The divine comedy — Page 2

English → It HELL OR THE INFERNO CANTO I Level 9/10

a panther, nimble, light,

una pantera, agile, leggera,

And cover'd with a speckled skin, appear'd,

E coperta di una pelle maculata, apparve,

Nor, when it saw me, vanish'd, rather strove

Né, quando mi vide, sparì, ma piuttosto cercò

To check my onward going; that ofttimes

Di ostacolare il mio cammino; tanto che spesso

With purpose to retrace my steps I turn'd.

Con intenzione di tornare sui miei passi mi voltai.

The hour was morning's prime, and on his way

L'ora era l'alba del mattino, e per il suo cammino

Aloft the sun ascended with those stars,

In alto il sole saliva con quelle stelle,

That with him rose, when Love divine first mov'd

Che con lui sorsero, quando il divino Amore mosse per la prima volta

Those its fair works: so that with joyous hope

Quelle sue belle opere: cosicché con gioiosa speranza

All things conspir'd to fill me, the gay skin

Tutte le cose concorsero a riempirmi, la variopinta pelle

Of that swift animal, the matin dawn

Di quel veloce animale, l'alba mattutina

And the sweet season. Soon that joy was chas'd,

E la dolce stagione. Presto quella gioia fu cacciata,

And by new dread succeeded, when in view

E da nuovo terrore seguita, quando in vista

A lion came, 'gainst me, as it appear'd,

Un leone venne, contro di me, come sembrava,

With his head held aloft and hunger-mad,

Con la testa alta e pazzo di fame,

That e'en the air was fear-struck. A she-wolf

Tanto che persino l'aria era atterrita. Una lupa

Was at his heels, who in her leanness seem'd

Era alle sue calcagna, che nella sua magrezza sembrava

Full of all wants, and many a land hath made

Piena di ogni bisogno, e molte terre ha reso

Disconsolate ere now. She with such fear

Desolate già da tempo. Essa con tale terrore

O'erwhelmed me, at the sight of her appall'd,

Mi travolse, atterrito alla sua vista,

That of the height all hope I lost. As one,

Che di raggiungere l'altura ogni speranza perdei. Come uno,

Who with his gain elated, sees the time

Che esaltato dal suo guadagno, vede il momento

When all unwares is gone, he inwardly

In cui tutto all'improvviso è perduto, e interiormente

Mourns with heart-griping anguish; such was I,

Si affligge con angoscia che stringe il cuore; tale ero io,

Haunted by that fell beast, never at peace,

Tormentato da quella feroce bestia, mai in pace,

Who coming o'er against me, by degrees

Che venendomi incontro, a poco a poco

Impell'd me where the sun in silence rests.

Mi spinse là dove il sole in silenzio tramonta.

While to the lower space with backward step

Mentre verso il basso con passo indietreggiante

I fell, my ken discern'd the form one of one,

Precipitavo, il mio sguardo scorse la figura di uno,

Whose voice seem'd faint through long disuse of speech.

La cui voce sembrava fioca per il lungo disuso della parola.

Vocabulary

una: Feminine indefinite article; one
pantera: A large wild cat with spotted coat
agile: Quick and nimble in movement
leggera: Light in weight or manner
coperta: Covered or blanket
di: Of; preposition indicating possession or relation
pelle: Skin or leather
apparve: Appeared; past tense of apparire
Né: Neither; nor
quando: When; at what time
mi: Me; object pronoun
vide: Saw; past tense of vedere
sparì: Disappeared; past tense of sparire
ma: But; conjunction
piuttosto: Rather; instead; or else
cercò: Sought; tried; past tense of cercare
Di: Of; preposition indicating possession or relation
ostacolare: To hinder or obstruct
il: The; masculine singular definite article
mio: My; possessive adjective
cammino: Path or journey; way of walking
tanto: So much; as much; so
che: That; which; who; conjunction
spesso: Often; frequently; thick
Con: With; together with
intenzione: Intention; purpose; aim
tornare: To return; to come back
sui: On the; upon the
miei: My; possessive pronoun plural
passi: Steps; footsteps; paces
voltai: Turned; past tense of voltare
ora: Now; hour; at this moment
era: Was; past tense of essere
alba: Dawn; daybreak; sunrise
del: Of the; preposition plus article
mattino: Morning; early part of day
per: For; by; through; preposition
suo: His; her; its; possessive adjective
In: In; inside; within; preposition
alto: High; tall; loud; upper
sole: Sun; sunshine; daylight
saliva: Ascended; rose; past tense of salire
con: With; together with; preposition
quelle: Those; those ones; feminine plural
stelle: Stars; celestial bodies
Che: Which; that; who; conjunction
lui: Him; he; masculine pronoun
divino: Divine; heavenly; sacred; godly
Amore: Love; affection; romantic feeling
mosse: Moved; set in motion; past tense
la: The; feminine singular definite article
prima: First; before; earlier; in front
volta: Time; turn; occasion; turning
Quelle: Those; those ones; feminine plural
sue: His; her; its; feminine plural possessive
belle: Beautiful; lovely; pretty; fair
opere: Works; deeds; actions; creations
gioiosa: Joyful; happy; full of joy
speranza: Hope; expectation; confidence
Tutte: All; every; all of them
le: The; feminine plural definite article
cose: Things; matters; objects
quel: That; that one; demonstrative adjective
veloce: Fast; quick; swift; rapid
animale: Animal; beast; creature
dolce: Sweet; soft; gentle; pleasant
stagione: Season; time of year
Presto: Soon; quickly; fast; early
quella: That; that one; feminine singular
gioia: Joy; happiness; delight; gladness
fu: Was; past tense of essere
da: From; by; since; preposition

← Previous Next →

Unlock audio playback, vocabulary games, and reading progress tracking.

Create free account →