Purgatorio, Canto 4
Dante Alighieri · Italian original · new English translation and commentary by Text Atlas
Overview
Dante opens from his absorption in Manfred's speech into a brief psychology of attention: when the soul is wholly gathered to one power, time passes unnoticed. The excommunicate souls point out the route, and Dante and Virgil climb through a slit so narrow that ordinary difficult ascents seem easy beside it; here ascent requires the wings and feathers of great desire. After crawling through broken rock with hands and feet, Dante tires on a ledge and notices that the sun strikes them from the left. Virgil explains the southern-hemisphere geometry of Purgatory and Jerusalem, then teaches that the mountain is hardest at the beginning and grows easier as one rises. A nearby voice interrupts: before reaching such ease, Dante may need to sit. The poets find Belacqua and other negligent souls resting in the shade. Belacqua answers with comic slowness, explains that delayed repentance keeps him outside the gate as long as he delayed in life unless prayer from a grace-living heart helps him, and Virgil calls Dante onward because noon has arrived and night is already touching Morocco.
Narrative arc
- Dante reflects on absorbed attention, the single soul, and lost time before the souls point out the way
- The route narrows beyond ordinary mountain paths, so ascent requires swift wings of great desire behind Virgil's hope-giving light
- The poets crawl through broken rock, reach the open ledge, and Dante's bodily fatigue is met by Virgil's command to keep gaining the mountain
- Dante notices the sun striking from the left, and Virgil explains the solar geometry of Purgatory, Zion, the Zodiac, and the Equator
- Dante asks how far the climb extends, and Virgil gives the purgatorial law that ascent is heavy below but becomes lighter as one rises
- A nearby voice jokes about rest, and the poets discover the negligent souls in the shade, including Belacqua folded around his knees
- Dante recognizes Belacqua, whose lazy gestures become a comic explanation of delayed repentance and prayer from hearts living in grace
- Virgil resumes the ascent with a noon time signal while night already reaches Morocco
Central themes
- delay
- repentance
- prayer
- community
- Italy
Dante reflects on absorbed attention, the single soul, and lost time before the souls point out the way IV.1–18
1Quando per dilettanze o ver per doglie,
che alcuna virtù nostra comprenda,
l’anima bene ad essa si raccoglie,
par ch’a nulla potenza più intenda;
5e questo è contra quello error che crede
ch’un’anima sovr’ altra in noi s’accenda.
E però, quando s’ode cosa o vede
che tegna forte a sé l’anima volta,
vassene ’l tempo e l’uom non se n’avvede;
10ch’altra potenza è quella che l’ascolta,
e altra è quella c’ha l’anima intera:
questa è quasi legata e quella è sciolta.
Di ciò ebb’ io esperïenza vera,
udendo quello spirto e ammirando;
15ché ben cinquanta gradi salito era
lo sole, e io non m’era accorto, quando
venimmo ove quell’ anime ad una
gridaro a noi: «Qui è vostro dimando».
1When, by delights or else by pains,
which some power of ours takes hold of,
the soul gathers itself wholly to that power,
it seems to attend to no other faculty;
5and this stands against that error which believes
that one soul over another is kindled within us.
And so, when one hears or sees a thing
that keeps the soul strongly turned toward itself,
time goes away, and a person does not notice it;
10for one power is the one that listens,
and another is the one that holds the whole soul:
this one is almost bound, and that one is free.
Of this I had true experience,
hearing that spirit and wondering;
15for a full fifty degrees had climbed
the sun, and I had not noticed it, when
we came where those souls all as one
cried out to us: "Here is what you ask."
Commentary
The opening reads as a psychology of absorbed attention, not a digression: delight or pain gathers the whole soul to one faculty, time passes unnoticed, and Dante has just experienced this while listening to Manfred.
IV.1–3 Virtù is local psychological power or faculty here, not moral virtue.
IV.1–3 Virtù is local psychological power or faculty here, not moral virtue. Line 2: Virtù is local psychological power or faculty here, not moral virtue.
IV.2 Virtù is local psychological power or faculty here, not moral virtue. Virtù is local psychological power or faculty here, not moral virtue.
IV.4–6 The line keeps Dante's argument against a divided or multiple-soul psychology.
IV.4–6 The line keeps Dante's argument against a divided or multiple-soul psychology. Line 6: The line keeps Dante's argument against a divided or multiple-soul psychology.
IV.6 The line keeps Dante's argument against a divided or multiple-soul psychology. The line keeps Dante's argument against a divided or multiple-soul psychology.
IV.7–9 The lost-time reflection carries directly out of Dante's absorption in Manfred's speech.
IV.7–9 The lost-time reflection carries directly out of Dante's absorption in Manfred's speech. Line 9: The lost-time reflection carries directly out of Dante's absorption in Manfred's speech.
IV.9 The lost-time reflection carries directly out of Dante's absorption in Manfred's speech. The lost-time reflection carries directly out of Dante's absorption in Manfred's speech.
IV.13–15 The passage marks roughly midmorning; the line keeps Dante's degree-based time signal.
IV.13–15 The passage marks roughly midmorning; the line keeps Dante's degree-based time signal. Line 15: The passage marks roughly midmorning; the line keeps Dante's degree-based time signal.
IV.15 The passage marks roughly midmorning; the line keeps Dante's degree-based time signal. The passage marks roughly midmorning; the line keeps Dante's degree-based time signal.
The route narrows beyond ordinary mountain paths, so ascent requires swift wings of great desire behind Virgil's hope-giving light IV.19–30
19Maggiore aperta molte volte impruna
20con una forcatella di sue spine
l’uom de la villa quando l’uva imbruna,
che non era la calla onde salìne
lo duca mio, e io appresso, soli,
come da noi la schiera si partìne.
25Vassi in Sanleo e discendesi in Noli,
montasi su in Bismantova e ’n Cacume
con esso i piè; ma qui convien ch’om voli;
dico con l’ale snelle e con le piume
del gran disio, di retro a quel condotto
30che speranza mi dava e facea lume.
19A larger gap is often thorned shut
20with a little forkful of thorns
by the farmhand when the grape darkens,
than was the passage by which climbed
my guide, and I after him, alone,
as soon as the band had left us.
25One goes to Sanleo and descends to Noli,
climbs up Bismantova and Cacume
with only the feet; but here one must fly;
I mean with the nimble wings and feathers
of great desire, behind that guide
30who gave me hope and made light for me.
Commentary
The difficult-earthly-ascent comparisons come before the stronger claim that this climb requires flight. The translation keeps the names Sanleo, Noli, Bismantova, and Cacume in the line while making great desire, hope, and light the true upward means.
IV.19–21 The vineyard image marks how narrow the climb is before the named mountain comparisons.
IV.19–21 The vineyard image marks how narrow the climb is before the named mountain comparisons. Line 21: The vineyard image marks how narrow the climb is before the named mountain comparisons.
IV.21 The vineyard image marks how narrow the climb is before the named mountain comparisons. The vineyard image marks how narrow the climb is before the named mountain comparisons.
IV.25–27 The local place names stay in the line; the contrast is between hard earthly climbs and purgatorial ascent by desire.
IV.25–27 The local place names stay in the line; the contrast is between hard earthly climbs and purgatorial ascent by desire. Line 27: The local place names stay in the line; the contrast is between hard earthly climbs and purgatorial ascent by desire.
IV.27 The local place names stay in the line; the contrast is between hard earthly climbs and purgatorial ascent by desire. The local place names stay in the line; the contrast is between hard earthly climbs and purgatorial ascent by desire.
IV.28–30 Great desire is upward and guided here, unlike the distorted appetites tracked through Inferno. Virgil's guidance is still hope-giving and illuminating, though later Purgatorio will show its limits.
IV.28–30 Great desire is upward and guided here, unlike the distorted appetites tracked through Inferno. Line 29: Great desire is upward and guided here, unlike the distorted appetites tracked through Inferno. Line 30: Virgil's guidance is still hope-giving and illuminating, though later Purgatorio will show its limits.
IV.29 Great desire is upward and guided here, unlike the distorted appetites tracked through Inferno. Great desire is upward and guided here, unlike the distorted appetites tracked through Inferno.
IV.30 Virgil's guidance is still hope-giving and illuminating, though later Purgatorio will show its limits. Virgil's guidance is still hope-giving and illuminating, though later Purgatorio will show its limits.
The poets crawl through broken rock, reach the open ledge, and Dante's bodily fatigue is met by Virgil's command to keep gaining the mountain IV.31–54
31Noi salavam per entro ’l sasso rotto,
e d’ogne lato ne stringea lo stremo,
e piedi e man volea il suol di sotto.
Poi che noi fummo in su l’orlo suppremo
35de l’alta ripa, a la scoperta piaggia,
«Maestro mio», diss’ io, «che via faremo?».
Ed elli a me: «Nessun tuo passo caggia;
pur su al monte dietro a me acquista,
fin che n’appaia alcuna scorta saggia».
40Lo sommo er’ alto che vincea la vista,
e la costa superba più assai
che da mezzo quadrante a centro lista.
Io era lasso, quando cominciai:
«O dolce padre, volgiti, e rimira
45com’ io rimango sol, se non restai».
«Figliuol mio», disse, «infin quivi ti tira»,
additandomi un balzo poco in sùe
che da quel lato il poggio tutto gira.
Sì mi spronaron le parole sue,
50ch’i’ mi sforzai carpando appresso lui,
tanto che ’l cinghio sotto i piè mi fue.
A seder ci ponemmo ivi ambedui
vòlti a levante ond’ eravam saliti,
che suole a riguardar giovare altrui.
31We were climbing through the broken rock,
and the edge pressed us in on every side,
and the ground beneath wanted feet and hands.
After we had come onto the upper rim
35of the high bank, onto the open slope,
"My master," I said, "what way shall we take?"
And he to me: "Let none of your steps fall back;
only gain the mountain upward behind me,
until some wise escort appears to us."
40The summit was so high it defeated sight,
and the proud slope far steeper
than a line from mid-quadrant to center.
I was weary when I began:
"O sweet father, turn and see
45how I remain alone unless you stop."
"My son," he said, "drag yourself up to there,"
pointing me to a ledge a little higher
that circles all the hill on that side.
His words spurred me so
50that I forced myself, crawling after him,
until the ledge was under my feet.
There we both sat down
turned toward the east from which we had climbed,
for looking back is often a help.
Commentary
The climb keeps both physical strain and spiritual training visible: the broken rock demands hands and feet, Virgil's command prevents falling back, and the backward look helps by showing progress already made.
IV.31–33 The ascent is bodily training: the ground itself demands both hands and feet.
IV.31–33 The ascent is bodily training: the ground itself demands both hands and feet. Line 33: The ascent is bodily training: the ground itself demands both hands and feet.
IV.33 The ascent is bodily training: the ground itself demands both hands and feet. The ascent is bodily training: the ground itself demands both hands and feet.
IV.40–42 The geometric comparison marks a slope beyond a forty-five-degree climb; the line leaves the technical image intact.
IV.40–42 The geometric comparison marks a slope beyond a forty-five-degree climb; the line leaves the technical image intact. Line 42: The geometric comparison marks a slope beyond a forty-five-degree climb; the line leaves the technical image intact.
IV.42 The geometric comparison marks a slope beyond a forty-five-degree climb; the line leaves the technical image intact. The geometric comparison marks a slope beyond a forty-five-degree climb; the line leaves the technical image intact.
IV.52–54 The backward look is restorative rather than regressive: Dante sees the route already climbed.
IV.52–54 The backward look is restorative rather than regressive: Dante sees the route already climbed. Line 54: The backward look is restorative rather than regressive: Dante sees the route already climbed.
IV.54 The backward look is restorative rather than regressive: Dante sees the route already climbed. The backward look is restorative rather than regressive: Dante sees the route already climbed.
Dante notices the sun striking from the left, and Virgil explains the solar geometry of Purgatory, Zion, the Zodiac, and the Equator IV.55–84
55Li occhi prima drizzai ai bassi liti;
poscia li alzai al sole, e ammirava
che da sinistra n’eravam feriti.
Ben s’avvide il poeta ch’ïo stava
stupido tutto al carro de la luce,
60ove tra noi e Aquilone intrava.
Ond’ elli a me: «Se Castore e Poluce
fossero in compagnia di quello specchio
che sù e giù del suo lume conduce,
tu vedresti il Zodïaco rubecchio
65ancora a l’Orse più stretto rotare,
se non uscisse fuor del cammin vecchio.
Come ciò sia, se ’l vuoi poter pensare,
dentro raccolto, imagina Sïòn
con questo monte in su la terra stare
70sì, ch’amendue hanno un solo orizzòn
e diversi emisperi; onde la strada
che mal non seppe carreggiar Fetòn,
vedrai come a costui convien che vada
da l’un, quando a colui da l’altro fianco,
75se lo ’ntelletto tuo ben chiaro bada».
«Certo, maestro mio,» diss’ io, «unquanco
non vid’ io chiaro sì com’ io discerno
là dove mio ingegno parea manco,
che ’l mezzo cerchio del moto superno,
80che si chiama Equatore in alcun’ arte,
e che sempre riman tra ’l sole e ’l verno,
per la ragion che di’, quinci si parte
verso settentrïon, quanto li Ebrei
vedevan lui verso la calda parte.
55First I directed my eyes to the low shores;
then I raised them to the sun, and wondered
that we were struck by it from the left.
The poet well perceived that I stood
wholly bewildered at the chariot of light,
60where it entered between us and the north.
So he to me: "If Castor and Pollux
were in company with that mirror
that carries its light above and below,
you would see the ruddy Zodiac
65turn still closer to the Bears,
if it did not leave the old path.
How this may be, if you want power to think it,
gathered within yourself, imagine Zion
standing on the earth with this mountain
70so that both share a single horizon
and different hemispheres; from this the road
that Phaethon knew badly how to drive,
you will see how it must pass by this one
on one side, when by that one on the other flank,
75if your intellect attends clearly enough."
"Certainly, my master," I said, "never yet
have I seen as clearly as I now discern
where my understanding seemed lacking,
that the middle circle of the supernal motion,
80which in one art is called the Equator,
and which always remains between the sun and winter,
for the reason you give, departs from here
toward the north, as far as the Hebrews
saw it toward the warm region.
Commentary
The sun on Dante's left belongs to Purgatory's southern-hemisphere position opposite Zion/Jerusalem. The translation keeps Virgil's Zodiac, Phaethon, and Equator explanation in the lines without expanding it into a prose lecture.
IV.55–57 The left-side sun is the first signal that Purgatory's southern-hemisphere geography must be understood.
IV.55–57 The left-side sun is the first signal that Purgatory's southern-hemisphere geography must be understood. Line 57: The left-side sun is the first signal that Purgatory's southern-hemisphere geography must be understood.
IV.57 The left-side sun is the first signal that Purgatory's southern-hemisphere geography must be understood. The left-side sun is the first signal that Purgatory's southern-hemisphere geography must be understood.
IV.61–63 The mirror is the sun, with Gemini named through Castor and Pollux.
IV.61–63 The mirror is the sun, with Gemini named through Castor and Pollux. Line 63: The mirror is the sun, with Gemini named through Castor and Pollux.
IV.63 The mirror is the sun, with Gemini named through Castor and Pollux. The mirror is the sun, with Gemini named through Castor and Pollux.
IV.70–72 Phaethon's failed solar driving keeps the cosmological lesson inside a classical image.
IV.70–72 Phaethon's failed solar driving keeps the cosmological lesson inside a classical image. Line 72: Phaethon's failed solar driving keeps the cosmological lesson inside a classical image.
IV.72 Phaethon's failed solar driving keeps the cosmological lesson inside a classical image. Phaethon's failed solar driving keeps the cosmological lesson inside a classical image.
IV.73–75 Virgil's explanation asks for recollected intellectual attention after the canto's opening meditation on attention.
IV.73–75 Virgil's explanation asks for recollected intellectual attention after the canto's opening meditation on attention. Line 75: Virgil's explanation asks for recollected intellectual attention after the canto's opening meditation on attention.
IV.75 Virgil's explanation asks for recollected intellectual attention after the canto's opening meditation on attention. Virgil's explanation asks for recollected intellectual attention after the canto's opening meditation on attention.
IV.79–81 Arte here is the technical astronomical discipline.
IV.79–81 Arte here is the technical astronomical discipline. Line 80: Arte here is the technical astronomical discipline.
IV.80 Arte here is the technical astronomical discipline. Arte here is the technical astronomical discipline.
IV.82–84 The Hebrews mark Jerusalem and the northern hemisphere opposite Purgatory's southern view.
IV.82–84 The Hebrews mark Jerusalem and the northern hemisphere opposite Purgatory's southern view. Line 84: The Hebrews mark Jerusalem and the northern hemisphere opposite Purgatory's southern view.
IV.84 The Hebrews mark Jerusalem and the northern hemisphere opposite Purgatory's southern view. The Hebrews mark Jerusalem and the northern hemisphere opposite Purgatory's southern view.
Dante asks how far the climb extends, and Virgil gives the purgatorial law that ascent is heavy below but becomes lighter as one rises IV.85–96
85Ma se a te piace, volontier saprei
quanto avemo ad andar; ché ’l poggio sale
più che salir non posson li occhi miei».
Ed elli a me: «Questa montagna è tale,
che sempre al cominciar di sotto è grave;
90e quant’ om più va sù, e men fa male.
Però, quand’ ella ti parrà soave
tanto, che sù andar ti fia leggero
com’ a seconda giù andar per nave,
allor sarai al fin d’esto sentiero;
95quivi di riposar l’affanno aspetta.
Più non rispondo, e questo so per vero».
85But if it pleases you, I would gladly know
how far we have to go; for the slope climbs
higher than my eyes can climb."
And he to me: "This mountain is such
that always at the beginning, below, it is heavy;
90and the more one goes upward, the less it hurts.
Therefore, when it seems so gentle to you
that going up will be as light
as going downstream in a boat,
then you will be at the end of this path;
95there expect to rest from effort.
I answer no more, and this I know for true."
Commentary
Virgil's rule that the mountain begins heavy and grows easier was kept as a purgatorial law of training and hope, not merely a hiking observation. The boat-current image remains a future ease Dante has not yet reached.
IV.88–90 The climb's heaviness is physical and purgatorial: training begins with felt burden.
IV.88–90 The climb's heaviness is physical and purgatorial: training begins with felt burden. Line 89: The climb's heaviness is physical and purgatorial: training begins with felt burden.
IV.89 The climb's heaviness is physical and purgatorial: training begins with felt burden. The climb's heaviness is physical and purgatorial: training begins with felt burden.
IV.94–96 Virgil states a real law of purgatorial ascent while leaving future details to experience.
IV.94–96 Virgil states a real law of purgatorial ascent while leaving future details to experience. Line 96: Virgil states a real law of purgatorial ascent while leaving future details to experience.
IV.96 Virgil states a real law of purgatorial ascent while leaving future details to experience. Virgil states a real law of purgatorial ascent while leaving future details to experience.
A nearby voice jokes about rest, and the poets discover the negligent souls in the shade, including Belacqua folded around his knees IV.97–114
97E com’ elli ebbe sua parola detta,
una voce di presso sonò: «Forse
che di sedere in pria avrai distretta!».
100Al suon di lei ciascun di noi si torse,
e vedemmo a mancina un gran petrone,
del qual né io né ei prima s’accorse.
Là ci traemmo; e ivi eran persone
che si stavano a l’ombra dietro al sasso
105come l’uom per negghienza a star si pone.
E un di lor, che mi sembiava lasso,
sedeva e abbracciava le ginocchia,
tenendo ’l viso giù tra esse basso.
«O dolce segnor mio», diss’ io, «adocchia
110colui che mostra sé più negligente
che se pigrizia fosse sua serocchia».
Allor si volse a noi e puose mente,
movendo ’l viso pur su per la coscia,
e disse: «Or va tu sù, che se’ valente!».
97And when he had spoken his word,
a voice close by sounded: "Perhaps
you will be forced to sit before then!"
100At the sound of it each of us turned,
and we saw on the left a great stone,
which neither I nor he had noticed before.
There we drew near; and there were people
who were staying in the shadow behind the rock
105as a person settles himself to stay through negligence.
And one of them, who seemed weary to me,
was sitting and clasping his knees,
holding his face low down between them.
"O my sweet lord," I said, "look
110at him who shows himself more negligent
than if laziness were his sister."
Then he turned to us and paid heed,
moving his face only up along his thigh,
and said: "Now go up, you who are valiant!"
Commentary
This passage covers a nearby voice jokes about rest, and the poets discover the negligent souls in the shade, including Belacqua folded around his knees.
IV.97–99 The interruption punctures Dante's urgent climb with Belacqua's comic, but theologically serious, delay.
IV.97–99 The interruption punctures Dante's urgent climb with Belacqua's comic, but theologically serious, delay. Line 99: The interruption punctures Dante's urgent climb with Belacqua's comic, but theologically serious, delay.
IV.99 The interruption punctures Dante's urgent climb with Belacqua's comic, but theologically serious, delay. The interruption punctures Dante's urgent climb with Belacqua's comic, but theologically serious, delay.
IV.103–105 Negghienza introduces the negligent souls without reducing Belacqua to mere laziness.
IV.103–105 Negghienza introduces the negligent souls without reducing Belacqua to mere laziness. Line 105: Negghienza introduces the negligent souls without reducing Belacqua to mere laziness.
IV.105 Negghienza introduces the negligent souls without reducing Belacqua to mere laziness. Negghienza introduces the negligent souls without reducing Belacqua to mere laziness.
IV.109–111 The comic sibling image is kept direct, while the episode still belongs to delayed repentance.
IV.109–111 The comic sibling image is kept direct, while the episode still belongs to delayed repentance. Line 111: The comic sibling image is kept direct, while the episode still belongs to delayed repentance.
IV.111 The comic sibling image is kept direct, while the episode still belongs to delayed repentance. The comic sibling image is kept direct, while the episode still belongs to delayed repentance.
IV.112–114 Belacqua's answer is teasing, but it also tests Dante's newly strenuous ascent.
IV.112–114 Belacqua's answer is teasing, but it also tests Dante's newly strenuous ascent. Line 114: Belacqua's answer is teasing, but it also tests Dante's newly strenuous ascent.
IV.114 Belacqua's answer is teasing, but it also tests Dante's newly strenuous ascent. Belacqua's answer is teasing, but it also tests Dante's newly strenuous ascent.
Dante recognizes Belacqua, whose lazy gestures become a comic explanation of delayed repentance and prayer from hearts living in grace IV.115–135
115Conobbi allor chi era, e quella angoscia
che m’avacciava un poco ancor la lena,
non m’impedì l’andare a lui; e poscia
ch’a lui fu’ giunto, alzò la testa a pena,
dicendo: «Hai ben veduto come ’l sole
120da l’omero sinistro il carro mena?».
Li atti suoi pigri e le corte parole
mosser le labbra mie un poco a riso;
poi cominciai: «Belacqua, a me non dole
di te omai; ma dimmi: perché assiso
125quiritto se’? attendi tu iscorta,
o pur lo modo usato t’ha’ ripriso?».
Ed elli: «O frate, andar in sù che porta?
ché non mi lascerebbe ire a’ martìri
l’angel di Dio che siede in su la porta.
130Prima convien che tanto il ciel m’aggiri
di fuor da essa, quanto fece in vita,
per ch’io ’ndugiai al fine i buon sospiri,
se orazïone in prima non m’aita
che surga sù di cuor che in grazia viva;
135l’altra che val, che ’n ciel non è udita?».
115Then I knew who he was, and that anguish
that still somewhat hurried my breath
did not prevent my going to him; and after
I had reached him, he barely raised his head,
saying: "Have you well seen how the sun
120drives the chariot from the left shoulder?"
His lazy gestures and short words
moved my lips a little to a smile;
then I began: "Belacqua, I no longer grieve
for you; but tell me: why seated
125right here? Are you waiting for an escort,
or has your old habit seized you again?"
And he: "O brother, what does going up bring?
for he would not let me go to the torments,
the angel of God who sits upon the gate.
130First heaven must wheel me around
outside it as long as it did in life,
because I delayed the good sighs until the end,
unless prayer first helps me
that rises up from a heart that lives in grace;
135what is the other worth, since in Heaven it is not heard?"
Commentary
This passage covers dante recognizes Belacqua, whose lazy gestures become a comic explanation of delayed repentance and prayer from hearts living in grace.
IV.118–120 Belacqua lazily echoes the serious solar lesson Dante has just received.
IV.118–120 Belacqua lazily echoes the serious solar lesson Dante has just received. Line 120: Belacqua lazily echoes the serious solar lesson Dante has just received.
IV.120 Belacqua lazily echoes the serious solar lesson Dante has just received. Belacqua lazily echoes the serious solar lesson Dante has just received.
IV.121–123 Dante's relief contrasts with the fear that Belacqua might have been found in Hell.
IV.121–123 Dante's relief contrasts with the fear that Belacqua might have been found in Hell. Line 123: Dante's relief contrasts with the fear that Belacqua might have been found in Hell.
IV.123 Dante's relief contrasts with the fear that Belacqua might have been found in Hell. Dante's relief contrasts with the fear that Belacqua might have been found in Hell.
IV.127–129 Martìri are the purgatorial sufferings proper to the terraces beyond the gate, not infernal punishment.
IV.127–129 Martìri are the purgatorial sufferings proper to the terraces beyond the gate, not infernal punishment. Line 129: Martìri are the purgatorial sufferings proper to the terraces beyond the gate, not infernal punishment.
IV.129 Martìri are the purgatorial sufferings proper to the terraces beyond the gate, not infernal punishment. Martìri are the purgatorial sufferings proper to the terraces beyond the gate, not infernal punishment.
IV.130–132 Belacqua's delay differs from Manfred's contumacy but keeps Purgatorio's waiting and intercession logic active.
IV.130–132 Belacqua's delay differs from Manfred's contumacy but keeps Purgatorio's waiting and intercession logic active. Line 132: Belacqua's delay differs from Manfred's contumacy but keeps Purgatorio's waiting and intercession logic active.
IV.132 Belacqua's delay differs from Manfred's contumacy but keeps Purgatorio's waiting and intercession logic active. Belacqua's delay differs from Manfred's contumacy but keeps Purgatorio's waiting and intercession logic active.
IV.133–135 The prayer must arise from a living heart in grace; the line keeps the contract precise rather than making all prayer equally effective.
IV.133–135 The prayer must arise from a living heart in grace; the line keeps the contract precise rather than making all prayer equally effective. Line 134: The prayer must arise from a living heart in grace; the line keeps the contract precise rather than making all prayer equally effective.
IV.134 The prayer must arise from a living heart in grace; the line keeps the contract precise rather than making all prayer equally effective. The prayer must arise from a living heart in grace; the line keeps the contract precise rather than making all prayer equally effective.
Virgil resumes the ascent with a noon time signal while night already reaches Morocco IV.136–139
136E già il poeta innanzi mi saliva,
e dicea: «Vienne omai; vedi ch’è tocco
meridïan dal sole e a la riva
cuopre la notte già col piè Morrocco».
136And already the poet was climbing ahead of me,
and saying: "Come now; see that the sun has touched
the meridian, and on the shore
night already covers Morocco with her foot."
Commentary
The closing time signal was retained as a global cosmological marker: noon at Purgatory coincides with night touching Morocco, so Virgil's urgency returns the canto from shaded delay to ordered ascent.
IV.136–138 Virgil's noon signal restores urgency after the negligent souls' shaded pause.
IV.136–138 Virgil's noon signal restores urgency after the negligent souls' shaded pause. Line 138: Virgil's noon signal restores urgency after the negligent souls' shaded pause.
IV.138 Virgil's noon signal restores urgency after the negligent souls' shaded pause. Virgil's noon signal restores urgency after the negligent souls' shaded pause.
IV.139 The line pairs local noon on Purgatory with night reaching the far western shore. The line pairs local noon on Purgatory with night reaching the far western shore.