The divine comedy — Page 1

English → It CANTO III Level 9/10

"Through me you pass into the city of woe:

"Per me si va nella città dolente:

Through me you pass into eternal pain:

Per me si va nell'eterno dolore:

Through me among the people lost for aye.

Per me si va tra la perduta gente.

Justice the founder of my fabric mov'd:

Giustizia mosse il mio alto fattore:

To rear me was the task of power divine,

Fecemi la divina potestate,

Supremest wisdom, and primeval love.

La somma sapienza e il primo amore.

Before me things create were none, save things

Dinanzi a me non fur cose create

Eternal, and eternal I endure.

Se non etterne, ed io etterna duro.

"All hope abandon ye who enter here."

"Lasciate ogni speranza, voi ch'entrate."

Such characters in colour dim I mark'd

Queste parole di colore oscuro

Over a portal's lofty arch inscrib'd:

Vid'io scritte al sommo d'una porta:

Whereat I thus: "Master, these words import

Per ch'io: "Maestro, il senso lor m'è duro."

Hard meaning." He as one prepar'd replied:

Ed egli a me, come persona accorta:

"Here thou must all distrust behind thee leave;

"Qui si convien lasciare ogni sospetto;

Here be vile fear extinguish'd. We are come

Qui conviene che tutta paura sia morta. Noi siam venuti

Where I have told thee we shall see the souls

Al loco ov'io t'ho detto che tu vedrai le genti

To misery doom'd, who intellectual good

Dolorose, che hanno perduto il ben dell'intelletto."

Have lost." And when his hand he had stretch'd forth

E poi che la sua mano a la mia puose

To mine, with pleasant looks, whence I was cheer'd,

Con lieto volto, ond'io mi confortai,

Into that secret place he led me on.

Mi mise dentro alle segrete cose.

Here sighs with lamentations and loud moans

Quivi sospiri, pianti e alti guai

Resounded through the air pierc'd by no star,

Risonavan per l'aere sanza stelle,

That e'en I wept at entering. Various tongues,

Per ch'io al cominciar ne lagrimai. Diverse lingue,

Horrible languages, outcries of woe,

Orribili favelle, parole di dolore,

Accents of anger, voices deep and hoarse,

Accenti d'ira, voci alte e fioche,

With hands together smote that swell'd the sounds,

E suon di man con elle facean rumori,

Made up a tumult, that for ever whirls

Facevano un tumulto che s'aggira

Round through that air with solid darkness stain'd,

Sempre in quell'aura sanza tempo tinta,

Like to the sand that in the whirlwind flies.

Come la rena quando turbo spira.

I then, with error yet encompass'd, cried:

Ed io ch'aveva d'error la testa cinta, dissi:

"O master! What is this I hear? What race

"Maestro, che è quel ch'i' odo? E che gent'è

Are these, who seem so overcome with woe?

Che par nel duol sì vinta?"

Vocabulary

Per: pehr — Through; a preposition indicating movement or means
me: meh — Me; first-person singular object pronoun
si: see — One; reflexive or impersonal pronoun
va: vah — Goes; third-person singular of andare
nella: nehl-lah — In the; feminine singular contraction of in+la
città: cheet-TAH — City; an urban settlement or municipality
dolente: doh-LEHN-teh — Sorrowful; experiencing or expressing grief and pain
eterno: eh-TEHR-noh — Eternal; lasting forever without end
dolore: doh-LOH-reh — Pain; intense physical or emotional suffering
tra: trah — Among; between; preposition indicating position or relationship
la: lah — The; feminine singular definite article
perduta: pehr-DOO-tah — Lost; adjective describing something or someone forsaken
gente: JEHN-teh — People; a group of human beings collectively
Giustizia: joos-TEET-tsyah — Justice; the principle of moral rightness and fairness
mosse: MOHS-seh — Moved; past tense of muovere, to move
il: eel — The; masculine singular definite article
mio: MEE-oh — My; first-person singular masculine possessive adjective
alto: AHL-toh — High; elevated in rank, position, or quality
fattore: faht-TOH-reh — Maker; creator or agent responsible for something
divina: dee-VEE-nah — Divine; of or relating to God or supreme power
somma: SOHM-mah — Supreme; highest in degree or total sum
sapienza: sah-PYEHN-tsah — Wisdom; deep knowledge and sound judgment
primo: PREE-moh — First; preceding all others in order or rank
amore: ah-MOH-reh — Love; deep affection or romantic feeling
non: nohn — Not; negation particle used to negate verbs
cose: KOH-zeh — Things; objects or matters in general
create: kreh-AH-teh — Created; brought into existence by a maker
Se: seh — If; conditional conjunction introducing a hypothesis
duro: DOO-roh — I endure; first-person singular of durare, to last
Lasciate: lah-SHAH-teh — Abandon; imperative plural of lasciare, to leave
ogni: OH-nyee — Every; each; all without exception
speranza: speh-RAHN-tsah — Hope; expectation of a desired outcome
voi: voy — You; second-person plural subject pronoun
ch': keh — Who; that; elided form of che before vowel
entrate: ehn-TRAH-teh — Enter; imperative or past participle of entrare
Queste: KWEH-steh — These; feminine plural demonstrative adjective
parole: pah-ROH-leh — Words; units of spoken or written language
di: dee — Of; from; preposition indicating possession or origin
colore: koh-LOH-reh — Color; the visual property of hue and shade
oscuro: oh-SKOO-roh — Dark; obscure; lacking light or clarity
scritte: SKREET-teh — Written; inscribed; past participle of scrivere
sommo: SOHM-moh — Summit; topmost part or highest point
porta: POHR-tah — Door; gate; an entrance or exit structure
Maestro: mah-EH-stroh — Master; teacher; a skilled or learned guide
senso: SEHN-soh — Sense; meaning; the significance of something
m': meh — Me; elided first-person singular object pronoun
è: eh — Is; third-person singular present of essere
Ed: ehd — And; conjunction used before vowels
egli: EH-lyee — He; third-person masculine singular subject pronoun
come: KOH-meh — Like; as; how; a comparative conjunction
persona: pehr-SOH-nah — Person; an individual human being
accorta: ahk-KOHR-tah — Shrewd; wise; a prudent and perceptive person
Qui: kwee — Here; in this place or moment
lasciare: lah-SHAH-reh — To leave; to abandon or let go of something
sospetto: sohs-PEHT-toh — Suspicion; distrust; a feeling of doubt or fear
conviene: kohn-VYEH-neh — It is necessary; it is fitting; impersonal verb
che: keh — That; which; who; a versatile conjunction or pronoun
tutta: TOOT-tah — All; entire; feminine singular of tutto
paura: pah-OO-rah — Fear; a feeling of dread or alarm
sia: SEE-ah — Be; third-person singular present subjunctive of essere
morta: MOHR-tah — Dead; feminine adjective describing loss of life
Noi: noy — We; first-person plural subject pronoun
venuti: veh-NOO-tee — Come; arrived; past participle of venire
Al: ahl — To the; masculine singular contraction of a+il
t': teh — You; elided second-person singular object pronoun
ho: oh — I have; first-person singular present of avere
detto: DEHT-toh — Said; told; past participle of dire
tu: too — You; second-person singular subject pronoun
vedrai: veh-DRAH-ee — You will see; future tense of vedere
le: leh — The; feminine plural definite article
genti: JEHN-tee — Peoples; plural of gente, groups of people
Dolorose: doh-loh-ROH-zeh — Sorrowful; suffering; afflicted with grief and pain
hanno: AHN-noh — They have; third-person plural present of avere
perduto: pehr-DOO-toh — Lost; past participle of perdere, to lose
ben: behn — Good; benefit; elided form of bene
dell': dehl — Of the; elided contraction of di+il before vowel
intelletto: een-tehl-LEHT-toh — Intellect; the faculty of reasoning and understanding
E: eh — And; basic coordinating conjunction
poi: poy — Then; afterward; indicating sequence of events
sua: SOO-ah — His; her; its; feminine singular possessive adjective
mano: MAH-noh — Hand; the end part of the human arm
mia: MEE-ah — My; first-person singular feminine possessive adjective
Con: kohn — With; preposition indicating accompaniment or means
lieto: LYEH-toh — Happy; joyful; expressing cheerfulness or gladness
volto: VOHL-toh — Face; countenance; the front of a person's head
mi: mee — Me; first-person singular reflexive or object pronoun
confortai: kohn-fohr-TAH-ee — I was comforted; past tense of confortarsi
Mi: mee — Me; first-person singular object pronoun
mise: MEE-zeh — Put; placed; past tense of mettere
dentro: DEHN-troh — Inside; within; indicating interior location
alle: AHL-leh — To the; feminine plural contraction of a+le
segrete: seh-GREH-teh — Secret; hidden; concealed places or things
sospiri: sohs-PEE-ree — Sighs; expressions of sorrow or longing through breath
pianti: PYAHN-tee — Weeping; cries; plural of pianto, lamentation
alti: AHL-tee — High; loud; elevated; masculine plural of alto
guai: GWAH-ee — Woes; laments; cries of distress or suffering
per: pehr — Through; by means of; a common preposition
l': leh — The; elided definite article before a vowel
stelle: STEHL-leh — Stars; celestial bodies visible in the night sky
ne: neh — Of it; about it; partitive or locative pronoun
Diverse: dee-VEHR-zeh — Various; different; multiple distinct languages or types
lingue: LEEN-gweh — Languages; tongues; means of verbal communication
Orribili: ohr-REE-bee-lee — Horrible; dreadful; causing terror or disgust
Accenti: ahk-CHEHN-tee — Accents; tones; vocal sounds expressing emotion
ira: EE-rah — Anger; wrath; intense feeling of displeasure
voci: VOH-chee — Voices; sounds produced by human vocal cords
alte: AHL-teh — High; loud; elevated; feminine plural of alto
con: kohn — With; preposition indicating accompaniment or instrument
rumori: roo-MOH-ree — Noises; sounds; disruptive or loud disturbances
Facevano: fah-CHEH-vah-noh — They were making; imperfect of fare, to make
un: oon — A; an; masculine singular indefinite article
tumulto: too-MOOL-toh — Tumult; uproar; a loud and confused commotion
s': see — Itself; elided reflexive pronoun before a vowel
aggira: ahd-JEE-rah — Whirls; revolves; third-person singular of aggirare
Sempre: SEHM-preh — Always; at all times; continuously and without interruption
in: een — In; inside; a preposition of place or time
quell': kwehl — That; elided masculine singular demonstrative adjective
aura: AH-oo-rah — Air; breeze; atmosphere surrounding a place
tempo: TEHM-poh — Time; weather; a fundamental measure of duration
tinta: TEEN-tah — Tinted; dyed; colored with a particular hue
Come: KOH-meh — Like; as; used for comparison or similarity
quando: KWAHN-doh — When; at the time that; temporal conjunction
aveva: ah-VEH-vah — Had; third-person singular imperfect of avere
testa: TEH-stah — Head; the uppermost part of the human body
dissi: DEES-see — I said; first-person singular past tense of dire
quel: kwehl — That; masculine singular demonstrative adjective
odo: OH-doh — I hear; first-person singular present of udire
Che: keh — Who; that; which; relative or interrogative pronoun
nel: nehl — In the; masculine singular contraction of in+il
sì: see — So; thus; yes; an affirmative or intensifying adverb
vinta: VEEN-tah — Overcome; defeated; past participle of vincere

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