Purgatorio, Canto 27
Dante Alighieri · Italian original · new English translation and commentary by Text Atlas
Overview
At sunset the angel of chastity commands Dante, Virgil, and Statius to pass through the purifying flame. Dante freezes in fear until Virgil names Beatrice as the wall's reward, then follows him through the fire. A second angel calls them upward, but night stops the climb on the stair. Dante sleeps under brighter stars and dreams of Leah and Rachel, then wakes to Virgil's promise that the sweet fruit sought by human care will satisfy him that day. At the top of the stair, Virgil declares his own guidance complete and crowns Dante over his own free, upright, and healthy will.
Narrative arc
- The sunset angel commands the souls through the purifying fire
- Dante fears the flame and Virgil promises torment without death
- Beatrice's name softens Dante's resistance
- The poets pass through the fire and hear the angelic ascent call
- The stair rises eastward until sunset stops the climb
- The three rest like goats and shepherds under brighter stars
- Dante dreams of Leah's active adornment and Rachel's contemplation
- Dawn returns and Virgil promises the sweet fruit of human longing
- Virgil releases Dante to his purified free will
Central themes
- lust
- fire
The sunset angel commands the souls through the purifying fire XXVII.1–15
1Sì come quando i primi raggi vibra
là dove il suo fattor lo sangue sparse,
cadendo Ibero sotto l’alta Libra,
e l’onde in Gange da nona rïarse,
5sì stava il sole; onde ’l giorno sen giva,
come l’angel di Dio lieto ci apparse.
Fuor de la fiamma stava in su la riva,
e cantava ‘Beati mundo corde!’
in voce assai più che la nostra viva.
10Poscia «Più non si va, se pria non morde,
anime sante, il foco: intrate in esso,
e al cantar di là non siate sorde»,
ci disse come noi li fummo presso;
per ch’io divenni tal, quando lo ’ntesi,
15qual è colui che ne la fossa è messo.
1As when the first rays quiver
where his Maker shed His blood,
as Ebro falls beneath high Libra,
and the waves in Ganges burn from noon,
5so stood the sun; and therefore the day went away,
when the angel of God appeared to us in gladness.
Outside the flame he stood upon the bank,
and sang "Beati mundo corde!"
in a voice far more living than our own.
10Then, "No one goes farther, unless first it bites,
holy souls, the fire: enter into it,
and do not be deaf to the song beyond,"
he said to us when we had come near him;
so that I became, when I heard him,
15like one who is lowered into the grave.
Commentary
The passage gives the Jerusalem/Ebro-Ganges sunset geometry, the angel outside the flame, the pure-heart beatitude, and the requirement that the fire bite before ascent can continue. The translation keeps the buried-alive terror of fossa without softening Dante's bodily fear.
XXVII.1–3 The opening time scheme places Purgatory at sunset while Jerusalem receives sunrise and Ganges noon. The periphrasis points to Jerusalem and Christ's Passion without naming either directly.
XXVII.1–3 The opening time scheme places Purgatory at sunset while Jerusalem receives sunrise and Ganges noon. Line 1: The opening time scheme places Purgatory at sunset while Jerusalem receives sunrise and Ganges noon. Line 2: The periphrasis points to Jerusalem and Christ's Passion without naming either directly.
XXVII.1 The opening time scheme places Purgatory at sunset while Jerusalem receives sunrise and Ganges noon. The opening time scheme places Purgatory at sunset while Jerusalem receives sunrise and Ganges noon.
XXVII.2 The periphrasis points to Jerusalem and Christ's Passion without naming either directly. The periphrasis points to Jerusalem and Christ's Passion without naming either directly.
XXVII.7–9 The Latin beatitude is retained; it means blessed are the pure in heart and closes the terrace of lust.
XXVII.7–9 The Latin beatitude is retained; it means blessed are the pure in heart and closes the terrace of lust. Line 8: The Latin beatitude is retained; it means blessed are the pure in heart and closes the terrace of lust.
XXVII.8 The Latin beatitude is retained; it means blessed are the pure in heart and closes the terrace of lust. The Latin beatitude is retained; it means blessed are the pure in heart and closes the terrace of lust.
XXVII.10–12 The fire's bite keeps the purgation tactile and necessary rather than symbolic only.
XXVII.10–12 The fire's bite keeps the purgation tactile and necessary rather than symbolic only. Line 10: The fire's bite keeps the purgation tactile and necessary rather than symbolic only.
XXVII.10 The fire's bite keeps the purgation tactile and necessary rather than symbolic only. The fire's bite keeps the purgation tactile and necessary rather than symbolic only.
XXVII.13–15 Fossa keeps the terror close to burial alive, not only ordinary fear of pain.
XXVII.13–15 Fossa keeps the terror close to burial alive, not only ordinary fear of pain. Line 15: Fossa keeps the terror close to burial alive, not only ordinary fear of pain.
XXVII.15 Fossa keeps the terror close to burial alive, not only ordinary fear of pain. Fossa keeps the terror close to burial alive, not only ordinary fear of pain.
Dante fears the flame and Virgil promises torment without death XXVII.16–33
16In su le man commesse mi protesi,
guardando il foco e imaginando forte
umani corpi già veduti accesi.
Volsersi verso me le buone scorte;
20e Virgilio mi disse: «Figliuol mio,
qui può esser tormento, ma non morte.
Ricorditi, ricorditi! E se io
sovresso Gerïon ti guidai salvo,
che farò ora presso più a Dio?
25Credi per certo che se dentro a l’alvo
di questa fiamma stessi ben mille anni,
non ti potrebbe far d’un capel calvo.
E se tu forse credi ch’io t’inganni,
fatti ver’ lei, e fatti far credenza
30con le tue mani al lembo d’i tuoi panni.
Pon giù omai, pon giù ogne temenza;
volgiti in qua e vieni: entra sicuro!».
E io pur fermo e contra coscïenza.
16With clasped hands I stretched forward,
looking at the fire and strongly imagining
human bodies I once had seen burned.
The good escorts turned toward me;
20and Virgil said to me: "My son,
here there may be torment, but not death.
Remember, remember! And if I
guided you safe upon Geryon,
what shall I do now, nearer to God?
25Believe for certain that if in the belly
of this flame you stood a thousand years entire,
it could not make you bald of one hair.
And if perhaps you think I deceive you,
move toward it, and make yourself trust
30with your own hands at the hem of your clothes.
Lay down now, lay down every fear;
turn this way and come: enter secure!"
And I still stood fixed and against conscience.
Commentary
Dante remembers burned bodies, and Virgil reassures him with Geryon that this purgatorial torment cannot kill him. The translation keeps contra coscienza as Dante's fixed resistance despite knowing better.
XXVII.19–21 The line distinguishes purgatorial pain from infernal deathliness.
XXVII.19–21 The line distinguishes purgatorial pain from infernal deathliness. Line 21: The line distinguishes purgatorial pain from infernal deathliness.
XXVII.21 The line distinguishes purgatorial pain from infernal deathliness. The line distinguishes purgatorial pain from infernal deathliness.
XXVII.22–24 Virgil recalls the fraudulent descent in Inferno XVII as evidence that guidance through danger has already held.
XXVII.22–24 Virgil recalls the fraudulent descent in Inferno XVII as evidence that guidance through danger has already held. Line 23: Virgil recalls the fraudulent descent in Inferno XVII as evidence that guidance through danger has already held.
XXVII.23 Virgil recalls the fraudulent descent in Inferno XVII as evidence that guidance through danger has already held. Virgil recalls the fraudulent descent in Inferno XVII as evidence that guidance through danger has already held.
XXVII.31–33 Dante's resistance is not ignorance; conscience already knows the fear should yield.
XXVII.31–33 Dante's resistance is not ignorance; conscience already knows the fear should yield. Line 33: Dante's resistance is not ignorance; conscience already knows the fear should yield.
XXVII.33 Dante's resistance is not ignorance; conscience already knows the fear should yield. Dante's resistance is not ignorance; conscience already knows the fear should yield.
Beatrice's name softens Dante's resistance XXVII.34–45
34Quando mi vide star pur fermo e duro,
35turbato un poco disse: «Or vedi, figlio:
tra Bëatrice e te è questo muro».
Come al nome di Tisbe aperse il ciglio
Piramo in su la morte, e riguardolla,
allor che ’l gelso diventò vermiglio;
40così, la mia durezza fatta solla,
mi volsi al savio duca, udendo il nome
che ne la mente sempre mi rampolla.
Ond’ ei crollò la fronte e disse: «Come!
volenci star di qua?»; indi sorrise
45come al fanciul si fa ch’è vinto al pome.
34When he saw me still standing fixed and hard,
35disturbed a little, he said: "Now see, son:
between Beatrice and you is this wall."
As at Thisbe's name Pyramus opened his eyelids
upon death, and looked at her again
when the mulberry became vermilion;
40so, my hardness softened,
I turned to the wise guide, hearing the name
that always wells up in my mind.
At this he shook his head and said: "What!
do we want to stay on this side?" then smiled
45as one does to a child won by an apple.
Commentary
The passage gives the Beatrice-wall appeal and the Pyramus/Thisbe softening simile. The translation uses Beatrice's name as the decisive movement of desire, not merely an emotional trick.
XXVII.34–36 The wall makes purification the last barrier between Dante and Beatrice, not a punishment to be avoided.
XXVII.34–36 The wall makes purification the last barrier between Dante and Beatrice, not a punishment to be avoided. Line 36: The wall makes purification the last barrier between Dante and Beatrice, not a punishment to be avoided.
XXVII.36 The wall makes purification the last barrier between Dante and Beatrice, not a punishment to be avoided. The wall makes purification the last barrier between Dante and Beatrice, not a punishment to be avoided.
XXVII.37–39 The Ovidian allusion turns a lover's name into the power that opens sight at the edge of death.
XXVII.37–39 The Ovidian allusion turns a lover's name into the power that opens sight at the edge of death. Line 37: The Ovidian allusion turns a lover's name into the power that opens sight at the edge of death.
XXVII.37 The Ovidian allusion turns a lover's name into the power that opens sight at the edge of death. The Ovidian allusion turns a lover's name into the power that opens sight at the edge of death.
XXVII.40–42 Mente keeps Beatrice as a living pressure in memory and desire.
XXVII.40–42 Mente keeps Beatrice as a living pressure in memory and desire. Line 42: Mente keeps Beatrice as a living pressure in memory and desire.
XXVII.42 Mente keeps Beatrice as a living pressure in memory and desire. Mente keeps Beatrice as a living pressure in memory and desire.
XXVII.43–45 The apple anticipates the sweet fruit image near the canto's morning ascent.
XXVII.43–45 The apple anticipates the sweet fruit image near the canto's morning ascent. Line 45: The apple anticipates the sweet fruit image near the canto's morning ascent.
XXVII.45 The apple anticipates the sweet fruit image near the canto's morning ascent. The apple anticipates the sweet fruit image near the canto's morning ascent.
The poets pass through the fire and hear the angelic ascent call XXVII.46–63
46Poi dentro al foco innanzi mi si mise,
pregando Stazio che venisse retro,
che pria per lunga strada ci divise.
Sì com’ fui dentro, in un bogliente vetro
50gittato mi sarei per rinfrescarmi,
tant’ era ivi lo ’ncendio sanza metro.
Lo dolce padre mio, per confortarmi,
pur di Beatrice ragionando andava,
dicendo: «Li occhi suoi già veder parmi».
55Guidavaci una voce che cantava
di là; e noi, attenti pur a lei,
venimmo fuor là ove si montava.
‘Venite, benedicti Patris mei’,
sonò dentro a un lume che lì era,
60tal che mi vinse e guardar nol potei.
«Lo sol sen va», soggiunse, «e vien la sera;
non v’arrestate, ma studiate il passo,
mentre che l’occidente non si annera».
46Then into the fire he placed himself before me,
asking Statius to come behind,
who before had divided us for a long road.
As soon as I was within, into molten glass
50I would have thrown myself to cool off,
so measureless was the burning there.
My sweet father, to comfort me,
went on speaking only of Beatrice,
saying: "Already I seem to see her eyes."
55A voice guided us, singing
beyond; and we, intent only on it,
and came out where the ascent began.
"Venite, benedicti Patris mei,"
sounded inside a light that was there,
60such that it overcame me and I could not look.
"The sun goes," it added, "and evening comes;
do not stop, but quicken your step
while the west has not yet blackened."
Commentary
The passage gives Virgil leading into the flame, Statius following behind, the measureless burning, Beatrice as comfort, the voice beyond, and the Matthew beatitude. The translation keeps the Latin incipit and lets the angelic command press the need to climb before dark.
XXVII.46–48 The walking order changes so Dante is enclosed by his guides through the fire.
XXVII.46–48 The walking order changes so Dante is enclosed by his guides through the fire. Line 48: The walking order changes so Dante is enclosed by his guides through the fire.
XXVII.48 The walking order changes so Dante is enclosed by his guides through the fire. The walking order changes so Dante is enclosed by his guides through the fire.
XXVII.52–54 Virgil's final guidance increasingly works by directing Dante's desire toward Beatrice.
XXVII.52–54 Virgil's final guidance increasingly works by directing Dante's desire toward Beatrice. Line 54: Virgil's final guidance increasingly works by directing Dante's desire toward Beatrice.
XXVII.54 Virgil's final guidance increasingly works by directing Dante's desire toward Beatrice. Virgil's final guidance increasingly works by directing Dante's desire toward Beatrice.
XXVII.58–60 The Latin from Matthew 25:34 is retained as a threshold blessing after the flame.
XXVII.58–60 The Latin from Matthew 25:34 is retained as a threshold blessing after the flame. Line 58: The Latin from Matthew 25:34 is retained as a threshold blessing after the flame.
XXVII.58 The Latin from Matthew 25:34 is retained as a threshold blessing after the flame. The Latin from Matthew 25:34 is retained as a threshold blessing after the flame.
The stair rises eastward until sunset stops the climb XXVII.64–75
64Dritta salia la via per entro ’l sasso
65verso tal parte ch’io toglieva i raggi
dinanzi a me del sol ch’era già basso.
E di pochi scaglion levammo i saggi,
che ’l sol corcar, per l’ombra che si spense,
sentimmo dietro e io e li miei saggi.
70E pria che ’n tutte le sue parti immense
fosse orizzonte fatto d’uno aspetto,
e notte avesse tutte sue dispense,
ciascun di noi d’un grado fece letto;
ché la natura del monte ci affranse
75la possa del salir più e ’l diletto.
64Straight rose the way through the rock
65in such a direction that I cut off the rays
before me from the sun already low.
And of a few steps we made trial,
when, by the shadow that went out,
I and my sages felt the sun set behind us.
70And before in all its immense parts
the horizon had been made of one aspect,
and night had all her dispensations,
each of us made a stair his bed;
for the nature of the mountain stripped from us
75the power to climb farther, and the delight.
Commentary
The passage gives the eastward stair, Dante's shadow cutting off the low sun, the sunset noticed when the shadow disappears, and the mountain's law stopping ascent by removing power more than desire.
XXVII.64–66 Purgatorio path language is now almost at the Earthly Paradise threshold: straightness is directional and moral.
XXVII.64–66 Purgatorio path language is now almost at the Earthly Paradise threshold: straightness is directional and moral. Line 64: Purgatorio path language is now almost at the Earthly Paradise threshold: straightness is directional and moral.
XXVII.64 Purgatorio path language is now almost at the Earthly Paradise threshold: straightness is directional and moral. Purgatorio path language is now almost at the Earthly Paradise threshold: straightness is directional and moral.
XXVII.73–75 Affranse is rendered by loss of power under the mountain's law; their desire remains intact.
XXVII.73–75 Affranse is rendered by loss of power under the mountain's law; their desire remains intact. Line 74: Affranse is rendered by loss of power under the mountain's law; their desire remains intact.
XXVII.74 Affranse is rendered by loss of power under the mountain's law; their desire remains intact. Affranse is rendered by loss of power under the mountain's law; their desire remains intact.
The three rest like goats and shepherds under brighter stars XXVII.76–93
76Quali si stanno ruminando manse
le capre, state rapide e proterve
sovra le cime avante che sien pranse,
tacite a l’ombra, mentre che ’l sol ferve,
80guardate dal pastor, che ’n su la verga
poggiato s’è e lor di posa serve;
e quale il mandrïan che fori alberga,
lungo il pecuglio suo queto pernotta,
guardando perché fiera non lo sperga;
85tali eravamo tutti e tre allotta,
io come capra, ed ei come pastori,
fasciati quinci e quindi d’alta grotta.
Poco parer potea lì del di fori;
ma, per quel poco, vedea io le stelle
90di lor solere e più chiare e maggiori.
Sì ruminando e sì mirando in quelle,
mi prese il sonno; il sonno che sovente,
anzi che ’l fatto sia, sa le novelle.
76As goats stand ruminating, tame,
who were swift and willful
above the peaks before they have grazed,
silent in shade while the sun burns,
80watched by the shepherd, who on his staff
leans and serves them in their rest;
and as the herdsman who lodges outdoors,
quietly passes the night beside his flock,
watching lest a beast scatter it;
85such were all three of us then,
I like a goat, and they like shepherds,
hemmed on this side and that by high rock.
Little of the outside day could appear there;
but through that little I saw the stars
90larger and brighter than their custom.
Thus ruminating and thus gazing on them,
sleep seized me; sleep that often,
before the deed is, knows the news.
Commentary
The passage gives the goats and shepherds similes, the cramped high-rock night halt, the unusually bright stars, and sleep as a prophetic threshold before the Earthly Paradise.
XXVII.85–87 The simile casts Dante as protected and resting, while Virgil and Statius keep watch at the threshold.
XXVII.85–87 The simile casts Dante as protected and resting, while Virgil and Statius keep watch at the threshold. Line 86: The simile casts Dante as protected and resting, while Virgil and Statius keep watch at the threshold.
XXVII.86 The simile casts Dante as protected and resting, while Virgil and Statius keep watch at the threshold. The simile casts Dante as protected and resting, while Virgil and Statius keep watch at the threshold.
XXVII.88–90 The star language prepares the final purgatorial reorientation before Eden.
XXVII.88–90 The star language prepares the final purgatorial reorientation before Eden. Line 90: The star language prepares the final purgatorial reorientation before Eden.
XXVII.90 The star language prepares the final purgatorial reorientation before Eden. The star language prepares the final purgatorial reorientation before Eden.
XXVII.91–93 The dream is introduced as anticipatory knowledge, continuing Purgatorio's pattern of meaningful dawn dreams.
XXVII.91–93 The dream is introduced as anticipatory knowledge, continuing Purgatorio's pattern of meaningful dawn dreams. Line 93: The dream is introduced as anticipatory knowledge, continuing Purgatorio's pattern of meaningful dawn dreams.
XXVII.93 The dream is introduced as anticipatory knowledge, continuing Purgatorio's pattern of meaningful dawn dreams. The dream is introduced as anticipatory knowledge, continuing Purgatorio's pattern of meaningful dawn dreams.
Dante dreams of Leah's active adornment and Rachel's contemplation XXVII.94–108
94Ne l’ora, credo, che de l’orïente
95prima raggiò nel monte Citerea,
che di foco d’amor par sempre ardente,
giovane e bella in sogno mi parea
donna vedere andar per una landa
cogliendo fiori; e cantando dicea:
100«Sappia qualunque il mio nome dimanda
ch’i’ mi son Lia, e vo movendo intorno
le belle mani a farmi una ghirlanda.
Per piacermi a lo specchio, qui m’addorno;
ma mia suora Rachel mai non si smaga
105dal suo miraglio, e siede tutto giorno.
Ell’ è d’i suoi belli occhi veder vaga
com’ io de l’addornarmi con le mani;
lei lo vedere, e me l’ovrare appaga».
94At the hour, I believe, when from the east
95Cytherea first shone upon the mountain,
who seems always burning with love's fire,
in dream I seemed to see a lady,
young and beautiful, walking through a meadow
gathering flowers; and singing she said:
100"Let whoever asks my name know
that I am Leah, and I go moving around
my lovely hands to make myself a garland.
To please myself at the mirror, I adorn myself here;
but my sister Rachel never draws away
105from her mirror, and sits all day.
She is eager to see her beautiful eyes
as I am to adorn myself with my hands;
seeing satisfies her, and working satisfies me."
Commentary
Leah and Rachel are figures for active and contemplative life. The translation keeps the dream concrete and lyrical while allowing the line notes to preserve the active/contemplative pressure.
XXVII.94–96 Cytherea is Venus, keeping the love field present as the lust terrace gives way to Eden.
XXVII.94–96 Cytherea is Venus, keeping the love field present as the lust terrace gives way to Eden. Line 95: Cytherea is Venus, keeping the love field present as the lust terrace gives way to Eden.
XXVII.95 Cytherea is Venus, keeping the love field present as the lust terrace gives way to Eden. Cytherea is Venus, keeping the love field present as the lust terrace gives way to Eden.
XXVII.100–102 Leah is kept by name and stands for the active life, while the line remains a dream speech.
XXVII.100–102 Leah is kept by name and stands for the active life, while the line remains a dream speech. Line 101: Leah is kept by name and stands for the active life, while the line remains a dream speech.
XXVII.101 Leah is kept by name and stands for the active life, while the line remains a dream speech. Leah is kept by name and stands for the active life, while the line remains a dream speech.
XXVII.103–105 Rachel is kept by name; the contrast with Leah marks contemplative seeing against active adornment.
XXVII.103–105 Rachel is kept by name; the contrast with Leah marks contemplative seeing against active adornment. Line 104: Rachel is kept by name; the contrast with Leah marks contemplative seeing against active adornment.
XXVII.104 Rachel is kept by name; the contrast with Leah marks contemplative seeing against active adornment. Rachel is kept by name; the contrast with Leah marks contemplative seeing against active adornment.
XXVII.106–108 Vedere and ovrare are kept as seeing and working to preserve the active/contemplative contrast.
XXVII.106–108 Vedere and ovrare are kept as seeing and working to preserve the active/contemplative contrast. Line 108: Vedere and ovrare are kept as seeing and working to preserve the active/contemplative contrast.
XXVII.108 Vedere and ovrare are kept as seeing and working to preserve the active/contemplative contrast. Vedere and ovrare are kept as seeing and working to preserve the active/contemplative contrast.
Dawn returns and Virgil promises the sweet fruit of human longing XXVII.109–123
109E già per li splendori antelucani,
110che tanto a’ pellegrin surgon più grati,
quanto, tornando, albergan men lontani,
le tenebre fuggian da tutti lati,
e ’l sonno mio con esse; ond’ io leva’mi,
veggendo i gran maestri già levati.
115«Quel dolce pome che per tanti rami
cercando va la cura de’ mortali,
oggi porrà in pace le tue fami».
Virgilio inverso me queste cotali
parole usò; e mai non furo strenne
120che fosser di piacere a queste iguali.
Tanto voler sopra voler mi venne
de l’esser sù, ch’ad ogne passo poi
al volo mi sentia crescer le penne.
109And already through the splendors before dawn,
110which rise so much more grateful to pilgrims
as, returning, they lodge less far away,
the darkness fled from every side,
and my sleep with it; so I rose,
seeing the great masters already risen.
115"That sweet fruit, which through so many branches
the care of mortals goes seeking,
today will set your hungers at peace."
Virgil used toward me words
such as these; and never were there gifts
120equal to these in pleasure.
So much desire upon desire came to me
to be above, that at every step after
I felt the feathers grow for flight.
Commentary
The passage gives the pilgrim dawn image, Virgil's sweet apple that will settle Dante's hungers, and the new desire for ascent figured as growing wings. The translation keeps appetite language purified into longing for the Earthly Paradise.
XXVII.109–111 The pilgrim image frames the ascent as nearing home, not merely advancing through terrain.
XXVII.109–111 The pilgrim image frames the ascent as nearing home, not merely advancing through terrain. Line 111: The pilgrim image frames the ascent as nearing home, not merely advancing through terrain.
XXVII.111 The pilgrim image frames the ascent as nearing home, not merely advancing through terrain. The pilgrim image frames the ascent as nearing home, not merely advancing through terrain.
XXVII.115–117 The sweet apple answers the earlier child-and-apple smile and turns appetite toward the Earthly Paradise. Fami is kept as hungers because desire is being satisfied, not erased.
XXVII.115–117 The sweet apple answers the earlier child-and-apple smile and turns appetite toward the Earthly Paradise. Line 115: The sweet apple answers the earlier child-and-apple smile and turns appetite toward the Earthly Paradise. Line 117: Fami is kept as hungers because desire is being satisfied, not erased.
XXVII.115 The sweet apple answers the earlier child-and-apple smile and turns appetite toward the Earthly Paradise. The sweet apple answers the earlier child-and-apple smile and turns appetite toward the Earthly Paradise.
XXVII.117 Fami is kept as hungers because desire is being satisfied, not erased. Fami is kept as hungers because desire is being satisfied, not erased.
XXVII.121–123 The wings image marks desire trained into upward motion after the final purgative fire.
XXVII.121–123 The wings image marks desire trained into upward motion after the final purgative fire. Line 123: The wings image marks desire trained into upward motion after the final purgative fire.
XXVII.123 The wings image marks desire trained into upward motion after the final purgative fire. The wings image marks desire trained into upward motion after the final purgative fire.
Virgil releases Dante to his purified free will XXVII.124–142
124Come la scala tutta sotto noi
125fu corsa e fummo in su ’l grado superno,
in me ficcò Virgilio li occhi suoi,
e disse: «Il temporal foco e l’etterno
veduto hai, figlio; e se’ venuto in parte
dov’ io per me più oltre non discerno.
130Tratto t’ho qui con ingegno e con arte;
lo tuo piacere omai prendi per duce;
fuor se’ de l’erte vie, fuor se’ de l’arte.
Vedi lo sol che ’n fronte ti riluce;
vedi l’erbette, i fiori e li arbuscelli
135che qui la terra sol da sé produce.
Mentre che vegnan lieti li occhi belli
che, lagrimando, a te venir mi fenno,
seder ti puoi e puoi andar tra elli.
Non aspettar mio dir più né mio cenno;
140libero, dritto e sano è tuo arbitrio,
e fallo fora non fare a suo senno:
per ch’io te sovra te corono e mitrio».
124When the whole stair had been run
125beneath us, and we were on the highest step,
Virgil fixed his eyes on me,
and said: "The temporal fire and the eternal
you have seen, my son; and you have come to a place
where I, by myself, discern no farther.
130I have brought you here with intellect and art;
now take your own pleasure as guide;
you are beyond the steep ways, beyond the narrow ways.
See the sun that shines on your forehead;
see the little grasses, the flowers, and the shrubs
135that here the earth produces by itself alone.
While the glad beautiful eyes are coming
that, weeping, made me come to you,
you may sit and may walk among them.
Await no more my word or my sign;
140free, upright, and sound is your will,
and it would be wrong not to act by its judgment:
therefore I crown and mitre you over yourself."
Commentary
Virgil's final handoff declares that temporal and eternal fire have been seen, that Virgil's intellect and art can go no farther, that Dante's pleasure can now guide him, and that his free will is free, upright, and sound. The translation keeps crown and mitre as Virgil's formal declaration of Dante's self-governance under purified will.
XXVII.127–129 Virgil gathers Purgatory's purifying fire and Hell's eternal fire into a final boundary statement. Virgil's limitation is epistemic and theological: reason can bring Dante to Eden's edge, not beyond Beatrice's role.
XXVII.127–129 Virgil gathers Purgatory's purifying fire and Hell's eternal fire into a final boundary statement. Line 127: Virgil gathers Purgatory's purifying fire and Hell's eternal fire into a final boundary statement. Line 129: Virgil's limitation is epistemic and theological: reason can bring Dante to Eden's edge, not beyond Beatrice's role.
XXVII.127 Virgil gathers Purgatory's purifying fire and Hell's eternal fire into a final boundary statement. Virgil gathers Purgatory's purifying fire and Hell's eternal fire into a final boundary statement.
XXVII.129 Virgil's limitation is epistemic and theological: reason can bring Dante to Eden's edge, not beyond Beatrice's role. Virgil's limitation is epistemic and theological: reason can bring Dante to Eden's edge, not beyond Beatrice's role.
XXVII.130–132 Ingegno and arte name Virgil's real but limited resources as guide. Piacere is safe only after the purgatorial education of desire; it is not autonomous whim. The second arte is treated as the narrow/difficult w.
XXVII.130–132 Ingegno and arte name Virgil's real but limited resources as guide. Line 130: Ingegno and arte name Virgil's real but limited resources as guide. Line 131: Piacere is safe only after the purgatorial education of desire; it is not autonomous whim. Line 132: The second arte is treated as the narrow/difficult way rather than repeated art; revisit before final-candidate status.
XXVII.130 Ingegno and arte name Virgil's real but limited resources as guide. Ingegno and arte name Virgil's real but limited resources as guide.
XXVII.131 Piacere is safe only after the purgatorial education of desire; it is not autonomous whim. Piacere is safe only after the purgatorial education of desire; it is not autonomous whim.
XXVII.132 The second arte is treated as the narrow/difficult way rather than repeated art; revisit before final-candidate status. The second arte is treated as the narrow/difficult way rather than repeated art; revisit before final-candidate status.
XXVII.133–135 The self-producing Earthly Paradise landscape marks a new environment after the terraces of corrective art.
XXVII.133–135 The self-producing Earthly Paradise landscape marks a new environment after the terraces of corrective art. Line 135: The self-producing Earthly Paradise landscape marks a new environment after the terraces of corrective art.
XXVII.135 The self-producing Earthly Paradise landscape marks a new environment after the terraces of corrective art. The self-producing Earthly Paradise landscape marks a new environment after the terraces of corrective art.
XXVII.136–138 The line reaches back to Beatrice's tears in Inferno II and forward to her imminent arrival.
XXVII.136–138 The line reaches back to Beatrice's tears in Inferno II and forward to her imminent arrival. Line 137: The line reaches back to Beatrice's tears in Inferno II and forward to her imminent arrival.
XXVII.137 The line reaches back to Beatrice's tears in Inferno II and forward to her imminent arrival. The line reaches back to Beatrice's tears in Inferno II and forward to her imminent arrival.
XXVII.139–141 The free-will line fulfills the Purgatorio doctrine of educated will, not modern self-assertion.
XXVII.139–141 The free-will line fulfills the Purgatorio doctrine of educated will, not modern self-assertion. Line 140: The free-will line fulfills the Purgatorio doctrine of educated will, not modern self-assertion.
XXVII.140 The free-will line fulfills the Purgatorio doctrine of educated will, not modern self-assertion. The free-will line fulfills the Purgatorio doctrine of educated will, not modern self-assertion.
XXVII.142 The crown and mitre formally declare Dante's self-governance after purgation: royal and priestly images without making him independent of grace. The crown and mitre formally declare Dante's self-governance after purgation: royal and priestly images without making him independent of grace.