The divine comedy — Page 5
What is this comes o'er thee then?
Che è questo che ti sopraggiunge dunque?
Why, why dost thou hang back? why in thy breast
Perché, perché ti tiri indietro? perché nel tuo petto
Harbour vile fear? why hast not courage there
Nutri vile paura? perché non hai coraggio là
And noble daring? Since three maids so blest
E nobile ardire? Poiché tre donne così beate
Thy safety plan, e'en in the court of heaven;
Pianificano la tua salvezza, persino nella corte del cielo;
And so much certain good my words forebode."
E tanto certo bene presagiscono le mie parole."
As florets, by the frosty air of night
Come i fiorellini, dall'aria gelida della notte
Bent down and clos'd, when day has blanch'd their leaves,
Chinati e chiusi, quando il giorno ha sbiancato le loro foglie,
Rise all unfolded on their spiry stems;
Si alzano tutti aperti sui loro steli svettanti;
So was my fainting vigour new restor'd,
Così fu il mio vigore svenuto di nuovo restaurato,
And to my heart such kindly courage ran,
E al mio cuore tale benigno coraggio corse,
That I as one undaunted soon replied:
Che io come uno intrepido risposi prontamente:
"O full of pity she, who undertook
"O piena di pietà colei, che si assunse
My succour! and thou kind who didst perform
Il mio soccorso! e tu gentile che compisti
So soon her true behest! With such desire
Così presto il suo vero comando! Con tale desiderio
Thou hast dispos'd me to renew my voyage,
Tu mi hai disposto a rinnovare il mio viaggio,
That my first purpose fully is resum'd.
Che il mio primo proposito è pienamente ripreso.
Lead on: one only will is in us both.
Guidami: una sola volontà è in noi entrambi.
Thou art my guide, my master thou, and lord."
Tu sei la mia guida, tu il mio maestro, e signore."
So spake I; and when he had onward mov'd,
Così parlai io; e quando egli si fu mosso innanzi,
I enter'd on the deep and woody way.
Io entrai nel cammino profondo e boscoso.
Vocabulary
- Che
- ke — What; used as interrogative or relative pronoun
- è
- è — Is; third person singular of 'essere' (to be)
- questo
- kwesto — This; demonstrative pronoun or adjective
- ti
- ti — You; informal second person singular object pronoun
- sopraggiunge
- soprad-djun-je — Overtakes or comes upon someone suddenly
- dunque
- dun-kwe — Therefore; so; consequently
- Perché
- per-ke — Why; because; used for questions and explanations
- tiri
- ti-ri — You pull or draw back; from 'tirare'
- indietro
- in-djetro — Back; backward; in retreat
- nel
- nel — In the; contraction of 'in' and 'il'
- tuo
- two — Your; possessive adjective for informal second person
- petto
- pet-to — Chest; breast; the front of the torso
- Nutri
- nu-tri — You nourish or feed; from 'nutrire'
- vile
- vi-le — Cowardly; base; despicable in character
- paura
- pa-u-ra — Fear; fright; a feeling of alarm
- non
- non — Not; negation particle
- hai
- ai — You have; second person singular of 'avere'
- coraggio
- ko-rad-djo — Courage; bravery; boldness in facing danger
- là
- la — There; in or at that place
- nobile
- no-bi-le — Noble; dignified; of elevated moral character
- ardire
- ar-di-re — Daring; boldness; audacity in action
- Poiché
- poi-ke — Since; because; given that
- tre
- tre — Three; the number 3
- donne
- don-ne — Women; plural of 'donna'
- così
- ko-zi — So; thus; in this way
- beate
- be-a-te — Blessed; blissful; heavenly in nature
- Pianificano
- pja-ni-fi-ka-no — They plan or organize; from 'pianificare'
- salvezza
- sal-vet-tsa — Salvation; rescue; deliverance from danger
- persino
- per-zi-no — Even; as far as; going so far as
- corte
- kor-te — Court; royal or heavenly assembly
- cielo
- tʃe-lo — Sky; heaven; the celestial realm above
- tanto
- tan-to — So much; so; to such a degree
- certo
- tʃer-to — Certain; sure; definitely true
- bene
- be-ne — Good; well; benefit or welfare
- presagiscono
- pre-za-dʒis-ko-no — They foretell or presage; predict future events
- parole
- pa-ro-le — Words; speech; spoken or written expressions
- Come
- ko-me — As; like; how; in the same way
- fiorellini
- fjo-rel-li-ni — Little flowers; diminutive plural of 'fiore'
- aria
- a-rja — Air; atmosphere; the gaseous environment
- gelida
- dʒe-li-da — Icy cold; freezing; bitterly cold in temperature
- notte
- not-te — Night; the dark period after sunset
- Chinati
- ki-na-ti — Bent down; bowed; inclined downward
- chiusi
- kjuzi — Closed; shut; not open
- giorno
- dʒor-no — Day; the period of daylight
- sbiancato
- zbjan-ka-to — Whitened; bleached; made pale in color
- foglie
- foʎʎe — Leaves; plural of 'foglia'
- alzano
- al-tsa-no — They rise up; from 'alzarsi'
- aperti
- a-per-ti — Open; opened wide; not closed
- steli
- ste-li — Stems; stalks of plants or flowers
- vigore
- vi-go-re — Vigor; strength; vitality and energy
- svenuto
- zve-nu-to — Fainted; exhausted; drained of strength
- restaurato
- res-tau-ra-to — Restored; renewed; returned to former condition
- cuore
- kwo-re — Heart; the vital organ and seat of emotion
- benigno
- be-niɲ-ɲo — Benign; kind; gentle and favorable in manner
- intrepido
- in-tre-pi-do — Intrepid; fearless; bold and undaunted
- risposi
- ris-po-zi — I replied; past tense of 'rispondere'
- prontamente
- pron-ta-men-te — Promptly; quickly; in a ready manner
- piena
- pje-na — Full; complete; filled to capacity
- pietà
- pje-ta — Pity; compassion; merciful feeling toward others
- colei
- ko-lei — She; that woman; referring to a specific female
- soccorso
- sok-kor-so — Help; rescue; assistance in time of need
- gentile
- dʒen-ti-le — Kind; gentle; courteous in manner
- compisti
- kom-pis-ti — You accomplished; past tense of 'compire'
- comando
- ko-man-do — Command; order; instruction given with authority
- desiderio
- de-zi-de-rjo — Desire; wish; a strong longing for something
- disposto
- dis-pos-to — Disposed; willing; ready to do something
- rinnovare
- rin-no-va-re — To renew; to restore to a fresh state
- viaggio
- vjad-dʒo — Journey; trip; travel from one place to another
- proposito
- pro-po-zi-to — Purpose; intention; a planned aim or goal
- pienamente
- pje-na-men-te — Fully; completely; in an entire manner
- ripreso
- ri-pre-zo — Resumed; taken up again; recovered
- Guidami
- gwi-da-mi — Guide me; imperative form of 'guidare' with pronoun
- volontà
- vo-lon-ta — Will; volition; determination to act
- entrambi
- en-tram-bi — Both; referring to two people or things together
- guida
- gwi-da — Guide; leader; one who shows the way
- maestro
- ma-es-tro — Master; teacher; one with great skill or authority
- signore
- siɲ-ɲo-re — Lord; sir; a title of respect or authority
- parlai
- par-lai — I spoke; first person past tense of 'parlare'
- mosso
- mos-so — Moved; stirred; set in motion
- innanzi
- in-nan-tsi — Forward; ahead; in front
- entrai
- en-trai — I entered; first person past tense of 'entrare'
- cammino
- kam-mi-no — Path; road; way or route of travel
- profondo
- pro-fon-do — Deep; profound; extending far downward or inward
- boscoso
- bos-ko-zo — Wooded; forested; covered with trees and shrubs
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