Purgatorio, Canto 17
Dante Alighieri · Italian original · new English translation and commentary by Text Atlas
Overview
Dante asks the reader to recall mountain mist through which sight is as dim as a mole's through its skin, then imagines the sun entering weakly as the vapors thin. Matching his steps to Virgil's faithful ones, he comes out of wrath's smoke into the setting sun's dead rays. He addresses imagination itself, asking what moves it when the senses provide nothing: a light formed in heaven, either by itself or guided downward by a will. His inner sight receives three wrath-correcting images. First comes the trace of the impious woman changed into the nightingale, whose crime was driven by vengeance. Then Haman appears crucified, disdainful and fierce, with Ahasuerus, Esther, and just Mordecai around him. When that image bursts like a waterless bubble, Lavinia appears weeping to Amata, asking why anger made her choose annihilation and mourning her mother's ruin before anyone else's. A greater-than-earthly light shatters Dante's inner vision, and a voice says, 'Here one mounts.' Dante longs to see the speaker, but his power fails before the angelic brightness. Virgil explains that this divine spirit guides them upward without being asked, hides himself in his own light, and acts as a person should act for himself: one who sees need and waits to be asked already leans toward denial. The poets hasten upward before dark. As Dante reaches the first step, a wing stirs and fans his face, proclaiming the blessedness of peacemakers without evil anger. Night is rising, stars appear, and Dante's strength fails when the stairs end. He listens in the new terrace, then asks what offense is purged there. Virgil says that deficient love of the good is restored here, the badly delayed oar struck again. During the night halt, Virgil explains that neither Creator nor creature is ever without love, either natural or of the mind. Natural love does not err, but elective love can err by turning to an evil object or by running with too much or too little vigor. Properly directed toward the first good and measured among secondary goods, love cannot cause evil delight; distorted, it makes the creature work against the maker. Love is therefore the seed of every virtue and every punishable action. Because love cannot turn from the welfare of its subject, things are safe from self-hatred; because no being can be conceived apart from the First, every affection is cut off from hating God. The evil one loves must therefore be a neighbor's evil, born in three ways: pride hopes to rise by another's abasement; envy fears losing power, grace, honor, and fame when another rises; wrath grows greedy for revenge after injury. These three forms of love are wept below. Virgil then turns to the love that runs toward good with corrupted order: all souls indistinctly apprehend a good in which the mind can rest and desire to reach it. If love draws too slowly toward seeing or acquiring that good, this terrace torments it after just repentance. Another good exists that does not make a person happy, not the good essence, fruit and root of every good; excessive love of that is wept above in three circles. Virgil withholds the details so Dante will seek them himself.
Narrative arc
- The reader recalls mountain mist as Dante emerges from wrath's smoke into the setting sun
- Dante asks what moves imagination when the senses are absent, and the nightingale trace appears
- Haman and Amata appear as visions of wrathful ruin before angelic light breaks the imagining
- The hidden angel directs the ascent, Virgil accepts the invitation, and the peace beatitude marks the exit from wrath
- Night falls, Dante's strength fails at the fourth terrace, and Virgil names deficient love of good
- Virgil explains natural and elective love, error by object or measure, and love as seed of virtue and punishment
- Love cannot hate self or God; love of a neighbor's evil becomes pride, envy, and wrath
- Virgil maps sloth as slow love of the true good and points upward to excessive love of secondary goods
Central themes
- wrath
- love
The reader recalls mountain mist as Dante emerges from wrath's smoke into the setting sun XVII.1–12
1Ricorditi, lettor, se mai ne l’alpe
ti colse nebbia per la qual vedessi
non altrimenti che per pelle talpe,
come, quando i vapori umidi e spessi
5a diradar cominciansi, la spera
del sol debilemente entra per essi;
e fia la tua imagine leggera
in giugnere a veder com’ io rividi
lo sole in pria, che già nel corcar era.
10Sì, pareggiando i miei co’ passi fidi
del mio maestro, usci’ fuor di tal nube
ai raggi morti già ne’ bassi lidi.
1Remember, reader, if ever in the Alps
mist overtook you, through which you saw
no otherwise than moles do through skin,
how, when the humid, thick vapors
5begin to thin, the sphere
of the sun enters weakly through them;
and your imagination will be quick
to arrive at seeing how I saw again
the sun at first, already at its setting.
10So, matching my steps with the faithful steps
of my master, I came out of that cloud
into rays already dead on the lower shores.
Commentary
Dante turns to the reader with a mountain-mist simile, and the passage moves from wrath-smoke into the weak setting sun. The translation keeps visibility bodily and partial: mole-skin sight, thin sun, dead rays on the lower shores.
XVII.1–3 Pelle talpe keeps the bodily opacity of sight leaving wrath's smoke.
XVII.1–3 Pelle talpe keeps the bodily opacity of sight leaving wrath's smoke. Line 3: Pelle talpe keeps the bodily opacity of sight leaving wrath's smoke.
XVII.3 Pelle talpe keeps the bodily opacity of sight leaving wrath's smoke. Pelle talpe keeps the bodily opacity of sight leaving wrath's smoke.
XVII.10–12 The setting light begins the night halt that will stop upward movement.
XVII.10–12 The setting light begins the night halt that will stop upward movement. Line 12: The setting light begins the night halt that will stop upward movement.
XVII.12 The setting light begins the night halt that will stop upward movement. The setting light begins the night halt that will stop upward movement.
Dante asks what moves imagination when the senses are absent, and the nightingale trace appears XVII.13–24
13O imaginativa che ne rube
talvolta sì di fuor, ch’om non s’accorge
15perché dintorno suonin mille tube,
chi move te, se ’l senso non ti porge?
Moveti lume che nel ciel s’informa,
per sé o per voler che giù lo scorge.
De l’empiezza di lei che mutò forma
20ne l’uccel ch’a cantar più si diletta,
ne l’imagine mia apparve l’orma;
e qui fu la mia mente sì ristretta
dentro da sé, che di fuor non venìa
cosa che fosse allor da lei ricetta.
13O imagination, that sometimes steals us
so far from outward things that one does not notice,
15though a thousand trumpets sound around,
who moves you, if sense gives you nothing?
A light moves you that takes form in Heaven,
by itself, or by a will that guides it downward.
Of the impiety of her who changed form
20into the bird that most delights in song,
the trace appeared within my imagining;
and here my mind was so drawn close
within itself that from outside there came
nothing that then was received by it.
Commentary
The passage gives the apostrophe to imagination and the Progne/Philomela nightingale allusion. The translation keeps the source of inner images theological and cosmological without over-explaining the myth in the line.
XVII.16–18 Lume here is the non-sensory source of the internal images, coordinated with the canto's light/sight training.
XVII.16–18 Lume here is the non-sensory source of the internal images, coordinated with the canto's light/sight training. Line 17: Lume here is the non-sensory source of the internal images, coordinated with the canto's light/sight training.
XVII.17 Lume here is the non-sensory source of the internal images, coordinated with the canto's light/sight training. Lume here is the non-sensory source of the internal images, coordinated with the canto's light/sight training.
XVII.19–21 The allusion is to the Progne/Philomela nightingale tradition; the line stays compact.
XVII.19–21 The allusion is to the Progne/Philomela nightingale tradition; the line stays compact. Line 19: The allusion is to the Progne/Philomela nightingale tradition; the line stays compact.
XVII.19 The allusion is to the Progne/Philomela nightingale tradition; the line stays compact. The allusion is to the Progne/Philomela nightingale tradition; the line stays compact.
Haman and Amata appear as visions of wrathful ruin before angelic light breaks the imagining XVII.25–45
25Poi piovve dentro a l’alta fantasia
un crucifisso, dispettoso e fero
ne la sua vista, e cotal si moria;
intorno ad esso era il grande Assüero,
Estèr sua sposa e ’l giusto Mardoceo,
30che fu al dire e al far così intero.
E come questa imagine rompeo
sé per sé stessa, a guisa d’una bulla
cui manca l’acqua sotto qual si feo,
surse in mia visïone una fanciulla
35piangendo forte, e dicea: «O regina,
perché per ira hai voluto esser nulla?
Ancisa t’hai per non perder Lavina;
or m’hai perduta! Io son essa che lutto,
madre, a la tua pria ch’a l’altrui ruina».
40Come si frange il sonno ove di butto
nova luce percuote il viso chiuso,
che fratto guizza pria che muoia tutto;
così l’imaginar mio cadde giuso
tosto che lume il volto mi percosse,
45maggior assai che quel ch’è in nostro uso.
25Then there rained down within the high fantasy
one crucified, disdainful and fierce
in his look, and dying in that same manner;
around him was great Ahasuerus,
Esther his wife, and just Mordecai,
30who was so whole in speaking and in doing.
And as this image broke apart
of itself, like a bubble
when the water under which it was made fails,
there rose in my vision a young girl
35weeping hard, and saying: 'O queen,
why through anger have you willed to be nothing?
You have killed yourself so as not to lose Lavinia;
now you have lost me! I am she who mourns,
mother, at your ruin before another's.'
40As sleep is broken when suddenly
new light strikes the closed eyes,
so that, broken, it flickers before it wholly dies;
so my imagining fell down
as soon as light struck my face,
45far greater than what we are used to.
Commentary
The two anti-wrath visions are Haman dying on the cross/gallows under Esther and Mordecai's justice, and Amata's self-destruction through anger over Lavinia. The translation keeps dispetto, ira, and ruina visible as wrathful self-undoing.
XVII.25–27 The figure is Haman; dispettoso stays in the disdain/resentment field.
XVII.25–27 The figure is Haman; dispettoso stays in the disdain/resentment field. Line 26: The figure is Haman; dispettoso stays in the disdain/resentment field.
XVII.26 The figure is Haman; dispettoso stays in the disdain/resentment field. The figure is Haman; dispettoso stays in the disdain/resentment field.
XVII.28–30 Intero keeps integrity across speech and action.
XVII.28–30 Intero keeps integrity across speech and action. Line 30: Intero keeps integrity across speech and action.
XVII.30 Intero keeps integrity across speech and action. Intero keeps integrity across speech and action.
XVII.34–36 Amata's suicide makes wrath self-annihilating rather than merely directed outward.
XVII.34–36 Amata's suicide makes wrath self-annihilating rather than merely directed outward. Line 36: Amata's suicide makes wrath self-annihilating rather than merely directed outward.
XVII.36 Amata's suicide makes wrath self-annihilating rather than merely directed outward. Amata's suicide makes wrath self-annihilating rather than merely directed outward.
XVII.37–39 Ruina is retained as ruin for the wrathful collapse of the household.
XVII.37–39 Ruina is retained as ruin for the wrathful collapse of the household. Line 39: Ruina is retained as ruin for the wrathful collapse of the household.
XVII.39 Ruina is retained as ruin for the wrathful collapse of the household. Ruina is retained as ruin for the wrathful collapse of the household.
XVII.43–45 The angelic light ends the inward visions and restores movement.
XVII.43–45 The angelic light ends the inward visions and restores movement. Line 45: The angelic light ends the inward visions and restores movement.
XVII.45 The angelic light ends the inward visions and restores movement. The angelic light ends the inward visions and restores movement.
The hidden angel directs the ascent, Virgil accepts the invitation, and the peace beatitude marks the exit from wrath XVII.46–69
46I’ mi volgea per veder ov’ io fosse,
quando una voce disse «Qui si monta»,
che da ogne altro intento mi rimosse;
e fece la mia voglia tanto pronta
50di riguardar chi era che parlava,
che mai non posa, se non si raffronta.
Ma come al sol che nostra vista grava
e per soverchio sua figura vela,
così la mia virtù quivi mancava.
55«Questo è divino spirito, che ne la
via da ir sù ne drizza sanza prego,
e col suo lume sé medesmo cela.
Sì fa con noi, come l’uom si fa sego;
ché quale aspetta prego e l’uopo vede,
60malignamente già si mette al nego.
Or accordiamo a tanto invito il piede;
procacciam di salir pria che s’abbui,
ché poi non si poria, se ’l dì non riede».
Così disse il mio duca, e io con lui
65volgemmo i nostri passi ad una scala;
e tosto ch’io al primo grado fui,
senti’mi presso quasi un muover d’ala
e ventarmi nel viso e dir: ‘Beati
pacifici, che son sanz’ ira mala!’.
46I was turning to see where I was,
when a voice said, 'Here one mounts,'
and removed me from every other intent;
and made my will so ready
50to look back at who it was that spoke,
that it never rests unless it comes face to face.
But as before the sun, which weighs on our sight
and by excess veils its own form,
so my power failed there.
55'This is a divine spirit, who
directs us on the upward way without request,
and with his own light hides himself.
He does with us as a man does with himself;
for one who sees the need and waits to be asked
60already sets himself maliciously toward refusal.
Now let us accord our feet to so great an invitation;
let us try to climb before it grows dark,
for afterward it could not be done until day returns.'
So my guide said, and I with him
65turned our steps toward a stair;
and as soon as I was at the first step,
I felt near me something like the movement of a wing
fan my face, and say: 'Blessed
are the peacemakers, who are without evil anger!'
Commentary
The passage gives the angelic light, the unasked guidance up the stair, the urgency before night, the wing-fanning, and Beati pacifici. The translation keeps the angel hidden by his own light and records the beatitude as the terrace exit from wrath.
XVII.49–51 Voglia marks eager, directed will at a moment of angelic instruction.
XVII.49–51 Voglia marks eager, directed will at a moment of angelic instruction. Line 51: Voglia marks eager, directed will at a moment of angelic instruction.
XVII.51 Voglia marks eager, directed will at a moment of angelic instruction. Voglia marks eager, directed will at a moment of angelic instruction.
XVII.52–54 Virtù is practical perceptive capacity here, not moral virtue.
XVII.52–54 Virtù is practical perceptive capacity here, not moral virtue. Line 54: Virtù is practical perceptive capacity here, not moral virtue.
XVII.54 Virtù is practical perceptive capacity here, not moral virtue. Virtù is practical perceptive capacity here, not moral virtue.
XVII.55–57 Path language becomes angelic guidance at the terrace exit.
XVII.55–57 Path language becomes angelic guidance at the terrace exit. Line 56: Path language becomes angelic guidance at the terrace exit.
XVII.56 Path language becomes angelic guidance at the terrace exit. Path language becomes angelic guidance at the terrace exit.
XVII.58–60 Virgil frames unasked aid as the opposite of malicious delay.
XVII.58–60 Virgil frames unasked aid as the opposite of malicious delay. Line 60: Virgil frames unasked aid as the opposite of malicious delay.
XVII.60 Virgil frames unasked aid as the opposite of malicious delay. Virgil frames unasked aid as the opposite of malicious delay.
XVII.61–63 Night again limits purgatorial ascent.
XVII.61–63 Night again limits purgatorial ascent. Line 63: Night again limits purgatorial ascent.
XVII.63 Night again limits purgatorial ascent. Night again limits purgatorial ascent.
XVII.67–69 Norton notes that the angel removes the third P here; the line itself keeps the felt wing-motion. The beatitude marks the exit from wrath and preserves ira mala as evil anger.
XVII.67–69 Norton notes that the angel removes the third P here; the line itself keeps the felt wing-motion. Line 67: Norton notes that the angel removes the third P here; the line itself keeps the felt wing-motion. Line 69: The beatitude marks the exit from wrath and preserves ira mala as evil anger.
XVII.67 Norton notes that the angel removes the third P here; the line itself keeps the felt wing-motion. Norton notes that the angel removes the third P here; the line itself keeps the felt wing-motion.
XVII.69 The beatitude marks the exit from wrath and preserves ira mala as evil anger. The beatitude marks the exit from wrath and preserves ira mala as evil anger.
Night falls, Dante's strength fails at the fourth terrace, and Virgil names deficient love of good XVII.70–90
70Già eran sovra noi tanto levati
li ultimi raggi che la notte segue,
che le stelle apparivan da più lati.
‘O virtù mia, perché sì ti dilegue?’,
fra me stesso dicea, ché mi sentiva
75la possa de le gambe posta in triegue.
Noi eravam dove più non saliva
la scala sù, ed eravamo affissi,
pur come nave ch’a la piaggia arriva.
E io attesi un poco, s’io udissi
80alcuna cosa nel novo girone;
poi mi volsi al maestro mio, e dissi:
«Dolce mio padre, dì, quale offensione
si purga qui nel giro dove semo?
Se i piè si stanno, non stea tuo sermone».
85Ed elli a me: «L’amor del bene, scemo
del suo dover, quiritta si ristora;
qui si ribatte il mal tardato remo.
Ma perché più aperto intendi ancora,
volgi la mente a me, e prenderai
90alcun buon frutto di nostra dimora».
70Already the last rays, which night follows,
were lifted so far above us
that the stars appeared from many sides.
'O my strength, why do you so melt away?'
I was saying within myself, for I felt
75the power of my legs put under truce.
We were where the stair no longer climbed
upward, and we were fixed there,
just like a ship that comes to shore.
And I waited a little, to see if I might hear
80anything in the new circle;
then I turned to my master and said:
'My sweet father, say what offense
is purged here in the ring where we are?
If our feet are standing still, let not your speech stand still.'
85And he to me: 'Love of the good, deficient
in its duty, is restored here;
here the badly delayed oar is struck again.
But so that you may understand still more openly,
turn your mind to me, and you will take
90some good fruit from our delay.'
Commentary
The passage gives the night halt, Dante's failing legs, the ship-at-shore simile, and the question that opens the fourth terrace. The translation identifies the sin locally as deficient love of good, not generic laziness.
XVII.73–75 Virtù here is bodily strength at the night halt.
XVII.73–75 Virtù here is bodily strength at the night halt. Line 73: Virtù here is bodily strength at the night halt.
XVII.73 Virtù here is bodily strength at the night halt. Virtù here is bodily strength at the night halt.
XVII.85–87 Virgil names the fourth terrace as deficient love of good, the doctrinal form of sloth/acedia. Mal tardato remo keeps sloth as failed motion toward the good.
XVII.85–87 Virgil names the fourth terrace as deficient love of good, the doctrinal form of sloth/acedia. Line 85: Virgil names the fourth terrace as deficient love of good, the doctrinal form of sloth/acedia. Line 87: Mal tardato remo keeps sloth as failed motion toward the good.
XVII.85 Virgil names the fourth terrace as deficient love of good, the doctrinal form of sloth/acedia. Virgil names the fourth terrace as deficient love of good, the doctrinal form of sloth/acedia.
XVII.87 Mal tardato remo keeps sloth as failed motion toward the good. Mal tardato remo keeps sloth as failed motion toward the good.
XVII.88–90 The night halt becomes instruction rather than wasted delay.
XVII.88–90 The night halt becomes instruction rather than wasted delay. Line 90: The night halt becomes instruction rather than wasted delay.
XVII.90 The night halt becomes instruction rather than wasted delay. The night halt becomes instruction rather than wasted delay.
Virgil explains natural and elective love, error by object or measure, and love as seed of virtue and punishment XVII.91–105
91«Né creator né creatura mai»,
cominciò el, «figliuol, fu sanza amore,
o naturale o d’animo; e tu ’l sai.
Lo naturale è sempre sanza errore,
95ma l’altro puote errar per malo obietto
o per troppo o per poco di vigore.
Mentre ch’elli è nel primo ben diretto,
e ne’ secondi sé stesso misura,
esser non può cagion di mal diletto;
100ma quando al mal si torce, o con più cura
o con men che non dee corre nel bene,
contra ’l fattore adovra sua fattura.
Quinci comprender puoi ch’esser convene
amor sementa in voi d’ogne virtute
105e d’ogne operazion che merta pene.
91'Neither creator nor creature ever,'
he began, 'my son, was without love,
either natural or of the mind; and you know this.
The natural is always without error,
95but the other can err through an evil object
or by too much or too little vigor.
While it is directed to the first good,
and among secondary goods measures itself,
it cannot be the cause of evil delight;
100but when it twists toward evil, or with more care
or less than it should, runs after good,
the thing made works against its maker.
From this you can understand that love must be
the seed in you of every virtue
105and of every action that merits punishment.
Commentary
Virgil distinguishes natural love from elective love of the mind, and teaches that love can err by object, excess, or deficiency. The translation keeps love as the seed of both virtue and punishable action.
XVII.91–93 D'animo marks elective/rational love rather than the natural inclination.
XVII.91–93 D'animo marks elective/rational love rather than the natural inclination. Line 93: D'animo marks elective/rational love rather than the natural inclination.
XVII.93 D'animo marks elective/rational love rather than the natural inclination. D'animo marks elective/rational love rather than the natural inclination.
XVII.94–96 The threefold error here prepares the terrace taxonomy: evil object, excess, deficiency.
XVII.94–96 The threefold error here prepares the terrace taxonomy: evil object, excess, deficiency. Line 96: The threefold error here prepares the terrace taxonomy: evil object, excess, deficiency.
XVII.96 The threefold error here prepares the terrace taxonomy: evil object, excess, deficiency. The threefold error here prepares the terrace taxonomy: evil object, excess, deficiency.
XVII.103–105 Sementa keeps love as seed, not merely source or motive.
XVII.103–105 Sementa keeps love as seed, not merely source or motive. Line 104: Sementa keeps love as seed, not merely source or motive.
XVII.104 Sementa keeps love as seed, not merely source or motive. Sementa keeps love as seed, not merely source or motive.
Love cannot hate self or God; love of a neighbor's evil becomes pride, envy, and wrath XVII.106–126
106Or, perché mai non può da la salute
amor del suo subietto volger viso,
da l’odio proprio son le cose tute;
e perché intender non si può diviso,
110e per sé stante, alcuno esser dal primo,
da quello odiare ogne effetto è deciso.
Resta, se dividendo bene stimo,
che ’l mal che s’ama è del prossimo; ed esso
amor nasce in tre modi in vostro limo.
115È chi, per esser suo vicin soppresso,
spera eccellenza, e sol per questo brama
ch’el sia di sua grandezza in basso messo;
è chi podere, grazia, onore e fama
teme di perder perch’ altri sormonti,
120onde s’attrista sì che ’l contrario ama;
ed è chi per ingiuria par ch’aonti,
sì che si fa de la vendetta ghiotto,
e tal convien che ’l male altrui impronti.
Questo triforme amor qua giù di sotto
125si piange: or vo’ che tu de l’altro intende,
che corre al ben con ordine corrotto.
106Now, because love can never turn its face
from the welfare of its own subject,
all things are safe from self-hatred;
and because no being can be understood
110as divided and standing by itself from the First,
every affection is cut off from hating Him.
It remains, if I judge well in dividing,
that the evil loved is a neighbor's; and this
love is born in three ways in your clay.
115There is one who, through his neighbor's being suppressed,
hopes for excellence, and for this alone longs
that he be brought low from his greatness;
there is one who fears losing power, grace,
honor, and fame because another rises,
120so that he grieves so much he loves the contrary;
and there is one who seems so shamed by injury
that he becomes greedy for revenge,
and such a one must stamp another's harm.
This threefold love is wept down below:
125now I wish you to understand the other,
which runs toward good with corrupted order.
Commentary
Virgil's logic is that love cannot will self-harm as such, cannot hate the First Cause, and therefore loves a neighbor's evil in three lower forms: pride, envy, and wrath. The translation keeps this as Virgil's moral taxonomy rather than abstract psychology.
XVII.106–108 Virgil reasons from love's self-preserving tendency, not from a denial that creatures can harm themselves materially.
XVII.106–108 Virgil reasons from love's self-preserving tendency, not from a denial that creatures can harm themselves materially. Line 108: Virgil reasons from love's self-preserving tendency, not from a denial that creatures can harm themselves materially.
XVII.108 Virgil reasons from love's self-preserving tendency, not from a denial that creatures can harm themselves materially. Virgil reasons from love's self-preserving tendency, not from a denial that creatures can harm themselves materially.
XVII.109–111 Primo is the First Cause/God in Virgil's philosophical argument.
XVII.109–111 Primo is the First Cause/God in Virgil's philosophical argument. Line 110: Primo is the First Cause/God in Virgil's philosophical argument.
XVII.110 Primo is the First Cause/God in Virgil's philosophical argument. Primo is the First Cause/God in Virgil's philosophical argument.
XVII.112–114 Vostro limo keeps the created earthly material of human beings.
XVII.112–114 Vostro limo keeps the created earthly material of human beings. Line 114: Vostro limo keeps the created earthly material of human beings.
XVII.114 Vostro limo keeps the created earthly material of human beings. Vostro limo keeps the created earthly material of human beings.
XVII.115–117 This is pride in Virgil's lower-terrace taxonomy.
XVII.115–117 This is pride in Virgil's lower-terrace taxonomy. Line 117: This is pride in Virgil's lower-terrace taxonomy.
XVII.117 This is pride in Virgil's lower-terrace taxonomy. This is pride in Virgil's lower-terrace taxonomy.
XVII.118–120 This is envy: sadness at another's ascent and love of its contrary.
XVII.118–120 This is envy: sadness at another's ascent and love of its contrary. Line 120: This is envy: sadness at another's ascent and love of its contrary.
XVII.120 This is envy: sadness at another's ascent and love of its contrary. This is envy: sadness at another's ascent and love of its contrary.
XVII.121–123 Ingiuria keeps injury and injustice; aonti adds shame/outrage. Ghiotto keeps appetite language inside wrath.
XVII.121–123 Ingiuria keeps injury and injustice; aonti adds shame/outrage. Line 121: Ingiuria keeps injury and injustice; aonti adds shame/outrage. Line 122: Ghiotto keeps appetite language inside wrath.
XVII.121 Ingiuria keeps injury and injustice; aonti adds shame/outrage. Ingiuria keeps injury and injustice; aonti adds shame/outrage.
XVII.122 Ghiotto keeps appetite language inside wrath. Ghiotto keeps appetite language inside wrath.
XVII.124–126 Virgil turns from love of another's evil to disordered pursuit of good.
XVII.124–126 Virgil turns from love of another's evil to disordered pursuit of good. Line 126: Virgil turns from love of another's evil to disordered pursuit of good.
XVII.126 Virgil turns from love of another's evil to disordered pursuit of good. Virgil turns from love of another's evil to disordered pursuit of good.
Virgil maps sloth as slow love of the true good and points upward to excessive love of secondary goods XVII.127–139
127Ciascun confusamente un bene apprende
nel qual si queti l’animo, e disira;
per che di giugner lui ciascun contende.
130Se lento amore a lui veder vi tira
o a lui acquistar, questa cornice,
dopo giusto penter, ve ne martira.
Altro ben è che non fa l’uom felice;
non è felicità, non è la buona
135essenza, d’ogne ben frutto e radice.
L’amor ch’ad esso troppo s’abbandona,
di sovr’ a noi si piange per tre cerchi;
ma come tripartito si ragiona,
tacciolo, acciò che tu per te ne cerchi».
127Everyone indistinctly apprehends a good
in which the mind may come to rest, and desires it;
therefore everyone strives to reach it.
130If slow love draws you to see it
or to acquire it, this cornice,
after just repentance, torments you for it.
There is another good that does not make man happy;
it is not happiness, it is not the good
135essence, fruit and root of every good.
The love that abandons itself too much to this
is wept above us through three circles;
but how it is reasoned in three parts,
I keep silent, so that you may seek it for yourself.'
Commentary
The passage moves from lower disordered love to sloth on the present terrace and to excessive love of secondary goods on the upper terraces. The translation keeps Virgil's final withholding as a deliberate prompt for Dante's own seeking.
XVII.127–129 Rest and desire are held together rather than opposed.
XVII.127–129 Rest and desire are held together rather than opposed. Line 128: Rest and desire are held together rather than opposed.
XVII.128 Rest and desire are held together rather than opposed. Rest and desire are held together rather than opposed.
XVII.130–132 This identifies the present terrace as purging slack/slow love toward the true good.
XVII.130–132 This identifies the present terrace as purging slack/slow love toward the true good. Line 132: This identifies the present terrace as purging slack/slow love toward the true good.
XVII.132 This identifies the present terrace as purging slack/slow love toward the true good. This identifies the present terrace as purging slack/slow love toward the true good.
XVII.133–135 The line distinguishes secondary goods from the supreme Good.
XVII.133–135 The line distinguishes secondary goods from the supreme Good. Line 135: The line distinguishes secondary goods from the supreme Good.
XVII.135 The line distinguishes secondary goods from the supreme Good. The line distinguishes secondary goods from the supreme Good.
XVII.136–138 The upper three terraces will treat excessive love of secondary goods.
XVII.136–138 The upper three terraces will treat excessive love of secondary goods. Line 138: The upper three terraces will treat excessive love of secondary goods.
XVII.138 The upper three terraces will treat excessive love of secondary goods. The upper three terraces will treat excessive love of secondary goods.
XVII.139 Virgil's withholding turns the doctrine into a prompt for Dante's own inquiry. Virgil's withholding turns the doctrine into a prompt for Dante's own inquiry.