Belacqua, Dante’s friend. Noon.
When any of our faculties retains →
a strong impression of delight or pain,
the soul will wholly concentrate on that,
4
4 neglecting any other power it has
(and this refutes the error that maintains
that—one above the other—several souls
7
7 can flame in us); and thus, when something seen
or heard secures the soul in stringent grip,
time moves and yet we do not notice it.
10
10 The power that perceives the course of time
is not the power that captures all the mind;
the former has no force—the latter binds.
13
13 And I confirmed this by experience,
hearing that spirit in my wonderment; →
for though the sun had fully climbed fifty →
16
16 degrees, I had not noticed it, when we
came to the point at which in unison
those souls cried out to us: “Here’s what you want.” →
19
19 The farmer, when the grape is darkening, →
will often stuff a wider opening
with just a little forkful of his thorns,
22
22 than was the gap through which my guide and I,
who followed after, climbed, we two alone,
after that company of souls had gone.
25
25 San Leo can be climbed, one can descend →
to Noli and ascend Cacume and
Bismantova with feet alone, but here
28
28 I had to fly: I mean with rapid wings
and pinions of immense desire, behind
the guide who gave me hope and was my light.
31
31 We made our upward way through rifted rock;
along each side the edges pressed on us;
the ground beneath required feet and hands.
34
34 When we had reached the upper rim of that
steep bank, emerging on the open slope,
I said: “My master, what way shall we take?”
37
37 And he to me: “Don’t squander any steps;
keep climbing up the mountain after me
until we find some expert company.”
40
40 The summit was so high, my sight fell short;
the slope was far more steep than the line drawn →
from middle-quadrant to the center point.
43
43 I was exhausted when I made this plea:
“O gentle father, turn around and see—
I will be left alone unless you halt.”
46
46 “My son,” he said, “draw yourself up to there,”
while pointing to a somewhat higher terrace, →
which circles all the slope along that side.
49
49 His words incited me; my body tried;
on hands and knees I scrambled after him
until the terrace lay beneath my feet.
52
52 There we sat down together, facing east,
in the direction from which we had come:
what joy—to look back at a path we’ve climbed!
55
55 My eyes were first set on the shores below,
and then I raised them toward the sun; I was →
amazed to find it fall upon our left.
58
58 And when the poet saw that I was struck
with wonder as I watched the chariot
of light passing between the north and us,
61
61 he said to me: “Suppose Castor and Pollux →
were in conjunction with that mirror there,
which takes the light and guides it north and south,
64
64 then you would see the reddish zodiac
still closer to the Bears as it revolves—
unless it has abandoned its old track.
67
67 If you would realize how that should be,
then concentrate, imagining this mountain
so placed upon this earth that both Mount Zion →
70
70 and it, although in different hemispheres,
share one horizon; therefore, you can see,
putting your mind to it attentively,
73
73 how that same path which Phaethon drove so poorly →
must pass this mountain on the north, whereas
it skirts Mount Zion on the southern side.”
76
76 I said: “My master, surely I have never—since
my intelligence seemed lacking—seen
as clearly as I now can comprehend,
79
79 that the mid-circle of the heavens’ motion
(one of the sciences calls it Equator),
which always lies between the sun and winter,
82
82 as you explained, lies as far north of here
as it lies southward of the site from which →
the Hebrews, looking toward the tropics, saw it.
85
85 But if it please you, I should willingly
learn just how far it is we still must journey:
the slope climbs higher than my eyes can follow.”
88
88 And he to me: “This mountain’s of such sort
that climbing it is hardest at the start;
but as we rise, the slope grows less unkind.
91
91 Therefore, when this slope seems to you so gentle
that climbing farther up will be as restful
as traveling downstream by boat, you will
94
94 be where this pathway ends, and there you can
expect to put your weariness to rest.
I say no more, and this I know as truth.”
97
97 And when his words were done, another voice
nearby was heard to say: “Perhaps you will →
have need to sit before you reach that point!”
100
100 Hearing that voice, both of us turned around,
and to the left we saw a massive boulder,
which neither he nor I—before—had noticed.
103
103 We made our way toward it and toward the people
who lounged behind that boulder in the shade,
as men beset by listlessness will rest.
106
106 And one of them, who seemed to me exhausted,
was sitting with his arms around his knees;
between his knees, he kept his head bent down.
109
109 “O my sweet lord,” I said, “look carefully
at one who shows himself more languid than
he would have been were laziness his sister!”
112
112 Then that shade turned toward us attentively,
lifting his eyes, but just above his thigh,
and said: “Climb, then, if you’re so vigorous!”
115
115 Then I knew who he was, and the distress →
that still was quickening my breath somewhat,
did not prevent my going to him; and
118
118 when I had reached him, scarcely lifting up
his head, he said: “And have you fathomed how →
the sun can drive his chariot on your left?”
121
121 The slowness of his movements, his brief words
had stirred my lips a little toward a smile;
then I began: “From this time on, Belacqua, →
124
124 I need not grieve for you; but tell me, why
do you sit here? Do you expect a guide?
Or have you fallen into your old ways?”
127
127 And he: “O brother, what’s the use of climbing?
God’s angel, he who guards the gate, would not →
let me pass through to meet my punishment.
130
130 Outside that gate the skies must circle round →
as many times as they did when I lived—
since I delayed good sighs until the end—
133
133 unless, before then, I am helped by prayer
that rises from a heart that lives in grace;
what use are other prayers—ignored by Heaven?”
136
136 And now the poet climbed ahead, before me,
and said: “It’s time; see the meridian →
touched by the sun; elsewhere, along the Ocean,
139
139 night now has set its foot upon Morocco.”
Ante-Purgatory. From the First to the Second Spur: the Late-Repentant who died deaths by violence. The shades amazed by Dante’s body. Virgil’s rebuke. The Second Spur and its new company of shades. Jacopo del Cassero. Buonconte da Montefeltro. La Pia the Sienese.
I had already left those shades behind
and followed in the footsteps of my guide
when, there beneath me, pointing at me, one
4
4 shade shouted: “See the second climber climb:
the sun seems not to shine on his left side, →
and when he walks, he walks like one alive!”
7
7 When I had heard these words, I turned my eyes
and saw the shades astonished as they stared
at me—at me, and at the broken light.
10
10 “Why have you let your mind get so entwined,”
my master said, “that you have slowed your walk?
Why should you care about what’s whispered here?
13
13 Come, follow me, and let these people talk:
stand like a sturdy tower that does not shake
its summit though the winds may blast; always
16
16 the man in whom thought thrusts ahead of thought
allows the goal he’s set to move far off—
the force of one thought saps the other’s force.”
19
19 Could my reply be other than “I come”?
And—somewhat colored by the hue that makes →
one sometimes merit grace—I spoke those words.
22
22 Meanwhile, along the slope, crossing our road →
slightly ahead of us, people approached, →
singing the Miserere verse by verse.
25
25 When they became aware that I allowed
no path for rays of light to cross my body,
they changed their song into a long, hoarse “Oh!”
28
28 And two of them, serving as messengers,
hurried to meet us, and those two inquired:
“Please tell us something more of what you are.”
31
31 My master answered them: “You can return
and carry this report to those who sent you:
in truth, the body of this man is flesh.
34
34 If, as I think, they stopped to see his shadow,
that answer is sufficient: let them welcome
him graciously, and that may profit them.” →
37
37 Never did I see kindled vapors rend
clear skies at nightfall or the setting sun
cleave August clouds with a rapidity
40
40 that matched the time it took those two to speed
above; and, there arrived, they with the others
wheeled back, like ranks that run without a rein.
43
43 “These people pressing in on us are many;
they come beseeching you,” the poet said;
“don’t stop, but listen as you move ahead.”
46
46 “O soul who make your way to gladness with
the limbs you had at birth, do stay your steps
awhile,” they clamored as they came, “to see
49
49 if there is any of us whom you knew,
that you may carry word of him beyond. →
Why do you hurry on? Why don’t you stop?
52
52 We all were done to death by violence,
and we all sinned until our final hour;
then light from Heaven granted understanding,
55
55 so that, repenting and forgiving, we
came forth from life at peace with God, and He
instilled in us the longing to see Him.”
58
58 And I: “Although I scrutinize your faces,
I recognize no one; but, spirits born
to goodness, if there’s anything within →
61
61 my power that might please you, then—by that
same peace which in the steps of such a guide
I seek from world to world—I shall perform it.”
64
64 And one began: “We all have faith in your →
good offices without your oath, as long
as lack of power does not curb your will.
67
67 Thus I, who speak alone—before the others—
beseech you, if you ever see the land →
that lies between Romagna and the realm
70
70 of Charles, that you be courteous to me,
entreating those in Fano to bestow
fair prayers to purge me of my heavy sins.
73
73 My home was Fano; but the piercing wounds →
from which there poured the blood where my life lived—
those I received among Antenor’s sons,
76
76 there where I thought that I was most secure;
for he of Este, hating me far more
than justice warranted, had that deed done.
79
79 But had I fled instead toward Mira when
they overtook me at Oriaco, then
I should still be beyond, where men draw breath.
82
82 I hurried to the marsh. The mud, the reeds
entangled me; I fell. And there I saw
a pool, poured from my veins, form on the ground.”
85
85 Another shade then said: “Ah, so may that →
desire which draws you up the lofty mountain
be granted, with kind pity help my longing!
88
88 I was from Montefeltro, I’m Buonconte;
Giovanna and the rest—they all neglect me;
therefore, among these shades, I go in sadness.”
91
91 And I to him: “What violence or chance
so dragged you from the field of Campaldino
that we know nothing of your burial place?”
94
94 “Oh,” he replied, “across the Casentino →
there runs a stream called Archiano—born →
in the Apennines above the Hermitage.
97
97 There, at the place where that stream’s name is lost,
I came—my throat was pierced—fleeing on foot
and bloodying the plain; and there it was
100
100 that I lost sight and speech; and there, as I
had finished uttering the name of Mary,
I fell; and there my flesh alone remained.
103
103 I’ll speak the truth—do you, among the living,
retell it: I was taken by God’s angel,
but he from Hell cried: ‘You from Heaven—why
106
106 do you deny me him? For just one tear →
you carry off his deathless part; but I
shall treat his other part in other wise.’
109
109 You are aware how, in the air, moist vapor
will gather and again revert to rain
as soon as it has climbed where cold enfolds.
112
112 His evil will, which only seeks out evil, →
conjoined with intellect; and with the power
his nature grants, he stirred up wind and vapor.
115
115 And then, when day was done, he filled the valley →
from Pratomagno far as the great ridge
with mist; the sky above was saturated.
118
118 The dense air was converted into water;
rain fell, and then the gullies had to carry
whatever water earth could not receive;
121
121 and when that rain was gathered into torrents,
it rushed so swiftly toward the royal river →
that nothing could contain its turbulence.
124
124 The angry Archiano—at its mouth—had →
found my frozen body; and it thrust
it in the Arno and set loose the cross
127
127 that, on my chest, my arms, in pain, had formed.
It rolled me on the banks and river bed,
then covered, girded me with its debris.”
130
130 “Pray, after your returning to the world, →
when, after your long journeying, you’ve rested,”
the third soul, following the second, said,
133
133 “may you remember me, who am La Pia;
Siena made—Maremma unmade—me:
he who, when we were wed, gave me his pledge
136
136 and then, as nuptial ring, his gem, knows that.”
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Ante-Purgatory. Still the Second Spur. The simile of the gamester. Others who died deaths by violence. The efficacy of prayers for the dead. Virgil and his fellow Mantuan, Sordello. Dante’s invective against Italy and Florence.
When dicing’s done and players separate, →
the loser’s left alone, disconsolate—
rehearsing what he’d thrown, he sadly learns;
4
4 all of the crowd surrounds the one who won—one
goes in front, and one tugs at his back,
and at his side one asks to be remembered;
7
7 he does not halt but listens to them all;
and when he gives them something, they desist;
and so he can fend off the pressing throng.
10
10 And I, in that persistent pack, was such:
this way and that, I turned my face to them
and, making promises, escaped their clutch.
13
13 There was the Aretine who met his death →
beneath Ghino di Tacco’s bestial hands,
and one who drowned when, in pursuit, he ran. →
16
16 There, with his outstretched hands, was Federigo →
Novello, praying, and the Pisan who →
made good Marzucco show his fortitude.
19
19 I saw Count Orso, and I saw the soul →
cleft from its body out of spite and envy— →
not, so it said, because it had been guilty—
22
22 I mean Pier de la Brosse (and may the Lady
of Brabant, while she’s still in this world, watch
her ways—or end among a sadder flock).
25
25 As soon as I was free from all those shades
who always pray for others’ prayers for them,
so as to reach their blessed state more quickly,
28
28 I started: “O my light, it seems to me →
that in one passage you deny expressly →
that prayer can bend the rule of Heaven, yet
31
31 these people pray precisely for that end.
Is their hope, therefore, only emptiness,
or have I not read clearly what you said?”
34
34 And he to me: “My text is plain enough,
and yet their hope is not delusive if
one scrutinizes it with sober wit;
37
37 the peak of justice is not lowered when
the fire of love accomplishes in one
instant the expiation owed by all
40
40 who dwell here; for where I asserted this—
that prayers could not mend their fault—I spoke
of prayers without a passageway to God. →
43
43 But in a quandary so deep, do not →
conclude with me, but wait for word that she,
the light between your mind and truth, will speak—
46
46 lest you misunderstand, the she I mean
is Beatrice; upon this mountain’s peak,
there you shall see her smiling joyously.”
49
49 And I: “Lord, let us move ahead more quickly,
for now I am less weary than before;
and—you can see—the slope now casts a shadow.” →
52
52 “As long as it is day, we’ll make as much →
headway as possible,” he answered; “but
our climb won’t be as rapid as you thought.
55
55 You will not reach the peak before you see
the sun returning: now he hides behind
the hills—you cannot interrupt his light.
58
58 But see—beyond—a soul who is completely →
apart, and seated, looking toward us; he
will show us where to climb most speedily.”
61
61 We came to him. O Lombard soul, what pride
and what disdain were in your stance! Your eyes
moved with such dignity, such gravity!
64
64 He said no thing to us but let us pass,
his eyes intent upon us only as
a lion watches when it is at rest.
67
67 Yet Virgil made his way to him, appealing
to him to show us how we’d best ascend;
and he did not reply to that request,
70
70 but asked us what our country was and who
we were, at which my gentle guide began
“Mantua”—and that spirit, who had been
73
73 so solitary, rose from his position,
saying: “O Mantuan, I am Sordello, →
from your own land!” And each embraced the other.
76
76 Ah, abject Italy, you inn of sorrows.
you ship without a helmsman in harsh seas,
no queen of provinces but of bordellos!
79
79 That noble soul had such enthusiasm:
his city’s sweet name was enough for him
to welcome—there—his fellow-citizen;
82
82 But those who are alive within you now
can’t live without their warring—even those
whom one same wall and one same moat enclose
85
85 gnaw at each other. Squalid Italy,
search round your shores and then look inland—see
if any part of you delight in peace.
88
88 What use was there in a Justinian’s →
mending your bridle, when the saddle’s empty?
Indeed, were there no reins, your shame were less.
91
91 Ah you—who if you understood what God →
ordained, would then attend to things devout
and in the saddle surely would allow
94
94 Caesar to sit—see how this beast turns fierce
because there are no spurs that would correct it,
since you have laid your hands upon the bit!
97
97 O German Albert, you who have abandoned →
that steed become recalcitrant and savage,
you who should ride astride its saddlebows—
100
100 upon your blood may the just judgment of
the stars descend with signs so strange and plain
that your successor has to feel its terror!
103
103 For both you and your father, in your greed
for lands that lay more close at hand, allowed
the garden of the Empire to be gutted.
106
106 Come—you who pay no heed—do come and see →
Montecchi, Cappelletti, sad already,
and, filled with fear, Monaldi, Filippeschi.
109
109 Come, cruel one, come see the tribulation
of your nobility and heal their hurts;
see how disconsolate is Santafior!
112
112 Come, see your Rome who, widowed and alone,
weeps bitterly; both day and night, she moans:
“My Caesar, why are you not at my side?”
115
115 Come, see how much your people love each other!
And if no pity for us moves you, may
shame for your own repute move you to act.
118
118 And if I am allowed, o highest Jove,
to ask: You who on earth were crucified
for us—have You turned elsewhere Your just eyes?
121
121 Or are You, in Your judgment’s depth, devising
a good that we cannot foresee, completely
dissevered from our way of understanding?
124
124 For all the towns of Italy are full
of tyrants, and each townsman who becomes →
a partisan is soon a new Marcellus.
127
127 My Florence, you indeed may be content →
that this digression would leave you exempt:
your people’s strivings spare you this lament.
130
130 Others have justice in their hearts, and thought
is slow to let it fly off from their bow;
but your folk keep it ready—on their lips.
133
133 Others refuse the weight of public service;
whereas your people—eagerly—respond,
even unasked, and shout: “I’ll take it on.”
136
136 You might be happy now, for you have cause!
You with your riches, peace, judiciousness!
If I speak truly, facts won’t prove me wrong.
139
139 Compared to you, Athens and Lacedaemon, →
though civil cities, with their ancient laws,
had merely sketched the life of righteousness;
142
142 for you devise provisions so ingenious—whatever
threads October sees you spin,
when mid-November comes, will be unspun.
145
145 How often, in the time you can remember,
have you changed laws and coinage, offices
and customs, and revised your citizens!
148
148 And if your memory has some clarity,
then you will see yourself like that sick woman →
who finds no rest upon her feather-bed,
151
151 but, turning, tossing, tries to ease her pain.
Ante-Purgatory. From the Second Spur to the Valley of the Rulers—they too, through negligence, among the Late-Repentant. Rudolph I of Hapsburg; Ottokar II of Bohemia; Phillip III of France; Henry I of Navarre; Peter III of Aragon; Charles I of Anjou; Peter, youngest son of Peter III of Aragon; Henry II of England—all thirteenth-century rulers.
When glad and gracious welcomings had been
repeated three and four times, then Sordello
drew himself back and asked: “But who are you?” →
4
4 “Before the spirits worthy of ascent →
to God had been directed to this mountain,
my bones were buried by Octavian.
7
7 I am Virgil, and I am deprived of Heaven
for no fault other than my lack of faith.”
This was the answer given by my guide.
10
10 Even like one who, suddenly, has seen
something before him and then, marveling,
does and does not believe, saying, “It is…
13
13 is not,” so did Sordello seem, and then
he bent his brow, returned to Virgil humbly,
and clasped him where the lesser presence clasps. →
16
16 He said: “O glory of the Latins, you
through whom our tongue revealed its power, you, →
eternal honor of my native city, →
19
19 what merit or what grace shows you to me?
If I deserve to hear your word, then answer: →
tell me if you’re from Hell and from what cloister.”
22
22 “Through every circle of the sorry kingdom,”
he answered him, “I journeyed here; a power
from Heaven moved me, and with that, I come.
25
25 Not for the having—but not having—done, →
I lost the sight that you desire, the Sun—
that high Sun I was late in recognizing.
28
28 There is a place below that only shadows— →
not torments—have assigned to sadness; there,
lament is not an outcry, but a sigh.
31
31 There I am with the infant innocents, →
those whom the teeth of death had seized before
they were set free from human sinfulness;
34
34 there I am with those souls who were not clothed →
in the three holy virtues—but who knew
and followed after all the other virtues.
37
37 But if you know and you are able to,
would you point out the path that leads more quickly
to the true entry point of Purgatory?”→
40
40 He answered: “No fixed place has been assigned →
to us; I’m free to range about and climb;
as far as I may go, I’ll be your guide.
43
43 But see now how the day declines; by night
we cannot climb; and therefore it is best
to find some pleasant place where we can rest.
46
46 Here to the right are spirits set apart;
if you allow me, I shall lead you to them;
and not without delight, you’ll come to know them.”
49
49 “How is that?” he was asked. “Is it that he
who tried to climb by night would be impeded
by others, or by his own lack of power?”
52
52 And good Sordello, as his finger traced
along the ground, said: “Once the sun has set,
then—look—even this line cannot be crossed.
55
55 And not that anything except the dark
of night prevents your climbing up; it is
the night itself that implicates your will.
58
58 Once darkness falls, one can indeed retreat
below and wander aimlessly about
the slopes, while the horizon has enclosed
61
61 the day.” At which my lord, as if in wonder,
said: “Lead us then to there where, as you say,
we may derive delight from this night’s stay.”
64
64 We had not gone far off, when I perceived
that, just as valleys hollow mountains here
in our world, so that mountain there was hollowed.
67
67 That shade said: “It is there that we shall go—to
where the slope forms, of itself, a lap;
at that place we’ll await the new day’s coming.”
70
70 There was a slanting path, now steep, now flat;
it led us to a point beside the valley,
just where its bordering edge had dropped by half.
73
73 Gold and fine silver, cochineal, white lead,
and Indian lychnite, highly polished, bright,
fresh emerald at the moment it is dampened,
76
76 if placed within that valley, all would be
defeated by the grass and flowers’ colors,
just as the lesser gives way to the greater.
79
79 And nature there not only was a painter,
but from the sweetness of a thousand odors,
she had derived an unknown, mingled scent.
82
82 Upon the green grass and the flowers, I
saw seated spirits singing “Salve, Regina”; →
they were not visible from the outside. →
85
85 “Before the meager sun seeks out its nest,” →
began the Mantuan who led us here,
“do not ask me to guide you down among them.
88
88 From this bank, you’ll be better able to
make out the acts and features of them all
than if you were to join them in the hollow.
91
91 He who is seated highest, with the look →
of one too lax in what he undertook—
whose mouth, although the rest sing, does not move—
94
94 was Emperor Rudolph, one who could have healed
the wounds that were the death of Italy,
so that another, later, must restore her.
97
97 His neighbor, whose appearance comforts him, →
governed the land in which are born the waters
the Moldau carries to the Elbe and
100
100 the Elbe to the sea: named Ottokar—in
swaddling-bands he was more valiant than
his son, the bearded Wenceslaus, who feeds →
103
103 on wantonness and ease. That small-nosed man, →
who seems so close in counsel with his kindly →
friend, died in flight, deflowering the lily:
106
106 see how he beats his breast there! And you see
the other shade, who, as he sighs, would rest
his cheek upon his palm as on a bed.
109
109 Father and father-in-law of the pest →
of France, they know his life—its filth, its vice;
out of that knowledge grows the grief that has
112
112 pierced them. That other, who seems so robust →
and sings in time with him who has a nose
so manly, wore the cord of every virtue;
115
115 and if the young man seated there behind him →
had only followed him as king, then valor
might have been poured from vessel unto vessel;
118
118 one cannot say this of his other heirs;
his kingdoms now belong to James and Frederick— →
but they do not possess his best bequest.
121
121 How seldom human worth ascends from branch
to branch, and this is willed by Him who grants
that gift, that one may pray to Him for it!
124
124 My words suggest the large-nosed one no less →
than they refer to Peter, singing with him,
whose heir brings Puglia and Provence distress:
127
127 the plant is lesser than its seed, just as
the man whom Beatrice and Margaret wed
is lesser than the husband Constance has.
130
130 You see the king who led the simple life →
seated alone: Henry of England—he
has better fortune with his progeny.
133
133 He who is seated lowest on the ground, →
and looking up, is William the Marquis—
for him, both Alexandria and its war
136
136 make Monferrato and Canavese mourn.”
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Ante-Purgatory. The Valley of the Rulers. Sunset. The two angels. Dante’s friend, Nino Visconti. The three stars. The serpent put to flight by the angels. Colloquy with Currado Malaspina.
It was the hour that turns seafarers’ longings →
homeward—the hour that makes their hearts grow tender
upon the day they bid sweet friends farewell;
4
4 the hour that pierces the new traveler
with love when he has heard, far off, the bell
that seems to mourn the dying of the day;
7
7 when I began to let my hearing fade
and watched one of those souls who, having risen,
had signaled with his hand for our attention.
10
10 He joined his palms and, lifting them, he fixed
all his attention on the east, as if
to say to God: “I care for nothing else.”
13
13 “Te lucis ante” issued from his lips →
with such devotion and with notes so sweet
that I was moved to move beyond my mind.
16
16 And then the other spirits followed him—
devoutly, gently—through all of that hymn,
their eyes intent on the supernal spheres.
19
19 Here, reader, let your eyes look sharp at truth,
for now the veil has grown so very thin—
it is not difficult to pass within.
22
22 I saw that company of noble spirits,
silent and looking upward, pale and humble,
as if in expectation; and I saw,
25
25 emerging and descending from above,
two angels bearing flaming swords, of which →
the blades were broken off, without their tips. →
28
28 Their garments, just as green as newborn leaves, →
were agitated, fanned by their green wings,
and trailed behind them; and one angel came
31
31 and stood somewhat above us, while the other
descended on the opposite embankment,
flanking that company of souls between them.
34
34 My eyes made out their blond heads clearly, but
my sight was dazzled by their faces—just
like any sense bewildered by excess.
37
37 “Both come from Mary’s bosom,” said Sordello,
“to serve as the custodians of the valley
against the serpent that will soon appear.”
40
40 At this, not knowing where its path might be,
frozen with fear, I turned around, pressing
close to the trusty shoulders.
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