L ' I N F E R N O

INF C18 37-39 / DANTE
Ahi come facean lor levar le berze Ah, how it made them quicken
a le prime percosse! già nessuno their steps at the first stroke!
le seconde aspettava né le terze. Truly none waited for the second or third.
THE SHADE OF VENEDICO CACCIANEMICO PASSES WITH A LOWERED FACE [INF C18 43-48].
VENEDICO DE’ CACCIANEMICO (CACCIANIMICO) *---- ? - 1289 + AGE : *-- ?
PLACE./.LANGUAGE ETC
BOLOGNA.
DESCRIPTION
*
A LEADING GUELPH, EXILED IN 1289. A FOLLOWER OF MARQUIS OBIZZO II D’ESTE OF FERRARA. HE ASSISTED THE MARQUIS
IN THE SEDUCTION OF VENEDICO’S SISTER, GHISOLA, IN 1270.
DANTE: &/or DANTE:
INF C18 40-42 / DANTE INF C18 40-42 / KLINE
Mentr' io andava, li occhi miei in uno As I went on, my eyes encountered one of them,
furo scontrati; e io sì tosto dissi: and instantly I said:
Già di veder costui non son digiuno. This shade I have seen before.
INF C18 43-45 / KLINE
So I stopped to scrutinise him, and the kind guide stood still with me and allowed me to return a little.
138
DANTE:
INF C18 46-48 / DANTE INF C18 46-48 / KLINE
E quel frustato celar si credette And that scourged spirit thought to hide himself,
bassando 'l viso; ma poco li valse, lowering his face, but it did not help, since I said:
ch'io dissi: «O tu che l'occhio a terra gette, You, who cast your eyes on the ground,
INF C18 49-51 / DANTE
se le fazion che porti non son false, if the features you display are not an illusion,
Venedico se' tu Caccianemico. you are Venedico Caccianemico:
Ma che ti mena a sì pungenti salsa but what led you into such a biting pickle?
VENEDICO CACCIANEMICO:
INF C18 52-54 / DANTE INF C18 52-54 / KLINE
Ed elli a me: Mal volontier lo dico; And he to me: I tell it unwillingly,
ma sforzami la tua chiara favella, but your clear speech that makes me remember
che mi fa sovvenir del mondo antico. the former world, compels me.
INF C18 55-57 / DANTE
I' fui colui che la Ghisolabella It was I who induced the fair Ghisola
condussi a far la voglia del marchese, to do the Marquis of Este’s will,
come che suoni la sconcia novella. however unpleasant the story sounds.
INF C18 58-60 / DANTE INF C18 58-60 / KLINE
E non pur io qui piango bolognese; And I am not the only Bolognese that weeps here:
anzi n'è questo loco tanto pieno, this place is so filled with us,
che tante lingue non son ora apprese that as many tongues are no longer taught
INF C18 61-63 / DANTE
a dicer `sipa' tra Sàvena e Reno; to say sipa for sì, between the Sàvena’s stream
e se di ciò vuoi fede o testimonio, that is west, and the Reno’s, that is east of Bologna.
rècati a mente il nostro avaro seno. If you want assurance and testimony of it, recall to
mind our avaricious hearts.
DANTE:
INF C18 64-66 / DANTE INF C18 64-66 / KLINE
Così parlando il percosse un demonio And as he spoke, a demon struck him with
de la sua scurïada, e disse: «Via, his whip, and said: Via, ruffian!...Away, pander!
ruffian! qui non son femmine da conio». …, there are no women here to sell.
VIA, RUFFIAN!... WORDS ORIGINALLY SPOKEN BY A DEMON WITH A WHIP