L ' I N F E R N O

INF C19 67-69 / DANTE
Se di saper ch'i' sia ti cal cotanto, If it concerns you so much to know, who I am,
che tu abbi però la ripa corsa, that you have left the ridge,
sappi ch'i' fui vestito del gran manto; know that I wore the Great Mantle,
INF C19 70-72 / DANTE
e veramente fui figliuol de l'orsa, and truly I was son of the Orsini she-bear,
cupido sì per avanzar li orsatti, so eager to advance her cubs,
che sù l'avere e qui me misi in borsa. that I pursed up wealth, above, and here myself.
DANTE notes:
Pope Nicholas III.
POPE NICHOLAS III / CLIO:
INF C19 73-75 / KLINE
Di sotto al capo mio son li altri tratti The other simonists, who came before me,
che precedetter me simoneggiando, are drawn down below my head,
per le fessure de la pietra piatti. cowering inside the cracks in the stone.
143
INF C19 76-78 / DANTE
Là giù cascherò io altresì quando I too will drop down there, when Boniface comes,
verrà colui ch'i' credea che tu fossi, the one I mistook you for.
allor ch'i' feci 'l sùbito dimando. when I put my startled question.
INF C19 79-81 / DANTE
Ma più è 'l tempo già che i piè mi cossi But the extent of time, in which I have baked my
e ch'i' son stato così sottosopra, feet, and stood like this, reversed, is already longer
ch'el non starà piantato coi piè rossi: than the time he shall stand planted in turn with
glowing feet,
INF C19 82-84 / DANTE
ché dopo lui verrà di più laida opra, since, after him, will come Clement,
di ver' ponente, un pastor sanza legge, the lawless shepherd, of uglier actions,
tal che convien che lui e me ricuopra. fit indeed to cap Boniface and me.
POPE BONIFACE VIII: BENEDETTO GAETANI WHO SUCCEEDED CELESTINE IN 1294 & IMPRISONED HIM AFTER HIS ABDICATION
UNTIL HIS DEATH. HIS POLITICAL MANOEUVRES ARE THE BACKGROUND TO THE CRITICAL THREE YEARS OF DANTE’S
POLITICAL LIFE, LEADING TO HIS EXILE FROM FLORENCE & DESCRIBED IN CIACCO’S PROPHECY. FOR DANTE, HE REPRESENTED
THE CORRUPT PAPACY, PLACED IN HELL FOR HIS VINDICTIVENESS; FALSITY; PROFLIGATE SIMONY; AN ULTRAMONTANE
SACERDOTALISM, THAT SAW THE EMPIRE AS SUBORDINATE TO THE CHURCH, WITH ONLY A DERIVED AUTHORITY; & HIS
DESTRUCTIVE POLICIES THAT LED TO FRENCH CONTROL OF FLORENCE. BONIFACE DIED IN OCTOBER 1303 & WAS SUCCEEDED
BY BENEDICT XI. BONIFACE IS THEREFORE THE POPE AT THE TIME OF THE VISION IN 1300.
INF C19 85-87 / KLINE
He will be a new Jason, the high priest, whom we read about in Maccabees: and as his king Antiochus was
compliant, so will Philip be, who governs France.’
DANTE TAKES A TURN OR 2 AROUND THE STAGE, COMPOSING IN HIS HEAD. BACK WITH POPE NICHOLAS
HE STARTS QUIETLY AND GETS LOUDER. VIRGIL GETS THE IDEA ACROSS TO ENGLISH-ONLY SPEAKERS, A
VERSE OR SO BEHIND.
DANTE: & VIRGIL:
INF C19 88-90 / DANTE INF C19 88-90 / KLINE
Io non so s'i' mi fui qui troppo folle, I do not know if I was too foolhardy then,
ch'i' pur rispuosi lui a questo metro: but I answered him in this way:
«Deh, or mi dì: quanto tesoro volle Ah, now tell me, how much wealth
INF C19 91-93 / DANTE
Nostro Segnore in prima da san Pietro the Lord demanded of Peter, before he gave
ch'ei ponesse le chiavi in sua balìa? the keys of the Church into his keeping? Surely he
Certo non chiese se non "Viemmi retro". demanded nothing, saying only: “Follow me.”