Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
192<br />
VIRGIL TURNS AT HIS WORDS AND DANTE LAUNCHES INTO A FALSELY-FERVENT<br />
DESCRIPTION OF THE 10 TH CHASM. VIRGIL INTERPRETS OR GIVES HIS OWN, BRIEFER<br />
ACCOUNT.<br />
DANTE: & VIRGIL:<br />
INF C29 46-48 / DANTE INF C29 46-48 / KLINE<br />
Qual dolor fora, se de li spedali Such pain there was, as there would be, if the<br />
di Valdichiana tra 'l luglio e 'l settembre diseases in the hospitals of Valdichiana, Maremma<br />
e di Maremma e di Sardigna i mali and Sardinia, between July and September,<br />
INF C29 49-51 / DANTE<br />
fossero in una fossa tutti 'nsembre, were all rife in one ditch:<br />
tal era quivi, e tal puzzo n'usciva a stench arose from it,<br />
qual suol venir de le marcite membre. such as issues from putrid limbs.<br />
INF C29 52-54 / DANTE<br />
Noi discendemmo in su l'ultima riva We descended on the last bank<br />
del lungo scoglio, pur da man sinistra; of the long causeway, again on the left,<br />
e allor fu la mia vista più viva and then my sight was clearer,<br />
INF C29 55-57 / DANTE<br />
giù ver' lo fondo, la 've la ministra down to the depths, where infallible Justice,<br />
de l'alto Sire infallibil giustizia the minister of the Lord on high,<br />
punisce i falsador che qui registra. punishes the falsifiers that it accounts for here.<br />
INF C29 58-60 / DANTE<br />
Non credo ch'a veder maggior tristizia I do not think it would have been a greater<br />
fosse in Egina il popol tutto infermo, sadness to see the people of plague-ridden Aegina,<br />
quando fu l'aere sì pien di malizia, when the air was so malignant,<br />
AEGINA: OVID: METAMORPHOSES 7 523-657<br />
INF C29 61-63 / DANTE<br />
che li animali, infino al picciol vermo, that every animal, even the smallest worm,<br />
cascaron tutti, e poi le genti antiche, was killed, and afterwards, as Poets say,<br />
secondo che i poeti hanno per fermo, for certain, the ancient race<br />
INF C29 64-66 / DANTE<br />
si ristorar di seme di formiche; was restored from the seed of ants,<br />
ch'era a veder per quella oscura valle than it was to see the spirits languishing<br />
languir li spirti per diverse biche. in scattered heaps through that dim valley.<br />
INF C29 67-84 / KLINE<br />
This one lay on its belly, that, on the shoulders of the other, and some were crawling along the wretched path. Step<br />
by step we went, without a word, gazing at, and listening to, the sick who could not lift their bodies. I saw two<br />
sitting, leaning on each other, as one pan is leant to warm against another: I never saw a stable lad his master waits<br />
for, or one who stays awake unwillingly, use a currycomb as fiercely, as each of these two clawed himself with his<br />
nails, because of the intensity of their itching, that has no other relief. And so the nails dragged the scurf off, as a<br />
knife does the scales from bream, or other fish with larger scales.<br />
INF C29 85-108 / KLINE<br />
My Guide began to speak: ‘O you, who strip your chain-mail with your fingers, and often make pincers of them, tell<br />
us if there is any Latian among those here, inside: and may your nails be enough for that task for eternity.’ One of<br />
them replied, weeping: ‘We are both Latians, whom you see so mutilated here, but who are you who enquire of us?<br />
And the guide said: ‘I am one, who with this living man, descends from steep to steep, and mean to show him Hell.’<br />
Then the mutual prop broke, and each one turned, trembling, towards me, along with others that heard him, by the<br />
echo. The good Master addressed me directly, saying: ‘Tell them what you wish,’ and I began as he desired: ‘So that<br />
your memory will not fade, from human minds, in the first world, but will live for many suns, tell us who you are,<br />
and of what race. Do not let your ugly and revolting punishment make you afraid to reveal yourselves to me.’