The divine comedy — Page 3
When him in that great desert I espied,
Quando lui in quel grande deserto scorsi,
"Have mercy on me!" cried I out aloud,
"Pietà di me!" gridai a gran voce,
"Spirit! or living man! what e'er thou be!"
"Spirito! o uomo vivente! chiunque tu sia!"
He answer'd: "Now not man, man once I was,
Egli rispose: "Ora non uomo, uomo un tempo fui,
And born of Lombard parents, Mantuana both
E nato da genitori lombardi, mantovani entrambi
By country, when the power of Julius yet
Per patria, quando il potere di Giulio ancora
Was scarcely firm. At Rome my life was past
Era appena saldo. A Roma trascorsi la mia vita
Beneath the mild Augustus, in the time
Sotto il mite Augusto, nel tempo
Of fabled deities and false. A bard
Degli dèi favolosi e falsi. Un poeta
Was I, and made Anchises' upright son
Fui io, e feci del pio figlio di Anchise
The subject of my song, who came from Troy,
Il soggetto del mio canto, colui che venne da Troia,
When the flames prey'd on Ilium's haughty towers.
Quando le fiamme divorarono le superbe torri di Ilio.
But thou, say wherefore to such perils past
Ma tu, di' perché a tali pericoli passati
Return'st thou? wherefore not this pleasant mount
Ritorni tu? perché non questo piacevole monte
Ascendest, cause and source of all delight?"
Ascendi, causa e fonte di ogni diletto?"
"And art thou then that Virgil, that well-spring,
"E sei tu dunque quel Virgilio, quella sorgente,
From which such copious floods of eloquence
Da cui tali copiosi fiumi di eloquenza
Have issued?" I with front abash'd replied.
Sono sgorgati?" risposi io con fronte arrossita.
"Glory and light of all the tuneful train!
"Gloria e luce di tutta la schiera dei poeti!
May it avail me that I long with zeal
Possa giovarmi che a lungo con zelo
Have sought thy volume, and with love immense
Ho cercato il tuo volume, e con amore immenso
Have conn'd it o'er. My master thou and guide!
L'ho studiato a fondo. Tu mio maestro e guida!
Thou he from whom alone I have deriv'd
Tu colui dal quale solo ho derivato
That style, which for its beauty into fame
Quello stile, che per la sua bellezza alla fama
Exalts me. See the beast, from whom I fled.
Mi innalza. Guarda la belva, dalla quale fuggii.
O save me from her, thou illustrious sage!
Oh salvami da lei, tu illustre saggio!
"For every vein and pulse throughout my frame
"Poiché ogni vena e polso in tutto il mio corpo
She hath made tremble." He, soon as he saw
Ella ha fatto tremare." Egli, non appena vide
That I was weeping, answer'd, "Thou must needs
Che io stavo piangendo, rispose, "Tu devi per forza
Another way pursue, if thou wouldst 'scape
Seguire un'altra via, se vuoi sfuggire
From out that savage wilderness.
Da quella selvaggia landa.
Vocabulary
- Quando
- When; at what time or occasion
- lui
- He; third person masculine singular pronoun
- in
- In; preposition indicating location or time
- quel
- That; demonstrative adjective for distant objects
- grande
- Large; big; great in size or importance
- deserto
- Desert; empty or uninhabited place
- scorsi
- I caught sight of; I glimpsed in distance
- Pietà
- Pity; compassion; also a religious image representation
- di
- Of; preposition indicating possession or relationship
- me
- Me; first person singular object pronoun
- gridai
- I cried out; I shouted loudly
- gran
- Great; large; shortened form of grande
- voce
- Voice; sound produced by speaking or singing
- Spirito
- Spirit; soul; immaterial essence or supernatural being
- uomo
- Man; male human being; person in general
- vivente
- Living; alive; currently existing or in being
- chiunque
- Whoever; anyone; any person whatsoever
- tu
- You; second person singular informal pronoun
- sia
- Be; subjunctive form of essere verb
- Egli
- He; third person singular masculine pronoun formal
- rispose
- He answered; he replied; past tense of rispondere
- Ora
- Now; at the present time; at this moment
- non
- Not; negation particle used before verbs
- un
- A; an; indefinite article masculine singular
- tempo
- Time; period; era; temporal duration
- fui
- I was; past tense of essere verb
- nato
- Born; past participle of nascere verb
- da
- From; by; preposition indicating origin or agent
- genitori
- Parents; plural of genitore; mother and father
- entrambi
- Both; the two together; masculine plural form
- Per
- For; by; in order to; preposition
- patria
- Homeland; native country; fatherland
- il
- The; definite article masculine singular
- potere
- Power; ability; authority; might or strength
- ancora
- Still; yet; anchor; even now currently
- Era
- He/She/It was; past tense of essere
- appena
- Barely; hardly; just; scarcely at all
- saldo
- Firm; strong; stable; secure or steady
- Roma
- Rome; capital city of Italy
- trascorsi
- I spent; I passed; past tense of trascorrere
- la
- The; definite article feminine singular
- mia
- My; possessive adjective feminine singular form
- vita
- Life; existence; way of living
- Sotto
- Under; below; beneath; underneath position
- mite
- Mild; gentle; meek; kind or peaceful
- nel
- In the; contraction of in and il
- Degli
- Of the; contraction of di and gli
- dèi
- Gods; plural of dio; divine beings
- favolosi
- Fabulous; mythical; legendary; extraordinary amazing
- falsi
- False; fake; not true or genuine
- poeta
- Poet; person who writes poetry verses
- Fui
- I was; past tense of essere
- io
- I; first person singular pronoun
- feci
- I made; I did; past tense of fare
- del
- Of the; contraction of di and il
- pio
- Pious; dutiful; virtuous; devout religious
- figlio
- Son; male child; offspring of parent
- Il
- The; definite article masculine singular form
- soggetto
- Subject; topic; theme; person or matter
- canto
- Song; singing; section of poem or epic
- colui
- That one; he who; that man
- che
- That; which; who; relative pronoun
- venne
- Came; arrived; past tense of venire
- le
- The; definite article feminine plural form
- fiamme
- Flames; fires; plural of fiamma
- divorarono
- They devoured; they consumed; past tense
- superbe
- Proud; arrogant; haughty; magnificent or grand
- torri
- Towers; plural of torre; tall structures
- Ma
- But; however; yet; conjunction word
- perché
- Why; because; for what reason; wherefore
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