Purgatorio, Canto 20
Dante Alighieri · Italian original · new English translation and commentary by Text Atlas
Overview
Dante wants to remain with Adrian V, but a better will pulls him onward under Virgil's guidance, like a sponge drawn from water before it is full. The poets move through the open strip along the rock because the avaricious, lying face-down and pouring tears from their eyes, press too near the outer edge. Dante curses the ancient she-wolf of avarice, recalling the beast that blocked his ascent in Inferno I, and asks when the providential one will come through whom she will depart. As the poets advance slowly, Dante hears the penitents cry examples of holy poverty and generosity: Mary in childbirth at the poor lodging of the Nativity, Fabricius choosing virtue with poverty, and Nicholas giving dowries to protect poor maidens. Drawn by the words, Dante asks the speaker to identify himself and promises recompense if he returns to mortal life. The soul says he will speak not for earthly comfort but because grace shines in Dante before death. He is Hugh Capet, root of the evil Capetian plant overshadowing Christendom, and he calls for divine vengeance if the Flemish cities cannot take it themselves. Hugh recounts his lowly origin, the extinction of the old kings, the royal rein falling into his hands, and the consecrated line that begins with his son. The dynasty was small and harmless until the Provençal dowry removed shame, after which it began robbery by force and lies: Ponthieu, Normandy, Gascony, Charles of Anjou in Italy, Conradin as victim, and Thomas Aquinas thrust back to Heaven. Hugh then sees more recent and future crimes: Charles of Valois carrying Judas's lance into Florence, another Charles bargaining away his daughter, and the French fleur-de-lis entering Anagni where Christ is made captive in his vicar. Boniface is mocked again with vinegar and gall, crucified between living thieves, while the new Pilate sends greedy sails into the Temple without decree. Hugh longs to see the hidden vengeance that sweetens divine anger in secret. He then explains the ledge's discipline: by day the souls answer prayer with examples of poverty and bounty; by night they sound the opposite examples of avarice, including Pygmalion, Midas, Achan, Sapphira, Heliodorus, Polymestor, and Crassus. After the poets depart and struggle forward, the mountain trembles like something falling, and Dante is seized by mortal chill. A cry rises from every side; Virgil draws near and tells him not to doubt while he guides him. The souls sing Gloria in excelsis Deo, and the poets stand suspended like the shepherds who first heard that song until the trembling and hymn end. They resume the holy way while the shades return to their usual weeping, and Dante goes on timid and thoughtful, fiercely wanting to know the cause but unable to ask or see it for himself.
Narrative arc
- Dante leaves Adrian unsatisfied as the poets move along the narrow fifth-ledge path beside the weeping avaricious
- Dante curses the ancient she-wolf of avarice and asks when the one who will drive her away shall come
- The face-down souls cry daytime examples of poverty and generosity through Mary, Fabricius, and Nicholas
- Dante asks the speaker's identity, and Hugh Capet names himself as the root of the evil Capetian plant
- Hugh recounts his rise, the consecrated Capetian line, and the first robberies committed under the name of amends
- Hugh prophesies later French crimes against Florence, kinship, Boniface at Anagni, and the Temple
- Hugh explains the ledge's day and night exempla, turning from poverty and bounty to punished avarice
- The mountain trembles, all souls sing Gloria, and Dante continues timid and hungry to know the cause
Central themes
- avarice
- poverty
- generosity
Dante leaves Adrian unsatisfied as the poets move along the narrow fifth-ledge path beside the weeping avaricious XX.1–9
1Contra miglior voler voler mal pugna;
onde contra ’l piacer mio, per piacerli,
trassi de l’acqua non sazia la spugna.
Mossimi; e ’l duca mio si mosse per li
5luoghi spediti pur lungo la roccia,
come si va per muro stretto a’ merli;
ché la gente che fonde a goccia a goccia
per li occhi il mal che tutto ’l mondo occupa,
da l’altra parte in fuor troppo s’approccia.
1An ill will struggles against a better will;
so, against my own pleasure, to please him,
I drew the still-thirsty sponge from the water.
I moved on; and my guide moved through the
5open places, still along the rock,
as one goes on a wall close to the battlements;
for the people who pour, drop by drop,
through their eyes, the evil that occupies the whole world,
press too near the outer side.
Commentary
This passage covers dante leaves Adrian unsatisfied as the poets move along the narrow fifth-ledge path beside the weeping avaricious.
XX.1–3 The opening keeps the internal conflict between Dante's desire to linger and the better will obeying Virgil. The sponge image preserves Dante's unsatisfied desire to keep drawing from Adrian's words.
XX.1–3 The opening keeps the internal conflict between Dante's desire to linger and the better will obeying Virgil. Line 1: The opening keeps the internal conflict between Dante's desire to linger and the better will obeying Virgil. Line 3: The sponge image preserves Dante's unsatisfied desire to keep drawing from Adrian's words.
XX.1 The opening keeps the internal conflict between Dante's desire to linger and the better will obeying Virgil. The opening keeps the internal conflict between Dante's desire to linger and the better will obeying Virgil.
XX.3 The sponge image preserves Dante's unsatisfied desire to keep drawing from Adrian's words. The sponge image preserves Dante's unsatisfied desire to keep drawing from Adrian's words.
XX.7–9 The tears remain concrete and penitential: the avaricious pour out through the eyes the evil that once occupied the world.
XX.7–9 The tears remain concrete and penitential: the avaricious pour out through the eyes the evil that once occupied the world. Line 7: The tears remain concrete and penitential: the avaricious pour out through the eyes the evil that once occupied the world.
XX.7 The tears remain concrete and penitential: the avaricious pour out through the eyes the evil that once occupied the world. The tears remain concrete and penitential: the avaricious pour out through the eyes the evil that once occupied the world.
Dante curses the ancient she-wolf of avarice and asks when the one who will drive her away shall come XX.10–15
10Maladetta sie tu, antica lupa,
che più che tutte l’altre bestie hai preda
per la tua fame sanza fine cupa!
O ciel, nel cui girar par che si creda
le condizion di qua giù trasmutarsi,
15quando verrà per cui questa disceda?
10Accursed be you, ancient she-wolf,
who have more prey than all the other beasts
because of your endless hollow hunger!
O heavens, in whose circling some seem to believe
conditions down here are transmuted,
15when will he come through whom she shall depart?
Commentary
This passage covers dante curses the ancient she-wolf of avarice and asks when the one who will drive her away shall come.
XX.10–12 The ancient she-wolf recalls Inferno I and now names avarice within Purgatorio's purgative order.
XX.10–12 The ancient she-wolf recalls Inferno I and now names avarice within Purgatorio's purgative order. Line 10: The ancient she-wolf recalls Inferno I and now names avarice within Purgatorio's purgative order.
XX.10 The ancient she-wolf recalls Inferno I and now names avarice within Purgatorio's purgative order. The ancient she-wolf recalls Inferno I and now names avarice within Purgatorio's purgative order.
XX.13–15 The heaven reference preserves the medieval debate over celestial influence without making astrology the true cause of moral change. The coming figure remains unnamed; the line leaves open providential judgment rather t.
XX.13–15 The heaven reference preserves the medieval debate over celestial influence without making astrology the true cause of moral change. Line 13: The heaven reference preserves the medieval debate over celestial influence without making astrology the true cause of moral change. Line 15: The coming figure remains unnamed; the line leaves open providential judgment rather than identifying a political savior.
XX.13 The heaven reference preserves the medieval debate over celestial influence without making astrology the true cause of moral change. The heaven reference preserves the medieval debate over celestial influence without making astrology the true cause of moral change.
XX.15 The coming figure remains unnamed; the line leaves open providential judgment rather than identifying a political savior. The coming figure remains unnamed; the line leaves open providential judgment rather than identifying a political savior.
The face-down souls cry daytime examples of poverty and generosity through Mary, Fabricius, and Nicholas XX.16–33
16Noi andavam con passi lenti e scarsi,
e io attento a l’ombre, ch’i’ sentia
pietosamente piangere e lagnarsi;
e per ventura udi’ «Dolce Maria!»
20dinanzi a noi chiamar così nel pianto
come fa donna che in parturir sia;
e seguitar: «Povera fosti tanto,
quanto veder si può per quello ospizio
dove sponesti il tuo portato santo».
25Seguentemente intesi: «O buon Fabrizio,
con povertà volesti anzi virtute
che gran ricchezza posseder con vizio».
Queste parole m’eran sì piaciute,
ch’io mi trassi oltre per aver contezza
30di quello spirto onde parean venute.
Esso parlava ancor de la larghezza
che fece Niccolò a le pulcelle,
per condurre ad onor lor giovinezza.
16We went on with steps slow and scant,
and I attentive to the shades, whom I heard
piteously weeping and lamenting;
and by chance I heard "Sweet Mary!"
20called out in front of us amid the weeping
as a woman does when giving birth;
and then continued: "So poor you were,
as can be seen by that lodging
where you laid down your holy burden."
25Next I heard: "O good Fabricius,
with poverty you chose virtue rather
than to possess great riches with vice."
These words had so pleased me
that I drew farther on to gain knowledge
30of that spirit from whom they seemed to come.
He was still speaking of the generosity
that Nicholas showed to the maidens,
to lead their youth into honor.
Commentary
The three daytime examples are Mary's Nativity poverty, Fabricius' incorruptible poverty-with-virtue, and Nicholas's largesse to poor maidens. The translation keeps the exempla as cried devotional memory rather than explanatory prose.
XX.19–21 Mary is the first daytime example of holy poverty, heard through childbirth and the Nativity.
XX.19–21 Mary is the first daytime example of holy poverty, heard through childbirth and the Nativity. Line 19: Mary is the first daytime example of holy poverty, heard through childbirth and the Nativity.
XX.19 Mary is the first daytime example of holy poverty, heard through childbirth and the Nativity. Mary is the first daytime example of holy poverty, heard through childbirth and the Nativity.
XX.22–24 Holy burden keeps portato santo concrete as the child Mary carried and laid in poverty.
XX.22–24 Holy burden keeps portato santo concrete as the child Mary carried and laid in poverty. Line 24: Holy burden keeps portato santo concrete as the child Mary carried and laid in poverty.
XX.24 Holy burden keeps portato santo concrete as the child Mary carried and laid in poverty. Holy burden keeps portato santo concrete as the child Mary carried and laid in poverty.
XX.25–27 Fabricius is kept by name as the Roman example of preferring virtue with poverty over wealth with vice.
XX.25–27 Fabricius is kept by name as the Roman example of preferring virtue with poverty over wealth with vice. Line 25: Fabricius is kept by name as the Roman example of preferring virtue with poverty over wealth with vice.
XX.25 Fabricius is kept by name as the Roman example of preferring virtue with poverty over wealth with vice. Fabricius is kept by name as the Roman example of preferring virtue with poverty over wealth with vice.
XX.31–33 Nicholas is St. Nicholas, whose generosity to poor maidens becomes the third poverty/generosity example.
XX.31–33 Nicholas is St. Line 31: Nicholas is St. Nicholas, whose generosity to poor maidens becomes the third poverty/generosity example.
XX.31 Nicholas is St. Nicholas is St. Nicholas, whose generosity to poor maidens becomes the third poverty/generosity example.
Dante asks the speaker's identity, and Hugh Capet names himself as the root of the evil Capetian plant XX.34–48
34«O anima che tanto ben favelle,
35dimmi chi fosti», dissi, «e perché sola
tu queste degne lode rinovelle.
Non fia sanza mercé la tua parola,
s’io ritorno a compiér lo cammin corto
di quella vita ch’al termine vola».
40Ed elli: «Io ti dirò, non per conforto
ch’io attenda di là, ma perché tanta
grazia in te luce prima che sie morto.
Io fui radice de la mala pianta
che la terra cristiana tutta aduggia,
45sì che buon frutto rado se ne schianta.
Ma se Doagio, Lilla, Guanto e Bruggia
potesser, tosto ne saria vendetta;
e io la cheggio a lui che tutto giuggia.
34"O soul, you who speak so well,
35tell me who you were," I said, "and why alone
you renew these worthy praises.
Your word shall not be without reward,
if I return to complete the short road
of that life which flies toward its end."
40And he: "I will tell you, not for comfort
that I expect from yonder, but because so much
grace shines in you before you are dead.
I was the root of the evil plant
that overshadows all the Christian land,
45so that good fruit is rarely plucked from it.
But if Douai, Lille, Ghent, and Bruges
had power, soon vengeance would be taken on it;
and I ask this of him who judges all.
Commentary
This passage covers dante asks the speaker's identity, and Hugh Capet names himself as the root of the evil Capetian plant.
XX.37–39 The short road is mortal life, whose brevity makes Dante's return and speech valuable to the penitents.
XX.37–39 The short road is mortal life, whose brevity makes Dante's return and speech valuable to the penitents. Line 38: The short road is mortal life, whose brevity makes Dante's return and speech valuable to the penitents.
XX.38 The short road is mortal life, whose brevity makes Dante's return and speech valuable to the penitents. The short road is mortal life, whose brevity makes Dante's return and speech valuable to the penitents.
XX.43–45 Hugh Capet frames himself as the root of the Capetian plant; the dynasty is morally imaged as an overshadowing tree.
XX.43–45 Hugh Capet frames himself as the root of the Capetian plant; the dynasty is morally imaged as an overshadowing tree. Line 43: Hugh Capet frames himself as the root of the Capetian plant; the dynasty is morally imaged as an overshadowing tree.
XX.43 Hugh Capet frames himself as the root of the Capetian plant; the dynasty is morally imaged as an overshadowing tree. Hugh Capet frames himself as the root of the Capetian plant; the dynasty is morally imaged as an overshadowing tree.
XX.46–48 The Flemish cities point toward resistance to French rule; the line keeps the place names without expanding the political history.
XX.46–48 The Flemish cities point toward resistance to French rule; the line keeps the place names without expanding the political history. Line 46: The Flemish cities point toward resistance to French rule; the line keeps the place names without expanding the political history.
XX.46 The Flemish cities point toward resistance to French rule; the line keeps the place names without expanding the political history. The Flemish cities point toward resistance to French rule; the line keeps the place names without expanding the political history.
Hugh recounts his rise, the consecrated Capetian line, and the first robberies committed under the name of amends XX.49–69
49Chiamato fui di là Ugo Ciappetta;
50di me son nati i Filippi e i Luigi
per cui novellamente è Francia retta.
Figliuol fu’ io d’un beccaio di Parigi:
quando li regi antichi venner meno
tutti, fuor ch’un renduto in panni bigi,
55trova’mi stretto ne le mani il freno
del governo del regno, e tanta possa
di nuovo acquisto, e sì d’amici pieno,
ch’a la corona vedova promossa
la testa di mio figlio fu, dal quale
60cominciar di costor le sacrate ossa.
Mentre che la gran dota provenzale
al sangue mio non tolse la vergogna,
poco valea, ma pur non facea male.
Lì cominciò con forza e con menzogna
65la sua rapina; e poscia, per ammenda,
Pontì e Normandia prese e Guascogna.
Carlo venne in Italia e, per ammenda,
vittima fé di Curradino; e poi
ripinse al ciel Tommaso, per ammenda.
49I was called there Hugh Capet;
50from me were born the Philips and Louises
by whom France has lately been ruled.
I was the son of a butcher of Paris:
when the ancient kings all failed,
except one who had taken gray garments,
55I found the rein gripped in my hands
of the kingdom's government, and such power
from new acquisition, and so full of friends,
that to the widowed crown
the head of my son was raised; from him
60the consecrated bones of these began.
While the great Provençal dowry
had not taken shame from my blood,
it was worth little, but still did no harm.
There my line began its robbery
65with force and with lying; then, as amends,
it took Ponthieu, Normandy, and Gascony.
Charles came into Italy and, as amends,
made Conradin a victim; and then
thrust Thomas back to Heaven, as amends.
Commentary
This passage covers hugh recounts his rise, the consecrated Capetian line, and the first robberies committed under the name of amends.
XX.49–51 The translation uses Hugh Capet, retaining the conventional dynastic name.
XX.49–51 The translation uses Hugh Capet, retaining the conventional dynastic name. Line 49: The translation uses Hugh Capet, retaining the conventional dynastic name.
XX.49 The translation uses Hugh Capet, retaining the conventional dynastic name. The translation uses Hugh Capet, retaining the conventional dynastic name.
XX.52–54 The butcher tradition is Dante's polemical genealogy, not modern historical correction inside the line. Gray garments points to the last Carolingian figure who took religious clothing; the exact historical identificatio.
XX.52–54 The butcher tradition is Dante's polemical genealogy, not modern historical correction inside the line. Line 52: The butcher tradition is Dante's polemical genealogy, not modern historical correction inside the line. Line 54: Gray garments points to the last Carolingian figure who took religious clothing; the exact historical identification remains open.
XX.52 The butcher tradition is Dante's polemical genealogy, not modern historical correction inside the line. The butcher tradition is Dante's polemical genealogy, not modern historical correction inside the line.
XX.54 Gray garments points to the last Carolingian figure who took religious clothing; the exact historical identification remains open. Gray garments points to the last Carolingian figure who took religious clothing; the exact historical identification remains open.
XX.58–60 Consecrated bones keeps Dante's ironic pressure on royal sacrality and dynastic legitimacy.
XX.58–60 Consecrated bones keeps Dante's ironic pressure on royal sacrality and dynastic legitimacy. Line 60: Consecrated bones keeps Dante's ironic pressure on royal sacrality and dynastic legitimacy.
XX.60 Consecrated bones keeps Dante's ironic pressure on royal sacrality and dynastic legitimacy. Consecrated bones keeps Dante's ironic pressure on royal sacrality and dynastic legitimacy.
XX.61–63 The Provençal dowry refers to the marriage alliance that expands Angevin-Capetian power.
XX.61–63 The Provençal dowry refers to the marriage alliance that expands Angevin-Capetian power. Line 61: The Provençal dowry refers to the marriage alliance that expands Angevin-Capetian power.
XX.61 The Provençal dowry refers to the marriage alliance that expands Angevin-Capetian power. The Provençal dowry refers to the marriage alliance that expands Angevin-Capetian power.
XX.64–66 The repeated as amends is kept as bitter irony around seizure, murder, and dynastic violence.
XX.64–66 The repeated as amends is kept as bitter irony around seizure, murder, and dynastic violence. Line 65: The repeated as amends is kept as bitter irony around seizure, murder, and dynastic violence.
XX.65 The repeated as amends is kept as bitter irony around seizure, murder, and dynastic violence. The repeated as amends is kept as bitter irony around seizure, murder, and dynastic violence.
XX.67–69 Thomas is Thomas Aquinas; the line preserves the reported poisoning tradition as Dante voices it.
XX.67–69 Thomas is Thomas Aquinas; the line preserves the reported poisoning tradition as Dante voices it. Line 69: Thomas is Thomas Aquinas; the line preserves the reported poisoning tradition as Dante voices it.
XX.69 Thomas is Thomas Aquinas; the line preserves the reported poisoning tradition as Dante voices it. Thomas is Thomas Aquinas; the line preserves the reported poisoning tradition as Dante voices it.
Hugh prophesies later French crimes against Florence, kinship, Boniface at Anagni, and the Temple XX.70–96
70Tempo vegg’ io, non molto dopo ancoi,
che tragge un altro Carlo fuor di Francia,
per far conoscer meglio e sé e ’ suoi.
Sanz’ arme n’esce e solo con la lancia
con la qual giostrò Giuda, e quella ponta
75sì, ch’a Fiorenza fa scoppiar la pancia.
Quindi non terra, ma peccato e onta
guadagnerà, per sé tanto più grave,
quanto più lieve simil danno conta.
L’altro, che già uscì preso di nave,
80veggio vender sua figlia e patteggiarne
come fanno i corsar de l’altre schiave.
O avarizia, che puoi tu più farne,
poscia c’ha’ il mio sangue a te sì tratto,
che non si cura de la propria carne?
85Perché men paia il mal futuro e ’l fatto,
veggio in Alagna intrar lo fiordaliso,
e nel vicario suo Cristo esser catto.
Veggiolo un’altra volta esser deriso;
veggio rinovellar l’aceto e ’l fiele,
90e tra vivi ladroni esser anciso.
Veggio il novo Pilato sì crudele,
che ciò nol sazia, ma sanza decreto
portar nel Tempio le cupide vele.
O Segnor mio, quando sarò io lieto
95a veder la vendetta che, nascosa,
fa dolce l’ira tua nel tuo secreto?
70I see a time, not long after today,
that draws another Charles out of France,
to make himself and his better known.
He comes out without arms and only with the lance
with which Judas jousted, and he thrusts that point
75so that he makes Florence's belly burst.
From this he will gain not land, but sin and shame,
all the heavier for himself
the lighter he counts such harm.
The other, who already went out captured from his ship,
80I see sell his daughter and bargain over her
as pirates do over other slave-women.
O avarice, what more can you do to us,
now that you have drawn my blood so to yourself
that it does not care for its own flesh?
85So that future evil and past may seem less,
I see the fleur-de-lis enter Anagni,
and Christ made captive in his vicar.
I see him mocked a second time;
I see the vinegar and gall renewed,
90and see him killed between living thieves.
I see the new Pilate so cruel
that this does not satisfy him, but without decree
he carries his greedy sails into the Temple.
O my Lord, when shall I rejoice
95to see the vengeance that, hidden,
makes your anger sweet in your secret counsel?
Commentary
The later Charles is Charles of Valois in Florence, the other Charles is Charles II bargaining over his daughter, Anagni is the French seizure of Boniface VIII, and the Temple is the Templar suppression. The translation keeps Dante's Christ-in-vicar typology.
XX.73–75 Charles of Valois enters Florence with a treacherous, Judas-like lance rather than open arms. Florence's burst belly keeps Dante's violent civic image for the factional disaster.
XX.73–75 Charles of Valois enters Florence with a treacherous, Judas-like lance rather than open arms. Line 73: Charles of Valois enters Florence with a treacherous, Judas-like lance rather than open arms. Line 75: Florence's burst belly keeps Dante's violent civic image for the factional disaster.
XX.73 Charles of Valois enters Florence with a treacherous, Judas-like lance rather than open arms. Charles of Valois enters Florence with a treacherous, Judas-like lance rather than open arms.
XX.75 Florence's burst belly keeps Dante's violent civic image for the factional disaster. Florence's burst belly keeps Dante's violent civic image for the factional disaster.
XX.79–81 The second Charles is Charles II of Anjou; the daughter-sale image exposes avarice consuming kinship.
XX.79–81 The second Charles is Charles II of Anjou; the daughter-sale image exposes avarice consuming kinship. Line 79: The second Charles is Charles II of Anjou; the daughter-sale image exposes avarice consuming kinship.
XX.79 The second Charles is Charles II of Anjou; the daughter-sale image exposes avarice consuming kinship. The second Charles is Charles II of Anjou; the daughter-sale image exposes avarice consuming kinship.
XX.85–87 The fleur-de-lis at Anagni marks French force against Boniface VIII. Christ captive in his vicar keeps Dante's ecclesial logic even while Boniface remains morally contested elsewhere.
XX.85–87 The fleur-de-lis at Anagni marks French force against Boniface VIII. Line 86: The fleur-de-lis at Anagni marks French force against Boniface VIII.
XX.86 The fleur-de-lis at Anagni marks French force against Boniface VIII. The fleur-de-lis at Anagni marks French force against Boniface VIII.
XX.87 Christ captive in his vicar keeps Dante's ecclesial logic even while Boniface remains morally contested elsewhere. Christ captive in his vicar keeps Dante's ecclesial logic even while Boniface remains morally contested elsewhere.
XX.91–93 The greedy sails into the Temple point to the attack on the Templars; without decree preserves the juridical outrage.
XX.91–93 The greedy sails into the Temple point to the attack on the Templars; without decree preserves the juridical outrage. Line 93: The greedy sails into the Temple point to the attack on the Templars; without decree preserves the juridical outrage.
XX.93 The greedy sails into the Temple point to the attack on the Templars; without decree preserves the juridical outrage. The greedy sails into the Temple point to the attack on the Templars; without decree preserves the juridical outrage.
XX.94–96 The hidden vengeance belongs to divine secrecy; the translation avoids turning Hugh's desire into a simple revenge slogan.
XX.94–96 The hidden vengeance belongs to divine secrecy; the translation avoids turning Hugh's desire into a simple revenge slogan. Line 96: The hidden vengeance belongs to divine secrecy; the translation avoids turning Hugh's desire into a simple revenge slogan.
XX.96 The hidden vengeance belongs to divine secrecy; the translation avoids turning Hugh's desire into a simple revenge slogan. The hidden vengeance belongs to divine secrecy; the translation avoids turning Hugh's desire into a simple revenge slogan.
Hugh explains the ledge's day and night exempla, turning from poverty and bounty to punished avarice XX.97–123
97Ciò ch’io dicea di quell’ unica sposa
de lo Spirito Santo e che ti fece
verso me volger per alcuna chiosa,
100tanto è risposto a tutte nostre prece
quanto ’l dì dura; ma com’ el s’annotta,
contrario suon prendemo in quella vece.
Noi repetiam Pigmalïon allotta,
cui traditore e ladro e paricida
105fece la voglia sua de l’oro ghiotta;
e la miseria de l’avaro Mida,
che seguì a la sua dimanda gorda,
per la qual sempre convien che si rida.
Del folle Acàn ciascun poi si ricorda,
110come furò le spoglie, sì che l’ira
di Iosüè qui par ch’ancor lo morda.
Indi accusiam col marito Saffira;
lodiam i calci ch’ebbe Elïodoro;
e in infamia tutto ’l monte gira
115Polinestòr ch’ancise Polidoro;
ultimamente ci si grida: “Crasso,
dilci, che ’l sai: di che sapore è l’oro?”.
Talor parla l’uno alto e l’altro basso,
secondo l’affezion ch’ad ir ci sprona
120ora a maggiore e ora a minor passo:
però al ben che ’l dì ci si ragiona,
dianzi non era io sol; ma qui da presso
non alzava la voce altra persona».
97What I was saying of that one bride
of the Holy Spirit, which made you
turn toward me for some gloss,
100is answered to all our prayers
as long as day lasts; but when it grows dark,
we take the opposite sound in its place.
Then we repeat Pygmalion,
whom his greedy desire for gold made
105traitor, thief, and parricide;
and the misery of avaricious Midas,
which followed his gluttonous request,
for which one must always laugh.
Then each remembers foolish Achan,
110how he stole the spoils, so that Joshua's anger
seems still to bite him here.
Then we accuse Sapphira with her husband;
we praise the kicks Heliodorus got;
and through the whole mountain in infamy goes
115Polymestor, who killed Polydorus;
lastly here they cry: "Crassus,
tell us, since you know: what does gold taste like?"
Sometimes one speaks high and another low,
according to the affection that spurs us
120now at a greater and now at a lesser pace:
therefore in the good that is spoken of here by day,
I was not alone just now; but nearby
no other person was raising his voice."
Commentary
The ledge has a day/night pattern: the souls praise poverty and bounty by day and rehearse avarice by night through Pygmalion, Midas, Achan, Sapphira, Heliodorus, Polymestor, and Crassus. The translation keeps affection as the interior impulse that changes volume and pace.
XX.97–99 The one bride of the Holy Spirit refers back to Mary and the daytime poverty examples.
XX.97–99 The one bride of the Holy Spirit refers back to Mary and the daytime poverty examples. Line 97: The one bride of the Holy Spirit refers back to Mary and the daytime poverty examples.
XX.97 The one bride of the Holy Spirit refers back to Mary and the daytime poverty examples. The one bride of the Holy Spirit refers back to Mary and the daytime poverty examples.
XX.103–105 The nighttime exempla reverse the day's poverty and bounty with avarice punished or exposed. Pygmalion is Dido's brother in the Aeneid tradition, made thief, traitor, and kin-killer by gold.
XX.103–105 The nighttime exempla reverse the day's poverty and bounty with avarice punished or exposed. Line 103: The nighttime exempla reverse the day's poverty and bounty with avarice punished or exposed. Line 104: Pygmalion is Dido's brother in the Aeneid tradition, made thief, traitor, and kin-killer by gold.
XX.103 The nighttime exempla reverse the day's poverty and bounty with avarice punished or exposed. The nighttime exempla reverse the day's poverty and bounty with avarice punished or exposed.
XX.104 Pygmalion is Dido's brother in the Aeneid tradition, made thief, traitor, and kin-killer by gold. Pygmalion is Dido's brother in the Aeneid tradition, made thief, traitor, and kin-killer by gold.
XX.106–108 Midas keeps the comic misery of greedy wish-fulfillment.
XX.106–108 Midas keeps the comic misery of greedy wish-fulfillment. Line 106: Midas keeps the comic misery of greedy wish-fulfillment.
XX.106 Midas keeps the comic misery of greedy wish-fulfillment. Midas keeps the comic misery of greedy wish-fulfillment.
XX.109–111 Achan's theft of spoils is retained as biblical avarice punished under Joshua.
XX.109–111 Achan's theft of spoils is retained as biblical avarice punished under Joshua. Line 109: Achan's theft of spoils is retained as biblical avarice punished under Joshua.
XX.109 Achan's theft of spoils is retained as biblical avarice punished under Joshua. Achan's theft of spoils is retained as biblical avarice punished under Joshua.
XX.112–114 Sapphira and her husband bring the Acts example of deceit around held-back property. Heliodorus is praised only because punishment corrected his attempted temple theft.
XX.112–114 Sapphira and her husband bring the Acts example of deceit around held-back property. Line 112: Sapphira and her husband bring the Acts example of deceit around held-back property. Line 113: Heliodorus is praised only because punishment corrected his attempted temple theft.
XX.112 Sapphira and her husband bring the Acts example of deceit around held-back property. Sapphira and her husband bring the Acts example of deceit around held-back property.
XX.113 Heliodorus is praised only because punishment corrected his attempted temple theft. Heliodorus is praised only because punishment corrected his attempted temple theft.
XX.115–117 Polymestor killed Polydorus for treasure; the line keeps the name. Crassus' gold question preserves the bitter punishment tradition about molten gold.
XX.115–117 Polymestor killed Polydorus for treasure; the line keeps the name. Line 115: Polymestor killed Polydorus for treasure; the line keeps the name. Line 117: Crassus' gold question preserves the bitter punishment tradition about molten gold.
XX.115 Polymestor killed Polydorus for treasure; the line keeps the name. Polymestor killed Polydorus for treasure; the line keeps the name.
XX.117 Crassus' gold question preserves the bitter punishment tradition about molten gold. Crassus' gold question preserves the bitter punishment tradition about molten gold.
The mountain trembles, all souls sing Gloria, and Dante continues timid and hungry to know the cause XX.124–151
124Noi eravam partiti già da esso,
125e brigavam di soverchiar la strada
tanto quanto al poder n’era permesso,
quand’ io senti’, come cosa che cada,
tremar lo monte; onde mi prese un gelo
qual prender suol colui ch’a morte vada.
130Certo non si scoteo sì forte Delo,
pria che Latona in lei facesse ’l nido
a parturir li due occhi del cielo.
Poi cominciò da tutte parti un grido
tal, che ’l maestro inverso me si feo,
135dicendo: «Non dubbiar, mentr’ io ti guido».
‘Glorïa in excelsis’ tutti ‘Deo’
dicean, per quel ch’io da’ vicin compresi,
onde intender lo grido si poteo.
No’ istavamo immobili e sospesi
140come i pastor che prima udir quel canto,
fin che ’l tremar cessò ed el compiési.
Poi ripigliammo nostro cammin santo,
guardando l’ombre che giacean per terra,
tornate già in su l’usato pianto.
145Nulla ignoranza mai con tanta guerra
mi fé desideroso di sapere,
se la memoria mia in ciò non erra,
quanta pareami allor, pensando, avere;
né per la fretta dimandare er’ oso,
150né per me lì potea cosa vedere:
così m’andava timido e pensoso.
124We had already departed from him,
125and were striving to overcome the road
as much as our power allowed,
when I felt, like something falling,
the mountain tremble; and a chill seized me
such as usually seizes one going to death.
130Surely Delos did not shake so hard
before Latona made her nest in it
to give birth to the two eyes of Heaven.
Then from every side a cry began,
so that the master moved toward me,
135saying, "Do not doubt while I guide you."
"Gloria in excelsis Deo," all
were saying, so far as from those nearby I grasped,
where the cry could be understood.
We stood motionless and suspended,
140like the shepherds who first heard that song,
until the trembling ceased and it was completed.
Then we took up our holy way again,
watching the shades who lay on the ground,
already returned to their usual weeping.
145No ignorance ever, with such war,
made me desirous of knowing,
if my memory does not err in this,
as I seemed then, in thought, to have;
nor, because of haste, did I dare to ask,
150nor could I see anything there by myself:
so I went on timid and thoughtful.
Commentary
The earthquake is left unexplained in this canto, with the Gloria in excelsis Deo and shepherd simile pointing forward to Purgatorio XXI. The translation keeps Dante's ignorance, fear, haste, and inability to see as the final unresolved pressure.
XX.127–129 The earthquake is left unexplained here; its cause belongs to the Statius revelation in Purgatorio XXI.
XX.127–129 The earthquake is left unexplained here; its cause belongs to the Statius revelation in Purgatorio XXI. Line 127: The earthquake is left unexplained here; its cause belongs to the Statius revelation in Purgatorio XXI.
XX.127 The earthquake is left unexplained here; its cause belongs to the Statius revelation in Purgatorio XXI. The earthquake is left unexplained here; its cause belongs to the Statius revelation in Purgatorio XXI.
XX.130–132 Delos, Latona, Apollo, and Diana frame the mountain's trembling through sacred birth imagery.
XX.130–132 Delos, Latona, Apollo, and Diana frame the mountain's trembling through sacred birth imagery. Line 130: Delos, Latona, Apollo, and Diana frame the mountain's trembling through sacred birth imagery.
XX.130 Delos, Latona, Apollo, and Diana frame the mountain's trembling through sacred birth imagery. Delos, Latona, Apollo, and Diana frame the mountain's trembling through sacred birth imagery.
XX.136–138 The Latin hymn is retained because the whole mountain answers the earthquake liturgically.
XX.136–138 The Latin hymn is retained because the whole mountain answers the earthquake liturgically. Line 136: The Latin hymn is retained because the whole mountain answers the earthquake liturgically.
XX.136 The Latin hymn is retained because the whole mountain answers the earthquake liturgically. The Latin hymn is retained because the whole mountain answers the earthquake liturgically.
XX.139–141 The shepherd simile ties the Gloria to the Nativity announcement.
XX.139–141 The shepherd simile ties the Gloria to the Nativity announcement. Line 140: The shepherd simile ties the Gloria to the Nativity announcement.
XX.140 The shepherd simile ties the Gloria to the Nativity announcement. The shepherd simile ties the Gloria to the Nativity announcement.
XX.142–144 Holy way keeps the purgatorial path language after the mountain-wide sign.
XX.142–144 Holy way keeps the purgatorial path language after the mountain-wide sign. Line 142: Holy way keeps the purgatorial path language after the mountain-wide sign.
XX.142 Holy way keeps the purgatorial path language after the mountain-wide sign. Holy way keeps the purgatorial path language after the mountain-wide sign.
XX.145–147 The canto closes in sharpened desire for knowledge, deferred by haste and the pilgrim's limited sight.
XX.145–147 The canto closes in sharpened desire for knowledge, deferred by haste and the pilgrim's limited sight. Line 145: The canto closes in sharpened desire for knowledge, deferred by haste and the pilgrim's limited sight.
XX.145 The canto closes in sharpened desire for knowledge, deferred by haste and the pilgrim's limited sight. The canto closes in sharpened desire for knowledge, deferred by haste and the pilgrim's limited sight.