws of
Purgatory, impeded their further progress. Compare
Canto VII, 43-60.

Division 111. Benvenuto points out that in this
beautiful Division is investigated the origin of Spiritual
Sloth (Accidia), and also of the other sins chastised in
Purgatory, not only those that have been already
purged in the three first Cornices, viz. Pride, Envy
and Anger, but also those in the three remaining cor-
nices, viz. Avarice, Gluttony and Self-Indulgence.
Dante first describes the spot where they passed
the night. It was at the summit of the stairs, and on
the boundary of the fourth cornice.

Canto XVII. Readings on the Purgatorio. 453
Noi eravam dove più non saliva
La scala su, ed eravamo affissi,
Pur come nave ch' alla piaggia arriva :
We were now where the ascent had ceased, and
were fixed, even as a ship when it reaches the strand.
Benvenuto greatly admires this comparison, “ As a
ship is attached to the shore, where it can remain for
a time, and eventually succeed in getting into the
port, in which it can lie in perfect security, so here,
the genius of Dante, which, in the opening words of
the Purgatorio,* he has likened to a bark, had fortified
and fixed itself on the summit of the stairs for the
night. This had already taken place in another spot
on the previous evening, † and will happen again on
the following evening,I until he finally reaches the
presence of God, in whom, as in a tranquil harbour,
his mind, after its long voyage, may repose in peace.”
But being anxious not to let the time slip away in
profitless sleeps, he says:
*“Per correr migliori acque alza le leve
Omai la navicella del mio ingegno."
-Purg. I, 1-2.
“ Colà,"—disse quell'ombra,—“n' anderemo
Dove la costa face di sè grembo,
E quivi il nuovo giorno attenderemo.”—
Purg. VII, 67-9.
I E pria che in tutte le sue parti immense
Fosse orizzonte fatto d' un aspetto,
E notte avesse tutte sue dispense,
Ciascun di noi d' un grado fece letto;
Chè la natura del monte ci affranse
La possa del salir, più che il diletto.
Purg. XXVII, 70-75.
454
Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto XVII.
80
Ed io attesi un poco s' io udissi
Alcuna cosa nel nuovo girone ;
Poi mi volsi al maestro mio e dissi :
_“Dolce mio padre, di', quale offensione
Si purga qui nel giro ove semo ?
"Se i piè si stanno, non stea tuo sermone.”—
And I waited a while to see if I should hear any-
thing in the new cornice ;* then I turned me round to
my Master, and said: “My gentle Father, tell me
what offence is purged in this cornice where we are ?
Even though our feet have to tarry, let not thy speech
be stayed."
Dante recollects that during their enforced delay on
the previous night, Sordello had turned the time to
good account by pointing out to him the shades of the
departed great in the flowery valley, and he is anxious
now to discuss with Virgil some matter profitable for
what lies before him.
Benvenuto remarks that our poet, with great art,
proceeds to make a useful and necessary investigation,
in which he gives a clear distinction of the whole of
Purgatory through all its cornices; just as we read
n Inf. XI that he does of all the circles of Hell.
Virgil answers him:
Ed egli a me :-“L'amor del bene,t scemo

85
Di suo dover, quiritta si ristora,
Qui si ribatte il mal tardato remo :
* We may rememberthat Dante had heard sounds immediately
on entering each of the two preceding cornices. In the second
he heard the voice of the Angel crying aloud, Vinum non habent,
see Canto XIII, 25-30. In the third, he heard the spirits pray-
ing for peace and mercy (see Canto XVI, 16-18). In this new
circle no sound falls upon his ears.
+ St. Thos. Aquinas (Summ. Theol. P. I, qu. LXIII, art. 2)
defines Accidia thus : “Acedia vero est quædam tristitia quâ

Canto XVII. Readings on the Purgatorio.
455
And he to me: “The mere love of what is good,
when lacking its proper duty (of activity in seeking
after it) is precisely here atoned for, here must be
plied over again with renewed vigour the oar hitherto
dragged lazily.*
Benvenuto says that Accidia is a defective love of
the highest good, which we ought to seek for ardently.
It is therefore a kind of negligence, a tepid, lukewarm
condition, and as it were a contempt for acquiring the
desirable amount of goodness. Thus it is that the man
who, in his lifetime, strove carelessly after the good, is
compelled after death, to run diligently round this
fourth cornice, as we shall read in the next Canto.
And now Virgil begins to discourse at considerable
length on the origin and cause from which the seven
principal sins are derived, and he says that love is the
cause of all (by love must be understood our inclina-
tions, aspirations and longings). He apparently means
that pride, envy and anger arise from the love of evil
nimu
homo redditur tardus ad spirituales actus propter corporalem
laborem, quæ dæmonibus non competit.”
And (Summ. Theol., p. II, 2ą, qu. XXXV, art. I), “Acedia ita
deprimit animum hominis, ut nihil ei agere libeat; sicuti ea quæ
sunt acida, etiam frigida sunt. Et ideo acedia importat quoddam
tædium operandi."
* Biagioli says of “si ribatte'l mal tardato remo," that Dante
has taken this figure from the cruel treatment that the unhappy
galley-slaves experienced in his time. They were chained five
to an oar, and were mercilessly beaten if unable to row fast
enough. If the vessel got sunk or burnt, they were deliberately
left to perish. In Massimo d'Azeglio's novel, Niccolò de' Lapi,
in an account of a naval action of Andrea Doria, a terrible pic-
ture of this is given.
456 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto XVII.
e
35
love,
against one's neighbour; accidia, or sloth, from a tardy
desire of discerning and acquiring the true good. The
three remaining sins, avarice, gluttony and self-indul-
gence spring from an excessive love or desire of what
is not the true good. And so, Virgil shows that love
(is the perverted origin and root of all sins.
Virgil first draws Dante's attention to these distinc-
tions, promising him that he will derive profit to him-
self by considering them.
Ma perchè più aperto intendi ancora,
Volgi la mente a me, e prenderai
Alcun buon frutto di nostra dimora.
90
But that thou mayest understand yet more clearly,
turn thy mind to me, and thou shalt gather some good
fruit from our delay.
And Benvenuto points out that it was in truth very
great fruit, for, from the discourse of Virgil that follows
we can gather the whole form and condition (qualitas)
of Purgatory, and not only is the matter that has
already been discussed become clearly laid open before
us, when we have taken in these three distinctions,
but also that of which we are going to treat as we
go on.
Virgil enters on his subject by laying down a general
principle necessary for comprehending these distinc-
tions.
And Benvenuto says that, to understand the text
better, it is perhaps well to explain that there are two
kinds of love—the higher and the lower. The higher,
which can never be the cause of sin, seeks the good,
and the divine light. But the lower, on account of Free
Will, can be the cause of sin. As for instance, when
one loves a thing which ought not to be loved, but


Canto XVII. Readings on the Purgatorio.
457
which seems good to oneself, such as the ruin of a/
neighbour's prosperity. Or, when one loves a thing
worthy of being loved, but loves it inordinately. Or,
when one loves a thing worthy of our highest love,
but in a careless slothful way, as in the case of Accidia
which is punished in this cornice.
Nè creator, nè creatura mai,
(Cominciò ei) figliuol, fu senza amore
O naturale, o d'animo ; e tu il sai.
Neither Creator nor creature (he began), was ever
without love, either the natural or the rational ; and
thou knowest it.
God
Having laid down this supposition, Virgil declares
what kind of love is the cause of good, and what the
cause of evil, saying:
Lo natural è sempre senza errore ;
Ma l' altro puote errar per malo obbietto, 95
O per poco, o per troppo di vigore.
The natural (that is, instinct left to itself) is always
free from error ; but the other (the rational) may err
either from directing itself to a bad object, or from
too much or too little zeal.
Virgil then shows when love errs, and when it does
not.
Mentre ch' egli è ne' primi* ben diretto,
E ne' secondi sè stesso misura,
Esser non può cagion di mal diletto.
As long as it (love) is well directed towards the
* Cristofero Landino, in a note on this passage, says that
there are two kinds of love or desire ; the first (nei primi) is
natural, which is naturally implanted in all creatures, through
which they seek after that good, with which they find their self-
preservation ; the other love (nei secondi) is animal, that is, of
the mind, and this proceeds from the will, in which there is
power of election and free-will.
.
458
Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto XVII.
first, and in the second keeps itself in due measure, it
cannot be the cause of sinful pleasure.
He now explains how love may be sinful.
Ma quando al mal si torce, o con più cura,
100
O con men che non dee, corre nel bene,
Contra il fattore adovra sua fattura.
But when it turns itself to ill, or pursues the good
with more zeal or with less than it ought, then God's
creature (sua fattura) is working against its Creator.
Benvenuto says this animal love can turn itself to
work evil against one's neighbour through pride, envy
or anger; it can be too solicitous after temporal
goods through avarice, gluttony or luxury; and it
can pursue the highest good with less zeal than it
ought through sloth (accidia).
And Virgil draws the following conclusion :
Quinci* comprender puoi ch' esser conviene
Amor sementa in voi d'ogni virtute,
E d'ogni operazion che merta pene
105
Hence thou mayest understand that love must be
the seed within yourselves of every virtue, as well as
of every (sinful) action that merits punishment.
And thus (Benvenuto remarks) we have it that love is
the root and origin of every action, whether ineritorious
or the reverse, when it is turned aside to evil, or runs
after what is good with greater or less solicitude than
it ought.

Virgil then proceeds to demonstrate what sins arise
from love of what is bad, and yet which may seem to
* Compare St. Thomas Aquinas (Summ. Theol. p. I, qu. XX,
art. I): Primus motus voluntatis et cujuslibet appetivæ virtutis
est amor. And again (qu. LX, in princ.): Omnis actus appetiva
virtutis ex amore seu dilectione derivatur.

Canto XVII. Readings on the Purgatorio. 459
be good. He first shows that such love is always
towards another, and not to oneself, for love always
takes care of the person in whom it is set; and every
one desires his own welfare.
Or perchè mai non può dalla salute
Amor del suo suggetto* torcer viso,
Dall'odio proprio son le cose tute.
Now inasmuch that love can never turn its sight
from the welfare of its own subject, all things (that is,
beings susceptible of love) are secure from their own
hatred.
The meaning of this is, that no one ever wishes
harm to oneself, unless under the mistaken impression
that one is doing oneself good when doing oneself
harm; as, for instance, the unhappy suicide does not
deliberately imagine that what he is doing is for his
harm, but erroneously fancies it is for his good ; to
escape from disgrace, debts, or the burden of grief.
Virgil next draws another important conclusion,
namely, that no one can hate God.
E perchè intender non si può diviso,
E per sè stante, alcuno esser dal primo
Da quello odiare ogni affetto è deciso.
And inasmuch as one cannot think of any being as
severed from or standing of itself independently of
the First (i.e., God), every affection is removed from
hating That (One). I
* Scartazzini explains that suggetto is a scholastic term, and
in its most restricted sense signifies “person”; but here Dante
takes it to mean the being in whom this love resides.
+ deciso, here used in the sense of the Latin decidere, to cut
off, to remove.
# Compare St. Thomas Aquinas (Summ. Theol. p. II, 2ae,
qu. XXXIV, art. 1): “Odium est quidam motus appetivæ
ΙΙΟ
460 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto XVII.
From the above intricate and difficult passages we
may affirm, that Dante claims to have proved that
however ill regulated man's affections may be, there
is no intention in him to hate or do harm to himself.
He also shows that man's hatred is never against God.
And thence he draws the conclusion, that man's
| hatred must be against his fellow men.
Resta (se dividendo bene estimo),
Che il mal che s' ama è del prossimo, ed esso
Amor nasce in tre modi in vostro limo.
It follows then (if in my division I rightly estimate),
that the ill which is loved is that of one's neighbour;
and this love (of one's neighbour's ill) takes its birth
in your clay in three ways.
Virgil here, in beginning to speak of the three worst

potentiæ, quæ non movetur nisi ab aliquo apprehenso. Deus
autem dupliciter ab homine apprehendi potest : uno modo
secundum seipsum, puta cum per essentiam videtur ; alio modo
per effectus suos, cum scilicet invisibilia Dei per ea quæ facta
sunt, intellecta conspiciuntur. Deus autem per essentiam suam
est ipsa bonitas, quam nullus habere odio potest, quia de ratione
boni est ut ametur ; et ideo impossibile est quod aliquis videns
Deum per essentiam, eum odio habeat. Sed effectus ejus
aliqui sunt qui nullo modo possunt esse contrarii voluntati
humanæ ; quia esse, vivere et intelligere est et appetibile et
amabile omnibus ; quæ sunt quidam effectus Dei. Unde etiam
secundum quod Deus apprehenditur ut auctor horum effectuum,
non potest odio haberi. Sunt autem quidam effectus Dei qui
repugnant inordinatæ voluntati, sicut inflictio pænæ, et etiam
cohibitio peccatorum per legem divinam: quæ repugnant volun-
tati depravatæ per peccatum ; et quantum ad considerationem
talium effectuum, ab aliquibus Deus odio haberi potest, in
quantum scilicet apprehenditur peccatorum prohibitor, et.
poenarum inflictor."

Canto XVII. Readings on the Purgatorio... 461
sins, touches on the first, which is pride. For the
proud man, because he desires his own exaltation,
wishes to see his neighbour, abased.
È chi, per esser suo vicin soppresso,
115
Spera eccellenza, e sol per questo brama
Ch' el sia di sua grandezza in basso messo.
There is, who, through his neighbour being kept
down, hopes himself to excel, and, for this reason
only, longs to see him lowered from his greatness. *
Benvenuto says that this affection of pride is really
and truly evil ; for it seeks one's neighbour's over-
throw and ruin. He quotes the following extract
from Pliny: “What should a wretched man be proud
of? Does he not know that he is a receptacle of
squalor, a home of sorrows, a possession belonging to
death?” Benvenuto adds: “Nothing is so odious to
God as Pride. Verily, while some other sins have
their excuse, even though undeservedly, Pride has
none; no more has its own daughter Envy, which
follows close in the footsteps of its mother. Therefore
the proud mannikin has much in him of the nature of
a monster.”
Virgil next touches upon the second kind of the
love of evil, from which springs envy. The envious
man, because he dreads that his neighbour's prosperity
may be the cause of his own not being so great, is
grieved at the other's happiness. So he goes on to
say:
* Compare St. Thomas Aquinas (Summ. Theol. p. II, 2ae,
qu. CLXII, art. 3) : “Superbia dicitur esse amor propriæ
excellentiæ, in quantum ex amore causatur inordinata præ-
sumptio alios superandi ; quod proprie pertinet ad superbiam.”
e
Camor
462 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto XVII.
È chi podere, grazia, onore, e fama*
Teme di perder perch' altri sormonti,
Onde s'attrista sì, che il contrario ama; 120
There is who fears to lose power, favour, honour,
and renown, should another be promoted ; and so
much does he take it to heart, that he desires the
contrary.
“And mark well,” notes Benvenuto, “that it is es-
pecially among near neighbours that envy reigns
supreme : thus you will find that the King of the
Romans does not envy the King of the Parthians, or
vice-versâ; but when their empires bordered, their
mutual envy was great. Do not our own troubles
weigh hard enough upon us without our taking in
others to torture us? The old proverb says: Envy
is blear-eyed, and cannot see. Hence neighbourhood
and prosperity are the parents of Envy. What can
be sadder than Envy, which only feeds on ills, and is
tortured by prosperity ? Well did Alexander of
Macedon say that envious persons were nothing else
than the plague of his life. And certainly that was a
weighty argument from the lips of a flighty young
man (et certe verbum grave erat levis juvenis).”
And now Virgil passes on to the third kind of evil

* Compare St. Thomas Aquinas (Summ. Theol. p. II, 2ae,
qu. XXXVI, art. I): “Invidia est tristitia de alienis bonis.
Obiectum tristitiæ est malum proprium. Contingit autem id
quod est alienum bonum, apprehendi ut malum proprium ; et
secundum hoc de bono alieno potest esse tristitia. Sed hoc
contingit dupliciter : .... Alio modo bonum alterius æstimatur
ut malum proprium, in quantum est diminutivum propriæ gloriæ
vel excellentiæ ; et hoc modo de bono alterius tristatur invidia ;
et ideo præcipue de illis bonis homines invident in quibus est
gloria, et in quibus homines ainant honorari et in opinione esse."
Canto XVII. Readings on the Purgatorio. 463
love, from which springs Anger. Benvenuto observes
that the angry man longs to be revenged on those
who hold him of small count, for man is at all times
eager to be honoured.

Ed è chi per ingiuria par ch' adonti
Sì, che si fa della vendetta ghiotto ;
E tal convien che il male altrui impronti.
And there is who appears to feel such resentment
for an injury that he becomes greedy for vengeance ;
and such an one must needs contrive harm to others.
Benvenuto enlarges on this: “And note, that al-
though this disease of anger destroys and tortures
others, yet it often does so to its possessor: hence,
though Homer has said that anger is sweeter than
honey, yet nothing seems more bitter. The Roman
Senator Cælius, a most violent tempered man, once,
being in a great rage with a friend of his, who always
acquiesced in everything he said, exclaimed : ‘Do for
goodness sake say something contrary, that we may
be two persons. Thus it is that we make every little
word into a capital offence ; nor is there any stum-
bling block so great to us as our pride. But the
noblest form of revenge is to spare ; and therefore the
greatest of orators once said in praise of one of the
noblest of leaders, that he never forgot anything
except a personal injury. And Adrian, when he was
made Emperor, said to one whom he held to be his
deadliest enemy: ‘Thou hast escaped. That was in
truth a noble, magnificent, and imperial speech."
Virgil concludes this portion of his discourse by
adding:
464
Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto XVII.
Questo triforme amor quaggiù disotto
Si piange. Or vo' che tu dell'altro intende,
Che corre al ben con ordine corrotto.
This threefold love (that is directed to a bad object)
is wept for down below there (in the first three cor-
nices). Now I wish thee to understand about the
other (kind of love), which runs after good in an ill-
regulated manner.

Virgil, wishing to distinguish the love of good, and
to show what sins are committed against it, invites
Dante's attention to that love he described in verse 95,
che puote errar per malo obbietto, o per poco, o per troppo
di vigore.
|_ And then wishing to show how spiritual sloth arises,
he first lays down a general principle necessarily ap-
Ciascun confusamente un bene apprende,
Nel qual si queti l' animo, e desira :
Every one, in a confused sort of way, has a con-
ception of a good wherein his mind may rest, and
longs for it : and therefore each one strives to attain
unto it.
Se lento amore in lui veder vi tira,
130
O a lui acquistar, questa cornice,
Dopo giusto pentér, ve ne martira.
If it is only a sluggish love that attracts you to see,
or to obtain it, this (fourth) cornice will be to you the
place of torment for this (ne) after due penitence.
Only on condition of a truly contrite repentance
before death, could the soul come to Purgatory at all ;
failing this, it would have to go among the Lost in
Hell (see Inf. III, 34).
Canto XVII. Readings on the Purgatorio. 465
Virgil describes another secondary good from which
spring three other sins.
Altro ben è che non fa l' uom felice ;
Non è felicità, non è la buona*
Essenzia, d'ogni ben frutto e radice.+
There is another good which does not render man
happy; it is not happiness, it is not the good essence,
the fruit and root of every good.
Biagioli says that Dante means to speak of all
earthly possessions, which men strive after, according
to the different dispositions of their minds, as the

sua
na
* la buona Essenzia. Compare St. Thom. Aquin. Summ.
Theol. p. I, qu. VI, art. 3: “Solus Deus est bonus per suam
essentiam. Unumquodque enim dicitur bonum, secundum quod
est perfectum. Perfectio autem alicujus rei triplex est. Prima
quidem, secundum quod in suo esse constituitur ; secunda vero
prout ei aliqua accidentia superadduntur ad suam perfectam
operationem necessaria, tertia vero perfectio alicujus est per hoc
quod aliquid aliud attingit sicut finem ; utpote prima perfectio
ignis consistit in esse, quod habet per suam formam substan-
tialem ; secunda vero ejus perfectio consistit in caliditate,
levitate et siccitate, et hujusmodi ; tertia vero perfectio ejus est,
secundum quod in loco suo quiescit. Hæc autem triplex perfectio
nulli creato competit secundum suam essentiam, sed soli Deo,
cujus 'solius essentia est suum esse, et cui non adveriunt aliqua
accidentia ; sed quæ de aliis dicuntur accidentaliter, sibi conve-
niunt essentialiter, ut esse potentem, sapientem, et alia hujus-
modi ; ipse etiam ad nihil aliud ordinatur sicut ad finem,
sed ipse est ultimus finis omnium rerum. Unde manifestum
est quod solus Deus habet omnimodam perfectionem secundum
suam essentiam ; et ideo solus est bonus per suam essentiam.”
a es
+ According to St. Thomas Aquinas, God is the root and the
fruit of all good. (Summ. Theol. p. I, qu. VI, art. 4).
“Unumquodque dicitur bonum bonitate divina, sicut primo
principio exemplari effectivo, et finali totius bonitatis."
Η Η
466 Readings on the Purgatorio. Canto XVII.
ined
good beyond which there is nothing to be desired.
Therefore one man toils after riches, another after
honours, another after great power, another after
reputation. But this is not happiness, for it does not
exclude every other desire; it is not the Good Essence,
that is, God, the root and the fruit of all good, the
origin of every Heavenly Grace, and that Good in
which all other goods are contained.
In closing his discourse Virgil explains to Dante
that he purposely leaves the exact description of this
love of temporal good somewhat indefinite, in order
that Dante may work it out for himself by personal
experience.
L'amor, ch' ad esso troppo s' abbandona,
Di sovra noi si piange per tre cerchi ;
Ma come tripartito si ragiona,
Tacciolo, acciò che tu per te ne cerchi.”— 139
The love that yields itself too much to this is wept
for in the three cornices above us; but in what way it
is spoken of as tripartite, I say nothing thereof, in order
that thou mayest investigate it for thyself.
The disquisition that we have laboured through as
well as some forty lines in the next Canto, are a true
specimen of the scholastic philosophy prevalent in the
time of Dante.
What is known as the scholastic philosophy may be
considered to have flourished from Scotus Erigena in
the IXth century to William of Occam at the end of
the XIVth century. Its chief activity ranged from the
XIth century onward, and it reached the climax of
development with Thomas Aquinas and Duns Scotus
towards the end of the XIIIth and beginning of the
XIVth centuries. The term doctor scholasticus was

Canto XVII. Readings on the Purgatorio. 467
originally applied to any teacher in the schools
attached to mediæval ecclesiastical foundations, but
came to mean specially one who occupied himself
with dialectics and the theological and philosophical
questions arising therefrom. Briefly stated, scho-
lasticism is the application of Aristotelian logic to the
doctrines of the Church. Duns Scotus placed less x
reliance upon the power of reason than did Thomas
Aquinas, who may be ranked as a rationalist, while
the former may be styled a sceptic. The followers
of the one were known as Scotists and the other
as Thomists. The great work of Thomas Aquinas,
Summa Theologia, written about 1272, is an encyclo-
pædic synopsis of all the theological and philosophical
science of the age, arranged in logical forms. It was
deeply studied by Dante.

END OF CANTO XVII AND OF VOL. I.

DRYDEN PRESS:
J. DAVY AND SONS, 137, LONG ACRE, LONDON, W.c.

Benevenuti de "Rambaldis de Imola
0
COMENTUM
SUPER
DANTIS ALDIGHERIJ
COMEDIAM
NUNC PRIMUM INTEGRE IN LUCEM EDITUM
SUMPTIBUS GUILIELMI WARREN VERNON
CURANTE JACOBO PHILIPPO LACAITA.
Florentia, typis G. Barbéra, 1887, 5 vols. large 8vo., 75 lire
(£3). (D. Nutt, 270, Strand, London, W.C.)
*** A limited number of copies on large paper were issued, at
150 lire (£6). Only eight of these remain for sale.
“As a matter of interest in the history of the Society should
be mentioned the publication of the first edition of Benvenuto da
Imola's Comment on the Divine Comedy.'”—Sixth Annual
Report of the [American] Dante Society, May 17, 1887.
“ All students of Dante are familiar with the name of Lord Ver-
non, and with all that he has done for the honour of the poet and
for the illustration of his work. He has used wealth with lavish
munificence in printing splendid and valuable editions of the text,
which not the most enterprising publisher would venture to under-
take as a matter of business. And he has added to this a number
of unedited ancient commentaries, which will all have one day to
be critically examined, and has opened a path which Italian literary
societies are following. He had intended to do more, he had
nterprising and he han will all ha
Lii
purposed to print the copious and important Latin Commentary
of Benvenuto da Imola, a design which was interrupted by his
death. Meanwhile the Dante Society of the American Cam-
bridge, under the impulse of Mr. Charles Elliot Norton, resolved
plan when they found, through Sir James Lacaita, that Lord
Vernon's son, Augustus Lord Vernon, was bent on carrying out
his father's wish. The preparation of the text of Benvenuto was
begun, under the superintendence of Sir James Lacaita, when
Lord Vernon (Augustus) died in 1883. But the family enthusiasm
in a noble work was still alive. The work was taken up by Lord
Vernon's brother, the Hon. William Warren Vernon, and finished
at his expense. Readers of Dante have to thank him for accom-
plishing his father's design, and for giving them at length the
opportunity of seeing in its integrity a work the value and interest
of which are in their way unique. The book is handsomely
printed in five large volumes at the Barbéra Press, with intro-
ductory notices by Sir James Lacaita ; ......whose notices
are a model of what such things ought to be, succinct and clear.”
-The Guardian, July 27, 1887.

“It is not inopportune that the publication of the important old
Latin Commentary of Benvenuto da Imola upon the great poem of
it will be remembered that the action of the Divine Comedy is
supposed to have taken place in the year of the famous Roman
Jubilee of 1300. Benvenuto was writing his commentary in 1375,
as is indicated in one of the historical and biographical extracts
quoted by Muratori in his Antiquitates Italia, and it must con-
tain the substance of the lectures delivered by him at Bologna
during a period of ten years. Its subsequent history is interest-
ing. Other early commentators made large use of Benvenuto's
work in MS., especially Landino and Talice da Ricaldone, whose
own Latin Commentary, completed in 1474, has recently been
edited at the expense of the King of Italy. Castelvetro proposed
to print Benvenuto da Imola in the sixteenth century, but was
unable to execute his design in consequence of his own banish-
ment from Italy. In 1855 the stupid blunder was made of
printing at Imola a so-called translation in Italian from the
X
iii
quaint and racy Latin of Benvenuto, a proceeding which did no
credit to the faithless and ignorant translator, or to the birth-
place of the old citizen of the town whom it was intended to
honour. Lord Vernon, the grandfather of the present Baron,
desired to add an edition of the Commentary of Benvenuto to
his many other valuable and liberal contributions to the study
of Dante. It was announced in 1846 by Colomb de Batines, in
his Bibliografia Dantesca, that the editorship of the intended
work had been confided to the well-known Italian critic and
scholar, Nannucci, and that he had selected for his text a manu-
script in the Laurentian Library, collating it also with the well-
known Estense MS. at Modena, from which Muratori's extracts
were obtained. The further progress of Lord Vernon's project
was unfortunately stopped by his death in 1866.”—The Saturday
Review, June 25, 1887.

“Fortune was not propitious to Benvenuto Rambaldi, of
Imola, for, if his name did not actually fall, as happened to so
many of his contemporaries, into absolute oblivion, the details
of his life remained almost entirely unknown to posterity, his
writings were either ignored, or very little known, and his
greatest work was either issued in fragments, or so clumsily
remanipulated as to lose its true character. To refresh the
fame of Benvenuto, and to satisfy, at the same time, a long-felt
want among Italian students, provision has been made by an
English gentleman, in whose family the study of Dante is a
tradition, and he has confided the publication of the entire
commentary of the Imolese to the care of Senator James Philip
Lacaita ; and thus the work of Benvenuto, reintegrated from
the excisions of Muratori, and liberated from the interpolations
of Tamburini, at last takes again its fitting place among the
commentaries of the sacred poem, and presents itself as an
assistance, and an instrument of great value for the interpret-
ing of the Commedia, at a moment in which Italy is setting
up at Rome a chair of Dantesque literature .... That of
Benvenuto belongs to the second series of Dantesque com-
mentaries, to the series of official lectures that began with
those at Florence, given by Boccaccio in 1373, and which
finished in the fourteenth century with those at Pisa by Buti

.:
iv
about 1390. It (Benvenuto's) was delivered in Latin, for that
probably appeared to the Imolese to be the only language
worthy of science, and it may boast of superiority over the
exposition of the Italian novelist in its completeness, extend-
ing as it does over the whole Commedia, and over that of
the Pisan lecturer in its greater value of more varied and
richer classical culture. .... But however solicitous Benve-
nuto has been in adapting his commentary to the minds of
the many, his work will for ever remain scholastic: scholastic,
in its mediæval sense we mean, full of varied erudition, nor are
wanting mythological dissertation and doctrinal digression. At
the same time what is noteworthy in this fourteenth century
commentator of our greatest poet is the unity of method that is
constantly preserved ; whence his work does not bear the
slightest trace of weariness in any place, nor does it present
those disproportions that are to be seen in the different parts
of other Dantesque commentaries : nor is this beautiful uni-
formity obtained by the sacrifice of anything that is necessary,
as one may perceive in the commentary of Jacopo della Lana,
but (it is obtained) by the matured preparation of a plan from
which the author never turns aside his thought.”—Rivista
Critica della Letteratura Italiana. January, 1888.
THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
DATE DUE

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