The divine comedy — Page 4
That any suff'rance of your misery
Que nulle souffrance de ta misère
Touches me not, nor flame of that fierce fire
Ne me touche, ni la flamme de ce feu ardent
Assails me. In high heaven a blessed dame
Ne m'assaille. Dans les hauteurs du ciel, une dame bienheureuse
Besides, who mourns with such effectual grief
De plus, qui se lamente d'un deuil si puissant
That hindrance, which I send thee to remove,
Pour cet obstacle que je t'envoie dissiper,
That God's stern judgment to her will inclines."
Que le sévère jugement de Dieu s'incline vers sa volonté."
To Lucia calling, her she thus bespake:
Appelant Lucie, elle lui adressa ces paroles :
"Now doth thy faithful servant need thy aid
"Ton fidèle serviteur a maintenant besoin de ton aide
And I commend him to thee." At her word
Et je te le confie." À ces mots
Sped Lucia, of all cruelty the foe,
Lucie s'élança, ennemie de toute cruauté,
And coming to the place, where I abode
Et venant au lieu où je demeurais
Seated with Rachel, her of ancient days,
Assise avec Rachel, celle des temps anciens,
She thus address'd me: "Thou true praise of God!
Elle m'adressa ces mots : "Toi, vraie louange de Dieu !
Beatrice! why is not thy succour lent
Béatrice ! pourquoi ton secours n'est-il pas prêté
To him, who so much lov'd thee, as to leave
À celui qui t'aima tant, au point de délaisser
For thy sake all the multitude admires?
Pour toi tout ce que la multitude admire ?
Dost thou not hear how pitiful his wail,
N'entends-tu pas combien pitoyable est sa plainte,
Nor mark the death, which in the torrent flood,
Ni ne remarques-tu la mort qui, dans le torrent gonflé,
Swoln mightier than a sea, him struggling holds?"
Plus puissant qu'une mer, le tient dans ses luttes ?"
Ne'er among men did any with such speed
Jamais parmi les hommes nul ne s'empressa avec une telle hâte
Haste to their profit, flee from their annoy,
Vers leur profit, ne fuit leurs tourments,
As when these words were spoken, I came here,
Comme lorsque ces mots furent prononcés, je vins ici,
Down from my blessed seat, trusting the force
Descendant de mon bienheureux séjour, me fiant à la force
Of thy pure eloquence, which thee, and all
De ta pure éloquence, qui te vaut, ainsi qu'à tous
Who well have mark'd it, into honour brings."
Qui l'ont bien remarquée, d'être portés en honneur."
"When she had ended, her bright beaming eyes
"Quand elle eut achevé, ses yeux brillants et lumineux
Tearful she turn'd aside; whereat I felt
Elle détourna, emplis de larmes ; alors je ressentis
Redoubled zeal to serve thee. As she will'd,
Un zèle redoublé de te servir. Selon sa volonté,
Thus am I come: I sav'd thee from the beast,
Me voici donc venu : je t'ai sauvé de la bête,
Who thy near way across the goodly mount
Qui sur ton chemin à travers le beau mont
Prevented.
T'avait barré la route.
Vocabulary
- Que
- What; that; which (relative or interrogative pronoun)
- nulle
- No; none; not any (feminine form of nul)
- souffrance
- Suffering; pain; anguish; distress or hardship
- de
- Of; from; about; preposition indicating possession or origin
- ta
- Your (feminine singular possessive adjective)
- misère
- Misery; wretchedness; poverty; extreme hardship or distress
- Ne
- Not; negative particle used in negation
- me
- Me; to me; indirect or direct object pronoun
- touche
- Touches; affects; concerns; third person singular of toucher
- ni
- Nor; neither; used to link negative clauses
- la
- The; her; feminine singular definite article or pronoun
- flamme
- Flame; fire; passionate love; burning light or intensity
- ce
- This; that; these; demonstrative adjective or pronoun
- feu
- Fire; flames; burning; light produced by combustion
- ardent
- Ardent; passionate; fervent; burning with intense emotion
- assaille
- Assails; attacks; besieges; third person singular of assaillir
- Dans
- In; within; inside; preposition indicating location or time
- les
- The; plural definite article for masculine or feminine
- hauteurs
- Heights; elevations; high places; upper regions or altitudes
- du
- Of the; from the; contraction of de + le
- ciel
- Sky; heaven; the celestial realm above earth
- une
- A; an; feminine singular indefinite article
- dame
- Lady; woman; dame; a woman of rank or dignity
- De
- Of; from; preposition indicating possession or origin
- plus
- More; plus; furthermore; in addition; moreover
- qui
- Who; which; that; relative pronoun
- se
- Himself; herself; oneself; reflexive pronoun
- lamente
- Laments; mourns; complains; third person singular of lamenter
- un
- A; an; one; masculine singular indefinite article
- deuil
- Mourning; grief; sorrow; state of bereavement
- si
- So; if; such; adverb or conditional conjunction
- puissant
- Powerful; mighty; strong; having great force or effect
- Pour
- For; in order to; toward; preposition indicating purpose
- cet
- This; that; masculine singular demonstrative before vowel
- obstacle
- Obstacle; obstruction; barrier; thing blocking passage or progress
- envoie
- Sends; dispatches; third person singular of envoyer
- dissiper
- Dissipate; dispel; scatter; to cause to vanish
- sévère
- Severe; strict; harsh; serious or stern in manner
- jugement
- Judgment; verdict; decision; act of judging or discerning
- Dieu
- God; deity; supreme being; ultimate divine power
- incline
- Inclines; bows; tilts; third person singular of incliner
- vers
- Toward; to; verse; preposition indicating direction
- sa
- His; her; its; feminine singular possessive adjective
- volonté
- Will; wish; intention; desire or determination
- Appelant
- Calling; summoning; present participle of appeler
- elle
- She; her; feminine singular personal pronoun
- lui
- Him; to him; her; indirect object pronoun
- adressa
- Addressed; spoke to; directed; past tense of adresser
- paroles
- Words; speeches; remarks; utterances or verbal expressions
- Ton
- Your; tone; masculine singular possessive adjective
- fidèle
- Faithful; loyal; true; steadfast in devotion
- serviteur
- Servant; attendant; one who serves; male servant
- maintenant
- Now; at present; currently; at this moment
- besoin
- Need; necessity; want; requirement or necessity
- aide
- Help; assistance; aid; support or helping hand
- confie
- Entrusts; trusts; confides; third person singular of confier
- mots
- Words; terms; expressions; units of language
- élança
- Rushed; darted; leaped; past tense of élancer
- ennemie
- Enemy; female foe; adversary or opponent woman
- cruauté
- Cruelty; brutality; harshness; quality of being cruel
- venant
- Coming; arriving; present participle of venir
- au
- To the; at the; contraction of à + le
- lieu
- Place; location; spot; instead of or in stead
- demeurais
- Dwelled; remained; lived; imperfect tense of demeurer
- Assise
- Seated; sitting; sitting down; feminine past participle
- avec
- With; alongside; together with; preposition of accompaniment
- celle
- The one; she; that woman; feminine demonstrative pronoun
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