Purgatorio, Canto 5
Dante Alighieri · Italian original · new English translation and commentary by Text Atlas
Overview
Dante has left the negligent souls and follows Virgil, but the shades behind him notice that his living body breaks the light. Virgil rebukes Dante for letting thought pile upon thought and commands him to stand firm like a tower. A new band of souls comes across the slope singing the Miserere; when they see Dante's shadow, their song turns to wonder and messengers confirm his true flesh. The band rushes back and asks the living pilgrim for news and prayer, explaining that they died by violence and repented at the final hour. Jacopo del Cassero asks for prayers in Fano and recounts the Estense ambush, his failed flight through reeds and mire, and the blood pooling from his wounds. Buonconte da Montefeltro asks for pity, tells how he died at Campaldino with Mary's name as his final speech, and describes the angel and demon disputing his soul before the demon uses storm and flood to hide his body in the Arno. Finally Pia de' Tolomei speaks in a few compressed lines, asking to be remembered after Dante has rested from the long way and naming Siena, Maremma, and the husband who knows her fate.
Narrative arc
- Dante's living shadow distracts the rearward souls, and Virgil rebukes thought piled on thought with the firm-tower image
- The Miserere-singing band notices Dante's true body, sends messengers, and rushes back like an unbridled troop
- The souls who died by violence ask Dante to pause, explain final repentance and forgiveness, and receive his promise of help
- Jacopo del Cassero asks for prayers in Fano and narrates his ambush, failed flight, entanglement, and death in blood
- Buonconte da Montefeltro asks for pity, names his neglect by the living, and recounts his death near the Archiano with Mary's name
- Buonconte tells the truth of the angel's rescue, the demon's storm, and the flood that swept away his body and cross
- Pia compresses her whole history into a request for memory, Siena, Maremma, and the husband who knows her death
Central themes
- delay
- repentance
- prayer
- community
- Italy
Dante's living shadow distracts the rearward souls, and Virgil rebukes thought piled on thought with the firm-tower image V.1–21
1Io era già da quell’ ombre partito,
e seguitava l’orme del mio duca,
quando di retro a me, drizzando ’l dito,
una gridò: «Ve’ che non par che luca
5lo raggio da sinistra a quel di sotto,
e come vivo par che si conduca!».
Li occhi rivolsi al suon di questo motto,
e vidile guardar per maraviglia
pur me, pur me, e ’l lume ch’era rotto.
10«Perché l’animo tuo tanto s’impiglia»,
disse ’l maestro, «che l’andare allenti?
che ti fa ciò che quivi si pispiglia?
Vien dietro a me, e lascia dir le genti:
sta come torre ferma, che non crolla
15già mai la cima per soffiar di venti;
ché sempre l’omo in cui pensier rampolla
sovra pensier, da sé dilunga il segno,
perché la foga l’un de l’altro insolla».
Che potea io ridir, se non «Io vegno»?
20Dissilo, alquanto del color consperso
che fa l’uom di perdon talvolta degno.
1I had already departed from those shades,
and was following the footsteps of my guide,
when behind me, pointing his finger,
one cried: "Look, it seems the ray
5does not shine from the left on that one below,
and he seems to move as one alive!"
I turned my eyes at the sound of this speech,
and saw them looking in wonder
only at me, only at me, and at the light that was broken.
10"Why is your mind so entangled,"
said the master, "that you slacken your going?
What is it to you what is whispered here?
Come after me, and let the people talk:
stand like a firm tower, whose summit
15never sways for blowing winds;
for always the man in whom thought wells up
upon thought draws the goal away from himself,
because the force of one weakens the other."
What could I answer except "I am coming"?
20I said it, somewhat overspread with the color
that sometimes makes a man worthy of pardon.
Commentary
The opening continues Purgatorio's living-shadow motif. The translation keeps the repeated pur me, Virgil's firm-tower correction, and the target/aim language so Dante's attention remains a purgatorial training problem rather than mere curiosity.
V.7–9 The repeated pur me keeps the souls' fixation on Dante's living exception visible.
V.7–9 The repeated pur me keeps the souls' fixation on Dante's living exception visible. Line 9: The repeated pur me keeps the souls' fixation on Dante's living exception visible.
V.9 The repeated pur me keeps the souls' fixation on Dante's living exception visible. The repeated pur me keeps the souls' fixation on Dante's living exception visible.
V.16–18 Segno is target or aim; Virgil's correction keeps Dante's attention trained on ascent. Insolla is retained as weakening rather than literalized, matching the psychology of divided attention.
V.16–18 Segno is target or aim; Virgil's correction keeps Dante's attention trained on ascent. Line 17: Segno is target or aim; Virgil's correction keeps Dante's attention trained on ascent. Line 18: Insolla is retained as weakening rather than literalized, matching the psychology of divided attention.
V.17 Segno is target or aim; Virgil's correction keeps Dante's attention trained on ascent. Segno is target or aim; Virgil's correction keeps Dante's attention trained on ascent.
V.18 Insolla is retained as weakening rather than literalized, matching the psychology of divided attention. Insolla is retained as weakening rather than literalized, matching the psychology of divided attention.
V.19–21 The blush turns Virgil's correction into teachable shame rather than mere embarrassment.
V.19–21 The blush turns Virgil's correction into teachable shame rather than mere embarrassment. Line 21: The blush turns Virgil's correction into teachable shame rather than mere embarrassment.
V.21 The blush turns Virgil's correction into teachable shame rather than mere embarrassment. The blush turns Virgil's correction into teachable shame rather than mere embarrassment.
The Miserere-singing band notices Dante's true body, sends messengers, and rushes back like an unbridled troop V.22–45
22E ’ntanto per la costa di traverso
venivan genti innanzi a noi un poco,
cantando ‘Miserere’ a verso a verso.
25Quando s’accorser ch’i’ non dava loco
per lo mio corpo al trapassar d’i raggi,
mutar lor canto in un «oh!» lungo e roco;
e due di loro, in forma di messaggi,
corsero incontr’ a noi e dimandarne:
30«Di vostra condizion fatene saggi».
E ’l mio maestro: «Voi potete andarne
e ritrarre a color che vi mandaro
che ’l corpo di costui è vera carne.
Se per veder la sua ombra restaro,
35com’ io avviso, assai è lor risposto:
fàccianli onore, ed esser può lor caro».
Vapori accesi non vid’ io sì tosto
di prima notte mai fender sereno,
né, sol calando, nuvole d’agosto,
40che color non tornasser suso in meno;
e, giunti là, con li altri a noi dier volta,
come schiera che scorre sanza freno.
«Questa gente che preme a noi è molta,
e vegnonti a pregar», disse ’l poeta:
45«però pur va, e in andando ascolta».
22And meanwhile across the slope
people were coming a little ahead of us,
singing "Miserere" verse by verse.
25When they noticed that I gave no place
through my body for the rays to pass,
they changed their song into one long, hoarse "oh";
and two of them, in the form of messengers,
ran toward us and asked:
30"Make us aware of your condition."
And my master: "You may go back
and report to those who sent you
that this one's body is true flesh.
If they stopped to see his shadow,
35as I suppose, they have answer enough:
let them honor him, and he may be dear to them."
I never saw fiery vapors so quickly
cleave the clear sky at early night,
nor August clouds at the sun's setting,
40that these did not return upward in less time;
and, once there, turned back toward us with the others,
like a troop that runs without rein.
"These people pressing toward us are many,
and they come to beg you," said the poet:
45"therefore keep going, and listen as you go."
Commentary
The passage moves from penitential Miserere to astonished oh, then to messenger verification and a rapid return. The translation keeps the song, true flesh, honor, and usefulness sequence intact.
V.22–24 The penitential psalm frames this band before the individual violent-death stories begin.
V.22–24 The penitential psalm frames this band before the individual violent-death stories begin. Line 24: The penitential psalm frames this band before the individual violent-death stories begin.
V.24 The penitential psalm frames this band before the individual violent-death stories begin. The penitential psalm frames this band before the individual violent-death stories begin.
V.34–36 Virgil frames the living pilgrim as useful to the penitents, not as an object of spectacle.
V.34–36 Virgil frames the living pilgrim as useful to the penitents, not as an object of spectacle. Line 36: Virgil frames the living pilgrim as useful to the penitents, not as an object of spectacle.
V.36 Virgil frames the living pilgrim as useful to the penitents, not as an object of spectacle. Virgil frames the living pilgrim as useful to the penitents, not as an object of spectacle.
The souls who died by violence ask Dante to pause, explain final repentance and forgiveness, and receive his promise of help V.46–63
46«O anima che vai per esser lieta
con quelle membra con le quai nascesti»,
venian gridando, «un poco il passo queta.
Guarda s’alcun di noi unqua vedesti,
50sì che di lui di là novella porti:
deh, perché vai? deh, perché non t’arresti?
Noi fummo tutti già per forza morti,
e peccatori infino a l’ultima ora;
quivi lume del ciel ne fece accorti,
55sì che, pentendo e perdonando, fora
di vita uscimmo a Dio pacificati,
che del disio di sé veder n’accora».
E io: «Perché ne’ vostri visi guati,
non riconosco alcun; ma s’a voi piace
60cosa ch’io possa, spiriti ben nati,
voi dite, e io farò per quella pace
che, dietro a’ piedi di sì fatta guida,
di mondo in mondo cercar mi si face».
46"O soul who goes to become glad
with those limbs with which you were born,"
they came crying, "quiet your step a little.
See whether you ever saw any of us,
50so that you may carry news of him over there:
ah, why do you go? ah, why not stop?
We were all once killed by violence,
and sinners until the final hour;
there light from Heaven made us aware,
55so that, repenting and forgiving,
we went out of life at peace with God,
who makes our hearts ache with desire to see Himself."
And I: "Although I gaze into your faces,
I recognize no one; but if there is
60anything I can do that pleases you, spirits born for good,
speak, and I will do it for that peace
which, following the feet of such a guide,
makes me seek it from world to world."
Commentary
The violently killed souls are saved through final repentance, forgiveness, and desire for God; they are not being excused from purgation. The translation keeps repenting and forgiving, the ache to see God, and Dante's offer made for the peace he seeks through the journey.
V.49–51 Di là points back to the living world from the souls' perspective.
V.49–51 Di là points back to the living world from the souls' perspective. Line 50: Di là points back to the living world from the souls' perspective.
V.50 Di là points back to the living world from the souls' perspective. Di là points back to the living world from the souls' perspective.
V.55–57 The souls' late repentance includes forgiving those who killed them. Accora keeps desire as heart-piercing longing for vision, not merely an abstract wish.
V.55–57 The souls' late repentance includes forgiving those who killed them. Line 55: The souls' late repentance includes forgiving those who killed them. Line 57: Accora keeps desire as heart-piercing longing for vision, not merely an abstract wish.
V.55 The souls' late repentance includes forgiving those who killed them. The souls' late repentance includes forgiving those who killed them.
V.57 Accora keeps desire as heart-piercing longing for vision, not merely an abstract wish. Accora keeps desire as heart-piercing longing for vision, not merely an abstract wish.
V.58–60 Ben nati is rendered by destiny toward blessedness rather than social rank.
V.58–60 Ben nati is rendered by destiny toward blessedness rather than social rank. Line 60: Ben nati is rendered by destiny toward blessedness rather than social rank.
V.60 Ben nati is rendered by destiny toward blessedness rather than social rank. Ben nati is rendered by destiny toward blessedness rather than social rank.
V.61–63 The line keeps peace as the object Dante is being made to seek through the journey.
V.61–63 The line keeps peace as the object Dante is being made to seek through the journey. Line 63: The line keeps peace as the object Dante is being made to seek through the journey.
V.63 The line keeps peace as the object Dante is being made to seek through the journey. The line keeps peace as the object Dante is being made to seek through the journey.
Jacopo del Cassero asks for prayers in Fano and narrates his ambush, failed flight, entanglement, and death in blood V.64–84
64E uno incominciò: «Ciascun si fida
65del beneficio tuo sanza giurarlo,
pur che ’l voler nonpossa non ricida.
Ond’ io, che solo innanzi a li altri parlo,
ti priego, se mai vedi quel paese
che siede tra Romagna e quel di Carlo,
70che tu mi sie di tuoi prieghi cortese
in Fano, sì che ben per me s’adori
pur ch’i’ possa purgar le gravi offese.
Quindi fu’ io; ma li profondi fóri
ond’ uscì ’l sangue in sul quale io sedea,
75fatti mi fuoro in grembo a li Antenori,
là dov’ io più sicuro esser credea:
quel da Esti il fé far, che m’avea in ira
assai più là che dritto non volea.
Ma s’io fosse fuggito inver’ la Mira,
80quando fu’ sovragiunto ad Orïaco,
ancor sarei di là dove si spira.
Corsi al palude, e le cannucce e ’l braco
m’impigliar sì ch’i’ caddi; e lì vid’ io
de le mie vene farsi in terra laco».
64And one began: "Each one trusts
65in your benefit without your swearing it,
provided lack of power does not cut off the will.
Therefore I, who alone speak before the others,
pray you, if ever you see that country
that sits between Romagna and Charles's land,
70that you be courteous to me with your prayers
in Fano, so that prayers may be well made for me,
that I may purge the heavy offenses.
I was from there; but the deep holes
from which the blood came forth on which I sat
75were made for me in the lap of the Antenori,
where I thought I was most secure:
he of Este had it done, who held me in anger
far beyond what right could wish.
But if I had fled toward La Mira,
80when I was overtaken at Oriaco,
I would still be yonder where one breathes.
I ran to the marsh, and the reeds and mire
so entangled me that I fell; and there I saw
a lake made on the ground from my veins."
Commentary
Jacopo del Cassero's geography and names are Fano, the March of Ancona between Romagna and Charles's land, the Antenori/Paduan territory, Azzo VIII d'Este, La Mira, and Oriaco. The translation preserves the proper names and avoids explanatory expansion inside the line.
V.64–66 The compact source phrase contrasts will and inability; the translation avoids softening it into a generic promise.
V.64–66 The compact source phrase contrasts will and inability; the translation avoids softening it into a generic promise. Line 66: The compact source phrase contrasts will and inability; the translation avoids softening it into a generic promise.
V.66 The compact source phrase contrasts will and inability; the translation avoids softening it into a generic promise. The compact source phrase contrasts will and inability; the translation avoids softening it into a generic promise.
V.67–69 The country is the March of Ancona, located between Romagna and the Angevin kingdom.
V.67–69 The country is the March of Ancona, located between Romagna and the Angevin kingdom. Line 69: The country is the March of Ancona, located between Romagna and the Angevin kingdom.
V.69 The country is the March of Ancona, located between Romagna and the Angevin kingdom. The country is the March of Ancona, located between Romagna and the Angevin kingdom.
V.73–75 The blood carries the life-seat image; the translation leaves the bodily theology visible. The Antenori are the Paduans, tied by tradition to Antenor.
V.73–75 The blood carries the life-seat image; the translation leaves the bodily theology visible. Line 74: The blood carries the life-seat image; the translation leaves the bodily theology visible. Line 75: The Antenori are the Paduans, tied by tradition to Antenor.
V.74 The blood carries the life-seat image; the translation leaves the bodily theology visible. The blood carries the life-seat image; the translation leaves the bodily theology visible.
V.75 The Antenori are the Paduans, tied by tradition to Antenor. The Antenori are the Paduans, tied by tradition to Antenor.
V.76–78 He of Este is Azzo VIII d'Este; the line keeps Dante's indirect naming. Dritto keeps justice, right, and straightness active in the murder account.
V.76–78 He of Este is Azzo VIII d'Este; the line keeps Dante's indirect naming. Line 77: He of Este is Azzo VIII d'Este; the line keeps Dante's indirect naming. Line 78: Dritto keeps justice, right, and straightness active in the murder account.
V.77 He of Este is Azzo VIII d'Este; the line keeps Dante's indirect naming. He of Este is Azzo VIII d'Este; the line keeps Dante's indirect naming.
V.78 Dritto keeps justice, right, and straightness active in the murder account. Dritto keeps justice, right, and straightness active in the murder account.
V.79–81 Where one breathes names the living world from Purgatory's side.
V.79–81 Where one breathes names the living world from Purgatory's side. Line 81: Where one breathes names the living world from Purgatory's side.
V.81 Where one breathes names the living world from Purgatory's side. Where one breathes names the living world from Purgatory's side.
Buonconte da Montefeltro asks for pity, names his neglect by the living, and recounts his death near the Archiano with Mary's name V.85–102
85Poi disse un altro: «Deh, se quel disio
si compia che ti tragge a l’alto monte,
con buona pïetate aiuta il mio!
Io fui di Montefeltro, io son Bonconte;
Giovanna o altri non ha di me cura;
90per ch’io vo tra costor con bassa fronte».
E io a lui: «Qual forza o qual ventura
ti travïò sì fuor di Campaldino,
che non si seppe mai tua sepultura?».
«Oh!», rispuos’ elli, «a piè del Casentino
95traversa un’acqua c’ha nome l’Archiano,
che sovra l’Ermo nasce in Apennino.
Là ’ve ’l vocabol suo diventa vano,
arriva’ io forato ne la gola,
fuggendo a piede e sanguinando il piano.
100Quivi perdei la vista e la parola;
nel nome di Maria fini’, e quivi
caddi, e rimase la mia carne sola.
85Then another said: "Ah, so may that desire
be fulfilled which draws you to the high mountain,
as you help my own with good pity!
I was of Montefeltro; I am Bonconte;
Giovanna or another has no care for me;
90and so I go among these with lowered brow."
And I to him: "What force or what chance
carried you so far astray from Campaldino
that your burial was never known?"
"Oh!" he replied, "at the foot of Casentino
95there crosses a stream named the Archiano,
which rises above the Hermitage in the Apennine.
Where its name becomes empty,
I arrived, pierced in the throat,
fleeing on foot and bleeding the plain.
100There I lost my sight and speech;
in the name of Mary I ended, and there
I fell, and my flesh remained alone.
Commentary
Buonconte's request balances pity, neglect by the living, and the final Marian turn. The translation keeps I was of Montefeltro; I am Bonconte, the lowered brow, the unknown burial, and the loss of sight and speech ending in Mary's name.
V.85–87 The implied object is Buonconte's desire for purgative help; pïetate is kept as ethically good pity.
V.85–87 The implied object is Buonconte's desire for purgative help; pïetate is kept as ethically good pity. Line 87: The implied object is Buonconte's desire for purgative help; pïetate is kept as ethically good pity.
V.87 The implied object is Buonconte's desire for purgative help; pïetate is kept as ethically good pity. The implied object is Buonconte's desire for purgative help; pïetate is kept as ethically good pity.
V.88–90 The line distinguishes earthly family origin from the soul's named present identity.
V.88–90 The line distinguishes earthly family origin from the soul's named present identity. Line 88: The line distinguishes earthly family origin from the soul's named present identity.
V.88 The line distinguishes earthly family origin from the soul's named present identity. The line distinguishes earthly family origin from the soul's named present identity.
V.94–96 The Hermitage is the Camaldoli area in the Apennines.
V.94–96 The Hermitage is the Camaldoli area in the Apennines. Line 96: The Hermitage is the Camaldoli area in the Apennines.
V.96 The Hermitage is the Camaldoli area in the Apennines. The Hermitage is the Camaldoli area in the Apennines.
V.97–99 The Archiano's name becomes void where it meets the Arno.
V.97–99 The Archiano's name becomes void where it meets the Arno. Line 97: The Archiano's name becomes void where it meets the Arno.
V.97 The Archiano's name becomes void where it meets the Arno. The Archiano's name becomes void where it meets the Arno.
V.100–102 Mary's name marks the last movement of speech and repentance before bodily death.
V.100–102 Mary's name marks the last movement of speech and repentance before bodily death. Line 101: Mary's name marks the last movement of speech and repentance before bodily death.
V.101 Mary's name marks the last movement of speech and repentance before bodily death. Mary's name marks the last movement of speech and repentance before bodily death.
Buonconte tells the truth of the angel's rescue, the demon's storm, and the flood that swept away his body and cross V.103–129
103Io dirò vero, e tu ’l ridì tra ’ vivi:
l’angel di Dio mi prese, e quel d’inferno
105gridava: “O tu del ciel, perché mi privi?
Tu te ne porti di costui l’etterno
per una lagrimetta che ’l mi toglie;
ma io farò de l’altro altro governo!”.
Ben sai come ne l’aere si raccoglie
110quell’ umido vapor che in acqua riede,
tosto che sale dove ’l freddo il coglie.
Giunse quel mal voler che pur mal chiede
con lo ’ntelletto, e mosse il fummo e ’l vento
per la virtù che sua natura diede.
115Indi la valle, come ’l dì fu spento,
da Pratomagno al gran giogo coperse
di nebbia; e ’l ciel di sopra fece intento,
sì che ’l pregno aere in acqua si converse;
la pioggia cadde, e a’ fossati venne
120di lei ciò che la terra non sofferse;
e come ai rivi grandi si convenne,
ver’ lo fiume real tanto veloce
si ruinò, che nulla la ritenne.
Lo corpo mio gelato in su la foce
125trovò l’Archian rubesto; e quel sospinse
ne l’Arno, e sciolse al mio petto la croce
ch’i’ fe’ di me quando ’l dolor mi vinse;
voltòmmi per le ripe e per lo fondo,
poi di sua preda mi coperse e cinse».
103I will tell the truth, and you retell it among the living:
the angel of God took me, and the one from Hell
105cried: 'O you from Heaven, why do you rob me?
You carry away this man's eternal part
for one little tear that takes him from me;
but I will make another rule for the other!'
You know well how in the air is gathered
110that moist vapor which returns as water
as soon as it rises where cold seizes it.
He joined that evil will, which seeks only evil,
with intellect, and moved the mist and wind
by the power its nature gave.
115Then the valley, when the day was spent,
from Pratomagno to the great ridge he covered
with fog, and made the sky above grow dense,
so that the pregnant air was turned to water;
the rain fell, and to the ditches came
120whatever of it the earth did not endure;
and, as it gathered into the great streams,
toward the royal river so swiftly
it plunged, so that nothing held it back.
My frozen body at its mouth
125the swollen Archiano found, and drove it
into the Arno, and loosened at my breast the cross
that I made of myself when pain overcame me;
it rolled me along the banks and along the bottom,
then covered and girded me with its prey."
Commentary
The angel/demon dispute reads as a soul/body division: the angel takes the eternal part because of one little tear, while the demon can only govern weather and corpse. The storm passage keeps demonic intellect under evil will and the Archiano/Arno flood sequence physically legible.
V.103–105 The angel/demon dispute recalls Guido da Montefeltro while reversing the outcome through a last tear.
V.103–105 The angel/demon dispute recalls Guido da Montefeltro while reversing the outcome through a last tear. Line 105: The angel/demon dispute recalls Guido da Montefeltro while reversing the outcome through a last tear.
V.105 The angel/demon dispute recalls Guido da Montefeltro while reversing the outcome through a last tear. The angel/demon dispute recalls Guido da Montefeltro while reversing the outcome through a last tear.
V.106–108 The diminutive lagrimetta carries the disproportion between final contrition and demonic claim. The other is the body left after the soul is taken; the demon can only govern the corpse and weather.
V.106–108 The diminutive lagrimetta carries the disproportion between final contrition and demonic claim. Line 107: The diminutive lagrimetta carries the disproportion between final contrition and demonic claim. Line 108: The other is the body left after the soul is taken; the demon can only govern the corpse and weather.
V.107 The diminutive lagrimetta carries the disproportion between final contrition and demonic claim. The diminutive lagrimetta carries the disproportion between final contrition and demonic claim.
V.108 The other is the body left after the soul is taken; the demon can only govern the corpse and weather. The other is the body left after the soul is taken; the demon can only govern the corpse and weather.
V.112–114 Demonic intellect is active but wholly ordered by evil will.
V.112–114 Demonic intellect is active but wholly ordered by evil will. Line 113: Demonic intellect is active but wholly ordered by evil will.
V.113 Demonic intellect is active but wholly ordered by evil will. Demonic intellect is active but wholly ordered by evil will.
V.115–117 Intento is treated as density or concentration in the storm-making sequence.
V.115–117 Intento is treated as density or concentration in the storm-making sequence. Line 117: Intento is treated as density or concentration in the storm-making sequence.
V.117 Intento is treated as density or concentration in the storm-making sequence. Intento is treated as density or concentration in the storm-making sequence.
V.121–123 The royal river is the Arno. Si ruinò keeps the downward rush of floodwater; the earlier infernal ruina field stays in the background.
V.121–123 The royal river is the Arno. Line 122: The royal river is the Arno. Line 123: Si ruinò keeps the downward rush of floodwater; the earlier infernal ruina field stays in the background.
V.122 The royal river is the Arno. The royal river is the Arno.
V.123 Si ruinò keeps the downward rush of floodwater; the earlier infernal ruina field stays in the background. Si ruinò keeps the downward rush of floodwater; the earlier infernal ruina field stays in the background.
V.124–126 Rubesto is rendered as swollen in the flood context.
V.124–126 Rubesto is rendered as swollen in the flood context. Line 125: Rubesto is rendered as swollen in the flood context.
V.125 Rubesto is rendered as swollen in the flood context. Rubesto is rendered as swollen in the flood context.
V.127–129 The cross is Buonconte's last bodily gesture, likely made with his arms across his chest. The river treats the body as captured prey after the demon loses the soul.
V.127–129 The cross is Buonconte's last bodily gesture, likely made with his arms across his chest. Line 127: The cross is Buonconte's last bodily gesture, likely made with his arms across his chest. Line 129: The river treats the body as captured prey after the demon loses the soul.
V.127 The cross is Buonconte's last bodily gesture, likely made with his arms across his chest. The cross is Buonconte's last bodily gesture, likely made with his arms across his chest.
V.129 The river treats the body as captured prey after the demon loses the soul. The river treats the body as captured prey after the demon loses the soul.
Pia compresses her whole history into a request for memory, Siena, Maremma, and the husband who knows her death V.130–136
130«Deh, quando tu sarai tornato al mondo
e riposato de la lunga via»,
seguitò ’l terzo spirito al secondo,
«ricorditi di me, che son la Pia;
Siena mi fé, disfecemi Maremma:
135salsi colui che ’nnanellata pria
disposando m’avea con la sua gemma».
130"Ah, when you have returned to the world
and rested from the long way,"
the third spirit followed after the second,
"remember me, for I am Pia;
Siena made me, Maremma unmade me:
135he knows it, who, having first ringed me,
had wedded me with his gem."
Commentary
Pia's compressed ending stays restrained. The historical identity of Pia de' Tolomei and the final husband/ring line remain uncertain; the translation preserves the making/unmaking antithesis and does not over-identify the murder in the line.
V.130–132 Pia's gentleness lets Dante rest before asking remembrance, unlike the crowd pressing him.
V.130–132 Pia's gentleness lets Dante rest before asking remembrance, unlike the crowd pressing him. Line 131: Pia's gentleness lets Dante rest before asking remembrance, unlike the crowd pressing him.
V.131 Pia's gentleness lets Dante rest before asking remembrance, unlike the crowd pressing him. Pia's gentleness lets Dante rest before asking remembrance, unlike the crowd pressing him.
V.133–135 The article in la Pia is retained as name and local identity without forcing the disputed historical identification into the line. The balanced making/unmaking is kept compressed to preserve Pia's stark self-naming. T.
V.133–135 The article in la Pia is retained as name and local identity without forcing the disputed historical identification into the line. Line 133: The article in la Pia is retained as name and local identity without forcing the disputed historical identification into the line. Line 134: The balanced making/unmaking is kept compressed to preserve Pia's stark self-naming. Line 135: The husband is left unnamed; the line preserves Pia's restraint and the obscurity of the murder tradition.
V.133 The article in la Pia is retained as name and local identity without forcing the disputed historical identification into the line. The article in la Pia is retained as name and local identity without forcing the disputed historical identification into the line.
V.134 The balanced making/unmaking is kept compressed to preserve Pia's stark self-naming. The balanced making/unmaking is kept compressed to preserve Pia's stark self-naming.
V.135 The husband is left unnamed; the line preserves Pia's restraint and the obscurity of the murder tradition. The husband is left unnamed; the line preserves Pia's restraint and the obscurity of the murder tradition.
V.136 The gem/ring closes the canto on marriage as witness to the hidden violence. The gem/ring closes the canto on marriage as witness to the hidden violence.