Purgatorio
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Purgatorio
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Overview
Winner of the American Literary Translators Association 2022 National Translation Award in Poetry.
Purgatorio, the middle section of Dante’s great poem about losing, and subsequently finding, one’s way in the middle of one’s life is, unsurprisingly, the beating heart of The Divine Comedy, as this powerful and lucid new translation by the poet D. M. Black makes wonderfully clear.
After days spent plumbing the depths of hell, the pilgrim staggers back to the clear light of day in a state of shock, the sense of pervasive dread and deep bewilderment with which he began his pilgrimage as intensified as it is alleviated by his terminal vision of evil. The slow and initially arduous climb up the mount of Purgatory that ensues, guided as always by Virgil, his poetic model and mentor, is simultaneously a reckoning with human limits and a rediscovery of human potential in the light of divine promise.
Dante’s Purgatorio, which has been an inspiration to poets as varied as Shelley and T. S. Eliot, is a book full of human stories and philosophical inquiry; it is also a tale of individual reintegration and healing.
Black, a distinguished psychoanalyst as well as a poet, provides an introduction and commentary to this masterpiece by Dante from a contemporary point of view in this bilingual edition.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781681376059 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | New York Review Books |
| Publication date: | 09/14/2021 |
| Pages: | 488 |
| Sales rank: | 512,951 |
| Product dimensions: | 5.00(w) x 7.90(h) x 0.90(d) |
About the Author
D. M. Black is the author of seven poetry collections, including Claiming Kindred (2011) and The Arrow Maker (2017). He edited Psychoanalysis and Religion in the 21st Century: Competitors or Collaborators? (2006), and is the author of Why Things Matter: The Place of Values in Science, Psychoanalysis and Religion (2011). He is a Fellow of the British Psychoanalytic Society and lives in London.
Robert Pogue Harrison is a critic, radio host, and the Rosina Pierotti Professor in Italian Literature at Stanford University. His most recent book is Juvenescence: A Cultural History of Our Age.
Read an Excerpt
PURGATORIO I
OUTLINE
Introduction
1-6exordium: metaphor of little ship
7-12invocation: holy Muses, especially Calliope
I. The setting at the shore
13-18the restored delight caused by the sky before sunrise
19-21to the east: Venus in Pisces
22-27to the south: the four stars (apostrophe: "widowed hemisphere")
28-30to the north (direction of Ursa Major)
II. Cato the Younger
31-39a fatherly figure to be revered, bearded, his face aglow
40-48the challenge of this old man (Cato) to their presence
49-51Virgil: Dante must kneel and bow his head
52-84Virgil's responses to Cato:
52-57I come, guiding this man, by agency of a lady
58-66he is still alive, but was almost dead when I was sent to bring him through hell to here
67-69my guidance is in turn guided from above
70-75he seeks liberty, as you once did, dying for it in Utica on your way to heaven
76-80we break no law, since he is still alive and I am not in hell proper but share your wife's abode
81-84for love of Marcia let us proceed; then I will report to her your kindness to us when I return
85-108Cato's rejoinder to Virgil:
85-90I loved Marcia in the life below; now the new law that accompanied my release forbids further feeling
91-93if a heavenly lady leads you there is no need for flattery
94-99gird and bathe him so that he may approach the angel with his vision clear
100-108descend to the edge of the sea to the rushes in the mud; then ascend by an easier path, guidedby the sun
109-111Cato's departure and Dante's acquiescence
III. The shore again
112-114Virgil urges Dante to descend the slope toward the sea
115-117Dante makes out the waves of the sea
118-121their going compared to that of a man who finds the path he had lost
122-133in a place still moist with dew Virgil cleanses Dante's face and, at the shore, girds Dante as he had been bidden
134-136a wonder: the plant, once plucked, grows back again
PURGATORIO I
Per correr miglior acque alza le vele
omai la navicella del mio ingegno,
3 che lascia dietro a se mar si crudele;
e cantero di quel secondo regno
dove l'umano spirito si purga
6 e di salire al ciel diventa degno.
Ma qui la morta poesi resurga,
o sante Muse, poi che vostro sono;
9 e qui Calliope alquanto surga,
seguitando il mio canto con quel suono
di cui le Piche misere sentiro
12 lo colpo tal, che disperar perdono.
Dolce color d'or-ental zaffiro,
che s'accoglieva nel sereno aspetto
15 del mezzo, puro infino al primo giro,
a li occhi miei ricomincio diletto,
tosto ch'io usci' fuor de l'aura morta
18 che m'avea contristati li occhi e 'l petto.
Lo bel pianeto che d'amar conforta
faceva tutto rider l'or-ente,
21 velando i Pesci ch'erano in sua scorta.
I' mi volsi a man destra, e puosi mente
a l'altro polo, e vidi quattro stelle
24 non viste mai fuor ch'a la prima gente.
Goder pareva 'l ciel di lor fiammelle:
oh settentr-onal vedovo sito,
27 poi che privato se' di mirar quelle!
To run its course through smoother water
the small bark of my wit now hoists its sail,
3 leaving that cruel sea behind.
Now I shall sing the second kingdom,
there where the soul of man is cleansed,
6 made worthy to ascend to Heaven.
Here from the dead let poetry rise up,
O sacred Muses, since I am yours.
9 Here let Calliope arise
to accompany my song with those same chords
whose force so struck the miserable magpies
12 that, hearing them, they lost all hope of pardon.
Sweet color of oriental sapphire,
hovering in the calm and peaceful aspect
15 of intervening air, pure to the horizon,
pleased my eyes once more
as soon as I had left the morbid air
18 that had afflicted both my chest and eyes.
The fair planet that emboldens love,
smiling, lit up the east,
21 veiling the Fishes in her train.
I turned to the right and, fixing my attention
on the other pole, I saw four stars
24 not seen but by those first on earth.
The very sky seemed to rejoice
in their bright glittering. O widowed
27 region of the north, denied that sight!
Com' io da loro sguardo fui partito,
un poco me volgendo a l'altro polo,
30 la onde 'l Carro gia era sparito,
vidi presso di me un veglio solo,
degno di tanta reverenza in vista,
33 che piu non dee a padre alcun figliuolo.
Lunga la barba e di pel bianco mista
portava, a' suoi capelli simigliante,
36 de' quai cadeva al petto doppia lista.
Li raggi de le quattro luci sante
fregiavan si la sua faccia di lume,
39 ch'i' 'l vedea come 'l sol fosse davante.
"Chi siete voi che contro al cieco fiume
fuggita avete la pregione etterna?"
42 diss' el, movendo quelle oneste piume.
"Chi v'ha guidati, o che vi fu lucerna,
uscendo fuor de la profonda notte
45 che sempre nera fa la valle inferna?
Son le leggi d'abisso cosi rotte?
o e mutato in ciel novo consiglio,
48 che, dannati, venite a le mie grotte?"
Lo duca mio allor mi die di piglio,
e con parole e con mani e con cenni
51 reverenti mi fe le gambe e 'l ciglio.
Poscia rispuose lui: "Da me non venni:
donna scese del ciel, per li cui prieghi
54 de la mia compagnia costui sovvenni.
Ma da ch'e tuo voler che piu si spieghi
di nostra condizion com' ell' e vera,
57 esser non puote il mio che a te si nieghi.
Once I had drawn my gaze from them,
barely turning toward the other pole
30 where the constellation of the Wain had set,
I saw beside me an old man, alone,
who by his looks was so deserving of respect
33 that no son owes his father more.
His beard was long and streaked with white,
as was his hair, which fell
36 in double strands down to his chest.
The rays of those four holy stars
adorned his face with so much light
39 he seemed to shine with brightness of the sun.
'What souls are you to have fled the eternal prison,
climbing against the dark and hidden stream?'
42 he asked, shaking those venerable locks.
'Who was your guide or who your lantern
to lead you forth from that deep night
45 which steeps the vale of hell in darkness?
'Are the laws of the abyss thus broken,
or has a new decree been made in Heaven,
48 that, damned, you stand before my cliffs?'
My leader then reached out to me
and by his words and signs and with his hands
51 made me show reverence with knee and brow,
then answered him: 'I came not on my own.
A lady descended from heaven and at her request
54 I lent this man companionship and aid.
'But since it is your will that I make plain
the true condition of our presence here,
57 it cannot be that I deny your wish.
Questi non vide mai l'ultima sera;
ma per la sua follia le fu si presso,
60 che molto poco tempo a volger era.
Si com' io dissi, fui mandato ad esso
per lui campare; e non li era altra via
63 che questa per la quale i' mi son messo.
Mostrata ho lui tutta la gente ria;
e ora intendo mostrar quelli spirti
66 che purgan se sotto la tua balia.
Com' io l'ho tratto, saria lungo a dirti;
de l'alto scende virtu che m'aiuta
69 conducerlo a vederti e a udirti.
Or ti piaccia gradir la sua venuta:
liberta va cercando, ch'e si cara,
72 come sa chi per lei vita rifiuta.
Tu 'l sai, che non ti fu per lei amara
in Utica la morte, ove lasciasti
75 la vesta ch'al gran di sara si chiara.
Non son li editti etterni per noi guasti,
che questi vive e Minos me non lega;
78 ma son del cerchio ove son li occhi casti
di Marzia tua, che 'n vista ancor ti priega,
o santo petto, che per tua la tegni:
81 per lo suo amore adunque a noi ti piega.
Lasciane andar per li tuoi sette regni;
grazie riportero di te a lei,
84 se d'esser mentovato la giu degni."
"Marz*a piacque tanto a li occhi miei
mentre ch'i' fu' di la," diss' elli allora,
87 "che quanta grazie volse da me, fi.
'This man has not yet seen his final sunset,
but through his folly was so close to it
60 his time was almost at an end.
'I was sent to him, as I have said,
for his deliverance. No other way
63 but this could he be saved.
'I have shown him all the guilty race
and now intend to let him see those spirits
66 who cleanse themselves within your charge.
'How I have led him would take long to tell.
Descending from on high a power aids me
69 to bring him here that he may see and hear you.
'May it please you to welcome his arrival,
since he's in search of liberty, which is so dear,
72 as he well knows who gives his life for it.
'You know this well, since death in Utica
did not seem bitter, there where you left
75 the garment that will shine on that great day.
'Not by us are the eternal edicts broken,
for this man lives and Minos does not bind me,
78 but I am of the circle where your Marcia
'implores with her chaste eyes, O holy breast,
that you still think of her as yours.
81 For love of her, then, I beseech you,
'allow us passage through your seven kingdoms.
I will report to her your kindness--
84 if you deign to be mentioned there below.'
'Marcia so pleased my eyes while I still lived,'
he said, 'that whatever favor
87 she sought of me, I granted.
Or che di la dal mal fiume dimora,
piu muover non mi puo, per quella legge
90 che fatta fu quando me n'usci' fora.
Ma se donna del ciel ti move e regge,
come tu di', non c'e mestier lusinghe:
93 bastisi ben che per lei mi richegge.
Va dunque, e fa che tu costui ricinghe
d'un giunco schietto e che li lavi 'l viso,
96 si ch'ogne sucidume quindi stinghe;
che non si converria, l'occhio sorpriso
d'alcuna nebbia, andar dinanzi al primo
99 ministro, ch'e di quei di paradiso.
Questa isoletta intorno ad imo ad imo,
la giu cola dove la batte l'onda,
102 porta di giunchi sovra 'l molle limo:
null' altra pianta che facesse fronda
o indurasse, vi puote aver vita,
105 pero ch'a le percosse non seconda.
Poscia non sia di qua vostra reddita;
lo sol vi mosterra, che surge omai,
108 prendere il monte a piu lieve salita."
Cosi spari; e io su mi levai
sanza parlare, e tutto mi ritrassi
111 al duca mio, e li occhi a lui drizzai.
El comincio: "Figliuol, segui i miei passi:
volgianci in dietro, che di qua dichina
114 questa pianura a' suoi termini bassi."
L'alba vinceva l'ora mattutina
che fuggia innanzi, si che di lontano
117 conobbi il tremolar de la marina.
'Now that she dwells beyond the evil stream
she cannot move me any longer,
90 according to the law laid down at my deliverance.
'But if, as you say, a lady from Heaven
moves and directs you, there is no need of flattery.
93 It is enough you ask it in her name.
'Go then, make sure you gird him
with a straight reed and bathe his face,
96 to wipe all traces of defilement from it,
'for it would not be fitting to appear,
his eyes still dimmed by any mist,
99 before the minister, the first from paradise.
'This little island, at its lowest point,
there where the waves beat down on it,
102 grows reeds in soft and pliant mud.
'There no other plant can leaf,
or harden to endure,
105 without succumbing to the battering waves.
'After you are done, do not come back this way.
The sun, now rising, will disclose
108 an easier ascent to gain the peak.'
With that he vanished, and I stood up,
speechless. Coming closer to my leader,
111 I turned my eyes to him.
He began: 'My son, follow my steps.
Let us turn around, for this plain slopes
114 from here, down to its lowest edge.'
Dawn was overtaking the darkness of the hour,
which fled before it, and I saw and knew
117 the distant trembling of the sea.
Noi andavam per lo solingo piano
com' om che torna a la perduta strada,
120 che 'nfino ad essa li pare ire in vano.
Quando noi fummo la 've la rugiada
pugna col sole, per essere in parte
123 dove, ad orezza, poco si dirada,
ambo le mani in su l'erbetta sparte
soavemente 'l mio maestro pose:
126 ond' io, che fui accorto di sua arte,
porsi ver' lui le guance lagrimose;
ivi mi fece tutto discoverto
129 quel color che l'inferno mi nascose.
Venimmo poi in sul lito diserto,
che mai non vide navicar sue acque
132 omo, che di tornar sia poscia esperto.
Quivi mi cinse si com' altrui piacque:
oh maraviglia! che qual si scelse
l'umile pianta, cotal si rinacque
136 subitamente la onde l'avelse.
We went along the lonely plain,
like someone who has lost the way
120 and thinks he strays until he finds the road.
When we came to a place where the dew
can hold its own against the sun
123 because it is protected by a breeze,
my master gently spread
his hands upon the grass.
126 And I, who understood what he intended,
raised my tear-stained cheeks
and he restored the color
129 hell had obscured in me.
Now we came to the empty shore.
Upon those waters no man ever sailed
132 who then experienced his return.
There he girded me as it pleased Another.
What a wonder it was that the humble plant
he chose to pick sprang up at once
136 in the very place where he had plucked it.
Table of Contents
I The Shores of Purgatory.-Cato of Utica 1
II The Celestial Pilot.-Casella 4
III The Foot of the Mountain.-Those who have died in Contumacy of Holy Church.-Manfredi 8
IV Farther Ascent of the Mountain.-The Negligent, who postponed Repentance till the last Hour.-Belacqua 11
V Those who died by Violence, but repentant.-Buonconte di Monfeltro.-La Pia 15
VI Sordello 18
VII The Valley of the Princes 22
VIII The Guardian Angels and the Serpent.-Nino di Gallura.-Currado Malaspina 25
IX Dante's Dream of the Eagle.-The Gate of Purgatory 29
X The First Circle.-The Proud.-The Sculptures on the Wall 32
XI Omberto di Santafiore.-Oderisi d'Agobbio.-Provenzan Salvani 36
XII The Sculptures on the Pavement.-Ascent to the Second Circle 39
XIII The Second Circle.-The Envious.-Sapia of Siena 43
XIV Guido del Duca and Renier da Calboli 47
XV The Third Circle.-The Irascible 50
XVI Marco Lombardo 54
XVII Dante's Dream of Anger.-The Fourth Circle.-The Slothful 58
XVIII Virgil's Discourse of Love.-The Abbot of San Zeno 61
XIX Dante's Dream of the Siren.-The Fifth Circle.-The Avaricious and Prodigal.-Pope Adrian V 65
XX Hugh Capet.-The Earthquake 68
XXI The Poet Statius 72
XXII The Sixth Circle.-The Gluttonous.-The Mystic Tree 76
XXIII Forese 79
XXIV Buonagiunta da Lucca.-Pope Martin IV., and others 83
XXV Discourse of Statius on Generation.-The Seventh Circle.-The Wanton 87
XXVI Guido Guinicelli and Arnaldo Daniello 90
XXVII Dante's Sleep upon the Stairway, and his Dream of Leah.-Arrival at the Terrestrial Paradise 94
XXVIII The Terrestrial Paradise.-The River Lethe-Matilda 98
XXIX The Triumph of the Church 101
XXX Beatrice 105
XXXI Reproaches of Beatrice and Confession of Dante.-The Passage of Lethe 109
XXXII The Tree of Knowledge 112
XXXIII The River Eunoë 116
Notes 121
What People are Saying About This
W.S. Merwin's Purgatorio is a wise and eloquent version of what seems to many of us the most welcoming part of the Commedia. Once again Merwin demonstrates that he is a courteous and generous troubadour whose poetic gift is copious and heartening.
At last the Purgatorio can be read in English as a work of art. Art, including the art of poetry, is an important presence in this the central book of Dante's Commedia, and W.S. Merwin's gorgeous, accurate rendering is worthy of its great original.
— (Robert Pinsky, Poet Laureate of the United States)
It is only justice that Merwin should translate this cantica dedicated to 'natural' powers, the most human narrative of Dante's enterprise, 'remade in the way that trees are new, made new again when their leaves are new.' It is the absolute of transience both poets are caught up in, a mortal communication which has entangled Merwin in that certain twist of idiom we recognize as the style of solicitude: affectionate, absorbent, ardent. What better preparation for the absolute of Paradise than these mortal lights that must yield to eternal?