L ' I N F E R N O

♫HARPIES + SOULS
BOUM, BELLUM + SIGHS, MURMURINGS OF SOULS IN TREES * * * * * * * * * *
INF C13 1 from INF C13 10
In the Aeneid, Harpies predict future tribulations for the Trojans. (My emphases)
110
AENEID 3 245-257 / VIRGIL AENEID 3 245-257 / KLINE
una in praecelsa consedit rupe Celaeno, Only Celaeno, ominous prophetess, settles on a high cliff,
infelix uates, rumpitque hanc pectore uocem; and bursts out with this sound from her breast:
'bellum etiam pro caede boum stratisque iuuencis, “Are you ready to bring war to us, sons of Laomedon, is it war,
Laomedontiadae, bellumne inferre paratis for the cows you killed, the bullocks you slaughtered,
et patrio Harpyias insontis pellere regno? driving the innocent Harpies from their father’s country?
accipite ergo animis atque haec mea figite dicta, Take these words of mine to your hearts then, and set them there.
quae Phoebo pater omnipotens, mihi Phoebus Apollo I, the eldest of the Furies, reveal to you what the all-powerful
praedixit, uobis Furiarum ego maxima pando. Father prophesied to Apollo, and Phoebus Apollo to me.
Italiam cursu petitis uentisque uocatis: Italy is the path you take, and, invoking the winds,
ibitis Italiam portusque intrare licebit. you shall go to Italy, and enter her harbours freely:
sed non ante datam cingetis moenibus urbem but you will not surround the city granted you with walls
quam uos dira fames nostraeque iniuria caedis until dire hunger, and the sin of striking at us, force you
ambesas subigat malis absumere mensas. to consume your very tables with devouring jaws.”
Their cries here are distillations of these:
Laomedontiadae…boum…bellum…fames…mensae
Boum, bellum…boum, bellum…boum, bellum…boum bellum…
louder or softer as the Harpies dive or soar away.
DANTE AND VIRGIL WALK THROUGH SEMI-DARKNESS. DANTE LOOKS ABOUT HIM, NOTES AND SPEAKS.
DANTE:
INF C13 1-3 / DANTE INF C13 1-3 / KLINE
Non era ancor di là Nesso arrivato, Nessus had not yet returned to the other side,
quando noi ci mettemmo per un bosco when we We entered a wood,
che da neun sentiero era segnato. unmarked by any path.
INF C13 4-6 / DANTE
Non fronda verde, ma di color fosco; The foliage was not green, but a dusky colour:
non rami schietti, ma nodosi e 'nvolti; the branches were not smooth, but warped and
non pomi v'eran, ma stecchi con tòsco. knotted: there were no fruits there, but poisonous
thorns.
DANTE notes:
INF C13 4-6 / DANTE INF C13 4-6 / KLINE
Non fronda verde, ma di color fosco; The foliage was not green, but a dusky colour:
non rami schietti, ma nodosi e 'nvolti; the branches were not smooth, but warped and
non pomi v'eran, ma stecchi con tòsco. knotted: there were no fruits there, but poisonous
thorns.
DANTE:
INF C13 7-9 / DANTE INF C13 7-9 / KLINE
Non han sì aspri sterpi né sì folti The wild beasts, that hate the cultivated fields,
quelle fiere selvagge che 'n odio hanno in the Tuscan Maremma, between Cecina and
tra Cecina e Corneto i luoghi cólti. Corneto, have lairs less thick and tangled.
DANTE LOOKS UP AT INVISIBLE HARPIES.