The Divine Comedy: "Ambition is so powerful a passion in the human breast, that however high we reach we are never satisfied"

By Dante Alighieri

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was born on February 27th, 1807 in Portland, Maine. As a young boy, it was obvious that he was very studious and he quickly became fluent in Latin. He published his first poem, "The Battle of Lovell's Pond", in the Portland Gazette on November 17th, 1820. He was already thinking of a career in literature and, in his senior year, wrote to his father: “I will not disguise it in the least... the fact is, I most eagerly aspire after future eminence in literature, my whole soul burns most ardently after it, and every earthly thought centers in it....” After graduation travels in Europe occupied the next three years and he seemed to easily absorb any language he set himself to learn. On September 14th, 1831, Longfellow married Mary Storer Potter. They settled in Brunswick. His first published book was in 1833, a translation of poems by the Spanish poet Jorge Manrique. He also published a travel book, Outre-Mer: A Pilgrimage Beyond the Sea. During a trip to Europe Mary became pregnant. Sadly, in October 1835, she miscarried at some six months. After weeks of illness she died, at the age of 22 on November 29th, 1835. Longfellow wrote "One thought occupies me night and day... She is dead — She is dead! All day I am weary and sad". In late 1839, Longfellow published Hyperion, a book in prose inspired by his trips abroad. Ballads and Other Poems was published in 1841 and included "The Village Blacksmith" and "The Wreck of the Hesperus". His reputation as a poet, and a commercial one at that, was set. On May 10th, 1843, after seven years in pursuit of a chance for new love, Longfellow received word from Fanny Appleton that she agreed to marry him. On November 1st, 1847, the epic poem Evangeline was published. In 1854, Longfellow retired from Harvard, to devote himself entirely to writing. The Song of Haiwatha, perhaps his best known and enjoyed work was published in 1855. On July 10th, 1861, after suffering horrific burns the previous day. In his attempts to save her Longfellow had also been badly burned and was unable to attend her funeral. He spent several years translating Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy. It was published in 1867. Longfellow was also part of a group who became known as The Fireside Poets which also included William Cullen Bryant, John Greenleaf Whittier, James Russell Lowell, and Oliver Wendell Holmes Snr. Longfellow was the most popular poet of his day. As a friend once wrote to him, "no other poet was so fully recognized in his lifetime". Some of his works including "Paul Revere's Ride" and “The Song of Haiwatha” may have rewritten the facts but became essential parts of the American psyche and culture. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow died, surrounded by family, on Friday, March 24th, 1882. He had been suffering from peritonitis.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Portable Poetry
• Release date: Feb 21, 2017
• ISBN: 9781787370784

Dante Alighieri

Durante degli Alighieri, known as Dante (1265–1321), was a major Italian poet of the Middle Ages. His Divine Comedy is widely considered the greatest literary work composed in the Italian language and a masterpiece of world literature

Book preview

The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri

Translanted by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was born on February 27th, 1807 in Portland, Maine.  As a young boy, it was obvious that he was very studious and he quickly became fluent in Latin.

He published his first poem, The Battle of Lovell's Pond, in the Portland Gazette on November 17th, 1820. He was already thinking of a career in literature and, in his senior year, wrote to his father: I will not disguise it in the least... the fact is, I most eagerly aspire after future eminence in literature, my whole soul burns most ardently after it, and every earthly thought centers in it....

After graduation travels in Europe occupied the next three years and he seemed to easily absorb any language he set himself to learn.

On September 14th, 1831, Longfellow married Mary Storer Potter. They settled in Brunswick.

His first published book was in 1833, a translation of poems by the Spanish poet Jorge Manrique. He also published a travel book, Outre-Mer: A Pilgrimage Beyond the Sea.

During a trip to Europe Mary became pregnant. Sadly, in October 1835, she miscarried at some six months. After weeks of illness she died, at the age of 22 on November 29th, 1835. Longfellow wrote One thought occupies me night and day... She is dead — She is dead! All day I am weary and sad.

In late 1839, Longfellow published Hyperion, a book in prose inspired by his trips abroad.

Ballads and Other Poems was published in 1841 and included The Village Blacksmith and The Wreck of the Hesperus.  His reputation as a poet, and a commercial one at that, was set.

On May 10th, 1843, after seven years in pursuit of a chance for new love, Longfellow received word from Fanny Appleton that she agreed to marry him.

On November 1st, 1847, the epic poem Evangeline was published.

In 1854, Longfellow retired from Harvard, to devote himself entirely to writing.

The Song of Haiwatha, perhaps his best known and enjoyed work was published in 1855.

On July 10th, 1861, after suffering horrific burns the previous day. In his attempts to save her Longfellow had also been badly burned and was unable to attend her funeral.

He spent several years translating Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy. It was published in 1867.

Longfellow was also part of a group who became known as The Fireside Poets which also included William Cullen Bryant, John Greenleaf Whittier, James Russell Lowell, and Oliver Wendell Holmes Snr. 

Longfellow was the most popular poet of his day. As a friend once wrote to him, no other poet was so fully recognized in his lifetime. Some of his works including Paul Revere's Ride and The Song of Haiwatha may have rewritten the facts but became essential parts of the American psyche and culture.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow died, surrounded by family, on Friday, March 24th, 1882. He had been suffering from peritonitis.

Index of Contents

INFERNO

CANTO I. The Dark Forest.  The Hill of Difficulty.  The Panther, the Lion, and the Wolf.  Virgil.

CANTO II. The Descent.  Dante's Protest and Virgil's Appeal. The Intercession of the Three Ladies Benedight.

CANTO III. The Gate of Hell.  The Inefficient or Indifferent. Pope Celestine V.  The Shores of Acheron.  Charon. The Earthquake and the Swoon.

CANTO IV. The First Circle, Limbo: Virtuous Pagans and the Unbaptized. The Four Poets, Homer, Horace, Ovid, and Lucan.  The Noble Castle of Philosophy.

CANTO V. The Second Circle: The Wanton.  Minos.  The Infernal Hurricane. Francesca da Rimini.

CANTO VI. The Third Circle: The Gluttonous.  Cerberus.  The Eternal Rain. Ciacco.  Florence.

CANTO VII. The Fourth Circle: The Avaricious and the Prodigal. Plutus.  Fortune and her Wheel.  The Fifth Circle: The Irascible and the Sullen.  Styx.

CANTO VIII. Phlegyas.  Philippo Argenti.  The Gate of the City of Dis.

CANTO IX. The Furies and Medusa.  The Angel.  The City of Dis. The Sixth Circle: Heresiarchs.

CANTO X. Farinata and Cavalcante de' Cavalcanti.  Discourse on the Knowledge of the Damned.

CANTO XI. The Broken Rocks.  Pope Anastasius.  General Description of the Inferno and its Divisions.

CANTO XII. The Minotaur.  The Seventh Circle: The Violent. The River Phlegethon.  The Violent against their Neighbours. The Centaurs.  Tyrants.

CANTO XIII. The Wood of Thorns.  The Harpies.  The Violent against themselves.  Suicides.  Pier della Vigna. Lano and Jacopo da Sant' Andrea.

CANTO XIV. The Sand Waste and the Rain of Fire.  The Violent against God. Capaneus.  The Statue of Time, and the Four Infernal Rivers.

CANTO XV. The Violent against Nature.  Brunetto Latini.

CANTO XVI. Guidoguerra, Aldobrandi, and Rusticucci.  Cataract of the River of Blood.

CANTO XVII. Geryon.  The Violent against Art.  Usurers.  Descent into the Abyss of Malebolge.

CANTO XVIII. The Eighth Circle, Malebolge: The Fraudulent and the Malicious.  The First Bolgia: Seducers and Panders. Venedico Caccianimico.  Jason.  The Second Bolgia: Flatterers.  Allessio Interminelli.  Thais.

CANTO XIX. The Third Bolgia: Simoniacs.  Pope Nicholas III. Dante's Reproof of corrupt Prelates.

CANTO XX. The Fourth Bolgia: Soothsayers.  Amphiaraus, Tiresias, Aruns, Manto, Eryphylus, Michael Scott, Guido Bonatti, and Asdente. Virgil reproaches Dante's Pity.  Mantua's Foundation.

CANTO XXI. The Fifth Bolgia: Peculators.  The Elder of Santa Zita. Malacoda and other Devils.

CANTO XXII. Ciampolo, Friar Gomita, and Michael Zanche. The Malabranche quarrel.

CANTO XXIII. Escape from the Malabranche.  The Sixth Bolgia: Hypocrites. Catalano and Loderingo.  Caiaphas.

CANTO XXIV. The Seventh Bolgia: Thieves.  Vanni Fucci.  Serpents.

CANTO XXV. Vanni Fucci's Punishment.  Agnello Brunelleschi, Buoso degli Abati, Puccio Sciancato, Cianfa de' Donati, and Guercio Cavalcanti.

CANTO XXVI. The Eighth Bolgia: Evil Counsellors.  Ulysses and Diomed. Ulysses' Last Voyage.

CANTO XXVII. Guido da Montefeltro.  His deception by Pope Boniface VIII.

CANTO XXVIII. The Ninth Bolgia: Schismatics.  Mahomet and Ali. Pier da Medicina, Curio, Mosca, and Bertrand de Born.

CANTO XXIX. Geri del Bello.  The Tenth Bolgia: Alchemists. Griffolino d' Arezzo and Capocchino.

CANTO XXX. Other Falsifiers or Forgers.  Gianni Schicchi, Myrrha, Adam of Brescia, Potiphar's Wife, and Sinon of Troy.

CANTO XXXI. The Giants, Nimrod, Ephialtes, and Antaeus. Descent to Cocytus.

CANTO XXXII. The Ninth Circle: Traitors.  The Frozen Lake of Cocytus. First Division, Caina: Traitors to their Kindred. Camicion de' Pazzi.  Second Division, Antenora: Traitors to their Country.  Dante questions

Bocca degli Abati.  Buoso da Duera.

CANTO XXXIII. Count Ugolino and the Archbishop Ruggieri.  The Death of Count Ugolino's Sons.  Third Division of the Ninth Circle, Ptolomaea: Traitors to their Friends.  Friar Alberigo, Branco d' Oria.

CANTO XXXIV. Fourth Division of the Ninth Circle, the Judecca: Traitors to their Lords and Benefactors.  Lucifer, Judas Iscariot, Brutus, and Cassius. The Chasm of Lethe. The Ascent.

PURGATORIO

CANTO I. The Shores of Purgatory.  The Four Stars.  Cato of Utica. The Rush.

CANTO II. The Celestial Pilot.  Casella.  The Departure.

CANTO III. Discourse on the Limits of Reason.  The Foot of the Mountain. Those who died in Contumacy of Holy Church.  Manfredi.

CANTO IV. Farther Ascent.  Nature of the Mountain.  The Negligent, who postponed Repentance till the last Hour.  Belacqua.

CANTO V. Those who died by Violence, but repentant. Buonconte di Monfeltro.  La Pia.

CANTO VI. Dante's Inquiry on Prayers for the Dead.  Sordello.  Italy.

CANTO VII. The Valley of Flowers.  Negligent Princes.

CANTO VIII. The Guardian Angels and the Serpent.  Nino di Gallura. The Three Stars.  Currado Malaspina.

CANTO IX. Dante's Dream of the Eagle.  The Gate of Purgatory and the Angel.  Seven P's.  The Keys.

CANTO X. The Needle's Eye.  The First Circle: The Proud. The Sculptures on the Wall.

CANTO XI. The Humble Prayer.  Omberto di Santafiore. Oderisi d' Agobbio.  Provenzan Salvani.

CANTO XII. The Sculptures on the Pavement.  Ascent to the Second Circle.

CANTO XIII. The Second Circle: The Envious.  Sapia of Siena.

CANTO XIV. Guido del Duca and Renier da Calboli.  Cities of the Arno Valley.  Denunciation of Stubbornness.

CANTO XV. The Third Circle: The Irascible.  Dante's Visions.  The Smoke.

CANTO XVI. Marco Lombardo.  Lament over the State of the World.

CANTO XVII. Dante's Dream of Anger.  The Fourth Circle: The Slothful. Virgil's Discourse of Love.

CANTO XVIII. Virgil further discourses of Love and Free Will. The Abbot of San Zeno.

CANTO XIX. Dante's Dream of the Siren.  The Fifth Circle: The Avaricious and Prodigal.  Pope Adrian V.

CANTO XX. Hugh Capet.  Corruption of the French Crown. Prophecy of the Abduction of Pope Boniface VIII and the Sacrilege of Philip the Fair.  The Earthquake.

CANTO XXI. The Poet Statius.  Praise of Virgil.

CANTO XXII. Statius' Denunciation of Avarice.  The Sixth Circle: The Gluttonous.  The Mystic Tree.

CANTO XXIII. Forese.  Reproof of immodest Florentine Women.

CANTO XXIV. Buonagiunta da Lucca.  Pope Martin IV, and others. Inquiry into the State of Poetry.

CANTO XXV. Discourse of Statius on Generation.  The Seventh Circle: The Wanton.

CANTO XXVI. Sodomites.  Guido Guinicelli and Arnaldo Daniello.

CANTO XXVII. The Wall of Fire and the Angel of God.  Dante's Sleep upon the Stairway, and his Dream of Leah and Rachel. Arrival at the Terrestrial Paradise.

CANTO XXVIII. The River Lethe.  Matilda.  The Nature of the Terrestrial Paradise.

CANTO XXIX. The Triumph of the Church.

CANTO XXX. Virgil's Departure.  Beatrice.  Dante's Shame.

CANTO XXXI. Reproaches of Beatrice and Confession of Dante. The Passage of Lethe.  The Seven Virtues.  The Griffon.

CANTO XXXII. The Tree of Knowledge.  Allegory of the Chariot.

CANTO XXXIII. Lament over the State of the Church.  Final Reproaches of Beatrice.  The River Eunoe.

PARADISO

CANTO I. The Ascent to the First Heaven.  The Sphere of Fire.

CANTO II. The First Heaven, the Moon: Spirits who, having taken Sacred Vows, were forced to violate them.  The Lunar Spots.

CANTO III. Piccarda Donati and the Empress Constance.

CANTO IV. Questionings of the Soul and of Broken Vows.

CANTO V. Discourse of Beatrice on Vows and Compensations. Ascent to the Second Heaven, Mercury: Spirits who for the Love of Fame achieved great Deeds.

CANTO VI. Justinian.  The Roman Eagle.  The Empire.  Romeo.

CANTO VII. Beatrice's Discourse of the Crucifixion, the Incarnation, the Immortality of the Soul, and the Resurrection of the Body.

CANTO VIII. Ascent to the Third Heaven, Venus: Lovers.  Charles Martel. Discourse on diverse Natures.

CANTO IX. Cunizza da Romano, Folco of Marseilles, and Rahab. Neglect of the Holy Land.

CANTO X. The Fourth Heaven, the Sun: Theologians and Fathers of the Church.  The First Circle.  St. Thomas of Aquinas.

CANTO XI. St. Thomas recounts the Life of St. Francis.  Lament over the State of the Dominican Order.

CANTO XII. St. Buonaventura recounts the Life of St. Dominic.  Lament over the State of the Franciscan Order.  The Second Circle.

CANTO XIII. Of the Wisdom of Solomon.  St. Thomas reproaches Dante's Judgement.

CANTO XIV. The Third Circle.  Discourse on the Resurrection of the Flesh. The Fifth Heaven, Mars: Martyrs and Crusaders who died fighting for the true Faith.  The Celestial Cross.

CANTO XV. Cacciaguida.  Florence in the Olden Time.

CANTO XVI. Dante's Noble Ancestry.  Cacciaguida's Discourse of the Great Florentines.

CANTO XVII. Cacciaguida's Prophecy of Dante's Banishment.

CANTO XVIII. The Sixth Heaven, Jupiter: Righteous Kings and Rulers. The Celestial Eagle.  Dante's Invectives against ecclesiastical Avarice.

CANTO XIX. The Eagle discourses of Salvation, Faith, and Virtue. Condemnation of the vile Kings of A.D. 1300.

CANTO XX. The Eagle praises the Righteous Kings of old. Benevolence of the Divine Will.

CANTO XXI. The Seventh Heaven, Saturn: The Contemplative. The Celestial Stairway.  St. Peter Damiano.  His Invectives against the Luxury of the Prelates.

CANTO XXII. St. Benedict.  His Lamentation over the Corruption of Monks. The Eighth Heaven, the Fixed Stars.

CANTO XXIII. The Triumph of Christ.  The Virgin Mary.  The Apostles. Gabriel.

CANTO XXIV. The Radiant Wheel.  St. Peter examines Dante on Faith.

CANTO XXV. The Laurel Crown.  St. James examines Dante on Hope. Dante's Blindness.

CANTO XXVI. St. John examines Dante on Charity.  Dante's Sight.  Adam.

CANTO XXVII. St. Peter's reproof of bad Popes.  The Ascent to the Ninth Heaven, the 'Primum Mobile.'

CANTO XXVIII. God and the Angelic Hierarchies.

CANTO XXIX. Beatrice's Discourse of the Creation of the Angels, and of the Fall of Lucifer.  Her Reproof of Foolish and Avaricious Preachers.

CANTO XXX. The Tenth Heaven, or Empyrean.  The River of Light. The Two Courts of Heaven.  The White Rose of Paradise. The great Throne.

CANTO XXXI. The Glory of Paradise.  Departure of Beatrice.  St. Bernard.

CANTO XXXII. St. Bernard points out the Saints in the White Rose.

CANTO XXXIII. Prayer to the Virgin.  The Threefold Circle of the Trinity. Mystery of the Divine and Human Nature.

APPENDIX - Six Sonnets on Dante's Divine Comedy by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW – A SHORT BIOGRAPHY

HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW – A CONCISE BIBLIOGRAPHY

INFERNO

Canto I

Midway upon the journey of our life

I found myself within a forest dark,

For the straightforward pathway had been lost.

Ah me! how hard a thing it is to say

What was this forest savage, rough, and stern,

Which in the very thought renews the fear.

So bitter is it, death is little more;

But of the good to treat, which there I found,

Speak will I of the other things I saw there.

I cannot well repeat how there I entered,

So full was I of slumber at the moment

In which I had abandoned the true way.

But after I had reached a mountain's foot,

At that point where the valley terminated,

Which had with consternation pierced my heart,

Upward I looked, and I beheld its shoulders,

Vested already with that planet's rays

Which leadeth others right by every road.

Then was the fear a little quieted

That in my heart's lake had endured throughout

The night, which I had passed so piteously.

And even as he, who, with distressful breath,

Forth issued from the sea upon the shore,

Turns to the water perilous and gazes;

So did my soul, that still was fleeing onward,

Turn itself back to re-behold the pass

Which never yet a living person left.

After my weary body I had rested,

The way resumed I on the desert slope,

So that the firm foot ever was the lower.

And lo! almost where the ascent began,

A panther light and swift exceedingly,

Which with a spotted skin was covered o'er!

And never moved she from before my face,

Nay, rather did impede so much my way,

That many times I to return had turned.

The time was the beginning of the morning,

And up the sun was mounting with those stars

That with him were, what time the Love Divine

At first in motion set those beauteous things;

So were to me occasion of good hope,

The variegated skin of that wild beast,

The hour of time, and the delicious season;

But not so much, that did not give me fear

A lion's aspect which appeared to me.

He seemed as if against me he were coming

With head uplifted, and with ravenous hunger,

So that it seemed the air was afraid of him;

And a she-wolf, that with all hungerings

Seemed to be laden in her meagreness,

And many folk has caused to live forlorn!

She brought upon me so much heaviness,

With the affright that from her aspect came,

That I the hope relinquished of the height.

And as he is who willingly acquires,

And the time comes that causes him to lose,

Who weeps in all his thoughts and is despondent,

E'en such made me that beast withouten peace,

Which, coming on against me by degrees

Thrust me back thither where the sun is silent.

While I was rushing downward to the lowland,

Before mine eyes did one present himself,

Who seemed from long-continued silence hoarse.

When I beheld him in the desert vast,

Have pity on me, unto him I cried,

Whiche'er thou art, or shade or real man!

He answered me: "Not man; man once I was,

And both my parents were of Lombardy,

And Mantuans by country both of them.

'Sub Julio' was I born, though it was late,

And lived at Rome under the good Augustus,

During the time of false and lying gods.

A poet was I, and I sang that just

Son of Anchises, who came forth from Troy,

After that Ilion the superb was burned.

But thou, why goest thou back to such annoyance?

Why climb'st thou not the Mount Delectable,

Which is the source and cause of every joy?"

"Now, art thou that Virgilius and that fountain

Which spreads abroad so wide a river of speech?"

I made response to him with bashful forehead.

"O, of the other poets honour and light,

Avail me the long study and great love

That have impelled me to explore thy volume!

Thou art my master, and my author thou,

Thou art alone the one from whom I took

The beautiful style that has done honour to me.

Behold the beast, for which I have turned back;

Do thou protect me from her, famous Sage,

For she doth make my veins and pulses tremble."

Thee it behoves to take another road,

Responded he, when he beheld me weeping,

"If from this savage place thou wouldst escape;

Because this beast, at which thou criest out,

Suffers not any one to pass her way,

But so doth harass him, that she destroys him;

And has a nature so malign and ruthless,

That never doth she glut her greedy will,

And after food is hungrier than before.

Many the animals with whom she weds,

And more they shall be still, until the Greyhound

Comes, who shall make her perish in her pain.

He shall not feed on either earth or pelf,

But upon wisdom, and on love and virtue;

'Twixt Feltro and Feltro shall his nation be;

Of that low Italy shall he be the saviour,

On whose account the maid Camilla died,

Euryalus, Turnus, Nisus, of their wounds;

Through every city shall he hunt her down,

Until he shall have driven her back to Hell,

There from whence envy first did let her loose.

Therefore I think and judge it for thy best

Thou follow me, and I will be thy guide,

And lead thee hence through the eternal place,

Where thou shalt hear the desperate lamentations,

Shalt see the ancient spirits disconsolate,

Who cry out each one for the second death;

And thou shalt see those who contented are

Within the fire, because they hope to come,

Whene'er it may be, to the blessed people;

To whom, then, if thou wishest to ascend,

A soul shall be for that than I more worthy;

With her at my departure I will leave thee;

Because that Emperor, who reigns above,

In that I was rebellious to his law,

Wills that through me none come into his city.

He governs everywhere, and there he reigns;

There is his city and his lofty throne;

O happy he whom thereto he elects!"

And I to him: "Poet, I thee entreat,

By that same God whom thou didst never know,

So that I may escape this woe and worse,

Thou wouldst conduct me there where thou hast said,

That I may see the portal of Saint Peter,

And those thou makest so disconsolate."

Then he moved on, and I behind him followed.

Canto II

Day was departing, and the embrowned air

Released the animals that are on earth

From their fatigues; and I the only one

Made myself ready to sustain the war,

Both of the way and likewise of the woe,

Which memory that errs not shall retrace.

O Muses, O high genius, now assist me!

O memory, that didst write down what I saw,

Here thy nobility shall be manifest!

And I began: "Poet, who guidest me,

Regard my manhood, if it be sufficient,

Ere to the arduous pass thou dost confide me.

Thou sayest, that of Silvius the parent,

While yet corruptible, unto the world

Immortal went, and was there bodily.

But if the adversary of all evil

Was courteous, thinking of the high effect

That issue would from him, and who, and what,

To men of intellect unmeet it seems not;

For he was of great Rome, and of her empire

In the empyreal heaven as father chosen;

The which and what, wishing to speak the truth,

Were stablished as the holy place, wherein

Sits the successor of the greatest Peter.

Upon this journey, whence thou givest him vaunt,

Things did he hear, which the occasion were

Both of his victory and the papal mantle.

Thither went afterwards the Chosen Vessel,

To bring back comfort thence unto that Faith,

Which of salvation's way is the beginning.

But I, why thither come, or who concedes it?

I not Aeneas am, I am not Paul,

Nor I, nor others, think me worthy of it.

Therefore, if I resign myself to come,

I fear the coming may be ill-advised;

Thou'rt wise, and knowest better than I speak."

And as he is, who unwills what he willed,

And by new thoughts doth his intention change,

So that from his design he quite withdraws,

Such I became, upon that dark hillside,

Because, in thinking, I consumed the emprise,

Which was so very prompt in the beginning.

If I have well thy language understood,

Replied that shade of the Magnanimous,

"Thy soul attainted is with cowardice,

Which many times a man encumbers so,

It turns him back from honoured enterprise,

As false sight doth a beast, when he is shy.

That thou mayst free thee from this apprehension,

I'll tell thee why I came, and what I heard

At the first moment when I grieved for thee.

Among those was I who are in suspense,

And a fair, saintly Lady called to me

In such wise, I besought her to command me.

Her eyes where shining brighter than the Star;

And she began to say, gentle and low,

With voice angelical, in her own language:

'O spirit courteous of Mantua,

Of whom the fame still in the world endures,

And shall endure, long-lasting as the world;

A friend of mine, and not the friend of fortune,

Upon the desert slope is so impeded

Upon his way, that he has turned through terror,

And may, I fear, already be so lost,

That I too late have risen to his succour,

From that which I have heard of him in Heaven.

Bestir thee now, and with thy speech ornate,

And with what needful is for his release,

Assist him so, that I may be consoled.

Beatrice am I, who do bid thee go;

I come from there, where I would fain return;

Love moved me, which compelleth me to speak.

When I shall be in presence of my Lord,

Full often will I praise thee unto him.'

Then paused she, and thereafter I began:

'O Lady of virtue, thou alone through whom

The human race exceedeth all contained

Within the heaven that has the lesser circles,

So grateful unto me is thy commandment,

To obey, if 'twere already done, were late;

No farther need'st thou ope to me thy wish.

But the cause tell me why thou dost not shun

The here descending down into this centre,

From the vast place thou burnest to return to.'

'Since thou wouldst fain so inwardly discern,

Briefly will I relate,' she answered me,

'Why I am not afraid to enter here.

Of those things only should one be afraid

Which have the power of doing others harm;

Of the rest, no; because they are not fearful.

God in his mercy such created me

That misery of yours attains me not,

Nor any flame assails me of this burning.

A gentle Lady is in Heaven, who grieves

At this impediment, to which I send thee,

So that stern judgment there above is broken.

In her entreaty she besought Lucia,

And said, "Thy faithful one now stands in need

Of thee, and unto thee I recommend him."

Lucia, foe of all that cruel is,

Hastened away, and came unto the place

Where I was sitting with the ancient Rachel.

Beatrice said she, "the true praise of God,

Why succourest thou not him, who loved thee so,

For thee he issued from the vulgar herd?

Dost thou not hear the pity of his plaint?

Dost thou not see the death that combats him

Beside that flood, where ocean has no vaunt?"

Never were persons in the world so swift

To work their weal and to escape their woe,

As I, after such words as these were uttered,

Came hither downward from my blessed seat,

Confiding in thy dignified discourse,

Which honours thee, and those who've listened to it.'

After she thus had spoken unto me,

Weeping, her shining eyes she turned away;

Whereby she made me swifter in my coming;

And unto thee I came, as she desired;

I have delivered thee from that wild beast,

Which barred the beautiful mountain's short ascent.

What is it, then?  Why, why dost thou delay?

Why is such baseness bedded in thy heart?

Daring and hardihood why hast thou not,

Seeing that three such Ladies benedight

Are caring for thee in the court of Heaven,

And so much good my speech doth promise thee?"

Even as the flowerets, by nocturnal chill,

Bowed down and closed, when the sun whitens them,

Uplift themselves all open on their stems;

Such I became with my exhausted strength,

And such good courage to my heart there coursed,

That I began, like an intrepid person:

"O she compassionate, who succoured me,

And courteous thou, who hast obeyed so soon

The words of truth which she addressed to thee!

Thou hast my heart so with desire disposed

To the adventure, with these words of thine,

That to my first intent I have returned.

Now go, for one sole will is in us both,

Thou Leader, and thou Lord, and Master thou."

Thus said I to him; and when he had moved,

I entered on the deep and savage way.

Canto III

"Through me the way is to the city dolent;

Through me the way is to eternal dole;

Through me the way among the people lost.

Justice incited my sublime Creator;

Created me divine Omnipotence,

The highest Wisdom and the primal Love.

Before me there were no created things,

Only eterne, and I eternal last.

All hope abandon, ye who enter in!"

These words in sombre colour I beheld

Written upon the summit of a gate;

Whence I: Their sense is, Master, hard to me!

And he to me, as one experienced:

"Here all suspicion needs must be abandoned,

All cowardice must needs be here extinct.

We to the place have come, where I have told thee

Thou shalt behold the people dolorous

Who have foregone the good of intellect."

And after he had laid his hand on mine

With joyful mien, whence I was comforted,

He led me in among the secret things.

There sighs, complaints, and ululations loud

Resounded through the air without a star,

Whence I, at the beginning, wept thereat.

Languages diverse, horrible dialects,

Accents of anger, words of agony,

And voices high and hoarse, with sound of hands,

Made up a tumult that goes whirling on

For ever in that air for ever black,

Even as the sand doth, when the whirlwind breathes.

And I, who had my head with horror bound,

Said: "Master, what is this which now I hear?

What folk is this, which seems by pain so vanquished?"

And he to me: "This miserable mode

Maintain the melancholy souls of those

Who lived withouten infamy or praise.

Commingled are they with that caitiff choir

Of Angels, who have not rebellious been,

Nor faithful were to God, but were for self.

The heavens expelled them, not to be less fair;

Nor them the nethermore abyss receives,

For glory none the damned would have from them."

And I: "O Master, what so grievous is

To these, that maketh them lament so sore?"

He answered: "I will tell thee very briefly.

These have no longer any hope of death;

And this blind life of theirs is so debased,

They envious are of every other fate.

No fame of them the world permits to be;

Misericord and Justice both disdain them.

Let us not speak of them, but look, and pass."

And I, who looked again, beheld a banner,

Which, whirling round, ran on so rapidly,

That of all pause it seemed to me indignant;

And after it there came so long a train

Of people, that I ne'er would have believed

That ever Death so many had undone.

When some among them I had recognised,

I looked, and I beheld the shade of him

Who made through cowardice the great refusal.

Forthwith I comprehended, and was certain,

That this the sect was of the caitiff wretches

Hateful to God and to his enemies.

These miscreants, who never were alive,

Were naked, and were stung exceedingly

By gadflies and by hornets that were there.

These did their faces irrigate with blood,

Which, with their tears commingled, at their feet

By the disgusting worms was gathered up.

And when to gazing farther I betook me.

People I saw on a great river's bank;

Whence said I: "Master, now vouchsafe to me,

That I may know who these are, and what law

Makes them appear so ready to pass over,

As I discern athwart the dusky light."

And he to me: "These things shall all be known

To thee, as soon as we our footsteps stay

Upon the dismal shore of Acheron."

Then with mine eyes ashamed and downward cast,

Fearing my words might irksome be to him,

From speech refrained I till we reached the river.

And lo! towards us coming in a boat

An old man, hoary with the hair of eld,

Crying: "Woe unto you, ye souls depraved!

Hope nevermore to look upon the heavens;

I come to lead you to the other shore,

To the eternal shades in heat and frost.

And thou, that yonder standest, living soul,

Withdraw thee from these people, who are dead!"

But when he saw that I did not withdraw,

He said: "By other ways, by other ports

Thou to the shore shalt come, not here, for passage;

A lighter vessel needs must carry thee."

And unto him the Guide: "Vex thee not, Charon;

It is so willed there where is power to do

That which is willed; and farther question not."

Thereat were quieted the fleecy cheeks

Of him the ferryman of the livid fen,

Who round about his eyes had wheels of flame.

But all those souls who weary were and naked

Their colour changed and gnashed their teeth together,

As soon as they had heard those cruel words.

God they blasphemed and their progenitors,

The human race, the place, the time, the seed

Of their engendering and of their birth!

Thereafter all together they drew back,

Bitterly weeping, to the accursed shore,

Which waiteth every man who fears not God.

Charon the demon, with the eyes of glede,

Beckoning to them, collects them all together,

Beats with his oar whoever lags behind.

As in the autumn-time the leaves fall off,

First one and then another, till the branch

Unto the earth surrenders all its spoils;

In similar wise the evil seed of Adam

Throw themselves from that margin one by one,

At signals, as a bird unto its lure.

So they depart across the dusky wave,

And ere upon the other side they land,

Again on this side a new troop assembles.

My son, the courteous Master said to me,

"All those who perish in the wrath of God

Here meet together out of every land;

And ready are they to pass o'er the river,

Because celestial Justice spurs them on,

So that their fear is turned into desire.

This way there never passes a good soul;

And hence if Charon doth complain of thee,

Well mayst thou know now what his speech imports."

This being finished, all the dusk champaign

Trembled so violently, that of that terror

The recollection bathes me still with sweat.

The land of tears gave forth a blast of wind,

And fulminated a vermilion light,

Which overmastered in me every sense,

And as a man whom sleep hath seized I fell.

Canto IV

Broke the deep lethargy within my head

A heavy thunder, so that I upstarted,

Like to a person who by force is wakened;

And round about I moved my rested eyes,

Uprisen erect, and steadfastly I gazed,

To recognise the place wherein I was.

True is it, that upon the verge I found me

Of the abysmal valley dolorous,

That gathers thunder of infinite ululations.

Obscure, profound it was, and nebulous,

So that by fixing on its depths my sight

Nothing whatever I discerned therein.

Let us descend now into the blind world,

Began the Poet, pallid utterly;

I will be first, and thou shalt second be.

And I, who of his colour was aware,

Said: "How shall I come, if thou art afraid,

Who'rt wont to be a comfort to my fears?"

And he to me: "The anguish of the people

Who are below here in my face depicts

That pity which for terror thou hast taken.

Let us go on, for the long way impels us."

Thus he went in, and thus he made me enter

The foremost circle that surrounds the abyss.

There, as it seemed to me from listening,

Were lamentations none, but only sighs,

That tremble made the everlasting air.

And this arose from sorrow without torment,

Which the crowds had, that many were and great,

Of infants and of women and of men.

To me the Master good: "Thou dost not ask

What spirits these, which thou beholdest, are?

Now will I have thee know, ere thou go farther,

That they sinned not; and if they merit had,

'Tis not enough, because they had not baptism

Which is the portal of the Faith thou holdest;

And if they were before Christianity,

In the right manner they adored not God;

And among such as these am I myself.

For such defects, and not for other guilt,

Lost are we and are only so far punished,

That without hope we live on in desire."

Great grief seized on my heart when this I heard,

Because some people of much worthiness

I knew, who in that Limbo were suspended.

Tell me, my Master, tell me, thou my Lord,

Began I, with desire of being certain

Of that Faith which o'ercometh every error,

"Came any one by his own merit hence,

Or by another's, who was blessed thereafter?"

And he, who understood my covert speech,

Replied: "I was a novice in this state,

When I saw hither come a Mighty One,

With sign of victory incoronate.

Hence he drew forth the shade of the First Parent,

And that of his son Abel, and of Noah,

Of Moses the lawgiver, and the obedient

Abraham, patriarch, and David, king,

Israel with his father and his children,

And Rachel, for whose sake he did so much,

And others many, and he made them blessed;

And thou must know, that earlier than these

Never were any human spirits saved."

We ceased not to advance

Reviews for The Divine Comedy

[brightman-4 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Extraordinary illustrations...Gustave Dore....Translated by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

[jhack-37 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Un classico in un'edizione davvero prestigiosa.

[jbd1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Dante's classic poem of his journeys through hell and heaven.

[thereadingmermaid · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

In finally sitting down and reading the entire Divine Comedy, I can now see why The Inferno is usually separated from Purgatorio & Paradiso. The Inferno is captivating and paints vivid pictures of what Dante &. Virgil are seeing and experiencing. However Purgatorio & Paradiso seemed to lack this each in their own way. Purgatorio was still able to paint the pictures but not quite as vividly. Perhaps the subject matter was not as captivating as well. Dante certainly had the gift of making Purgatory feel not too bad but also not too good. In Paradiso we switch guides from Virgil to Beatrice. It is then that Dante seems to loose his focus on his surroundings and turns toward fauning over Beatrice's beauty. I figured that the Canto with God in it would have been a bit more powerful & profound. Lucifer's appearance was more awe inspiring than God's. Don't get me wrong, I give credit to the absolute classic that this work is, however I think there are some issues with it from a reader's standpoint. When all of the action is over in the 1st portion of the book it becomes a chore to finish reading it. All-in-all this entire work was beautifully written in the terza rima rhyme scheme which adds a bit of romance to every line read. I have to mention that I think it's funny how people get the details of this work confused with The Holy Bible. There in itself stands testement to how amazing this work has been throughout history. Despite my personal issues with reading it I am honored to have read such famous and renouned piece of historical literature.

[jvioland_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A true classic that everyone should read but, unfortunately, few will genuinely appreciate. You travel the afterlife from Hell through Purgatory and arrive in Heaven. Along the way you meet various souls (some of whom Dante had been ticked at who today are not known) and realize the very Catholic approach to redemption.

[krumbs_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Dore illustrations. Beautiful!

[bayardus-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Throughout The Divine Comedy Dante claims that his is no mere story, but a vision granted to him by the divine. While your personal faith probably plays a role in how you assess that claim, one thing is certain: Dante was a visionary, and The Divine Comedy contains some of the most stunning imagery you'll find in literature. Everyone has heard of Dante's nine circles of hell, but how many know that the ninth circle is surrounded by a living wall of giants, chained for their rebellion? Or that the mountain of purgatory is the land that was thrust up by Lucifer's fall, and atop it sits the Garden of Eden? Or that in paradise the souls of all the protectors of humanity form a huge eagle that addresses Dante, the eagle being formed of countless souls that shine like rubies in the sunlight? Not to mention the ultimate image Dante gives us, of the highest realm of heaven, wherein every soul that has reached paradise joins together to take the shape of a white rose, with God at its center.

It's beautiful stuff, and even in translation Dante's prose proves up to the task of describing it. From the opening of Inferno where Dante has lost his way to the final lines of each canticle that draw our minds to the stars, Dante is a masterful writer. Not only that, but he's an assertive writer as well. While I could easily imagine an author falling back on his beautiful writing and delivering only a milquetoast moral stance (and indeed, Dante mentions this temptation), in The Divine Comedy Dante makes his opinions known on issues large and small. He's not afraid to criticize the practice of blood feuds, or to pillory different orders of monks, or even to call out the leadership of the Church and the rulers of Italy. He places popes and kings in the fires of hell just as readily as he does false prophets and foreign conquerers.

In addition to this, The Divine Comedy serves as perhaps the best memorial for a lost love to ever be written. Dante's first love Beatrice, dead before he began work on The Divine Comedy, is not only placed by Dante among the highest ranks of paradise, but it is through her mercy and care that Dante is granted his vision of the divine. She is credited with not only inspiring his pen, but with saving his soul as well. Through this work Dante immortalizes his lost love, and if there is a love letter that can compare I don't know of it.

The work isn't without its flaws. Paradiso has several cantos that focus on Dante's take on cosmology or astrophysics that aren't only clearly wrong under our modern understanding, but that don't flow particularly well either. They're like Melville's chapters on whale classification in Moby Dick- they struck me as more distracting than atmospheric. Paradiso is also rife with Dante raising theological questions, only to give them unsatisfying answers. I wish Dante had given us more of his brilliant descriptions instead of trying his hand at reconciling the nature of God with real world events. Occasionally in Inferno it feels as though Dante is sticking it to the people he doesn't like in life at the expense of the flow of the canto, while at other times it feels as though Dante is making an exception for historical figures he really liked at the expense of the logic of the divine system he has described (Cato being the prime example, but various Roman and Greek figures throughout raise this issue). Still, these complaints are minor. It's a vision, after all, and so the lack of a concrete system with steadfast rules isn't surprising.

It's the journey that counts, not the destination, and Dante gives us one hell of a journey. It's an epic sightseeing trip through the world of Christian theology, a world that is still heavily influenced by the myths and scholars of ancient Rome and Greece. Though it's not perfect, it's great, and well worth your time.

[revslick_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Quintessential tale of recovery - The way out is for Dante to journey deeper into Hell.

[evanroskos_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Hell is fun! in book form.

[x_hoxha · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

If you want the Italian text, with notes in English, you might track down the Grandgent/Singleton Divina Commedia published in (I think) 1972. (There's another, older, one with only Grandgent as editor.)

[jcamilo_720582 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Perhaps the world's greatest achivement.

[charlie68_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Fascinating book that puts a different perspective on life and religion. Adds depth to the Bible and some of its symbolisms and philosophies. Has made me think of life and the life after death and has made me really aware of the precious things in life.

[trinibaby9 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I loved everything up to the Paradisso portion. I know this is supposed to be the best part of the three but it really wasn't to me. I really thought the first two were absolutely excellent. This is definitely devine!

[booksfordeb · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Dante, Virgil, Hades, and the beloved Beatrice---what's not to like. This allegory of Dante's struggles with events in his own life with the geography of hell, purgatory, and paradise is beautiful. Dante was a beautiful writer. The story flows beautifully and leaves you with so many images of life and how to deal with it. Truly a masterpiece.

[zhenlee · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I've read the book twice. First time I got lost after Purgatorio, second time I finished with astounding understanding even amazed myself. The book is more than just an imaginary piece of work. It was Dante's spiritual journey in his own understanding, marvelously relevant to anyone who is in his/her own pursuit. The book even violently shook me during my darkest spiritual struggle... Besides that, the structure, philosophy, language, you can never finish reading Dante.

[keylawk · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

DRAFT notes - the neologism "trasumanar" in canto 1 of Paradiso (to go beyond the human). Why did Dante coin this new word? At this time in his day.Some of the metaphors sound somehow mixed or even wrong: In the Tuscan, "nel lago del cor m'era durata". Does the "hardening lake of my heart" prefigure the revelation at the end of the Inferno that its deepest pit is frozen? Is the not-burning, a pious reader surprise?

[triphicus · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Purgatorio is by far the best of the three.

[shmuffin · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A classic. One of my all time favorites. The visions and descriptions in The Inferno are enough to make anyone pious.

[syndelle777 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

In finally sitting down and reading the entire Divine Comedy, I can now see why The Inferno is usually separated from Purgatorio & Paradiso. The Inferno is captivating and paints vivid pictures of what Dante &. Virgil are seeing and experiencing. However Purgatorio & Paradiso seemed to lack this each in their own way. Purgatorio was still able to paint the pictures but not quite as vividly. Perhaps the subject matter was not as captivating as well. Dante certainly had the gift of making Purgatory feel not too bad but also not too good. In Paradiso we switch guides from Virgil to Beatrice. It is then that Dante seems to loose his focus on his surroundings and turns toward fauning over Beatrice's beauty. I figured that the Canto with God in it would have been a bit more powerful & profound. Lucifer's appearance was more awe inspiring than God's. Don't get me wrong, I give credit to the absolute classic that this work is, however I think there are some issues with it from a reader's standpoint. When all of the action is over in the 1st portion of the book it becomes a chore to finish reading it. All-in-all this entire work was beautifully written in the terza rima rhyme scheme which adds a bit of romance to every line read. I have to mention that I think it's funny how people get the details of this work confused with The Holy Bible. There in itself stands testement to how amazing this work has been throughout history. Despite my personal issues with reading it I am honored to have read such famous and renouned piece of historical literature.

[tututhefirst_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A gorgeous poem that has stood the test of time. This translation, along with the Moser illustrations, is a beautiful volume. Having the original Italian on the opposite page makes it more accessible. The author's notes are helpful, although readers without a heavy classical education may want to avail themselves of other notes or commentaries. A work that can be read in short bursts, and will be read again and again.

[bluehat1955 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

First and foremost, this is a review of Ciardi's translation. I haven't read any other translations of this work, but I did a moderate bit of research and the conclusion (of the critics) is that Ciardi's translation is superior.I have now read the Divine Comedy twice, and hope to read it at least once more -- if you read it you will see that it is the execution of perfection. Besides being about good and evil, and how one can salvage one's life by embracing the former while eschewing the latter, you will marvel at the structure of these three canticles. Dante leaves few loose ends. There are surprises, witticisms, and rapture.

[laydonstorm · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This Allegory is the completed works of Dante transgressing the three stations (hell, purgatory, and paradise) in a way where one can truly understand the pain and suffering he went through to literally discover himself. The Divine Comedy is still to this day a highly read book by all ages and should continue to be so. With this take on the Allegory however did not follow the original Italian Vernacular and there by took away the authenticity of the epic.

[391_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The edition I'm reading is Cary's, and, while I appreciate his command of iambic pentameter, I find him much harder to follow than Mandelbaum. I would recommend Cary or Longfellow for poetry, and Mandelbaum for comprehension, if given the choice between various translations.As for the actual book itself - well, it's the Divine Comedy. It's amazing. The Inferno is my favorite of the three, with the sheer of joy of Paradiso bumping it up to second. Purgatorio is the last of the three, because it drags a bit more than the other two. I wish I could go back and read this with a literature class or something, so that I could catch all the allusions and references - not being an Italian contemporary of his leaves quite a bit of the book stuck in obscurity, but I imagine that's easy remedied with a competent Virgil of your own to guide you through it.

[rbeene-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It is a wonderful read if you have footnotes to understand who the people he is talking about is. I found it fascinating and I hope that I finish it someday.

[jawalter · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

eBook

Perhaps this was not the best choice of a book to read at the gym. That decision was certainly not helped by the fact that the eBook version I read had no footnotes.

I'd read the Inferno before, but never Purgatorio or Paradiso, and I was a little disappointed that the physicality I admired so much in the first part was slowly phased out as the poem went on. I suppose Dante was making a point about the difference between the physical world and his relationship to god, but what was so impressive about the Inferno was how he charged a discussion of ideas and morality with a concrete dimension. He made the abstract real.

This was carried over into Purgatorio, although to a lesser extent, but a significant portion of Paradiso seemed to be about his inability to fully render his experience. This seemed to me to be a structural flaw, as we are suddenly asked to once again perceive abstract concepts in an abstract way, and it seems a huge let down.

Or maybe I just needed footnotes to explain it to me.

[alera_6 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Here is where I default by saying...I am not a Christian. However I grew up in churches...I like to think I know the bible better than most Christians seeing as I have actually read it. And I appreciate aspects of the religion. More than anything...the most interesting to me has always been the Catholics. Dante...while being ever so colorful...and ever so in the past...gives me a fun little look at past Christianity. What I noticed in this segment...rather than the other two...even he had some small concerns over his own religion...largely the way God was meant to deal with certain things...like the people who had come before said religion. People who might have been just as pure and pious and deserving of Heaven as those who came after. I enjoyed my realization that while he understood the rules of his religion what could and could not be done...he believed over that..that God was loving and merciful...should always be loving and merciful and therefore he could not understand partial exclusion of some. Which again I say came as a nice surprise because in the first two...I often got the feeling he was merely speaking out against what had been done to him...through his beliefs and his skill as a poet. Not that I'm saying he didn't...because well really...throwing enemies in hell and friends in heaven would have perks. But I think there is a little more there and I like it..a lot.

[sandydog1_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

As with other books from a different time, take a course or get a good study guide. You'll never understand all the specific references to Florentine conflicts. Keep at it because understanding personalities, parody and sniping provides a lot of entertainment.

[pickwick817 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I didn't enjoy this book very much. There were a lot of references to people in politics at the time it was written (1200). Its interesting to see Dante's viewpoint on Catholicism during that time and throughout the book Virgil and Thomas Aquinas are referred to. I don't know too much about Catholicism then or now, so it was a little off topic for me. I was amazed at the technical aspect of the book. Dante refers to both mathematics in general and geometry at a fairly high level. My edition also had plenty of notes confiriming that most of Dante's calculations for sun, star and planet positions were correct. Seems a little technical for a religious story of a man's trip through hell, purgatory and heaven!

[atomicmutant · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I can't believe I read the whole thing. *phew*

[jpsnow · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Deservedly a true classic, Dante's portrayal of the Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradisio is at the same time metaphysical allegory, religious and political commentary, and great poetry. I read John Ciardi's translation of the Inferno (1982) and Lawrence Binyon's interpretation of the latter two sections (1947, also includes several shorter poems and Dante's Vita Nuova). It is a work such as this that makes me wish my feeble mind could retain more of the specific details of what I read. The whole story takes place during the time of Easter, the various hours of which correspond to Dantes' travels. Inferno, in particular, hosts a myriad of fascinating events. We witness Dante descend with Virgil through a series of concentric rings, each holding a type of sinner and punishing them accordingly. Similar punihsments take place in Purgatorio, except of course that these seven deadly sins are being atoned for and occassionally a resident is freed to Paradise. Paradise also consists of a series of relative rewards, although everyone is completely happy with their lot in recognition of perfect justice (and they only differ in terms of relative bliss). Paradise is much more descriptive of the beauty and awe of God, Christ, and Mary. Dante used this work to compliment many of his friends and colleagues and also to disgrace political enemies and a host of popes.Two events in Dante's own life greatly influenced this final work of his -- his banishment from Florence and the death of his first love, Beatrice. The poem is structured in three sections each with 33 cantos consisting of three line groups. Together with the introduction, there are 10 cantos. Ciardi's translation is both more understandable and appealing to me.