The Divine Comedy (Barnes & Noble Collectible Editions)

By Dante and Gustave Doré

A landmark of world literature, The Divine Comedy tells of the poet Dantes travels through Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise in search of salvation. Before he is redeemed by his love for the heavenly Beatrice, he learns the meaning of evil, sin, damnation, and forgiveness through a series of unforgettable experiences and encounters. This edition of The Divine Comedy features Henry Wadsworth Longfellows renowned and 135 full-page reproductions of Gustave Dores classic engravings from the 1867 edition.  

The Divine Comedy is part of Barnes & Noble’s series of quality leatherbound volumes. Each title in the series presents a classic work in an attractively designed edition bound in genuine bonded leather. These books make elegant additions to any home library.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Barnes & Noble
• Release date: Jun 1, 2016
• ISBN: 9781435162082

Dante

Dante was born in Florence, Italy, in 1265. Heir of a poor but noble family, he was one of the seven elected officials in charge of the government of Florence. Civil war was common in Florence at the time and the issues were further complicated by the question of Papal influence. In 1300, Dante along with his fellow magistrates confirmed anti-papal measures. When in 1302, the French prince acting under orders from the Pope captured power in Florence, Dante was sentenced on charges of corruption and opposition to the Church and exiled from Florence on pain of execution by burning if he ever returned. He spent the rest of his life in exile, pining for his native city. He withdrew from active politics to a large extent and concentrated on his literary creations. We do not know exactly when Dante began work on The Divine Comedy. He had been moving about from court to court after his exile and 1n 1317 had settled at Ravenna, where he completed his great work. Extant correspondence shows that the first and second parts of The Divine Comedy, the "Inferno" and the "Purgatario" were generally known around 1319. The last part, the "Paradiso" was completed only in 1321. Dante died at Ravenna on 14 September 1321 and the last thirteen Cantos of the "Paradiso" were published posthumously.

Book preview

Canto I

The Dark Forest—The Hill of Difficulty—The Panther, the Lion, and the Wolf—Virgil

Midway upon the journey of our life

I found myself within a forest dark,

For the straightforward pathway had been lost.

Ah me! how hard a thing it is to say

5

What was this forest savage, rough, and stern,

Which in the very thought renews the fear.

So bitter is it, death is little more;

But of the good to treat, which there I found,

Speak will I of the other things I saw there.

10

I cannot well repeat how there I entered,

So full was I of slumber at the moment

In which I had abandoned the true way.

But after I had reached a mountain’s foot,

At that point where the valley terminated,

15

Which had with consternation pierced my heart,

Upward I looked, and I beheld its shoulders,

Vested already with that planet’s rays

Which leadeth others right by every road.

Then was the fear a little quieted

20

That in my heart’s lake had endured throughout

The night, which I had passed so piteously.

Midway upon the journey of our life

I found myself within a forest dark,

For the straightforward pathway had been lost.

Inferno I, lines 1–3

And even as he, who, with distressful breath,

Forth issued from the sea upon the shore,

Turns to the water perilous and gazes;

25

So did my soul, that still was fleeing onward,

Turn itself back to re-behold the pass

Which never yet a living person left.

After my weary body I had rested,

The way resumed I on the desert slope,

30

So that the firm foot ever was the lower.

And lo! almost where the ascent began,

A panther light and swift exceedingly,

Which with a spotted skin was covered o’er!

And never moved she from before my face,

35

Nay, rather did impede so much my way,

That many times I to return had turned.

The time was the beginning of the morning,

And up the sun was mounting with those stars

That with him were, what time the Love Divine

40

At first in motion set those beauteous things;

So were to me occasion of good hope,

The variegated skin of that wild beast,

The hour of time, and the delicious season;

But not so much, that did not give me fear

45

A lion’s aspect which appeared to me.

He seemed as if against me he were coming

With head uplifted, and with ravenous hunger,

So that it seemed the air was afraid of him;

And lo! almost where the ascent began,

A panther light and swift exceedingly,

Which with a spotted skin was covered o’er!

Inferno I, lines 31–33

He seemed as if against me he were coming

With head uplifted, and with ravenous hunger

Inferno I, lines 46–47

And a she-wolf, that with all hungerings

50

Seemed to be laden in her meagerness,

And many folk has caused to live forlorn!

She brought upon me so much heaviness,

With the affright that from her aspect came,

That I the hope relinquished of the height.

55

And as he is who willingly acquires,

And the time comes that causes him to lose,

Who weeps in all his thoughts and is despondent,

E’en such made me that beast withouten peace,

Which, coming on against me by degrees

60

Thrust me back thither where the sun is silent.

While I was rushing downward to the lowland,

Before mine eyes did one present himself,

Who seemed from long-continued silence hoarse.

When I beheld him in the desert vast,

65

Have pity on me, unto him I cried,

Whiche’er thou art, or shade or real man!

He answered me: "Not man; man once I was,

And both my parents were of Lombardy,

And Mantuans by country both of them.

70

Sub Julio was I born, though it was late,

And lived at Rome under the good Augustus,

During the time of false and lying gods.

A poet was I, and I sang that just

Son of Anchises, who came forth from Troy,

75

After that Ilion the superb was burned.

But thou, why goest thou back to such annoyance?

Why climb’st thou not the Mount Delectable,

Which is the source and cause of every joy?"

"Now, art thou that Virgilius and that fountain

80

Which spreads abroad so wide a river of speech?"

I made response to him with bashful forehead.

"O, of the other poets honor and light,

Avail me the long study and great love

That have impelled me to explore thy volume!

85

Thou art my master, and my author thou,

Thou art alone the one from whom I took

The beautiful style that has done honor to me.

Behold the beast, for which I have turned back;

Do thou protect me from her, famous Sage,

90

For she doth make my veins and pulses tremble."

Thee it behoves to take another road,

Responded he, when he beheld me weeping,

"If from this savage place thou wouldst escape;

Because this beast, at which thou criest out,

95

Suffers not any one to pass her way,

But so doth harass him, that she destroys him;

And has a nature so malign and ruthless,

That never doth she glut her greedy will,

And after food is hungrier than before.

100

Many the animals with whom she weds,

And more they shall be still, until the Greyhound

Comes, who shall make her perish in her pain.

"Behold the beast, for which I have turned back;

Do thou protect me from her, famous Sage"

Inferno I, lines 88–89

He shall not feed on either earth or pelf,

But upon wisdom, and on love and virtue;

105

’Twixt Feltro and Feltro shall his nation be;

Of that low Italy shall he be the savior,

On whose account the maid Camilla died,

Euryalus, Turnus, Nisus, of their wounds;

Through every city shall he hunt her down,

110

Until he shall have driven her back to Hell,

There from whence envy first did let her loose.

Therefore I think and judge it for thy best

Thou follow me, and I will be thy guide,

And lead thee hence through the eternal place,

115

Where thou shalt hear the desperate lamentations,

Shalt see the ancient spirits disconsolate,

Who cry out each one for the second death;

And thou shalt see those who contented are

Within the fire, because they hope to come,

120

Whene’er it may be, to the blessed people;

To whom, then, if thou wishest to ascend,

A soul shall be for that than I more worthy;

With her at my departure I will leave thee;

Because that Emperor, who reigns above,

125

In that I was rebellious to his law,

Wills that through me none come into his city.

He governs everywhere, and there he reigns;

There is his city and his lofty throne;

O happy he whom thereto he elects!"

130

And I to him: "Poet, I thee entreat,

By that same God whom thou didst never know,

So that I may escape this woe and worse,

Thou wouldst conduct me there where thou hast said,

That I may see the portal of Saint Peter,

135

And those thou makest so disconsolate."

Then he moved on, and I behind him followed.

Canto II

The Descent—Dante’s Protest and Virgil’s Appeal—The Intercession of the Three Ladies Benedight

Day was departing, and the embrowned air

Released the animals that are on earth

From their fatigues; and I the only one

Made myself ready to sustain the war,

5

Both of the way and likewise of the woe,

Which memory that errs not shall retrace.

O Muses, O high genius, now assist me!

O memory, that didst write down what I saw,

Here thy nobility shall be manifest!

10

And I began: "Poet, who guidest me,

Regard my manhood, if it be sufficient,

Ere to the arduous pass thou dost confide me.

Thou sayest, that of Silvius the parent,

While yet corruptible, unto the world

15

Immortal went, and was there bodily.

Then he moved on, and I behind him followed.

Inferno I, line 136

Day was departing

Inferno II, line 1

But if the adversary of all evil

Was courteous, thinking of the high effect

That issue would from him, and who, and what,

To men of intellect unmeet it seems not;

20

For he was of great Rome, and of her empire

In the empyreal heaven as father chosen;

The which and what, wishing to speak the truth,

Were stablished as the holy place, wherein

Sits the successor of the greatest Peter.

25

Upon this journey, whence thou givest him vaunt,

Things did he hear, which the occasion were

Both of his victory and the papal mantle.

Thither went afterwards the Chosen Vessel,

To bring back comfort thence unto that Faith,

30

Which of salvation’s way is the beginning.

But I, why thither come, or who concedes it?

I not Æneas am, I am not Paul,

Nor I, nor others, think me worthy of it.

Therefore, if I resign myself to come,

35

I fear the coming may be ill-advised;

Thou’rt wise, and knowest better than I speak."

And as he is, who unwills what he willed,

And by new thoughts doth his intention change,

So that from his design he quite withdraws,

40

Such I became, upon that dark hillside,

Because, in thinking, I consumed the emprise,

Which was so very prompt in the beginning.

If I have well thy language understood,

Replied that shade of the Magnanimous,

45

"Thy soul attainted is with cowardice,

Which many times a man encumbers so,

It turns him back from honored enterprise,

As false sight doth a beast, when he is shy.

That thou mayst free thee from this apprehension,

50

I’ll tell thee why I came, and what I heard

At the first moment when I grieved for thee.

Among those was I who are in suspense,

And a fair, saintly Lady called to me

In such wise, I besought her to command me.

55

Her eyes where shining brighter than the Star;

And she began to say, gentle and low,

With voice angelical, in her own language:

‘O spirit courteous of Mantua,

Of whom the fame still in the world endures,

60

And shall endure, long-lasting as the world;

A friend of mine, and not the friend of fortune,

Upon the desert slope is so impeded

Upon his way, that he has turned through terror,

And may, I fear, already be so lost,

65

That I too late have risen to his succor,

From that which I have heard of him in Heaven.

Bestir thee now, and with thy speech ornate,

And with what needful is for his release,

Assist him so, that I may be consoled.

70

Beatrice am I, who do bid thee go;

I come from there, where I would fain return;

Love moved me, which compelleth me to speak.

When I shall be in presence of my Lord,

Full often will I praise thee unto him.’

75

Then paused she, and thereafter I began:

‘O Lady of virtue, thou alone through whom

The human race exceedeth all contained

Within the heaven that has the lesser circles,

So grateful unto me is thy commandment,

80

To obey, if ’twere already done, were late;

No farther need’st thou ope to me thy wish.

But the cause tell me why thou dost not shun

The here descending down into this center,

From the vast place thou burnest to return to.’

85

‘Since thou wouldst fain so inwardly discern,

Briefly will I relate,’ she answered me,

‘Why I am not afraid to enter here.

Of those things only should one be afraid

Which have the power of doing others harm;

90

Of the rest, no; because they are not fearful.

God in his mercy such created me

That misery of yours attains me not,

Nor any flame assails me of this burning.

A gentle Lady is in Heaven, who grieves

95

At this impediment, to which I send thee,

So that stern judgment there above is broken.

Beatrice am I, who do bid thee go

Inferno II, line 70

In her entreaty she besought Lucìa,

And said, "Thy faithful one now stands in need

Of thee, and unto thee I recommend him."

100

Lucìa, foe of all that cruel is,

Hastened away, and came unto the place

Where I was sitting with the ancient Rachel.

Beatrice, said she, "the true praise of God,

Why succorest thou not him, who loved thee so,

105

For thee he issued from the vulgar herd?

Dost thou not hear the pity of his plaint?

Dost thou not see the death that combats him

Beside that flood, where ocean has no vaunt?"

Never were persons in the world so swift

110

To work their weal and to escape their woe,

As I, after such words as these were uttered,

Came hither downward from my blessed seat,

Confiding in thy dignified discourse,

Which honors thee, and those who’ve listened to it.’

115

After she thus had spoken unto me,

Weeping, her shining eyes she turned away;

Whereby she made me swifter in my coming;

And unto thee I came, as she desired;

I have delivered thee from that wild beast,

120

Which barred the beautiful mountain’s short ascent.

What is it, then? Why, why dost thou delay?

Why is such baseness bedded in thy heart?

Daring and hardihood why hast thou not,

Seeing that three such Ladies benedight

125

Are caring for thee in the court of Heaven,

And so much good my speech doth promise thee?"

Even as the flowerets, by nocturnal chill,

Bowed down and closed, when the sun whitens them,

Uplift themselves all open on their stems;

130

Such I became with my exhausted strength,

And such good courage to my heart there coursed,

That I began, like an intrepid person:

"O she compassionate, who succored me,

And courteous thou, who hast obeyed so soon

135

The words of truth which she addressed to thee!

Thou hast my heart so with desire disposed

To the adventure, with these words of thine,

That to my first intent I have returned.

Now go, for one sole will is in us both,

140

Thou Leader, and thou Lord, and Master thou."

Thus said I to him; and when he had moved,

I entered on the deep and savage way.

Canto III

The Gate of Hell—The Inefficient or Indifferent—Pope Celestine V—The Shores of Acheron—Charon—The Earthquake and the Swoon

"Through me the way is to the city dolent;

Through me the way is to eternal dole;

Through me the way among the people lost.

Justice incited my sublime Creator;

5

Created me divine Omnipotence,

The highest Wisdom and the primal Love.

Before me there were no created things,

Only eterne, and I eternal last.

All hope abandon, ye who enter in!"

10

These words in somber color I beheld

Written upon the summit of a gate;

Whence I: Their sense is, Master, hard to me!

And he to me, as one experienced:

"Here all suspicion needs must be abandoned,

15

All cowardice must needs be here extinct.

We to the place have come, where I have told thee

Thou shalt behold the people dolorous

Who have foregone the good of intellect."

And after he had laid his hand on mine

20

With joyful mien, whence I was comforted,

He led me in among the secret things.

All hope abandon, ye who enter in!

Inferno III, line 9

There sighs, complaints, and ululations loud

Resounded through the air without a star,

Whence I, at the beginning, wept thereat.

25

Languages diverse, horrible dialects,

Accents of anger, words of agony,

And voices high and hoarse, with sound of hands,

Made up a tumult that goes whirling on

For ever in that air for ever black,

30

Even as the sand doth, when the whirlwind breathes.

And I, who had my head with horror bound,

Said: "Master, what is this which now I hear?

What folk is this, which seems by pain so vanquished?"

And he to me: "This miserable mode

35

Maintain the melancholy souls of those

Who lived withouten infamy or praise.

Commingled are they with that caitiff choir

Of Angels, who have not rebellious been,

Nor faithful were to God, but were for self.

40

The heavens expelled them, not to be less fair;

Nor them the nethermore abyss receives,

For glory none the damned would have from them."

And I: "O Master, what so grievous is

To these, that maketh them lament so sore?"

45

He answered: "I will tell thee very briefly.

These have no longer any hope of death;

And this blind life of theirs is so debased,

They envious are of every other fate.

No fame of them the world permits to be;

50

Misericord and Justice both disdain them.

Let us not speak of them, but look, and pass."

And I, who looked again, beheld a banner,

Which, whirling round, ran on so rapidly,

That of all pause it seemed to me indignant;

55

And after it there came so long a train

Of people, that I ne’er would have believed

That ever Death so many had undone.

When some among them I had recognized,

I looked, and I beheld the shade of him

60

Who made through cowardice the great refusal.

Forthwith I comprehended, and was certain,

That this the sect was of the caitiff wretches

Hateful to God and to his enemies.

These miscreants, who never were alive,

65

Were naked, and were stung exceedingly

By gadflies and by hornets that were there.

These did their faces irrigate with blood,

Which, with their tears commingled, at their feet

By the disgusting worms was gathered up.

70

And when to gazing farther I betook me.

People I saw on a great river’s bank;

Whence said I: "Master, now vouchsafe to me,

That I may know who these are, and what law

Makes them appear so ready to pass over,

75

As I discern athwart the dusky light."

And he to me: "These things shall all be known

To thee, as soon as we our footsteps stay

Upon the dismal shore of Acheron."

Then with mine eyes ashamed and downward cast,

80

Fearing my words might irksome be to him,

From speech refrained I till we reached the river.

And lo! towards us coming in a boat

An old man, hoary with the hair of eld,

Crying: "Woe unto you, ye souls depraved!

85

Hope nevermore to look upon the heavens;

I come to lead you to the other shore,

To the eternal shades in heat and frost.

And thou, that yonder standest, living soul,

Withdraw thee from these people, who are dead!"

90

But when he saw that I did not withdraw,

He said: "By other ways, by other ports

Thou to the shore shalt come, not here, for passage;

A lighter vessel needs must carry thee."

And unto him the Guide: "Vex thee not, Charon;

95

It is so willed there where is power to do

That which is willed; and farther question not."

Thereat were quieted the fleecy cheeks

Of him the ferryman of the livid fen,

Who round about his eyes had wheels of flame.

100

But all those souls who weary were and naked

Their color changed and gnashed their teeth together,

As soon as they had heard those cruel words.

And lo! towards us coming in a boat

An old man, hoary with the hair of eld,

Crying: Woe unto you, ye souls depraved!

Inferno III, lines 82–84

God they blasphemed and their progenitors,

The human race, the place, the time, the seed

105

Of their engendering and of their birth!

Thereafter all together they drew back,

Bitterly weeping, to the accursed shore,

Which waiteth every man who fears not God.

Charon the demon, with the eyes of glede,

110

Beckoning to them, collects them all together,

Beats with his oar whoever lags behind.

As in the autumn-time the leaves fall off,

First one and then another, till the branch

Unto the earth surrenders all its spoils;

115

In similar wise the evil seed of Adam

Throw themselves from that margin one by one,

At signals, as a bird unto its lure.

So they depart across the dusky wave,

And ere upon the other side they land,

120

Again on this side a new troop assembles.

My son, the courteous Master said to me,

"All those who perish in the wrath of God

Here meet together out of every land;

And ready are they to pass o’er the river,

125

Because celestial Justice spurs them on,

So that their fear is turned into desire.

This way there never passes a good soul;

And hence if Charon doth complain of thee,

Well mayst thou know now what his speech imports."

Charon the demon, with the eyes of glede,

Beckoning to them, collects them all together,

Beats with his oar whoever lags behind.

Inferno III, lines 109–111

130

This being finished, all the dusk champaign

Trembled so violently, that of that terror

The recollection bathes me still with sweat.

The land of tears gave forth a blast of wind,

And fulminated a vermilion light,

135

Which overmastered in me every sense,

And as a man whom sleep hath seized I fell.

Canto IV

The First Circle, Limbo: Virtuous Pagans and the Unbaptized—The Four Poets, Homer, Horace, Ovid, and Lucan—The Noble Castle of Philosophy

Broke the deep lethargy within my head

A heavy thunder, so that I upstarted,

Like to a person who by force is wakened;

And round about I moved my rested eyes,

5

Uprisen erect, and steadfastly I gazed,

To recognize the place wherein I was.

True is it, that upon the verge I found me

Of the abysmal valley dolorous,

That gathers thunder of infinite ululations.

10

Obscure, profound it was, and nebulous,

So that by fixing on its depths my sight

Nothing whatever I discerned therein.

Let us descend now into the blind world,

Began the Poet, pallid utterly;

15

I will be first, and thou shalt second be.

And I, who of his color was aware,

Said: "How shall I come, if thou art afraid,

Who’rt wont to be a comfort to my fears?"

And he to me: "The anguish of the people

20

Who are below here in my face depicts

That pity which for terror thou hast taken.

Let us go on, for the long way impels us."

Thus he went in, and thus he made me enter

The foremost circle that surrounds the abyss.

25

There, as it seemed to me from listening,

Were lamentations none, but only sighs,

That tremble made the everlasting air.

And this arose from sorrow without torment,

Which the crowds had, that many were and great,

30

Of infants and of women and of men.

To me the Master good: "Thou dost not ask

What spirits these, which thou beholdest, are?

Now will I have thee know, ere thou go farther,

That they sinned not; and if they merit had,

35

’Tis not enough, because they had not baptism

Which is the portal of the Faith thou holdest;

And if they were before Christianity,

In the right manner they adored not God;

And among such as these am I myself.

40

For such defects, and not for other guilt,

Lost are we, and are only so far punished,

That without hope we live on in desire."

Great grief seized on my heart when this I heard,

Because some people of much worthiness

45

I knew, who in that Limbo were suspended.

Tell me, my Master, tell me, thou my Lord,

Began I, with desire of being certain

Of that Faith which o’ercometh every error,

"Came any one by his own merit hence,

50

Or by another’s, who was blessed thereafter?"

And he, who understood my covert speech,

Replied: "I was a novice in this state,

When I saw hither come a Mighty One,

With sign of victory incoronate.

55

Hence he drew forth the shade of the First Parent,

And that of his son Abel, and of Noah,

Of Moses the lawgiver, and the obedient

Abraham, patriarch, and David, king,

Israel with his father and his children,

60

And Rachel, for whose sake he did so much,

And others many, and he made them blessed;

And thou must know, that earlier than these

Never were any human spirits saved."

We ceased not to advance because he spake,

65

But still were passing onward through the forest,

The forest, say I, of thick-crowded ghosts.

"Lost are we, and are only so far punished,

That without hope we live on in desire."

Inferno IV, lines 41–42

Not very far as yet our way had gone

This side the summit, when I saw a fire

That overcame a hemisphere of darkness.

70

We were a little distant from it still,

But not so far that I in part discerned not

That honorable people held that place.

"O thou who honorest every art and science,

Who may these be, which such great honor have,

75

That from the fashion of the rest it parts them?"

And he to me: "The honorable name,

That sounds of them above there in thy life,

Wins grace in Heaven, that so advances them."

In the meantime a voice was heard by me:

80

"All honor be to the preeminent Poet;

His shade returns again, that was departed."

After the voice had ceased and quiet was,

Four mighty shades I saw approaching us;

Semblance had they nor sorrowful nor glad.

85

To say to me began my gracious Master:

"Him with that falchion in his hand behold,

Who comes before the three, even as their lord.

That one is Homer, Poet sovereign;

He who comes next is Horace, the satirist;

90

The third is Ovid, and the last is Lucan.

Because to each of these with me applies

The name that solitary voice proclaimed,

They do me honor, and in that do well."

Thus I beheld assemble the fair school

95

Of that lord of the song preeminent,

Who o’er the others like an eagle soars.

When they together had discoursed somewhat,

They turned to me with signs of salutation,

And on beholding this, my Master smiled;

100

And more of honor still, much more, they did me,

In that they made me one of their own band;

So that the sixth was I, ’mid so much wit.

Thus we went on as far as to the light,

Things saying ’tis becoming to keep silent,

105

As was the saying of them where I was.

We came unto a noble castle’s foot,

Seven times encompassëd with lofty walls,

Defended round by a fair rivulet;

This we passed over even as firm ground;

110

Through portals seven I entered with these Sages;

We came into a meadow of fresh verdure.

People were there with solemn eyes and slow,

Of great authority in their countenance;

They spake but seldom, and with gentle voices.

115

Thus we withdrew ourselves upon one side

Into an opening luminous and lofty,

So that they all of them were visible.

There opposite, upon the green enamel,

Were pointed out to me the mighty spirits,

120

Whom to have seen I feel myself exalted.

Thus I beheld assemble the fair school

Of that lord of the song preeminent,

Who o’er the others like an eagle soars.

Inferno IV, lines 94–96

I saw Electra with companions many,

’Mongst whom I knew both Hector and Æneas,

Cæsar in armor with gerfalcon eyes;

I saw Camilla and Penthesilea

125

On the other side, and saw the King Latinus,

Who with Lavinia his daughter sat;

I saw that Brutus who drove Tarquin forth,

Lucretia, Julia, Marcia, and Cornelia,

And saw alone, apart, the Saladin.

130

When I had lifted up my brows a little,

The Master I beheld of those who know,

Sit with his philosophic family.

All gaze upon him, and all do him honor.

There I beheld both Socrates and Plato,

135

Who nearer him before the others stand;

Democritus, who puts the world on chance,

Diogenes, Anaxagoras, and Thales,

Zeno, Empedocles, and Heraclitus;

Of qualities I saw the good collector,

140

Hight Dioscorides; and Orpheus saw I,

Tully and Livy, and moral Seneca,

Euclid, geometrician, and Ptolemy,

Galen, Hippocrates, and Avicenna,

Averroes, who the great Comment made.

145

I cannot all of them portray in full,

Because so drives me onward the long theme,

That many times the word comes short of fact.

The sixfold company in two divides;

Another way my sapient Guide conducts me

150

Forth from the quiet to the air that trembles;

And to a place I come where nothing shines.

Canto V

The Second Circle: The Wanton—Minos—The Infernal Hurricane—Francesca da Rimini

Thus I descended out of the first circle

Down to the second, that less space begirds,

And so much greater dole, that goads to wailing.

There standeth Minos horribly, and snarls;

5

Examines the transgressions at the entrance;

Judges, and sends according as he girds him.

I say, that when the spirit evil-born

Cometh before him, wholly it confesses;

And this discriminator of transgressions

10

Seeth what place in Hell is meet for it;

Girds himself with his tail as many times

As grades he wishes it should be thrust down.

Always before him many of them stand;

They go by turns each one unto the judgment;

15

They speak, and hear, and then are downward hurled.

"O thou, that to this dolorous hostelry

Comest," said Minos to me, when he saw me,

Leaving the practice of so great an office,

There standeth Minos horribly, and snarls;

Examines the transgressions at the entrance;

Judges, and sends according as he girds him.

Inferno V, lines 4–6

"Look how thou enterest, and in whom thou trustest;

20

Let not the portal’s amplitude deceive thee."

And unto him my Guide: "Why criest thou too?

Do not impede his journey fate-ordained;

It is so willed there where is power to do

That which is willed; and ask no further question."

25

And now begin the dolesome notes to grow

Audible unto me; now am I come

There where much lamentation strikes upon me.

I came into a place mute of all light,

Which bellows as the sea does in a tempest,

30

If by opposing winds ’t is combated.

The infernal hurricane that never rests

Hurtles the spirits onward in its rapine;

Whirling them round, and smiting, it molests them.

When they arrive before the precipice,

35

There are the shrieks, the plaints, and the laments,

There they blaspheme the puissance divine.

I understood that unto such a torment

The carnal malefactors were condemned,

Who reason subjugate to appetite.

40

And as the wings of starlings bear them on

In the cold season in large band and full,

So doth that blast the spirits maledict;

It hither, thither, downward, upward, drives them;

No hope doth comfort them for evermore,

45

Not of repose, but even of lesser pain.

The infernal hurricane that never rests

Hurtles the spirits onward in its rapine

Inferno V, lines 31–32

And as the cranes go chanting forth their lays,

Making in air a long line of themselves,

So saw I coming, uttering lamentations,

Shadows borne onward by the aforesaid stress.

50

Whereupon said I: "Master, who are those

People, whom the black air so castigates?"

"The first of those, of whom intelligence

Thou fain wouldst have," then said he unto me,

"The empress was of many languages.

55

To sensual vices she was so abandoned,

That lustful she made licit in her law,

To remove the blame to which she had been led.

She is Semiramis, of whom we read

That she succeeded Ninus, and was his spouse;

60

She held the land which now the Sultan rules.

The next is she who killed herself for love,

And broke faith with the ashes of Sichæus;

Then Cleopatra the voluptuous."

Helen I saw, for whom so many ruthless

65

Seasons revolved; and saw the great Achilles,

Who at the last hour combated with Love.

Paris I saw, Tristan; and more than a thousand

Shades did he name and point out with his finger,

Whom Love had separated from our life.

70

After that I had listened to my Teacher,

Naming the dames of eld and cavaliers,

Pity prevailed, and I was nigh bewildered.

And I began: "O Poet, willingly

Speak would I to those two, who go together,

75

And seem upon the wind to be so light."

And he to me: "Thou’lt mark, when they shall be

Nearer to us; and then do thou implore them

By love which leadeth them, and they will come."

Soon as the wind in our direction sways them,

80

My voice uplift I: "O ye weary souls!

Come speak to us, if no one interdicts it."

As turtledoves, called onward by desire,

With open and steady wings to the sweet nest

Fly through the air by their volition borne,

85

So came they from the band where Dido is,

Approaching us athwart the air malign,

So strong was the affectionate appeal.

"O living creature gracious and benignant,

Who visiting goest through the purple air

90

Us, who have stained the world incarnadine,

If were the King of the Universe our friend,

We would pray unto him to give thee peace,

Since thou hast pity on our woe perverse.

Of what it pleases thee to hear and speak,

95

That will we hear, and we will speak to you,

While silent is the wind, as it is now.

Sitteth the city, wherein I was born,

Upon the seashore where the Po descends

To rest in peace with all his retinue.

"O Poet, willingly

Speak would I to those two, who go together,

And seem upon the wind to be so light."

Inferno V, lines 73–75

100

Love, that on gentle heart doth swiftly seize,

Seized this man for the person beautiful

That was ta’en from me, and still the mode offends me.

Love, that exempts no one beloved from loving,

Seized me with pleasure of this man so strongly,

105

That, as thou seest, it doth not yet desert me;

Love has conducted us unto one death;

Caina waiteth him who quenched our life!"

These words were borne along from them to us.

As soon as I had heard those souls tormented,

110

I bowed my face, and so long held it down

Until the Poet said to me: What thinkest?

When I made answer, I began: "Alas!

How many pleasant thoughts, how much desire,

Conducted these unto the dolorous pass!"

115

Then unto them I turned me, and I spake,

And I began: "Thine agonies, Francesca,

Sad and compassionate to weeping make me.

But tell me, at the time of those sweet sighs,

By what and in what manner Love conceded,

120

That you should know your dubious desires?"

And she to me: "There is no greater sorrow

Than to be mindful of the happy time

In misery, and that thy Teacher knows.

But, if to recognize the earliest root

125

Of love in us thou hast so great desire,

I will do even as he who weeps and speaks.

"Love has conducted us unto one death;

Caina waiteth him who quenched our life!"

These words were borne along from them to us.

Inferno V, lines 106–108

One day we reading were for our delight

Of Launcelot, how Love did him enthrall.

Alone we were and without any fear.

130

Full many a time our eyes together drew

That reading, and drove the color from our faces;

But one point only was

Reviews for The Divine Comedy (Barnes & Noble Collectible Editions)

[alexlubertozz-893592 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Okay, I only read the Inferno, but I really enjoyed the translation by John Ciardi--both as poetry and (with his comprehensive notes) as commentary. I looked around at various editions to get a sense of how the verse was handled and ended up buying this complete ebook version for the iPad. I thought Ciardi handled the rhyming pattern and meter really well (basically employing an ABA BAB scheme). It's impossible to use Dante's AAA rhyme scheme in English, but Ciardi's simple pattern seemed like a good adaptation. Also Ciardi's language is closer to what I think the author intended (albeit for our era and language), as Dante wrote in Italian when almost all scholarly works and serious poetry would have been written in Italian.

I'm glad I finally read this, both for getting to understand the source from which so many of our ideas about hell came, and for getting some of the interesting historical tidbits, which usually had to be explained in the notes. But being able to read an engaging translation made this a surprisingly enjoyable tour of hell, instead of the slog I'd feared.

Even though I skipped over Purgatory and Paradise, I'd recommend this Ciardi translation for whatever circle of the afterlife you're planning on visiting. But if you ask me, go straight to hell.

[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.

[tonifgmamtc · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I know. I know. Everyone gives this 5 stars. It's one of the great books of all time. Etc, etc. Sorry, I did not like it. The problem is definitely with me instead of the book. I've just been preached at so much in my life by people who were religious fakes that when I start seeing or hearing a lot of theology my brain interprets it as blah, blah, blah-blah, blah. I admit I had to skim some. I know this is full of great writing which I can appreciate even though I don't like the subject. That's why I'm giving 3 stars.

[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.

[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.

[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 THINGSWERE 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.

[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.

[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.

[booksfordeb · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Dante, Virgil, Hades, and the beloved Beatrice---what's not to like. This allegory of Dante's struggles with events in his own life with the geography of hell, purgatory, and paradise is beautiful. Dante was a beautiful writer. The story flows beautifully and leaves you with so many images of life and how to deal with it. Truly a masterpiece.

[trinibaby9 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I loved everything up to the Paradisso portion. I know this is supposed to be the best part of the three but it really wasn't to me. I really thought the first two were absolutely excellent. This is definitely devine!

[charlie68_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Fascinating book that puts a different perspective on life and religion. Adds depth to the Bible and some of its symbolisms and philosophies. Has made me think of life and the life after death and has made me really aware of the precious things in life.