L ' I N F E R N O

THE REAR CURTAIN IS UP. VIRGIL AND DANTE WALK NEXT TO THE WALL AND DANTE RUNS HIS HAND
ALONG IT. DANTE VERSIFIES AND VIRGIL GIVES AN ABBREVIATED INTERPRETATION.
122
INF C15 1-3 / KLINE
Now one of the solid banks takes us on, and the smoke from the stream makes a shadow above, so that it shelters the
water and its margins.
DANTE: & VIRGIL:
INF C15 4-6 / DANTE INF C15 4-6 / KLINE
Quali Fiamminghi tra Guizzante e Bruggia, Just as the The Flemings between Bruges and
temendo 'l fiotto che 'nver' lor s'avventa, Wissant make their dykes to hold back the sea,
fanno lo schermo perché 'l mar si fuggia; fearing the flood that beats against them;
INF C15 7-9 / DANTE
e quali Padoan lungo la Brenta, and as the Paduans do, along the Brenta,
per difender lor ville e lor castelli, to defend their towns and castles,
anzi che Carentana il caldo senta: before Carinthia’s mountains feel the thaw;
INF C15 10-12 / DANTE
a tale imagine eran fatti quelli, so those banks were similarly formed,
tutto che né sì alti né sì grossi, though their creator, whoever it might be,
qual che si fosse, lo maestro félli. made them neither as high or as deep.
INF C15 13-21 / KLINE
Already we were so far from the wood, that I was unable to see where it was, unless I turned back, when we met a
group of spirits, coming along the bank, and each of them looked at us, as, at twilight, men look at one another,
under a crescent moon, and peered towards us, as an old tailor does at the eye of his needle.
SPIRITS./ .SPIRITS STRAGGLE PAST THEM IN THE OTHER DIRECTION. DANTE WRITES.
SPIRITS AGE : VARIOUS
DESCRIPTION
*
BRUNETTO LATINI
ONE OF THE SPIRITS STOPS, GOES BACK AND PEERS INTO DANTE’S FACE [INF C15 13-24]. HE ADDRESSES
DANTE WITH ENTHUSIASM.
BRUNETTO LATINI c 1210 - 1294 AGE : 84?
PLACE./.LANGUAGE ETC
FLORENCE.
DESCRIPTION
HE CARRIES A SMALLISH BOOK, HIS TESORO (TRESORO), ON HIS BACK OR CHEST.
BRUNETTO LATINI: & BRUNETTO LATINI:
INF C15 22-24 / DANTE INF C15 22-24 / KLINE
Così adocchiato da cotal famiglia, Eyed so by that tribe, I was recognised, by one
fui conosciuto da un, che mi prese who ook me by the skirt of my robe and said:
per lo lembo e gridò: Qual maraviglia! How wonderful!
BRUNETTO LATINI: A FLORENTINE GUELPH, LATINI (C 1210-1294) WAS A POLITICIAN & PHILOSOPHER, AUTHOR OF A PROSE
ENCYCLOPAEDIA LI LIVRES DOU TRÉSOR WRITTEN IN FRENCH (HE WAS IN EXILE IN FRANCE IN 1260 AFTER MONTAPERTI) &
THE TESORETTO, A POPULAR DIDACTIC POEM IN ITALIAN, CONTAINING SIMILAR MATTER, IN THE FORM OF AN ALLEGORICAL
JOURNEY, A KIND OF PILGRIM’S PROGRESS, THAT CLEARLY INFLUENCED DANTE, OPENING WITH THE POET LOST IN A WOOD OF
ERROR. AN ARDENT GUELPH, HE INTRODUCED THE ART OF ORATORY & THE STUDY OF POLITICAL SCIENCE INTO FLORENCE. IN
THE TESORETTO HE SPEAKS AGAINST THE HOMOSEXUALITY THAT CONDEMNS HIM TO HELL. HE INFLUENCED & POSSIBLY
TAUGHT DANTE.