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Authors: Dante

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BOOK: Purgatorio
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and what the first one does the others copy,

               
pressing up behind it if it stops,

84
           
simple and quiet, not knowing why,

               
so, of that fortunate flock, I saw

               
the ones in front move shyly forward,

87
           
with solemn bearing and with modest looks.

               
As soon as those in front could see the light

               
upon the ground was broken to my right, so that

90
           
my shadow stretched up to the cliff,

               
they stopped, drew back a little,

               
and all the rest that came behind,

93
           
not knowing why, did just the same.   

               
‘Without your asking I declare to you   

               
this is a human body that you see,

96
           
which now divides the sun’s light on the ground.

               
‘Do not be amazed, but think

               
that not without a power sent from Heaven

99
           
does he attempt to scale this rocky wall.’

               
Thus the master. And those worthy souls replied:

               
‘Turn, then, and go on before us,’   

102
         
showing the way with the backs of their hands.

               
And one of them began: ‘Whoever you are,   

               
as you continue walking, turn to look at me,

105
         
and think if ever you have seen me in the world.’

               
I turned and fixed my gaze on him.

               
He was blond, handsome, and of noble aspect,   

108
         
but a blow had cleft one of his eyebrows.

               
When I had courteously disclaimed

               
ever to have seen him, ‘Look here!’ he said,

111
         
and showed me a wound high on his breast,   

               
then, smiling: ‘I am Manfred,   

               
grandson of the Empress Constance.   

114
         
Therefore I beg of you, when you return,

               
‘make your way to my fair daughter,

               
mother of the pride of Sicily and Aragon,

117
         
and tell the truth if another tale is told.   

               
‘After my body was riven

               
by two mortal blows, I turned

120
         
in tears to Him who freely pardons.

               
‘Horrible were my sins,   

               
but Infinite Goodness with wide-open arms

123
         
receives whoever turns to it.

               
‘If the pastor of Cosenza, sent by Clement   

               
on the hunt to take me down,

126
         
had read that page in God with greater care,

               
‘my body’s bones would still be sheltered

               
at the head of the bridge near Benevento

129
         
under the cairn of heavy stones.

               
‘Now the rain washes and the wind stirs them,   

               
beyond the Kingdom, near the Verde’s banks, there   

132
         
where he brought them with his torches quenched.

               
‘By such a curse as theirs none is so lost

               
that the eternal Love cannot return

135
         
as long as hope maintains a thread of green.

               
‘It is true that one who dies in contumacy

               
of Holy Church, even though repentant at the end,

138
         
must still endure outside this wall—

               
‘for every year he spent in his presumption—   

               
thirty, unless that sentence

141
         
is reduced by holy prayers.

               
‘Now you know how you can make me happy:

               
reveal to my good Constance where you’ve seen me   

               
and how long I am excluded—

145
         
for here much can be gained from those on earth.’

OUTLINE: PURGATORIO IV

I. Introductory retrospection

1–12
   
sense impressions and the human soul: a Scholastic introduction
13–18
   
three hours and more have passed since they arrived and only now have the travelers reached ante-purgatory

II. The ascent

19–24
   
pseudosimile: the cleft in the rock as hole in a hedge
25–30
   
pseudosimile: the steepness of the path upward compared to that of mountainous sites in Italy
31–35
   
the narrow, rising path through the rock
36–39
   
Dante’s question and Virgil’s answer: hoping for aid
40–45
   
on the steep, Dante is outpaced by Virgil and wants rest
46–51
   
Virgil urges him to make a final effort
52–60
   
a moment of repose; view of the shore and the sun’s path
61–75
   
Virgil clarifies the astronomical situation
76–84
   
Dante’s understanding of their relation to the equator
85–87
   
Dante wants to know how much farther they must climb
88–96
   
Virgil says that this mountain gets easier as it rises

III.
Belacqua

97–99
   
a voice of one who has been listening to Virgil’s words
100–108
   
the travelers find souls at rest behind a boulder
109–111
   
Dante’s gently mocking remark about one soul’s sloth
112–114
   
the soul’s return shot
115–120
   
Dante recognizes Belacqua, approaches him, and is greeted by the soul’s laconic, if friendly, rebuke
121–126
   
Dante names Belacqua, whom he is surprised to find here, and chides him for his customary laziness
127–135
   
Belacqua explains his unhurried attitude

IV. Coda: Virgil’s urgency

136–139
   
Virgil notes the time (noon) and wishes to move on
PURGATORIO IV

               
When one of our faculties is given over   

               
to pleasure or to pain,

3
             
our soul will focus on that one alone

               
and seem to pay no mind to any of its other powers—

               
revealing the error in the doctrine that maintains

6
             
among the souls within us one is more aflame.

               
And therefore when we see or hear a thing

               
that concentrates the soul,

9
             
time passes and we’re not aware of it,

               
for the faculty that hears the passing time

               
is not the one that holds the soul intent:

12
           
the one that hears is bound, the other free.

               
This I truly understood,

               
listening to that spirit in amazement,

15
           
for the sun had already climbed fifty degrees

               
and I had failed to notice, when we came   

               
to where these souls cried out as one:

18
           
‘Here is the place you asked for.’

               
Often, at the time the grapes are darkening,   

               
a peasant, with a pitchfork full of thorns,

21
           
will plug a larger opening

               
than the gap through which my leader

               
and I behind him climbed alone,

24
           
after the troop went on without us.

               
One may go up to San Leo or descend to Noli

               
or mount to the summits of Bismàntova or Cacùme   

27
           
on foot, but here one had to fly—

               
I mean with the swift wings and plumage

               
of great desire, following that guidance

30
           
which gave me hope and showed me light.

               
We climbed into a fissure in the rock.

               
The stony walls pressed close on either side.

33
           
We had to use our hands to keep our footing.

               
When we had reached the crag’s high upper ledge,

               
out on the open hillside, ‘Master,’ I said,

36
           
‘which path shall we take?’

               
And he to me: ‘Do not fall back a single step.   

               
Just keep climbing up behind me

39
           
until some guide who knows the way appears.’

               
The summit was so high that it was out of sight,

               
the slope far steeper than the line   

42
           
drawn from midquadrant to the center.

               
Exhausted, I complained:

               
‘Belovèd father, turn around and see

45
           
how I’ll be left alone unless you pause.’

               
‘My son,’ he said, ‘drag yourself up there,’

               
pointing to a ledge a little higher,

48
           
which from that place encircles all the hill.

               
His words so spurred me on

               
I forced myself to clamber up   

51
           
until I stood upon the ledge.

               
There we settled down to rest, facing   

               
the east, where we had begun our climb,

54
           
for often it pleases us to see how far we’ve come.

               
First I gazed upon the shore below,   

               
then raised my eyes up to the sun and was amazed

57
           
to see its rays were striking from the left.

               
The poet understood I was astounded   

               
to see the road that chariot of light

60
           
was taking in its path between the north and us.

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