Purgatorio, Canto 7
Dante Alighieri · Italian original · new English translation and commentary by Text Atlas
Overview
After the joyful Mantuan embrace, Sordello draws back and asks who the travelers are. Virgil names himself, explains that lack of faith, not an active crime, kept him from Heaven, and describes Limbo's darkness, sighs, innocent children, and virtuous pagans. He asks for the quickest way to Purgatory's true beginning. Sordello explains that no fixed station binds him, but ascent is impossible after sunset because night tangles the will with inability. He leads the poets instead to a hollowed valley where color and fragrance surpass precious materials, and where noble negligent rulers sing Salve Regina. From the ledge, Sordello identifies Rudolf, Ottokar, Philip and Henry, Peter of Aragon, Charles of Anjou, Henry of England, and Guiglielmo of Montferrat, turning dynastic memory into a lesson about neglected duty, non-inherited virtue, and providential dependence.
Narrative arc
- Sordello draws back from the repeated embrace, Virgil reveals himself, and Sordello responds with reverent astonishment and praise
- Virgil explains his passage through Hell, his loss of Heaven through lack of faith, Limbo's sighing darkness, and his request for the true beginning of Purgatory
- Sordello offers guidance but explains the rule of night: no external force blocks ascent, but darkness tangles the will with inability
- Virgil accepts the delay with wonder, and Sordello leads the poets toward a hollowed valley where they will await the new day
- The valley's herbs, flowers, colors, and mingled fragrances surpass gold, silver, scarlet, white, indigo, clear wood, and fresh emerald
- Souls hidden within the valley sing Salve Regina, and Sordello keeps the poets on the ledge so the rulers' acts and faces can be read
- Sordello identifies Rudolf, Ottokar, Wenceslaus, Philip, Henry, and the dynastic grief caused by France's corrupt heir
- The catalogue turns to Peter, Charles, their heirs, the rarity of inherited virtue, Henry of England, and Guiglielmo of Montferrat
Central themes
- negligence
Sordello draws back from the repeated embrace, Virgil reveals himself, and Sordello responds with reverent astonishment and praise VII.1–21
1Poscia che l’accoglienze oneste e liete
furo iterate tre e quattro volte,
Sordel si trasse, e disse: «Voi, chi siete?».
«Anzi che a questo monte fosser volte
5l’anime degne di salire a Dio,
fur l’ossa mie per Ottavian sepolte.
Io son Virgilio; e per null’ altro rio
lo ciel perdei che per non aver fé».
Così rispuose allora il duca mio.
10Qual è colui che cosa innanzi sé
sùbita vede ond’ e’ si maraviglia,
che crede e non, dicendo «Ella è . . . non è . . . »,
tal parve quelli; e poi chinò le ciglia,
e umilmente ritornò ver’ lui,
15e abbracciòl là ’ve ’l minor s’appiglia.
«O gloria di Latin», disse, «per cui
mostrò ciò che potea la lingua nostra,
o pregio etterno del loco ond’ io fui,
qual merito o qual grazia mi ti mostra?
20S’io son d’udir le tue parole degno,
dimmi se vien d’inferno, e di qual chiostra».
1After the honorable and joyful greetings
had been repeated three and four times,
Sordello drew back and said, "You, who are you?"
"Before toward this mountain were turned
5the souls worthy to ascend to God,
my bones were buried by Octavian.
I am Virgil; and for no other wrong
did I lose Heaven than for not having faith."
So then my guide replied.
10As one who suddenly sees before himself
a thing at which he marvels,
and believes and does not, saying, "It is . . . it is not . . . ,"
so that shade appeared; and then he lowered his eyes,
and humbly turned back toward him,
15and embraced him where the lesser clasps.
"O glory of the Latins," he said, "through whom
our language showed what it could do,
O eternal honor of the place from which I came,
what merit or what grace shows you to me?
20If I am worthy to hear your words,
tell me whether you come from Hell, and from what cloister."
Commentary
The scene moves from repeated courteous greeting to Sordello's astonished humility before Virgil. The translation keeps the formal reverence, language-pride, merit/grace question, and chiostra enclosure.
VII.4–6 Virgil locates his earthly death before Purgatory's present post-Harrowing traffic of souls.
VII.4–6 Virgil locates his earthly death before Purgatory's present post-Harrowing traffic of souls. Line 6: Virgil locates his earthly death before Purgatory's present post-Harrowing traffic of souls.
VII.6 Virgil locates his earthly death before Purgatory's present post-Harrowing traffic of souls. Virgil locates his earthly death before Purgatory's present post-Harrowing traffic of souls.
VII.7–9 Fé is kept as faith, preserving Limbo's theological boundary rather than turning Virgil's condition into generic ignorance.
VII.7–9 Fé is kept as faith, preserving Limbo's theological boundary rather than turning Virgil's condition into generic ignorance. Line 8: Fé is kept as faith, preserving Limbo's theological boundary rather than turning Virgil's condition into generic ignorance.
VII.8 Fé is kept as faith, preserving Limbo's theological boundary rather than turning Virgil's condition into generic ignorance. Fé is kept as faith, preserving Limbo's theological boundary rather than turning Virgil's condition into generic ignorance.
VII.13–15 The social gesture marks Sordello's reverence for Virgil without over-explaining the bodily position in the line.
VII.13–15 The social gesture marks Sordello's reverence for Virgil without over-explaining the bodily position in the line. Line 15: The social gesture marks Sordello's reverence for Virgil without over-explaining the bodily position in the line.
VII.15 The social gesture marks Sordello's reverence for Virgil without over-explaining the bodily position in the line. The social gesture marks Sordello's reverence for Virgil without over-explaining the bodily position in the line.
VII.19–21 The pairing of merit and grace keeps Sordello's wonder inside Purgatorio's economy of earned disposition and received gift. Chiostra is kept as cloister to preserve the enclosed-region image that will be answered by L.
VII.19–21 The pairing of merit and grace keeps Sordello's wonder inside Purgatorio's economy of earned disposition and received gift. Line 19: The pairing of merit and grace keeps Sordello's wonder inside Purgatorio's economy of earned disposition and received gift. Line 21: Chiostra is kept as cloister to preserve the enclosed-region image that will be answered by Limbo.
VII.19 The pairing of merit and grace keeps Sordello's wonder inside Purgatorio's economy of earned disposition and received gift. The pairing of merit and grace keeps Sordello's wonder inside Purgatorio's economy of earned disposition and received gift.
VII.21 Chiostra is kept as cloister to preserve the enclosed-region image that will be answered by Limbo. Chiostra is kept as cloister to preserve the enclosed-region image that will be answered by Limbo.
Virgil explains his passage through Hell, his loss of Heaven through lack of faith, Limbo's sighing darkness, and his request for the true beginning of Purgatory VII.22–39
22«Per tutt’ i cerchi del dolente regno»,
rispuose lui, «son io di qua venuto;
virtù del ciel mi mosse, e con lei vegno.
25Non per far, ma per non fare ho perduto
a veder l’alto Sol che tu disiri
e che fu tardi per me conosciuto.
Luogo è là giù non tristo di martìri,
ma di tenebre solo, ove i lamenti
30non suonan come guai, ma son sospiri.
Quivi sto io coi pargoli innocenti
dai denti morsi de la morte avante
che fosser da l’umana colpa essenti;
quivi sto io con quei che le tre sante
35virtù non si vestiro, e sanza vizio
conobber l’altre e seguir tutte quante.
Ma se tu sai e puoi, alcuno indizio
dà noi per che venir possiam più tosto
là dove purgatorio ha dritto inizio».
22"Through all the circles of the sorrowful kingdom,"
he replied, "I have come here from that side;
Power from Heaven moved me, and with that I come.
25Not for doing, but for not doing, I have lost
the sight of the high Sun whom you desire,
and who was known by me too late.
There is a place down there not sorrowful with torments,
but only with darkness, where the laments
30do not sound as wails, but are sighs.
There I stay with the innocent little children
bitten by the teeth of death before
they were exempt from human guilt;
there I stay with those who did not put on
35the three holy virtues, and without vice
knew the others and followed all of them.
But if you know and can, give us
some sign by which we may come more quickly
where Purgatory has its right beginning."
Commentary
The passage presses Virgil's omission formula, the high Sun as desired beatific vision, Limbo's darkness and sighs, innocent children, and virtuous pagans without theological virtues. The translation follows the Italian's compressed doctrine and records the harder baptism and virtue details in line notes.
VII.22–24 Virtù here is received heavenly power rather than Virgil's autonomous virtue.
VII.22–24 Virtù here is received heavenly power rather than Virgil's autonomous virtue. Line 24: Virtù here is received heavenly power rather than Virgil's autonomous virtue.
VII.24 Virtù here is received heavenly power rather than Virgil's autonomous virtue. Virtù here is received heavenly power rather than Virgil's autonomous virtue.
VII.25–27 The omission formula is kept direct: Virgil's lack is not an active infernal crime. The capitalized Sun preserves the theological pressure of the beatific vision.
VII.25–27 The omission formula is kept direct: Virgil's lack is not an active infernal crime. Line 25: The omission formula is kept direct: Virgil's lack is not an active infernal crime. Line 26: The capitalized Sun preserves the theological pressure of the beatific vision.
VII.25 The omission formula is kept direct: Virgil's lack is not an active infernal crime. The omission formula is kept direct: Virgil's lack is not an active infernal crime.
VII.26 The capitalized Sun preserves the theological pressure of the beatific vision. The capitalized Sun preserves the theological pressure of the beatific vision.
VII.28–30 The line recalls Inferno IV's Limbo soundscape: sorrow without physical torment.
VII.28–30 The line recalls Inferno IV's Limbo soundscape: sorrow without physical torment. Line 30: The line recalls Inferno IV's Limbo soundscape: sorrow without physical torment.
VII.30 The line recalls Inferno IV's Limbo soundscape: sorrow without physical torment. The line recalls Inferno IV's Limbo soundscape: sorrow without physical torment.
VII.31–33 The translation keeps the hard baptism/original-sin frame visible rather than softening it.
VII.31–33 The translation keeps the hard baptism/original-sin frame visible rather than softening it. Line 33: The translation keeps the hard baptism/original-sin frame visible rather than softening it.
VII.33 The translation keeps the hard baptism/original-sin frame visible rather than softening it. The translation keeps the hard baptism/original-sin frame visible rather than softening it.
VII.34–36 The three holy virtues are the theological virtues: faith, hope, and charity. The others are the cardinal virtues; the line preserves the contrast.
VII.34–36 The three holy virtues are the theological virtues: faith, hope, and charity. Line 35: The three holy virtues are the theological virtues: faith, hope, and charity. Line 36: The others are the cardinal virtues; the line preserves the contrast.
VII.35 The three holy virtues are the theological virtues: faith, hope, and charity. The three holy virtues are the theological virtues: faith, hope, and charity.
VII.36 The others are the cardinal virtues; the line preserves the contrast. The others are the cardinal virtues; the line preserves the contrast.
VII.37–39 Dritto remains right, preserving both proper order and directional ascent.
VII.37–39 Dritto remains right, preserving both proper order and directional ascent. Line 39: Dritto remains right, preserving both proper order and directional ascent.
VII.39 Dritto remains right, preserving both proper order and directional ascent. Dritto remains right, preserving both proper order and directional ascent.
Sordello offers guidance but explains the rule of night: no external force blocks ascent, but darkness tangles the will with inability VII.40–60
40Rispuose: «Loco certo non c’è posto;
licito m’è andar suso e intorno;
per quanto ir posso, a guida mi t’accosto.
Ma vedi già come dichina il giorno,
e andar sù di notte non si puote;
45però è buon pensar di bel soggiorno.
Anime sono a destra qua remote;
se mi consenti, io ti merrò ad esse,
e non sanza diletto ti fier note».
«Com’ è ciò?», fu risposto. «Chi volesse
50salir di notte, fora elli impedito
d’altrui, o non sarria ché non potesse?».
E ’l buon Sordello in terra fregò ’l dito,
dicendo: «Vedi? sola questa riga
non varcheresti dopo ’l sol partito:
55non però ch’altra cosa desse briga,
che la notturna tenebra, ad ir suso;
quella col nonpoder la voglia intriga.
Ben si poria con lei tornare in giuso
e passeggiar la costa intorno errando,
60mentre che l’orizzonte il dì tien chiuso».
40He replied: "No fixed place is set for us;
it is permitted me to go upward and around;
as far as I can go, I join myself to you as guide.
But see already how the day declines,
and to go up by night is not possible;
45therefore it is good to think of a fair sojourn.
There are souls here withdrawn to the right;
if you consent, I will lead you to them,
and not without delight will they become known to you."
"How is that?" was answered. "One who wished
50to climb by night, would he be hindered
by another, or would it be that he could not?"
And good Sordello drew his finger on the ground,
saying: "Do you see? This single line
you would not cross after the sun has gone:
55not because any other thing would give trouble,
except night darkness, for going upward;
that tangles the will with inability.
With it one could indeed turn back downward
and walk the hillside around, wandering,
60while the horizon holds the day shut in."
Commentary
In the night-ascent exchange, external prohibition differs from inward inability: night itself tangles the will with lack of power, while descent or horizontal wandering remains possible. The translation keeps that distinction.
VII.40–42 Sordello's guidance is real but limited by the same purgatorial order.
VII.40–42 Sordello's guidance is real but limited by the same purgatorial order. Line 42: Sordello's guidance is real but limited by the same purgatorial order.
VII.42 Sordello's guidance is real but limited by the same purgatorial order. Sordello's guidance is real but limited by the same purgatorial order.
VII.43–45 The night-ascent rule turns light and will into practical purgatorial discipline.
VII.43–45 The night-ascent rule turns light and will into practical purgatorial discipline. Line 44: The night-ascent rule turns light and will into practical purgatorial discipline.
VII.44 The night-ascent rule turns light and will into practical purgatorial discipline. The night-ascent rule turns light and will into practical purgatorial discipline.
VII.49–51 Virgil distinguishes external prohibition from inward incapacity, setting up Sordello's answer.
VII.49–51 Virgil distinguishes external prohibition from inward incapacity, setting up Sordello's answer. Line 51: Virgil distinguishes external prohibition from inward incapacity, setting up Sordello's answer.
VII.51 Virgil distinguishes external prohibition from inward incapacity, setting up Sordello's answer. Virgil distinguishes external prohibition from inward incapacity, setting up Sordello's answer.
VII.55–57 Voglia and nonpoder are kept concrete: the rule concerns the will caught by lack of power, not a guard's refusal.
VII.55–57 Voglia and nonpoder are kept concrete: the rule concerns the will caught by lack of power, not a guard's refusal. Line 57: Voglia and nonpoder are kept concrete: the rule concerns the will caught by lack of power, not a guard's refusal.
VII.57 Voglia and nonpoder are kept concrete: the rule concerns the will caught by lack of power, not a guard's refusal. Voglia and nonpoder are kept concrete: the rule concerns the will caught by lack of power, not a guard's refusal.
Virgil accepts the delay with wonder, and Sordello leads the poets toward a hollowed valley where they will await the new day VII.61–72
61Allora il mio segnor, quasi ammirando,
«Menane», disse, «dunque là ’ve dici
ch’aver si può diletto dimorando».
Poco allungati c’eravam di lici,
65quand’ io m’accorsi che ’l monte era scemo,
a guisa che i vallon li sceman quici.
«Colà», disse quell’ ombra, «n’anderemo
dove la costa face di sé grembo;
e là il novo giorno attenderemo».
70Tra erto e piano era un sentiero schembo,
che ne condusse in fianco de la lacca,
là dove più ch’a mezzo muore il lembo.
61Then my lord, almost marveling,
said, "Lead us, then, where you say
that one can have delight while staying."
We had gone only a little way from there,
65when I perceived that the mountain was hollowed,
as valleys here hollow out the hills.
"There," that shade said, "we shall go,
where the hillside makes a lap of itself;
and there we shall await the new day."
70Between steep and level was a slanting path,
which led us into the side of the hollow,
where the rim dies down by more than half.
Commentary
This passage covers virgil accepts the delay with wonder, and Sordello leads the poets toward a hollowed valley where they will await the new day.
VII.64–66 The earth-side comparison anchors the purgatorial landscape in familiar terrain.
VII.64–66 The earth-side comparison anchors the purgatorial landscape in familiar terrain. Line 66: The earth-side comparison anchors the purgatorial landscape in familiar terrain.
VII.66 The earth-side comparison anchors the purgatorial landscape in familiar terrain. The earth-side comparison anchors the purgatorial landscape in familiar terrain.
VII.67–69 Grembo is rendered as lap to keep the sheltered, receiving shape of the valley.
VII.67–69 Grembo is rendered as lap to keep the sheltered, receiving shape of the valley. Line 68: Grembo is rendered as lap to keep the sheltered, receiving shape of the valley.
VII.68 Grembo is rendered as lap to keep the sheltered, receiving shape of the valley. Grembo is rendered as lap to keep the sheltered, receiving shape of the valley.
The valley's herbs, flowers, colors, and mingled fragrances surpass gold, silver, scarlet, white, indigo, clear wood, and fresh emerald VII.73–81
73Oro e argento fine, cocco e biacca,
indaco, legno lucido e sereno,
75fresco smeraldo in l’ora che si fiacca,
da l’erba e da li fior, dentr’ a quel seno
posti, ciascun saria di color vinto,
come dal suo maggiore è vinto il meno.
Non avea pur natura ivi dipinto,
80ma di soavità di mille odori
vi facea uno incognito e indistinto.
73Gold and fine silver, scarlet and white lead,
indigo, clear and lustrous wood,
75fresh emerald at the moment it is cleft,
by the grass and by the flowers, set
inside that hollow, each would be beaten in color,
as the lesser is beaten by its greater.
Nor had nature only painted there,
80but from the sweetness of a thousand odors
made there one fragrance unknown and blended.
Commentary
This passage covers the valley's herbs, flowers, colors, and mingled fragrances surpass gold, silver, scarlet, white, indigo, clear wood, and fresh emerald.
VII.73–75 Cocco and biacca are kept as concrete pigment/color terms rather than generalized into bright colors. Translations vary around legno; the translation keeps the material-color pressure compact.
VII.73–75 Cocco and biacca are kept as concrete pigment/color terms rather than generalized into bright colors. Line 73: Cocco and biacca are kept as concrete pigment/color terms rather than generalized into bright colors. Line 74: Translations vary around legno; the translation keeps the material-color pressure compact.
VII.73 Cocco and biacca are kept as concrete pigment/color terms rather than generalized into bright colors. Cocco and biacca are kept as concrete pigment/color terms rather than generalized into bright colors.
VII.74 Translations vary around legno; the translation keeps the material-color pressure compact. Translations vary around legno; the translation keeps the material-color pressure compact.
Souls hidden within the valley sing Salve Regina, and Sordello keeps the poets on the ledge so the rulers' acts and faces can be read VII.82–90
82‘Salve, Regina’ in sul verde e ’n su’ fiori
quindi seder cantando anime vidi,
che per la valle non parean di fuori.
85«Prima che ’l poco sole omai s’annidi»,
cominciò ’l Mantoan che ci avea vòlti,
«tra color non vogliate ch’io vi guidi.
Di questo balzo meglio li atti e ’ volti
conoscerete voi di tutti quanti,
90che ne la lama giù tra essi accolti.
82"Salve, Regina," on the green and on the flowers,
I then saw souls sitting and singing,
who because of the valley were not seen from outside.
85"Before the scant sun now settles in its nest,"
began the Mantuan who had turned us there,
"do not wish me to guide you among them.
From this ledge you will better discern
the actions and faces of them all
90than down in the basin, gathered among them.
Commentary
Salve Regina is the evening Marian antiphon and the valley is a hidden, lower field best read from above. The translation keeps the song in Latin and treats Sordello's ledge as an interpretive vantage for faces, actions, and moral posture.
VII.82–84 The Marian antiphon is retained in Latin; it is an evening song and sets up the valley's posture of hope and exile.
VII.82–84 The Marian antiphon is retained in Latin; it is an evening song and sets up the valley's posture of hope and exile. Line 82: The Marian antiphon is retained in Latin; it is an evening song and sets up the valley's posture of hope and exile.
VII.82 The Marian antiphon is retained in Latin; it is an evening song and sets up the valley's posture of hope and exile. The Marian antiphon is retained in Latin; it is an evening song and sets up the valley's posture of hope and exile.
VII.88–90 Sordello makes the ledge an interpretive vantage point: Dante reads posture, face, and song before joining the group.
VII.88–90 Sordello makes the ledge an interpretive vantage point: Dante reads posture, face, and song before joining the group. Line 90: Sordello makes the ledge an interpretive vantage point: Dante reads posture, face, and song before joining the group.
VII.90 Sordello makes the ledge an interpretive vantage point: Dante reads posture, face, and song before joining the group. Sordello makes the ledge an interpretive vantage point: Dante reads posture, face, and song before joining the group.
Sordello identifies Rudolf, Ottokar, Wenceslaus, Philip, Henry, and the dynastic grief caused by France's corrupt heir VII.91–111
91Colui che più siede alto e fa sembianti
d’aver negletto ciò che far dovea,
e che non move bocca a li altrui canti,
Rodolfo imperador fu, che potea
95sanar le piaghe c’hanno Italia morta,
sì che tardi per altri si ricrea.
L’altro che ne la vista lui conforta,
resse la terra dove l’acqua nasce
che Molta in Albia, e Albia in mar ne porta:
100Ottacchero ebbe nome, e ne le fasce
fu meglio assai che Vincislao suo figlio
barbuto, cui lussuria e ozio pasce.
E quel nasetto che stretto a consiglio
par con colui c’ha sì benigno aspetto,
105morì fuggendo e disfiorando il giglio:
guardate là come si batte il petto!
L’altro vedete c’ha fatto a la guancia
de la sua palma, sospirando, letto.
Padre e suocero son del mal di Francia:
110sanno la vita sua viziata e lorda,
e quindi viene il duol che sì li lancia.
91The one who sits highest and bears the look
of having neglected what he ought to have done,
and who does not move his mouth to the others' songs,
was Rudolf the emperor, who could have
95healed the wounds that have killed Italy,
so that slowly by another she revives.
The other, who comforts him in his look,
ruled the land where the water rises
that Moldau bears to Elbe, and Elbe bears to the sea:
100Ottokar was his name, and in swaddling bands
he was far better than Wenceslaus his son,
bearded, whom lust and idleness feed.
And that small-nosed one who, close in counsel,
seems with the one who has so kindly an aspect,
105died fleeing and deflowering the lily:
look there, how he beats his breast!
See the other, who has made for his cheek
a bed of his palm, sighing.
They are father and father-in-law of France's evil:
110they know his life, vicious and filthy,
and from this comes the grief that pierces them so.
Commentary
The passage names Rudolf, Ottokar, Wenceslaus, Philip III, Henry of Navarre, and Philip IV as France's evil. The translation keeps Dante's compressed dynastic indictment rather than inserting full biographies into the translated line.
VII.91–93 Negligence now shifts from delayed personal repentance to public office and imperial responsibility.
VII.91–93 Negligence now shifts from delayed personal repentance to public office and imperial responsibility. Line 92: Negligence now shifts from delayed personal repentance to public office and imperial responsibility.
VII.92 Negligence now shifts from delayed personal repentance to public office and imperial responsibility. Negligence now shifts from delayed personal repentance to public office and imperial responsibility.
VII.94–96 Rudolf's failure answers the previous canto's empty imperial saddle.
VII.94–96 Rudolf's failure answers the previous canto's empty imperial saddle. Line 94: Rudolf's failure answers the previous canto's empty imperial saddle.
VII.94 Rudolf's failure answers the previous canto's empty imperial saddle. Rudolf's failure answers the previous canto's empty imperial saddle.
VII.97–99 Molta and Albia are rendered by their conventional English river names, Moldau and Elbe.
VII.97–99 Molta and Albia are rendered by their conventional English river names, Moldau and Elbe. Line 99: Molta and Albia are rendered by their conventional English river names, Moldau and Elbe.
VII.99 Molta and Albia are rendered by their conventional English river names, Moldau and Elbe. Molta and Albia are rendered by their conventional English river names, Moldau and Elbe.
VII.100–102 The contrast makes moral worth non-hereditary even within royal succession.
VII.100–102 The contrast makes moral worth non-hereditary even within royal succession. Line 102: The contrast makes moral worth non-hereditary even within royal succession.
VII.102 The contrast makes moral worth non-hereditary even within royal succession. The contrast makes moral worth non-hereditary even within royal succession.
VII.103–105 The small-nosed king is Philip III of France in the usual historical identification. The lily carries French royal imagery; the line remains compressed rather than explaining the campaign.
VII.103–105 The small-nosed king is Philip III of France in the usual historical identification. Line 103: The small-nosed king is Philip III of France in the usual historical identification. Line 105: The lily carries French royal imagery; the line remains compressed rather than explaining the campaign.
VII.103 The small-nosed king is Philip III of France in the usual historical identification. The small-nosed king is Philip III of France in the usual historical identification.
VII.105 The lily carries French royal imagery; the line remains compressed rather than explaining the campaign. The lily carries French royal imagery; the line remains compressed rather than explaining the campaign.
VII.109–111 The phrase points to Philip IV through his father and father-in-law; the translation keeps Dante's sharp mal rather than a neutral dynastic label.
VII.109–111 The phrase points to Philip IV through his father and father-in-law; the translation keeps Dante's sharp mal rather than a neutral dynastic label. Line 109: The phrase points to Philip IV through his father and father-in-law; the translation keeps Dante's sharp mal rather than a neutral dynastic label.
VII.109 The phrase points to Philip IV through his father and father-in-law; the translation keeps Dante's sharp mal rather than a neutral dynastic label. The phrase points to Philip IV through his father and father-in-law; the translation keeps Dante's sharp mal rather than a neutral dynastic label.
The catalogue turns to Peter, Charles, their heirs, the rarity of inherited virtue, Henry of England, and Guiglielmo of Montferrat VII.112–136
112Quel che par sì membruto e che s’accorda,
cantando, con colui dal maschio naso,
d’ogne valor portò cinta la corda;
115e se re dopo lui fosse rimaso
lo giovanetto che retro a lui siede,
ben andava il valor di vaso in vaso,
che non si puote dir de l’altre rede;
Iacomo e Federigo hanno i reami;
120del retaggio miglior nessun possiede.
Rade volte risurge per li rami
l’umana probitate; e questo vole
quei che la dà, perché da lui si chiami.
Anche al nasuto vanno mie parole
125non men ch’a l’altro, Pier, che con lui canta,
onde Puglia e Proenza già si dole.
Tant’ è del seme suo minor la pianta,
quanto, più che Beatrice e Margherita,
Costanza di marito ancor si vanta.
130Vedete il re de la semplice vita
seder là solo, Arrigo d’Inghilterra:
questi ha ne’ rami suoi migliore uscita.
Quel che più basso tra costor s’atterra,
guardando in suso, è Guiglielmo marchese,
135per cui e Alessandria e la sua guerra
fa pianger Monferrato e Canavese».
112The one who seems so stout-limbed and accords,
singing, with the one of the manly nose,
wore the cord girded with every valor;
115and if the young one who sits behind him
had remained king after him,
worth would have passed well from vessel to vessel,
which cannot be said of the other heirs;
James and Frederick have the realms;
120none possesses the better inheritance.
Rarely through the branches rises again
human probity; and this is willed
by him who gives it, so it may be asked from him.
My words go also to the large-nosed one
125no less than to the other, Peter, who sings with him,
wherefore Apulia and Provence already grieve.
So much lesser than its seed is the plant,
as, more than Beatrice and Margaret,
Constance still boasts of her husband.
130See the king of the simple life
sitting there alone, Henry of England:
this one has better issue in his branches.
The one who sits lowest on the ground among these,
looking upward, is Guiglielmo the marquis,
135because of whom both Alessandria and its war
make Monferrat and Canavese weep."
Commentary
This passage covers the catalogue turns to Peter, Charles, their heirs, the rarity of inherited virtue, Henry of England, and Guiglielmo of Montferrat.
VII.112–114 The stout ruler is Peter III of Aragon in the usual identification. The manly-nosed ruler is Charles I of Anjou in the usual identification.
VII.112–114 The stout ruler is Peter III of Aragon in the usual identification. Line 112: The stout ruler is Peter III of Aragon in the usual identification. Line 113: The manly-nosed ruler is Charles I of Anjou in the usual identification.
VII.112 The stout ruler is Peter III of Aragon in the usual identification. The stout ruler is Peter III of Aragon in the usual identification.
VII.113 The manly-nosed ruler is Charles I of Anjou in the usual identification. The manly-nosed ruler is Charles I of Anjou in the usual identification.
VII.115–117 The young heir is Alfonso III of Aragon in the usual identification.
VII.115–117 The young heir is Alfonso III of Aragon in the usual identification. Line 116: The young heir is Alfonso III of Aragon in the usual identification.
VII.116 The young heir is Alfonso III of Aragon in the usual identification. The young heir is Alfonso III of Aragon in the usual identification.
VII.118–120 The syntax intentionally keeps the inheritance as moral worth, not merely kingdoms.
VII.118–120 The syntax intentionally keeps the inheritance as moral worth, not merely kingdoms. Line 120: The syntax intentionally keeps the inheritance as moral worth, not merely kingdoms.
VII.120 The syntax intentionally keeps the inheritance as moral worth, not merely kingdoms. The syntax intentionally keeps the inheritance as moral worth, not merely kingdoms.
VII.121–123 Probitate is kept as probity to preserve public moral uprightness, not only private goodness. The line makes virtue a divine gift rather than a hereditary possession.
VII.121–123 Probitate is kept as probity to preserve public moral uprightness, not only private goodness. Line 122: Probitate is kept as probity to preserve public moral uprightness, not only private goodness. Line 123: The line makes virtue a divine gift rather than a hereditary possession.
VII.122 Probitate is kept as probity to preserve public moral uprightness, not only private goodness. Probitate is kept as probity to preserve public moral uprightness, not only private goodness.
VII.123 The line makes virtue a divine gift rather than a hereditary possession. The line makes virtue a divine gift rather than a hereditary possession.
VII.124–126 The grief is dynastic and political, tied to the sons who inherit rule without the fathers' worth.
VII.124–126 The grief is dynastic and political, tied to the sons who inherit rule without the fathers' worth. Line 126: The grief is dynastic and political, tied to the sons who inherit rule without the fathers' worth.
VII.126 The grief is dynastic and political, tied to the sons who inherit rule without the fathers' worth. The grief is dynastic and political, tied to the sons who inherit rule without the fathers' worth.
VII.127–129 The comparison among Beatrice, Margaret, and Constance is compressed and remains an open dynastic crux.
VII.127–129 The comparison among Beatrice, Margaret, and Constance is compressed and remains an open dynastic crux. Line 129: The comparison among Beatrice, Margaret, and Constance is compressed and remains an open dynastic crux.
VII.129 The comparison among Beatrice, Margaret, and Constance is compressed and remains an open dynastic crux. The comparison among Beatrice, Margaret, and Constance is compressed and remains an open dynastic crux.
VII.130–132 Henry III of England is presented through simplicity rather than imperial negligence or dynastic brilliance.
VII.130–132 Henry III of England is presented through simplicity rather than imperial negligence or dynastic brilliance. Line 130: Henry III of England is presented through simplicity rather than imperial negligence or dynastic brilliance.
VII.130 Henry III of England is presented through simplicity rather than imperial negligence or dynastic brilliance. Henry III of England is presented through simplicity rather than imperial negligence or dynastic brilliance.
VII.133–135 The source form Guiglielmo is preserved; conventional reference often gives William of Montferrat.
VII.133–135 The source form Guiglielmo is preserved; conventional reference often gives William of Montferrat. Line 134: The source form Guiglielmo is preserved; conventional reference often gives William of Montferrat.
VII.134 The source form Guiglielmo is preserved; conventional reference often gives William of Montferrat. The source form Guiglielmo is preserved; conventional reference often gives William of Montferrat.
VII.136 The closing leaves the valley's beauty undercut by ongoing political grief. The closing leaves the valley's beauty undercut by ongoing political grief.