L ' I N F E R N O

NIMROD./.EUTERPE PRETENDS TO LOOK AS VIRGIL HAS ORDERED, THEN SMILES. SHE
OPENS HER (HOLLOW) BOOK WITH ITS DOUBLE-FLUTE SYMBOL AND TAKES OUT A TINY
DOUBLE-FLUTE.
203
DANTE: & VIRGIL:
INF C31 76-78 / DANTE INF C31 76-78 / KLINE
Poi disse a me: Elli stessi s'accusa; Then he said to me: He declares himself. This is
questi è Nembrotto! per lo cui mal coto Nimrod through whose evil thought, one language
pur un linguaggio nel mondo non s'usa. is not still used, throughout the whole world.
INF C31 79-81 / DANTE
Lasciànlo stare e non parliamo a vòto; Let us leave him standing here, and not speak
ché così è a lui ciascun linguaggio to him in vain: since every language, to him,
come 'l suo ad altrui, ch'a nullo è noto. is like his to others, that no one understands.
INF C31 82-108 / KLINE
So we went on, turning to the left, and, a crossbow-shot away, we found the next one, far larger and fiercer. Who
and what the power might be that bound him, I cannot say, but he had his right arm pinioned behind, and the other in
front, by a chain that held him tight, from the neck down, and, on the visible part of him, reached its fifth turn. ‘My
guide said: This proud spirit had the will to try his strength against high Jupiter, and so has this reward. Ephialtes is
his name, and he made the great attempt, when the Giants made the gods fear, and the arms he shook then, now, he
never moves.’ And I said to him: ‘If it were possible, I would wish my eyes to light on vast Briareus.’ To which he
replied: ‘You will see Antaeus, nearby, who speaks and is unchained, and will set us down in the deepest abyss of
guilt. He whom you wish to see is far beyond, and is formed and bound like this one, except he seems more savage
in his features.’ No huge earthquake ever shook a tower, as violently as Ephialtes promptly shook himself.
INF C31 109-123 / KLINE
Then I feared death more than ever, and the fear alone would have been enough to cause it, had I not seen his chains.
We then went further on, and reached Antaeus, who projected twenty feet from the pit, not including his head. ‘O
you, who, of old, took a thousand lions for your prey, in the fateful valley, near Zama, that made Scipio heir to
glory, when Hannibal retreated with his army; you, through whom, it might still be believed, the Giant sons of Earth
would have overcome the gods, if you had been at the great war with your brothers; set us down, and do not be shy
to do it, where the cold imprisons the River Cocytus, in the Ninth Circle.
INF C31 124-145 / KLINE
Do not make us ask Tityos or Typhon. Bend, and do not curl your lips in scorn: this man can give that which is
longed for, here: he can refresh your fame on earth, since he is alive, and still expects long life, if grace does not call
him to her before his time.’ So the Master spoke, and Antaeus quickly stretched out both hands, from which
Hercules of old once felt the power, and seized my guide. Virgil when he felt his grasp, said to me: Come here, so
that I may carry you.’ Then he made one bundle of himself and me. To me, who stood watching to see Antaeus
stoop, he seemed as the leaning tower [at Bologna], the Carisenda, appears to the view, under the leaning side, when
a cloud is passing over it, and it hangs in the opposite direction. It was such a terrible moment I would have wished
to have gone by another route, but he set us down gently in the deep, that swallowed Lucifer and Judas, and did not
linger there, bent, but straightened himself, like a mast raised in a boat.
DANTE CLOSES THE CANTO.
DANTE:
INF C31 79-81 / DANTE INF C31 79-81 / KLINE
Lasciànlo stare e non parliamo a vòto; Let us leave him standing here, and not speak
ché così è a lui ciascun linguaggio to him in vain: since every language, to him,
come 'l suo ad altrui, ch'a nullo è noto. is like his to others, that no one understands.
THEY DESCEND THE → R → AND COME BACK TO THE STAGE.
CANTO 32
DANTE:
INF C32 1-3 / DANTE INF C32 1-3 / KLINE
S'ïo avessi le rime aspre e chiocce, If I had words, rough and hoarse enough,
come si converrebbe al tristo buco to fit the dismal chasm, on which
sovra 'l qual pontan tutte l'altre rocce, all the other rocky cliffs weigh, and converge,