L ' I N F E R N O

THE SOWERS OF DISCORD
DANTE AND VIRGIL CLOSES CANTO 27 AND RELATES WHAT HE SAW. VIRGIL INTERPRETS A VERSE OR 2
BEHIND.
DANTE:
INF C27 133-135 / DANTE INF C27 133-135 / KLINE
Noi passamm' oltre, e io e 'l duca mio, We passed on, my guide and I, along the cliff,
su per lo scoglio infino in su l'altr' arco up to the other arch, that covers the next ditch,
che cuopre 'l fosso in che si paga il fio in which the reward is paid
INF C27 136-138 / DANTE
a quei che scommettendo acquistan carco. to those who collect guilt by sowing discord.
INF C28 1-6 / KLINE
Who could ever fully tell, even with repeated unimprisoned words, the blood and wounds I saw now? Every tongue
would certainly fail, since our speech and memory have too small a capacity to comprehend so much.
DANTE: & VIRGIL:
INF C28 7-9 / DANTE INF C28 7-9 / KLINE
S'el s'aunasse ancor tutta la gente If all the people, too, were gathered, who once
che già, in su la fortunata terra grieved for their blood, in the fateful land of
Apulia,
di Puglia, fu del suo sangue dolente by reason of the Samnite War of the Romans,
INF C28 10-12 / DANTE
per li Troiani e per la lunga guerra of Trojan seed; and those, from that long Punic
War,
che de l'anella fé sì alte spoglie, that, as Livy writes, who does not err, yielded
come Livïo scrive, che non erra, so great a wealth of rings, from Cannae’s
battlefield;
LIVY: TITUS LIVIUS, THE ROMAN HISTORIAN. HE RECORDS (23 11, 12) THAT AT THE BATTLE OF CANNAE IN 216 BC IN THE
SECOND PUNIC WAR, WHERE HANNIBAL DEFEATED THE ROMANS, HE SHOWED THE SENATE AT CARTHAGE 3 BUSHELS OF
GOLD RINGS TAKEN FROM THE CORPSES.
INF C28 13-15 / DANTE
con quella che sentio di colpi doglie and those who felt the pain of blows
per contastare a Ruberto Guiscardo; by withstanding Robert Guiscard; and the rest,
e l'altra il cui ossame ancor s'accoglie whose bones are still heaped
ROBERT GUISCARD:(D. 1085): FOUNDER OF THE NORMAN DYNASTY IN SOUTHERN ITALY & SICILY. HE WAGED WAR IN
SICILY & S.ITALY (1059 TO 1080), AGAINST THE GREEKS & SARACENS. HE RESCUED GREGORY VII & SACKED ROME IN
1084.
188
INF C28 16-18 / DANTE
a Ceperan, là dove fu bugiardo at Ceperano, where all the Apulians turned traitor,
ciascun Pugliese, e là da Tagliacozzo, for Charles of Anjou; and there,
dove sanz' arme vinse il vecchio Alardo; at Tagliacozzo where old Alardo’s
ALARDO: ERARD DE VALÉRY; IN 1268, AT TAGLIACOZZO, CHARLES OF ANJOU DEFEATED CONRADIN, MANFRED’S NEPHEW,
USING RESERVE TROOPS, ON THE ADVICE OF ERARD.
INF C28 19-21 / DANTE
e qual forato suo membro e qual mozzo advice to Charles conquered without weapons:
mostrasse, d'aequar sarebbe nulla and some were to show pierced limbs, and others
il modo de la nona bolgia sozzo. severed stumps; it would be nothing to equal the
hideous state of the ninth chasm.
DANTE STANDS SILENT FOR A WHILE, OPENS HIS MOUTH TO SPEAK, SHAKES HIS HEAD AND
CLOSES HIS MOUTH.