L ' I N F E R N O

VIRGIL APPROACHES THE DOORKEEPER. DANTE GOES ON WRITING.
DANTE:
INF C8 109-111 / DANTE INF C8 109-111 / KLINE
Così sen va, e quivi m'abbandona So the gentle father goes, and leaves me there,
lo dolce padre, e io rimagno in forse, and I am left in doubt:
che sì e no nel capo mi tenciona. since ‘yes’ and ‘no’ war inside my head.
INF C8 112-117 / KLINE
I could not hear what terms he offered them, but he had not been standing there long with them, when, each vying
with the other, they rushed back. Our adversaries closed the gate in my lord’s face, leaving him outside, and he
turned to me again with slow steps.
DANTE QUIETLY VERSIFIES AS VIRGIL INAUDIBLY CLAIMS HIS AUTHORITY TO ENTER.
DANTE:
INF C8 109-111 / DANTE INF C8 109-111 / KLINE
Così sen va, e quivi m'abbandona So the gentle father goes, and leaves me there,
lo dolce padre, e io rimagno in forse, and I am left in doubt:
che sì e no nel capo mi tenciona. since ‘yes’ and ‘no’ war inside my head.
♫Sì? Sì? Sì?...No! No! No * * * * * * * * * *
INF C8 111
The Angels on the battlement sing a high-pitched travesty of Virgil’s argument, consisting entirely
of repetitions of the question: Sì?
The Angels peer over the battlement at the doorkeeper. After a long moment the doorkeeper gives
the smallest shake of his head.
The Angels sing a mocking repeated: No!
Virgil tries again twice. Each time the Angels raise the pitch of the Sì? ’s, and lower the pitch and
raise the volume of their No! ’s.
After the third attempt, a bass single No! may be sung by Satan within the City.
VIRGIL RETURNS TO DANTE, LOOKING DISTRESSED [INF C8 112-117].
VIRGIL:
INF C8 118-120 / DANTE INF C8 118-120 / KLINE
Li occhi a la terra e le ciglia avea rase His eyes were on the ground, and his expression
d'ogne baldanza, e dicea ne' sospiri: devoid of all daring, and he said, sighing: Who are
«Chi m'ha negate le dolenti case!». these who deny me entrance to the house of pain?
INF C8 121-123 / DANTE
E a me disse: «Tu, perch' io m'adiri, And to me he said: Though I am angered,
non sbigottir, ch'io vincerò la prova, do not you be dismayed: I will win the trial,
qual ch'a la difension dentro s'aggiri. whatever obstacle those inside contrive.
INF C8 124-126 / DANTE
Questa lor tracotanza non è nova; This insolence of theirs is nothing new,
ché già l'usaro a men segreta porta, for they displayed it once before, at that less secret
la qual sanza serrame ancor si trova. gate we passed, that has remained unbarred.
INF C8 127-129 / DANTE
Sovr' essa vedestù la scritta morta: Over it you saw the fatal writing, and already
e già di qua da lei discende l'erta, on this side of its entrance, one is coming,
passando per li cerchi sanza scorta, down the steep, passing the circles unescorted,
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