The Divine Comedy

By Dante Alighieri

Paradiso is the third and final part of The Divine Comedy, Dante's epic poem describing man's progress from hell to salvation. In it, the author progresses through nine concentric spheres of heaven. Corresponding with medieval astronomy, the Moon, Mercury, Venus, the Sun, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn deal with the four cardinal virtues Prudence, Fortitude, Justice and Temperance. The remaining two spheres are the fixed stars and the Primum Mobile, containing the purely virtuous and the angels, followed by the Empyrean, or God itself, continuing the 9+1 theme that runs throughout the Divine Comedy. The Paradiso is more theological in nature than the Inferno and the Purgatorio, features encounters with several great saints, and finishes with the author's soul becoming aligned with God's love.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dreamscape Media
• Release date: Jun 26, 2018
• ISBN: 9781974994229

Dante Alighieri

Dante Alighieri (Florencia, 1265 – Rávena, 1321), político, diplomático y poeta. En 1302 tuvo que exiliarse de su patria y ciudad natal, y a partir de entonces se vio obligado a procurarse moradas y protectores provisionales, razón por la cual mantener el prestigio que le había procurado su Vida nueva (c. 1294) era de vital importancia. La Comedia, en la que trabajó hasta el final de su vida, fue la consecuencia de ese propósito, y con los siglos se convirtió en una de las obras fundamentales de la literatura europea. Además de su obra poética, Dante escribió tratados políticos, filosóficos y literarios, como Convivio, De vulgari eloquentiao y De Monarchia.

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Inferno

Canto 1

The writer, having lost his way in a gloomy forest, and being hindered by certain wild beasts from ascending a mountain, is met by Virgil, who promises to show him the punishments of Hell, and afterwards of Purgatory; and that he shall then be conducted by Beatrice into Paradise. He follows the Roman poet.

IN the midway of this our mortal life,

I found me in a gloomy wood, astray

Gone from the path direct: and e'en to tell,

It were no easy task, how savage wild

That forest, how robust and rough its growth,

Which to remember only, my dismay

Renews, in bitterness not far from death.

Yet, to discourse of what there good befell,

All else will I relate discover'd there.

How first I enter'd it I scarce can say,

Such sleepy dullness in that instant weigh'd

My senses down, when the true path I left;

But when a mountain's foot I reach'd, where clos'd

The valley that had pierc'd my heart with dread,

I look'd aloft, and saw his shoulders broad

Already vested with that planet's beam,

Who leads all wanderers safe through every way.

Then was a little respite to the fear,

That in my heart's recesses deep had lain

All of that night, so pitifully pass'd:

And as a man, with difficult short breath,

Forespent with toiling, 'scaped from sea to shore,

Turns to the perilous wide waste, and stands

At gaze; e'en so my spirit, that yet fail'd,

Struggling with terror, turn'd to view the straits

That none hath pass'd and liv'd. My weary frame

After short pause recomforted, again

I journey'd on over that lonely steep,

The hinder foot still firmer. Scarce the ascent

Began, when, lo! a panther, nimble, light,

And cover'd with a speckled skin, appear'd;

Nor, when it saw me, vanish'd; rather strove

To check my onward going; that oft-times,

With purpose to retrace my steps, I turn'd.

The hour was morning's prime, and on his way

Aloft the sun ascended with those stars,

That with him rose, when Love divine first mov'd

Those its fair works: so that with joyous hope

All things conspir'd to fill me, the gay skin

Of that swift animal, the matin dawn,

And the sweet season. Soon that joy was chas'd.

And by new dread succeeded, when in view

A lion came, 'gainst me as it appear'd,

With his head held aloft and hunger-mad,

That e'en the air was fear-struck. A she-wolf

Was at his heels, who in her leanness seem'd

Full of all wants, and many a land hath made

Disconsolate ere now. She with such fear

O'erwhelmed me, at the sight of her appall'd,

That of the height all hope I lost. As one,

Who, with his gain elated, sees the time

When all unawares is gone, he inwardly

Mourns with heart-griping anguish; such was I,

Haunted by that fell beast, never at peace,

Who coming o'er against me, by degrees

Impell'd me where the sun in silence rests.

While to the lower space with backward step

I fell, my ken discern'd the form of one,

Whose voice seem'd faint through long disuse of speech.

When him in that great desert I espied,

Have mercy on me! cried I out aloud,

Spirit! or living man! what e'er thou be.

He answer'd: "Now not man, man once I was,

And born of Lombard parents, Mantuans both

By country, when the power of Julius yet

Was scarcely firm. At Rome my life was past,

Beneath the mild Augustus, in the time

Of fabled deities and false. A bard

Was I, and made Anchises' upright son

The subject of my song, who came from Troy,

When the flames prey'd on Ilium's haughty towers.

But thou, say wherefore to such perils past

Return'st thou? wherefore not this pleasant mount

Ascendest, cause and source of all delight?"

"And art thou then that Virgil, that well-spring,

From which such copious floods of eloquence

Have issued?" I with front abash'd replied.

"Glory and light of all the tuneful train!

May it avail me that I long with zeal

Have sought thy volume, and with love immense

Have conn'd it o'er. My master thou and guide!

Thou he from whom alone I have deriv'd

That style, which for its beauty into fame

Exalts me. See the beast, from whom I fled.

O save me from her, thou illustrious sage!

"For every vein and pulse throughout my frame

She hath made tremble." He, soon as he saw

That I was weeping, answer'd, "Thou must needs

Another way pursue, if thou wouldst 'scape

From out that savage wilderness. This beast,

At whom thou criest, her way will suffer none

To pass, and no less hinderance makes than death:

So bad and so accursed in her kind,

That never sated is her ravenous will,

Still after food more craving than before.

To many an animal in wedlock vile

She fastens, and shall yet to many more,

Until that greyhound come, who shall destroy

Her with sharp pain. He will not life support

By earth nor its base metals, but by love,

Wisdom, and virtue; and his land shall be

The land 'twixt either Feltro. In his might

Shall safety to Italia's plains arise,

For whose fair realm, Camilla, virgin pure,

Nisus, Euryalus, and Turnus fell.

He, with incessant chase, through every town

Shall worry, until he to hell at length

Restore her, thence by envy first let loose.

I, for thy profit pond'ring, now devise,

That thou mayst follow me; and I, thy guide,

Will lead thee hence through an eternal space,

Where thou shalt hear despairing shrieks, and see

Spirits of old tormented, who invoke

A second death; and those next view, who dwell

Content in fire, for that they hope to come,

Whene'er the time may be, among the blest,

Into whose regions if thou then desire

To ascend, a spirit worthier than I

Must lead thee, in whose charge, when I depart,

Thou shalt be left: for that Almighty King,

Who reigns above, a rebel to his law

Adjudges me; and therefore hath decreed

That, to his city, none through me should come.

He in all parts hath sway; there rules, there holds

His citadel and throne. O happy those,

Whom there he chooses!" I to him in few:

"Bard! by that God, whom thou didst not adore,

I do beseech thee (that this ill and worse

I may escape) to lead me where thou saidst,

That I Saint Peter's gate may view, and those

Who, as thou tell'st, are in such dismal plight."

Onward he mov'd, I close his steps pursu'd.

Canto 2

After the invocation, which poets are used to prefix to their works, he shows that, on a consideration of his own strength, he doubted whether it sufficed for the journey proposed to him, but that, being comforted by Virgil, he at last took courage, and followed him as his guide and master.

NOW was the day departing, and the air,

Imbrown'd with shadows, from their toils releas'd

All animals on earth; and I alone

Prepar'd myself the conflict to sustain,

Both of sad pity, and that perilous road,

Which my unerring memory shall retrace.

O Muses! O high genius! now vouchsafe

Your aid. O mind! that all I saw hast kept

Safe in a written record, here thy worth

And eminent endowments come to proof.

I thus began: "Bard! thou who art my guide,

Consider well, if virtue be in me

Sufficient, ere to this high enterprise

Thou trust me. Thou hast told that Silvius' sire,

Yet cloth'd in corruptible flesh, among

The immortal tribes had entrance, and was there

Sensibly present. Yet if heaven's great Lord,

Almighty foe to ill, such favour shew'd,

In contemplation of the high effect,

Both what and who from him should issue forth,

It seems in reason's judgment well deserv'd:

Sith he of Rome, and of Rome's empire wide,

In heaven's empyreal height was chosen sire:

Both which, if truth be spoken, were ordain'd

And 'stablish'd for the holy place, where sits

Who to great Peter's sacred chair succeeds.

He from this journey, in thy song renown'd,

Learn'd things, that to his victory gave rise

And to the papal robe. In after-times

The chosen vessel also travel'd there,

To bring us back assurance in that faith

Which is the entrance to salvation's way.

But I, why should I there presume? or who

Permits it? not Æneas I, nor Paul.

Myself I deem not worthy, and none else

Will deem me. I, if on this voyage then

I venture, fear it will in folly end.

Thou, who art wise, better my meaning know'st,

Than I can speak." As one, who unresolves

What he hath late resolv'd, and with new thoughts

Changes his purpose, from his first intent

Remov'd; e'en such was I on that dun coast,

Wasting in thought my enterprise, at first

So eagerly embrac'd. "If right thy words

I scan," replied that shade magnanimous,

"Thy soul is by vile fear assail'd, which oft

So overcasts a man, that he recoils

From noblest resolution, like a beast

At some false semblance in the twilight gloom.

That from this terror thou mayst free thyself,

I will instruct thee why I came, and what

I heard in that same instant, when for thee

Grief touch'd me first. I was among the tribe,

Who rest suspended, when a dame, so blest

And lovely I besought her to command,

Call'd me; her eyes were brighter than the star

Of day; and she with gentle voice and soft,

Angelically tun'd, her speech address'd:

'O courteous shade of Mantua! thou whose fame

Yet lives, and shall live long as nature lasts!

A friend, not of my fortune but myself,

On the wide desert in his road has met

Hindrance so great, that he through fear has turn'd.

Now much I dread lest he past help have stray'd,

And I be risen too late for his relief,

From what in heaven of him I heard. Speed now,

And by thy eloquent persuasive tongue,

And by all means for his deliverance meet,

Assist him. So to me will comfort spring.

I, who now bid thee on this errand forth,

Am Beatrice;* from a place I come

Revisited with joy. Love brought me thence,

Who prompts my speech. When in my Master's sight

I stand, thy praise to him I oft will tell.'

"She then was silent, and I thus began:

'O Lady! by whose influence alone

Mankind excels whatever is contain'd

Within that heaven which hath the smallest orb,

So thy command delights me, that to obey,

If it were done already, would seem late.

No need hast thou farther to speak thy will;

Yet tell the reason, why thou art not loth

To leave that ample space, where to return

Thou burnest, for this centre here beneath.'

"She then: 'Since thou so deeply wouldst inquire,

I will instruct thee briefly, why no dread

Hinders my entrance here. Those things alone

Are to be fear'd whence evil may proceed;

None else, for none are terrible beside.

I am so fram'd by God, thanks to his grace!

That any suff'rance of your misery

Touches me not, nor flame of that fierce fire

Assails me. In high heaven a blessed dame

Resides, who mourns with such effectual grief

That hindrance, which I send thee to remove,

That God's stern judgment to her will inclines.'

To Lucia calling, her she thus bespake:

'Now doth thy faithful servant need thy aid,

And I commend him to thee.' At her word

Sped Lucia, of all cruelty the foe,

And coming to the place, where I abode

Seated with Rachel, her of ancient days,

She thus address'd me: "Thou true praise of God!

Beatrice! why is not thy succour lent

To him, who so much lov'd thee, as to leave

For thy sake all the multitude admires?

Dost thou not hear how pitiful his wail,

Nor mark the death, which in the torrent flood,

Swol’n mightier than a sea, him struggling holds?"

Ne'er among men did any with such speed

Haste to their profit, flee from their annoy,

As, when these words were spoken, I came here,

Down from my blessed seat, trusting the force

Of thy pure eloquence, which thee, and all

Who well have mark'd it, into honour bring.'

"When she had ended, her bright beaming eyes

Tearful she turn'd aside; whereat I felt

Redoubled zeal to serve thee. As she will'd,

Thus am I come: I saved thee from the beast,

Who thy near way across the goodly mount

Prevented. What is this comes o'er thee then?

Why, why dost thou hang back? why in thy breast

Harbour vile fear? why hast not courage there,

And noble daring; since three maids, so blest,

Thy safety plan, e'en in the court of heaven;

And so much certain good my words forebode?"

As florets, by the frosty air of night

Bent down and clos'd, when day has blanch'd their leaves,

Rise all unfolded on their spiry stems;

So was my fainting vigour new restor'd,

And to my heart such kindly courage ran,

That I as one undaunted soon replied:

"O full of pity she, who undertook

My succour! and thou kind who didst perform

So soon her true behest! With such desire

Thou hast dispos'd me to renew my voyage,

That my first purpose fully is resum'd.

Lead on: one only will is in us both.

Thou art my guide, my master thou, and lord."

So spake I; and when he had onward mov'd,

I enter'd on the deep and woody way.

---

Note: Beatrice. I use this word, as it is pronounced in the Italian, as consisting of four syllables, of which the third is a long one.

Canto 3

Dante, following Virgil, comes to the gate of Hell; where, after having read the dreadful words that are written thereon, they both enter. Here, as he understands from Virgil, those were punished who had parsed their time (for living it could not be called) in a state of apathy and indifference both to good and evil. Then pursuing their way, they arrive at the river Acheron; and there find the old ferryman Charon, who takes the spirits over to the opposite shore; which as soon as Dante reaches, he is seized with terror, and falls into a trance.

"THROUGH me you pass into the city of woe:

Through me you pass into eternal pain:

Through me among the people lost for aye.

Justice the founder of my fabric mov'd:

To rear me was the task of power divine,

Supremest wisdom, and primeval love.

Before me things create were none, save things

Eternal, and eternal I endure.

All hope abandon, ye who enter here.

Such characters, in colour dim, I mark'd

Over a portal's lofty arch inscrib'd.

Whereat I thus: "Master, these words import

Hard meaning." He as one prepar'd replied:

"Here thou must all distrust behind thee leave;

Here be vile fear extinguish'd. We are come

Where I have told thee we shall see the souls

To misery doom'd, who intellectual good

Have lost." And when his hand he had stretch'd forth

To mine, with pleasant looks, whence I was cheer'd,

Into that secret place he led me on.

Here sighs, with lamentations and loud moans,

Resounded through the air pierc'd by no star,

That e'en I wept at entering. Various tongues,

Horrible languages, outcries of woe,

Accents of anger, voices deep and hoarse,

With hands together smote that swell'd the sounds,

Made up a tumult, that forever whirls

Round through that air with solid darkness stain'd,

Like to the sand that in the whirlwind flies.

I then, with error yet encompass'd, cried:

"O master! What is this I hear? What race

Are these, who seem so overcome with woe?"

He thus to me: "This miserable fate

Suffer the wretched souls of those, who liv'd

Without or praise or blame, with that ill band

Of angels mix'd, who nor rebellious prov'd

Nor yet were true to God, but for themselves

Were only. From his bounds Heaven drove them forth,

Not to impair his lustre, nor the depth

Of Hell receives them, lest th' accursed tribe

Should glory thence with exultation vain."

I then: "Master! what doth aggrieve them thus,

That they lament so loud?" He straight replied:

"That will I tell thee briefly. These of death

No hope may entertain: and their blind life

So meanly passes, that all other lots

They envy. Fame of them the world hath none,

Nor suffers; mercy and justice scorn them both.

Speak not of them, but look, and pass them by."

And I, who straightway look'd, beheld a flag,

Which whirling ran around so rapidly,

That it no pause obtain'd: and following came

Such a long train of spirits, I should ne'er

Have thought, that death so many had despoil'd.

When some of these I recogniz'd, I saw

And knew the shade of him, who to base fear

Yielding, abjur'd his high estate. Forthwith

I understood, for certain, this the tribe

Of those ill spirits both to God displeasing

And to his foes. These wretches, who ne'er lived,

Went on in nakedness, and sorely stung

By wasps and hornets, which bedew'd their cheeks

With blood, that, mix'd with tears, dropp'd to their feet,

And by disgustful worms was gather'd there.

Then looking farther onward, I beheld

A throng upon the shore of a great stream:

Whereat I thus: "Sir! grant me now to know

Whom here we view, and whence impell'd they seem

So eager to pass o'er, as I discern

Through the blear light?" He thus to me in few:

"This shalt thou know, soon as our steps arrive

Beside the woeful tide of Acheron."

Then with eyes downward cast and fill'd with shame,

Fearing my words offensive to his ear,

Till we had reach'd the river, I from speech

Abstain'd. And lo! toward us in a bark

Comes on an old man hoary white with eld,

Crying, "Woe to you wicked spirits! hope not

Ever to see the sky again. I come

To take you to the other shore across,

Into eternal darkness, there to dwell

In fierce heat and in ice. And thou, who there

Standest, live spirit! get thee hence, and leave

These who are dead." But soon as he beheld

I left them not, By other way, said he,

"By other haven shalt thou come to shore,

Not by this passage; thee a nimbler boat

Must carry." Then to him thus spake my guide:

"Charon! thyself torment not: so 'tis will'd,

Where will and power are one: ask thou no more."

Straightway in silence fell the shaggy cheeks

Of him, the boatman o'er the livid lake,

Around whose eyes glar'd wheeling flames. Meanwhile

Those spirits, faint and naked, color chang'd,

And gnash'd their teeth, soon as the cruel words

They heard. God and their parents they blasphem'd,

The human kind, the place, the time, and seed

That did engender them and give them birth.

Then all together sorely wailing drew

To the curs'd strand, that every man must pass

Who fears not God. Charon, demoniac form,

With eyes of burning coal, collects them all,

Beck'ning, and each, that lingers, with his oar

Strikes. As fall off the light autumnal leaves,

One still another following, till the bough

Strews all its honours on the earth beneath;

E'en in like manner Adam's evil brood

Cast themselves one by one down from the shore,

Each at a beck, as falcon at his call.

Thus go they over through the umber'd wave,

And ever they on the opposing bank

Be landed, on this side another throng

Still gathers. Son, thus spake the courteous guide,

"Those who die subject to the wrath of God

All here together come from every clime,

And to o'erpass the river are not loth:

For so heaven's justice goads them on, that fear

Is turn'd into desire. Hence ne'er hath past

Good spirit. If of thee Charon complain,

Now mayst thou know the import of his words."

This said, the gloomy region trembling shook

So terribly, that yet with clammy dews

Fear chills my brow. The sad earth gave a blast,

That, lightening, shot forth a vermilion flame,

Which all my senses conquer'd quite, and I

Down dropp'd, as one with sudden slumber seiz'd.

Canto 4

The poet, being roused by a clap of thunder, and following his guide onwards, descends into Limbo, which is the first circle of Hell, where he finds the souls of those who, although they have lived virtuously and have not to suffer for great sins, nevertheless, through lack of baptism, merit not the bliss of Paradise. Hence he is led on by Virgil to descend into the second circle.

BROKE the deep slumber in my brain a crash

Of heavy thunder, that I shook myself,

As one by main force rous'd. Risen upright,

My rested eyes I mov'd around, and search'd

With fixed ken to know what place it was,

Wherein I stood. For certain on the brink

I found me of the lamentable vale,

The dread abyss, that joins a thund'rous sound

Of plaints innumerable. Dark and deep,

And thick with clouds o'erspread, mine eye in vain

Explor'd its bottom, nor could aught discern.

"Now let us to the blind world there beneath

Descend;" the bard began all pale of look:

I go the first, and thou shalt follow next.

Then I, his alter'd hue perceiving, thus:

"How may I speed, if thou yieldest to dread,

Who still art wont to comfort me in doubt?"

He then: "The anguish of that race below

With pity stains my cheek, which thou for fear

Mistakest. Let us on. Our length of way

Urges to haste." Onward, this said, he mov'd;

And ent'ring led me with him on the bounds

Of the first circle, that surrounds th' abyss.

Here, as mine ear could note, no plaint was heard

Except of sighs, that made th' eternal air

Tremble, not caus'd by tortures, but from grief

Felt by those multitudes, many and vast,

Of men, women, and infants. Then to me

The gentle guide: "Inquir'st thou not what spirits

Are these, which thou beholdest? Ere thou pass

Farther, I would thou know, that these of sin

Were blameless; and if aught they merited,

It profits not, since baptism was not theirs,

The portal to thy faith. If they before

The Gospel liv'd, they serv'd not God aright;

And among such am I. For these defects,

And for no other evil, we are lost;

"Only so far afflicted, that we live

Desiring without hope." Sore grief assail'd

My heart at hearing this, for well I knew

Suspended in that Limbo many a soul

Of mighty worth. "O tell me, sire rever'd!

Tell me, my master!" I began through wish

Of full assurance in that holy faith,

Which vanquishes all error; "say, did e'er

Any, or through his own or other's merit,

Come forth from thence, who afterward was blest?"

Piercing the secret purport of my speech,

He answer'd: "I was new to that estate,

When I beheld a puissant one arrive

Amongst us, with victorious trophy crown'd.

He forth the shade of our first parent drew,

Abel his child, and Noah righteous man,

Of Moses lawgiver for faith approv'd,

Of patriarch Abraham, and David king,

Israel with his sire and with his sons,

Nor without Rachel whom so hard he won,

And others many more, whom he to bliss

Exalted. Before these, be thou assur'd,

No spirit of human kind was ever sav'd."

We, while he spake, ceas'd not our onward road,

Still passing through the wood; for so I name

Those spirits thick beset. We were not far

On this side from the summit, when I kenn'd

A flame, that o'er the darken'd hemisphere

Prevailing shin'd. Yet we a little space

Were distant, not so far but I in part

Discover'd that a tribe in honour high

That place possess'd. "O thou, who every art

And science valu'st! who are these, that boast

Such honour, separate from all the rest?"

He answer'd: "The renown of their great names

That echoes through your world above, acquires

Favour in heaven, which holds them thus advanc'd."

Meantime a voice I heard: "Honour the bard

Sublime! his shade returns that left us late!"

No sooner ceas'd the sound, than I beheld

Four mighty spirits toward us bend their steps,

Of semblance neither sorrowful nor glad.

When thus my master kind began: "Mark him,

Who in his right hand bears that falchion keen,

The other three preceding, as their lord.

This is that Homer, of all bards supreme:

Flaccus the next, in satire's vein excelling;

The third is Naso; Lucan is the last.

Because they all that appellation own,

With which the voice singly accosted me,

Honouring they greet me thus, and well they judge."

So I beheld united the bright school

Of him the monarch of sublimest song,

That o'er the others like an eagle soars.

When they together short discourse had held,

They turn'd to me, with salutation kind

Beck'ning me; at the which my master smil'd:

Nor was this all; but greater honour still

They gave me, for they made me of their tribe;

And I was sixth amid so learn'd a band.

Far as the luminous beacon on we pass'd

Speaking of matters, then befitting well

To speak, now fitter left untold. At foot

Of a magnificent castle we arriv'd,

Seven times with lofty walls begirt, and round

Defended by a pleasant stream. O'er this

As o'er dry land we pass'd. Next, through seven gates,

I with those sages enter'd, and we came

Into a mead with lively verdure fresh.

There dwelt a race, who slow their eyes around

Majestically mov'd, and in their port

Bore eminent authority; they spake

Seldom, but all their words were tuneful sweet.

We to one side retir'd, into a place

Open and bright and lofty, whence each one

Stood manifest to view. Incontinent,

There on the green enamel of the plain

Were shown me the great spirits, by whose sight

I am exalted in my own esteem.

Electra there I saw accompanied

By many, among whom Hector I knew,

Anchises' pious son, and with hawk's eye

Cæsar all arm'd, and by Camilla there

Penthesilea. On the other side

Old King Latinus, seated by his child

Lavinia, and that Brutus I beheld,

Who Tarquin chas'd, Lucretia, Cato's wife

Marcia, with Julia and Cornelia there;

And sole apart retir'd, the Soldan fierce.

Then when a little more I rais'd my brow,

I spied the master of the sapient throng,

Seated amid the philosophic train.

Him all admire, all pay him rev'rence due.

There Socrates and Plato both I mark'd,

Nearest to him in rank; Democritus,

Who sets the world at chance, Diogenes,

With Heraclitus, and Empedocles,

And Anaxagoras, and Thales sage,

Zeno, and Dioscorides well read

In nature's secret lore. Orpheus I mark'd

And Linus, Tully and moral Seneca,

Euclid and Ptolemy, Hippocrates,

Galenus, Avicen, and him who made

That commentary vast, Averroes.

Of all to speak at full were vain attempt;

For my wide theme so urges, that oft-times

My words fall short of what bechanc'd. In two

The six associates part. Another way

My sage guide leads me, from that air serene,

Into a climate ever vex'd with storms:

And to a part I come, where no light shines.

Canto 5

Coming into the second circle of Hell, Dante at the entrance beholds Minos the Infernal Judge, by whom he is admonished to beware how he enters those regions. Here he witnesses the punishment of carnal sinners, who are tossed about ceaselessly in the dark air by the most furious winds. Amongst these, he meets with Francesca of Rimini, through pity at whose sad tale he falls fainting to the ground.

FROM the first circle I descended thus

Down to the second, which, a lesser space

Embracing, so much more of grief contains,

Provoking bitter moans. There, Minos stands,

Grinning with ghastly feature: he, of all

Who enter, strict examining the crimes,

Gives sentence, and dismisses them beneath,

According as he foldeth him around:

For when before him comes th' ill-fated soul,

It all confesses; and that judge severe

Of sins, considering what place in hell

Suits the transgression, with his tail so oft

Himself encircles, as degrees beneath

He dooms it to descend. Before him stand

Always a num'rous throng; and in his turn

Each one to judgment passing, speaks, and hears

His fate, thence downward to his dwelling hurl'd.

"O thou! who to this residence of woe

Approachest!" when he saw me coming, cried

Minos, relinquishing his dread employ,

"Look how thou enter here; beware in whom

Thou place thy trust; let not the entrance broad

Deceive thee to thy harm." To him my guide:

"Wherefore exclaimest? Hinder not his way

By destiny appointed; so 'tis will'd

Where will and power are one. Ask thou no more."

Now 'gin the rueful wailings to be heard.

Now am I come where many a plaining voice

Smites on mine ear. Into a place I came

Where light was silent all. Bellowing there groan'd

A noise, as of a sea in tempest torn

By warring winds. The stormy blast of hell

With restless fury drives the spirits on,

Whirl'd round and dash'd amain with sore annoy.

When they arrive before the ruinous sweep,

There shrieks are heard, there lamentations, moans,

And blasphemies 'gainst the good Power in heaven.

I understood that to this torment sad

The carnal sinners are condemn'd, in whom

Reason by lust is sway'd. As, in large troops

And multitudinous, when winter reigns,

The starlings on their wings are borne abroad;

So bears the tyrannous gust those evil souls.

On this side and on that, above, below,

It drives them: hope of rest to solace them

Is none, nor e'en of milder pang. As cranes,

Chanting their dol'rous notes, traverse the sky,

Stretch'd out in long array: so I beheld

Spirits, who came loud wailing, hurried on

By their dire doom. Then I: "Instructor! who

Are these, by the black air so scourg'd? The first

'Mong those, of whom thou question'st," he replied,

"O'er many tongues was empress. She in vice

Of luxury was so shameless, that she made

Liking be lawful by promulg'd decree,

To clear the blame she had herself incurr'd.

This is Semiramis, of whom 'tis writ,

That she succeeded Ninus her espous'd;

And held the land, which now the Soldan rules.

The next in amorous fury slew

Reviews for The Divine Comedy

[thereadingmermaid · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

In finally sitting down and reading the entire Divine Comedy, I can now see why The Inferno is usually separated from Purgatorio & Paradiso. The Inferno is captivating and paints vivid pictures of what Dante &. Virgil are seeing and experiencing. However Purgatorio & Paradiso seemed to lack this each in their own way. Purgatorio was still able to paint the pictures but not quite as vividly. Perhaps the subject matter was not as captivating as well. Dante certainly had the gift of making Purgatory feel not too bad but also not too good. In Paradiso we switch guides from Virgil to Beatrice. It is then that Dante seems to loose his focus on his surroundings and turns toward fauning over Beatrice's beauty. I figured that the Canto with God in it would have been a bit more powerful & profound. Lucifer's appearance was more awe inspiring than God's. Don't get me wrong, I give credit to the absolute classic that this work is, however I think there are some issues with it from a reader's standpoint. When all of the action is over in the 1st portion of the book it becomes a chore to finish reading it. All-in-all this entire work was beautifully written in the terza rima rhyme scheme which adds a bit of romance to every line read. I have to mention that I think it's funny how people get the details of this work confused with The Holy Bible. There in itself stands testement to how amazing this work has been throughout history. Despite my personal issues with reading it I am honored to have read such famous and renouned piece of historical literature.

[rbeene-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It is a wonderful read if you have footnotes to understand who the people he is talking about is. I found it fascinating and I hope that I finish it someday.

[syndelle777 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

In finally sitting down and reading the entire Divine Comedy, I can now see why The Inferno is usually separated from Purgatorio & Paradiso. The Inferno is captivating and paints vivid pictures of what Dante &. Virgil are seeing and experiencing. However Purgatorio & Paradiso seemed to lack this each in their own way. Purgatorio was still able to paint the pictures but not quite as vividly. Perhaps the subject matter was not as captivating as well. Dante certainly had the gift of making Purgatory feel not too bad but also not too good. In Paradiso we switch guides from Virgil to Beatrice. It is then that Dante seems to loose his focus on his surroundings and turns toward fauning over Beatrice's beauty. I figured that the Canto with God in it would have been a bit more powerful & profound. Lucifer's appearance was more awe inspiring than God's. Don't get me wrong, I give credit to the absolute classic that this work is, however I think there are some issues with it from a reader's standpoint. When all of the action is over in the 1st portion of the book it becomes a chore to finish reading it. All-in-all this entire work was beautifully written in the terza rima rhyme scheme which adds a bit of romance to every line read. I have to mention that I think it's funny how people get the details of this work confused with The Holy Bible. There in itself stands testement to how amazing this work has been throughout history. Despite my personal issues with reading it I am honored to have read such famous and renouned piece of historical literature.

[x_hoxha · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

If you want the Italian text, with notes in English, you might track down the Grandgent/Singleton Divina Commedia published in (I think) 1972. (There's another, older, one with only Grandgent as editor.)

[usmc0811 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Personally, I'm a bit of a purist. I was halfway through the Inferno section when I looked into the details behind the translation. The problem with translating a rhyme from one language to another--and keeping the phrase rhymed--required the translator to completely butcher both the wording of the original and the English language as a whole. At times, whole lines are added to the cantos that were not even in the original Italian version. I'm not touching it until I find a non-rhyming version that is more directly translated from the original.But still, it's a good read, so 4 stars.

[stephenbarkley · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I've been lost in the forest before. The worst that has ever happened to me was a bit of confusion and a late supper.When Dante got lost ..."Midway upon the journey of our lifeI found myself within a forest dark,For the straightforward pathway had been lost.Ah me! how hard a thing it is to sayWhat was this forest savage, rough, and stern,Which in the very thought renews the fear."(Inferno, I:1-6)Instead of making it home for dinner, he took an epic journey through hell, purgatory, and heaven. He begins in fear, he ends in love:"The Love which moves the sun and the other stars" (Paradiso, XXXIII:145).I've been meaning to read this classic for years. When I saw Barnes & Noble's beautiful leather-bound edition, I couldn't resist.Reading it was a challenge. It's not every day you read a Nineteenth century English translation of a Fourteenth Century Italian text in verse! With the help of a dictionary app and SparkNotes, I fell into the rhythm of the poem and began to understand it. Reading the text aloud (even muttering the cadence under my breath) helped immensely.I'm not qualified to comment on the literary merit of this classic, or the translation. I'll keep my comments to theological issues.*** Go to Hell! ***Dante wrote his masterpiece in exile. He found himself on the wrong side of political power and was banished from his home in Florence on trumped-up charges (xi).The Germans have a word, schadenfreude, which refers to the joy taken at someone else's misfortune. It's not a very flattering quality, but one Dante seems to enjoy. When he arrived in the sixth circle of hell, he wandered around tombs that held heretics who were tortured."Upon a sudden issued forth this soundFrom out one of the tombs; wherefore I pressed,Fearing, a little nearer to my Leader.And unto me he said: "Turn thee; what dost thou?Behold there Farinata who has risen;From the waist upwards wholly shalt thous see him."(Inferno X:28-33)The character from the crypt was none other than Farinata, his real life political enemy. What do you do with a political enemy from earth? Stick him in your literary hell! This is where an annotated text is very helpful (unless you're up-to-date with the people of Fourteenth Century Florence).Unfortunately, Dante's pattern for dealing with some of his enemies has been followed many times in church history. Instead of doing the hard work of loving your enemy, it's easier to just demonize him.*** Highway to Hell ***My edition of The Divine Comedy is filled with illustrations from Gustave Doré. These illustrations taught me something: hell is far more exciting and interesting than heaven. Inferno is far more frequently and graphically illustrated than Paradiso.This attitude—the idea that heaven is boring and hell is exciting—is still around. Perhaps AC/DC popularized it the best:"Ain't nothin' that I'd rather doGoin' downParty timeMy friends are gonna be there tooI'm on the highway to hell"Dante's hell is full of all sorts of interesting (if sadistic) tortures. Some people are burned alive, some turn into trees whose limbs are pecked at by Harpies, some are boiled alive in a river of blood, some are shat upon. Literally. Poop falls from the sky. I'm sure a psychiatrist would have a field day with Dante!If you squint, you can read this torture as divine justice in the light of God's holiness. Realistically, it's another sad example of schadenfreude. Someone needs to go back in time and give him a copy of VanBalthasar's Dare We Hope?*** Disembodied Heaven & the Impassable Deity ***I always knew that I disagreed with Dante's view of hell. I was surprised by how much I disagreed with his heaven—and his Trinity!Dante's God is an Aristotelian construct mediated by Aquinas:"O grace abundant, by which I presumedTo fix my sight upon the Light Eternal,So that the seeing I consumed therein!...Substance, and accident, and their operations,All infused together in such wiseThat what I speak of is one simple light....Withing the deep and luminous substanceOf the High Light appeared to me three circles,Of threefold color and of one dimension,"(Paradiso XXXIII:82-84, 88-90, 115-117)God, for Dante, is an immovable point of perfect light. Three circles symbolize the Trinity, with three different coloured lights. All manifold colours emanate from this point. The heavenly spheres (the planets), all rotate around this point as do the various levels of heavenly worshipers. There is nothing to do in heaven but to be consumed in contemplation.That sounds spiritual, but it's nowhere near biblical. Biblical metaphors include a throne with a blood-stained lamb. Biblical metaphors speak of a river with trees of life lining the banks. Dante's God is a philosophical idea. I'll stick with the Holy One of Israel who breathed his breath into this dust and called it good.Dante's Divine Comedy is a challenging and interesting work to read. Just don't confuse literature with theology.

[joligula · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Not really much can be said about this story that has not already been said. It is entertaining, bold, frightening and eye opening. To understand the mindset of the man who wrote it and the times he lived in is essential to even beginning to come to grips with the subject matter.

[scottjpearson · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Dante’s famous The Divine Comedy lies at the intersection of art and theology. I love artful renditions of theology. Further, it is known as the best work of poetry ever to grace the language of Italian. Therefore, I decided to look for a good translation. I’ve enjoyed Longfellow’s poetry in the past, and when I saw that he undertook an adaptation, I chose to give it a go.

Unfortunately, Longfellow seemed to stick a little too close to the Latin roots of the original Italian. Many English words seemed to represent Latinized English rather than modern Anglo English. Dante wrote in the vernacular, not in Latin, the language of scholars. The result? This translation seems to consistently choose words that confuse the reader more than convey to her/him the spirit of Dante’s language. The artfulness of Dante’s original is maintained, especially in consistent alliterations. However, entirely gone is Dante’s appeal to the people.

The vivid, memorable scenes of the Inferno are lost in Longfellow’s poetic sophistication. Having read widely in history, I’m quite used to archaic writing. This work, however, takes archaisms to a new standard. Entire sentences are rendered in a Victorian manner that is based on classical languages instead of common English. The result deludes rather than enlightens. Again, this was not Dante’s intent.

Yes, Longfellow was a professor of Italian at Harvard. Yes, he is an acclaimed poet, one of the best that America has ever produced. This work does not bring the best outcome from his skill. He appeals to a highbrow readership whose style was more in vogue during his century. It’s out of touch with modern sentiment, and it’s out of touch with Dante’s appeal to the masses. Dante may guide us from Hades through purgatory and into paradise; unfortunately, Longfellow’s ethereal language does not convey the beauty of the original, and as such he leaves us in the hell of ignorance instead of the heavenly bliss of true knowledge.

If you want to experience Dante’s beautiful imagery, try another translation. There exist plenty that do the trick. Longfellow’s translation requires a nearby dictionary and plenty of stamina.

[brightman-4 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Extraordinary illustrations...Gustave Dore....Translated by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

[sumisbooks · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

In finally sitting down and reading the entire Divine Comedy, I can now see why The Inferno is usually separated from Purgatorio & Paradiso. The Inferno is captivating and paints vivid pictures of what Dante &. Virgil are seeing and experiencing. However Purgatorio & Paradiso seemed to lack this each in their own way. Purgatorio was still able to paint the pictures but not quite as vividly. Perhaps the subject matter was not as captivating as well. Dante certainly had the gift of making Purgatory feel not too bad but also not too good. In Paradiso we switch guides from Virgil to Beatrice. It is then that Dante seems to loose his focus on his surroundings and turns toward fauning over Beatrice's beauty. I figured that the Canto with God in it would have been a bit more powerful & profound. Lucifer's appearance was more awe inspiring than God's. Don't get me wrong, I give credit to the absolute classic that this work is, however I think there are some issues with it from a reader's standpoint. When all of the action is over in the 1st portion of the book it becomes a chore to finish reading it. All-in-all this entire work was beautifully written in the terza rima rhyme scheme which adds a bit of romance to every line read. I have to mention that I think it's funny how people get the details of this work confused with The Holy Bible. There in itself stands testement to how amazing this work has been throughout history. Despite my personal issues with reading it I am honored to have read such famous and renouned piece of historical literature.

[jsburbidge · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

One of the absolute summits of western (arguably, world) literature.

The general outline is well-enough known: Dante has a vision (on Easter weekend, 1300) in which he visits Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven. (The vision frame is external to the poem itself; the Dante inside the poem is the dreamer from the very beginning.) He is guided through the first two realms (well, all of Hell and most of Purgatory) by Virgil, and through the rest of Purgatory and all of Heaven by Beatrice, the focus of his early work La Vita Nuova. He begins in a dark wood, "selva oscura" and ends with the beatific vision of the union of the Christian Trinity and the Aristotelian unmoved mover: "l'amor che move il sole e l'altre stelle".

On its way he maintains a multi-level allegory, fills it with an encyclopaedia of his day's science, history, and theology, carries out an extended argument regarding the (sad) politics of his day and of his beloved Florence, from which he was an exile, and does so in verse which stays at high level of virtuosity throughout. It's the sort of thing that writers like Alanus de Insulis tried in a less ambitious way and failed (well, failed by comparison: who except specialists reads the De Planctu Naturae these days?).

There is no equivalent achievement, and very few at the same level. This would get six stars if they were available.

[bayardus-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Throughout The Divine Comedy Dante claims that his is no mere story, but a vision granted to him by the divine. While your personal faith probably plays a role in how you assess that claim, one thing is certain: Dante was a visionary, and The Divine Comedy contains some of the most stunning imagery you'll find in literature. Everyone has heard of Dante's nine circles of hell, but how many know that the ninth circle is surrounded by a living wall of giants, chained for their rebellion? Or that the mountain of purgatory is the land that was thrust up by Lucifer's fall, and atop it sits the Garden of Eden? Or that in paradise the souls of all the protectors of humanity form a huge eagle that addresses Dante, the eagle being formed of countless souls that shine like rubies in the sunlight? Not to mention the ultimate image Dante gives us, of the highest realm of heaven, wherein every soul that has reached paradise joins together to take the shape of a white rose, with God at its center.

It's beautiful stuff, and even in translation Dante's prose proves up to the task of describing it. From the opening of Inferno where Dante has lost his way to the final lines of each canticle that draw our minds to the stars, Dante is a masterful writer. Not only that, but he's an assertive writer as well. While I could easily imagine an author falling back on his beautiful writing and delivering only a milquetoast moral stance (and indeed, Dante mentions this temptation), in The Divine Comedy Dante makes his opinions known on issues large and small. He's not afraid to criticize the practice of blood feuds, or to pillory different orders of monks, or even to call out the leadership of the Church and the rulers of Italy. He places popes and kings in the fires of hell just as readily as he does false prophets and foreign conquerers.

In addition to this, The Divine Comedy serves as perhaps the best memorial for a lost love to ever be written. Dante's first love Beatrice, dead before he began work on The Divine Comedy, is not only placed by Dante among the highest ranks of paradise, but it is through her mercy and care that Dante is granted his vision of the divine. She is credited with not only inspiring his pen, but with saving his soul as well. Through this work Dante immortalizes his lost love, and if there is a love letter that can compare I don't know of it.

The work isn't without its flaws. Paradiso has several cantos that focus on Dante's take on cosmology or astrophysics that aren't only clearly wrong under our modern understanding, but that don't flow particularly well either. They're like Melville's chapters on whale classification in Moby Dick- they struck me as more distracting than atmospheric. Paradiso is also rife with Dante raising theological questions, only to give them unsatisfying answers. I wish Dante had given us more of his brilliant descriptions instead of trying his hand at reconciling the nature of God with real world events. Occasionally in Inferno it feels as though Dante is sticking it to the people he doesn't like in life at the expense of the flow of the canto, while at other times it feels as though Dante is making an exception for historical figures he really liked at the expense of the logic of the divine system he has described (Cato being the prime example, but various Roman and Greek figures throughout raise this issue). Still, these complaints are minor. It's a vision, after all, and so the lack of a concrete system with steadfast rules isn't surprising.

It's the journey that counts, not the destination, and Dante gives us one hell of a journey. It's an epic sightseeing trip through the world of Christian theology, a world that is still heavily influenced by the myths and scholars of ancient Rome and Greece. Though it's not perfect, it's great, and well worth your time.

[jvioland_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A true classic that everyone should read but, unfortunately, few will genuinely appreciate. You travel the afterlife from Hell through Purgatory and arrive in Heaven. Along the way you meet various souls (some of whom Dante had been ticked at who today are not known) and realize the very Catholic approach to redemption.

[ireadby · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Wow! All I can say is what a pleasurable and enriching experience to have had the opportunity to listen to Dante's legendary poetry read aloud. The only metaphorical example I can think of is the difference between watching an epic film (like "Life of Pi") in 2D or 3D.

Yes! Dante's Divine Comedy book vs. audiobook is on the same proportional movie-going scale! I highly recommend indulging yourself with this audiobook. It's one you'll want to purchase, not borrow!

[worldincolour · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Contains some wonderful imagery, but seems rather obsolete in certain sections. Still a masterful writing display though, which has had its impact over the last centuries.

[kirmuriel-1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Siempre creí que como este libro es un clásico de la época medieval iba a ser aburrido, pero no es así. Esta claro que no es una lectura sencilla. Utiliza demasiadas figuras muy rebuscadas y para comprenderlas se debe de tener un amplia conocimiento de la cultura occidental, principalmente de la religión, los personajes bíblicos y la mitología latina. También es necesario conocer de la sociedad en la que Dante vivía. Sin embargo, siempre que lograba entender una figura especialmente rebuscada sentía que era un gran logro. Para este libro me ayudó mucho el prólogo que hablaba de los números que están presentes en la obra, aunque supongo que si hubiera leído una edición con anotaciones se me hubiera hecho más fácil. A veces puede ser tedioso, pero en general es una buena novela y una lectura compleja

[cshoughton · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

If you squint real hard and read The Divine Comedy as an allegory for improvement through mastery of virtue where one may substitute rational self-interest for God's will, then you weren't paying attention. Still, for a 14th century translated text, there's an awful lot to enjoy.

I should note that I was often bored; Purgatorio and Paradiso have all of the structured tedium with much less of the eyebrow raising depravity. For mostly that reason, I almost gave Dante's masterwork a four (as if it matters what I think), but I find my head too full of ideas, images, and lines to consider rating the epic anything less than a five.

[keylawk · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

DRAFT notes -

the neologism "trasumanar" in canto 1 of Paradiso (to go beyond the human). Why did Dante coin this new word? At this time in his day.

Some of the metaphors sound somehow mixed or even wrong: In the Tuscan, "nel lago del cor m'era durata". Does the "hardening lake of my heart" prefigure the revelation at the end of the Inferno that its deepest pit is frozen? Is the not-burning, a pious reader surprise?

[revslick_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Quintessential tale of recovery - The way out is for Dante to journey deeper into Hell.

[krumbs_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Dore illustrations. Beautiful!

[evanroskos_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Hell is fun! in book form.

[bkwurm · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

After a run of newer contemporary novels it can be refreshing to throw oneself into a classic, and it was something of a relief for me to delve into something with a meaty history—and Dante’s Inferno definitely has a meaty history! The Inferno is one of those books that you can’t read without feeling that you’re part of something. It references so many works of literature, and has itself been referenced by so many later works, that just reading it makes you feel a part of something. (It also makes you somehow feel both inadequate and incredibly intelligent all at the same time.) The New American Library version that I read contains a plethora of distracting but helpful footnotes, and John Ciardi’s translation is lyrical and accessible. The book was not nearly as daunting as I thought it would be. The political references are impossible to completely wrap your head around (even with the footnotes,) but once you get past those the story itself is enlightening, disturbing, thought-provoking, and amazingly easy to understand.

[jawalter · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

eBook

Perhaps this was not the best choice of a book to read at the gym. That decision was certainly not helped by the fact that the eBook version I read had no footnotes.

I'd read the Inferno before, but never Purgatorio or Paradiso, and I was a little disappointed that the physicality I admired so much in the first part was slowly phased out as the poem went on. I suppose Dante was making a point about the difference between the physical world and his relationship to god, but what was so impressive about the Inferno was how he charged a discussion of ideas and morality with a concrete dimension. He made the abstract real.

This was carried over into Purgatorio, although to a lesser extent, but a significant portion of Paradiso seemed to be about his inability to fully render his experience. This seemed to me to be a structural flaw, as we are suddenly asked to once again perceive abstract concepts in an abstract way, and it seems a huge let down.

Or maybe I just needed footnotes to explain it to me.

[lisamaria_c · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I find this among the most amazing works I've ever read--despite that the work is essentially Christian Allegory and I'm an atheist. First and foremost for its structure. Recently I read Moby Dick and though it had powerful passages I found it self-indulgent and bloated and devoutly wished an editor had taken a hatchet to the numerous digressions. There is no such thing as digressions in Dante. I don't think I've ever read a more carefully crafted work. We visit three realms in three Canticas (Hell, Purgatory and Heaven) each of 33 cantos and in a terza rima verse in a triple rhyme scheme. Nothing is incidental or left to chance here. That's not where the structure ends either. Hell has nine levels, Purgatory has seven terraces on its mountain and Heaven nine celestial spheres (so, yes, there is a Seventh Heaven!) All in all, this is an imaginary landscape worthy of Tolkien or Pratchett, both in large ways and small details. I found it fitting how Dante tied both sins and virtues to love--a sin was love misdirected or applied, and the lower you go in hell, the less love there is involved, until at the lowest reaches you find Satan and traitors encased in a lake of ice. Then there are all the striking phrases, plays of ideas and gorgeous imagery that comes through despite translations. This might be Christian Allegory, but unlike say John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress it's far from dry or tedious and is full of real life contemporaries of Dante and historical figures. There are also Dante's guides here. His Virgil is wonderful--and the perfect choice. The great Latin poet of the Aeneid leading the great Italian poet who made his Tuscan dialect the standard with his poetry. Well, guide through Hell and Purgatory until he changes places with Beatrice. Which reminds me of that old joke--Heaven for the climate--Hell for the company.

And certainly Hell is what stays most vividly in my mind. I remember still loving the Purgatorio--it's the most human and relatable somehow of the poems and Paradise has its beauties. But I remember the people of Hell best. There's Virgil of course, who must remain in limbo for eternity because he wasn't a Christian. There's Francesca di Rimini and her lover, for their adultery forever condemned to be flung about in an eternal wind so that even Dante pities them. And that, of course, is the flip side of this. Dante's poem embodies the orthodox Roman Catholic Christianity of the 1300s and might give even Christians today pause. Even though I don't count myself a Christian, I get the appeal of hell. In fact, I can remember exactly when I understood it. When once upon a time I felt betrayed, and knew there was no recourse. The person involved would never get their comeuppance upon this Earth. How nice I thought, if there really was a God and a Hell to redress the balance. The virtue of any Hell therefore is justice. These are the words Dante tells us are at hell's entrance.

THROUGH ME THE WAY INTO THE SUFFERING CITY,
THROUGH ME THE WAY TO THE ETERNAL PAIN,
THROUGH ME THE WAY THAT RUNS AMONG THE LOST.

JUSTICE URGED ON MY HIGH ARTIFICER;
MY MAKER WAS DIVINE AUTHORITY,
THE HIGHEST WISDOM, AND THE PRIMAL LOVE.

BEFORE ME NOTHING BUT ETERNAL THINGS
WERE MADE, AND I ENDURE ETERNALLY.
ABANDON EVERY HOPE, WHO ENTER HERE.

It's hard to see Dante's vision matching the orthodox doctrine as just however, even when I might agree a particular transgression deserves punishment. Never mind the virtuous and good in limbo because they weren't Christians or unbaptized or in hell because they committed suicide or were homosexual. And poor Cassio and Brutus, condemned to the lowest circle because they conspired to kill a tyrant who was destroying their republic. My biggest problem with hell is that it is eternal. Take all the worst tyrants who murdered millions, make them suffer not only the length of the lifetimes of their victims but all the years they might have had, I doubt if you add it up it comes to the age of the Earth--never mind eternity. Justice taken to extremes is not justice--it's vindictiveness and sadism. Something impossible for me to equate with "the primal love."

Yet I loved this work so much upon my first read (I read the Dorothy Sayers translation) I went out and bought two other versions. One by Allen Mandelbaum (primarily because it was a dual language book with the Italian on one page facing the English translation) and a hardcover version translated by Charles Eliot Norton. Finally, before writing up my review and inspired by Matthew Pearl's The Dante Club, I got reacquainted by finding Longfellow's translation online. Of all of them, I greatly prefer Mandelbaum's translation. The others try to keep the rhyming and rhythm of the original and this means a sometimes tortured syntax and use of archaic words and the result is forced and often obscure, making the work much harder to read than it should be.

[markfinl · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

There is so much going on in The Divine Comedy that one reading is not enough to try to comprehend this book. Someone could, and I am sure many have, spend a lifetime reading and studying this.

[rizeandshine · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The Divine Comedy is a long, narrative poem in three parts that tells of the still living Dante's visit to Hell and Purgatory, guided by the poet Virgil and ascension to Paradise, lead by his ideal woman, Beatrice. The author uses allegory to describe the journey of the soul toward God, and on the way reveals much about his own scientific andpolitical idealogies and medieval Christian theology. In The Inferno, the underworld is rife with a variety of mythological creatures. Dante is able to meet with the damned, including a number of prominent figures in history and literature, as well as his own personal acquaintences. There are nine concentric circles of Hell, where deeper levels house greater sinners and punishments. Satan is bound in a lake of ice in the deepest circle at the center of the Earth. In Purgatorio, Dante climbs through the seven terraces of mount Purgatory, each housing penitents guilty of one of the seven deadly sins. He joins the penitents in their pilgrimmage and purges himself of sin in order that he might see his beloved Beatrice and ascend into Heaven. Dante and Virgil meet many souls along the way who are surprised to see the living Dante among them. As a resident of Limbo, Virgil takes his leave before the ascension into heaven. Beatrice meets Dante and guides him through the nine celestial spheres. Dante discovers that all souls in Heaven are in contact with God and while all parts of heaven are accessible to the heavenly soul, its ability to love God determines its placement in heaven. The Paradiso is a poem of fullfilment and completion and, contrary to The Inferno, does have a happy ending fitting of the title, Comedy.I tried reading a few different translations but preferred those that were more prose than poetry. If my first language was Italian I'm sure I would have enjoyed the original terza rima rhyme scheme, but any attempt at a similar rhyme scheme in English just doesn't work for me. Sadly, I found The Inferno and Purgatorio to be the most interesting realms of Dante's visit, but I'll chalk that up to the nature of Heaven being beyond our human ability to even imagine. I would hate to be one of the many whose sins were called out by the author so blatantly, but I have to admit that if the work were contemporary I might even find it humorous at times. At least I would be able to relate better. Overall it is an interesting and fairly quick read (if you skip all of the footnotes and commentary that take more lines than the poem itself) that I would recommend to anyone curious about this acclaimed work of literature.

[jeff5maynes · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is the sort of work that seems beyond review. It is a classic of the highest order, one which I have only just scratched the surface. From even the barest reading, it is obvious that this work would reward close study and careful consideration. As someone who is not a specialist in poetry, particularly of this era, Christian theology, or the historical context, I can only record my impressions as someone reading this for its literary value.

This review is based on the Everyman's Library edition of the Divine Comedy, which includes the Inferno, Purgatorio and Paradiso. It is translated by Allen Mandelbaum. I found the translation pleasurable to read, and it shows through some of Dante's poetry. Having heard readings of it in its original language, I can hardly imagine any translation really capturing its poetic brilliance, but such is the challenge facing all translations of poetry. While I cannot compare it with other translations, I did find this one an enjoyable experience to read.

This edition also contains extensive end notes throughout. Unless one is steeped in the theology and history, this work would be impenetrable without these notes. Dante is constantly alluding to individuals of historical note (often only within his context), the political rivalry between the Black and White Guelphs plays an important role and the work is rife with symbolism (beyond the obvious punishments detailed in the Inferno!). Further, and most importantly, Dante is engaged with the philosophical and theological debates of the day, and he tries to defend certain positions in this work. I would have been lost without the notes here. Indeed, one of the most rewarding things about reading the poem is learning about the history and philosophical/theological context. Reading an edition without extensive notes not only makes the text more difficult to understand for a modern reader, but deprives one of one of the most rewarding experiences in reading it.

The Inferno is the most famous of the three books, and it is no small wonder why. Dante's depiction of the levels of hell is riveting and powerful. The imagery throughout is engrossing. It is interesting, however, that Dante recognizes that his abilities to describe, in imagistic terms, what he observes diminish as he rises through Pugatory and Heaven. He consistently invokes higher and higher deities to help him match these sights poetically. Yet, taken in the imagery of the poem, none of the works is more immediately powerful than the Inferno.

One of the most interesting aspects of the poem is how Dante rises to meet this challenge. While in the Inferno, Dante is able to describe all manner of punishment and pain, his descriptions of heaven often turn on the blinding nature of its beauty. Its beauty is such that his eyes fail, and the correspondingly imaginative nature of his poetry falls short. He compensates by revealing the beauty of his heaven in other ways. Most notably is that he does so by showing how the divine nature of heaven can meet all of his questions and intellectual challenges. The joy and beauty of heaven is revealed in its ability to provide rational coherence. While I may be over-intellectualizing Dante here (I am no scholar of this material), it was the intellectual nature of his work that really struck me.

One final portion of the work that I found particularly moving is that Dante is a human being observing what he does, and this comes through in his emotions and questions most of all. Though he recognizes that the punishments of hell must be just (because they are divine justice), he pities those who suffer them. I wrestled with the same questions, and the reader cannot help but feel sympathy for these souls as Dante describes their punishments. Dante is our guide through these questions, and even if I as a reader am less than satisfied with the answers Dante comes with, he struggles with them. It is not merely a description and celebration of the divine, but rather a real struggle to understand it, and reconcile it to our own conception of justice and the world. This makes the work an interactive intellectual exercise, one works on the same problems that Dante does.

[zhenlee · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I've read the book twice. First time I got lost after Purgatorio, second time I finished with astounding understanding even amazed myself. The book is more than just an imaginary piece of work. It was Dante's spiritual journey in his own understanding, marvelously relevant to anyone who is in his/her own pursuit. The book even violently shook me during my darkest spiritual struggle... Besides that, the structure, philosophy, language, you can never finish reading Dante.

[391_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The edition I'm reading is Cary's, and, while I appreciate his command of iambic pentameter, I find him much harder to follow than Mandelbaum. I would recommend Cary or Longfellow for poetry, and Mandelbaum for comprehension, if given the choice between various translations.

As for the actual book itself - well, it's the Divine Comedy. It's amazing. The Inferno is my favorite of the three, with the sheer of joy of Paradiso bumping it up to second. Purgatorio is the last of the three, because it drags a bit more than the other two. I wish I could go back and read this with a literature class or something, so that I could catch all the allusions and references - not being an Italian contemporary of his leaves quite a bit of the book stuck in obscurity, but I imagine that's easy remedied with a competent Virgil of your own to guide you through it.

[laydonstorm · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This Allegory is the completed works of Dante transgressing the three stations (hell, purgatory, and paradise) in a way where one can truly understand the pain and suffering he went through to literally discover himself. The Divine Comedy is still to this day a highly read book by all ages and should continue to be so. With this take on the Allegory however did not follow the original Italian Vernacular and there by took away the authenticity of the epic.