L ' I N F E R N O

DANTE:
INF C20 100-102 / DANTE INF C20 100-102 / KLINE
E io: «Maestro, i tuoi ragionamenti And I said: Master, your speeches are so sound
mi son sì certi e prendon sì mia fede, to me, and so hold my belief,
che li altri mi sarien carboni spenti. that any others are like spent ashes.
INF C20 103-105 / DANTE
Ma dimmi, de la gente che procede, But tell me about the people who are passing,
se tu ne vedi alcun degno di nota; if you see any of them worth noting,
ché solo a ciò la mia mente rifiede». since my mind returns to that alone.
VIRGIL LOOKS AT UNSEEN SPIRITS.
DANTE:
INF C20 106-108 / DANTE INF C20 106-108 / KLINE
Allor mi disse: «Quel che da la gota Then he said to me: That one, whose beard
stretches
150
VIRGIL:
INF C20 106-108 / DANTE INF C20 106-108 / KLINE
Allor mi disse: «Quel che da la gota Then he said to me: That one, whose beard
stretches
porge la barba in su le spalle brune, down from his cheeks, over his dusky shoulders,
was
fu--quando Grecia fu di maschi vòta, an augur, when Greece was so emptied of males,
INF C20 109-111 / DANTE
sì ch'a pena rimaser per le cune-- for the expedition against Troy, that there were
augure, e diede 'l punto con Calcanta scarcely any left, even in their cradles. Like
Calchas
in Aulide a tagliar la prima fune. at Aulis, he He set the moment for cutting loose the
first cable.
CALCHAS: AT AULIS: WHERE THE GREEK SHIPS WAITED FOR A FAVOURABLE WIND TO SAIL TO TROY. CALCHAS INTERPRETED
THE APPEARANCE OF A SNAKE THAT KILLED A SPARROW & HER EIGHT FLEDGLINGS & THEN WAS TURNED TO STONE. IT
SIGNIFIED THAT TROY WOULD BE TAKEN IN THE TENTH YEAR AFTER A LONG STRUGGLE. HE ALSO PROPHESIED THAT THEY
MUST PACIFY ARTEMIS BY SACRIFICING AGAMEMNON’S DAUGHTER, IPHIGENIA. AFTER THAT THE NORTH-EAST WIND
DROPPED & THE FLEET WAS ABLE TO SET SAIL FOR TROY.
EURYPYLUS: ACCORDING TO SINON, SENT BY THE GREEKS TO THE ORACLE OF APOLLO TO ASK FOR A FAVOURABLE WIND
HOME TO GREECE. THE ORACLE REPLIED BY REMINDING THEM OF CALCHAS AT AULIS & TELLING THEM TO SHED BLOOD
AGAIN. (SEE VIRGIL’S TRAGEDÍA & THE AENEID 2 110 ET SEQ.
INF C20 112-114 / DANTE INF C20 112-114 / KLINE
Euripilo ebbe nome, e così 'l canta Eurypylus is his name, and my high Poem
l'alta mia tragedìa in alcun loco: sings of it in a certain place:
ben lo sai tu che la sai tutta quanta. you know it well, who know the whole thing.
VIRGIL: & DANTE:
AENEID 2 108-109 / VIRGIL AENEID 2 108-109 / VIRGIL
'Saepe fugam Danai Troia cupiere relicta The Greeks, weary with the long war, often longed
moliri et longo fessi discedere bello; to leave Troy and execute a retreat:
VIRGIL:
INF C20 115-117 / DANTE INF C20 115-117 / KLINE
Quell' altro che ne' fianchi è così poco, The other, so thin about the flanks, is Michael
Scott,
Michele Scotto fu, che veramente who truly understood
de le magiche frode seppe 'l gioco. the fraudulent game of magic.
MICHAEL SCOTT OF BALWEARIE (C 1109-1250): STUDIED AT OXFORD, PARIS & TOLEDO. HE FOLLOWED THE EMPEROR
FREDERICK II TO HIS COURT, THOUGH HE DIED IN SCOTLAND. HE TRANSLATED ARISTOTLE & WAS A FAMOUS ASTROLOGER.
FOR A CHANGE, DANTE INTERPRETS VIRGIL’S ITALIAN.