Publisher Description

Following the Hollanders' widely acclaimed English rendering of Inferno, PURGATORIO, the second canticle in Dante's immortalDIVINE COMEDY, enters English in the best'the clearest, most accurate, most readable-translation in decades, with unsurpassedscholarship in its introduction and with extensive notes.PURGATORIO relates in thirty-three cantos Dante's progress, still with Virgil as his guide, up the mountains of purgatory, where soulsexpiate their sins before they enter heaven. As hell has circles, purgatory has terraces, one above the other, each representing one of theseven mortal sins. In each, an appropriate type of penance is practiced, and the spirit ascending the mountain must cleanse itself of each sinof which it is guilty.Jean and Robert Hollander's verse translation with facing-page Italian offers the dual virtues of maximum fidelity to Dante's text with thepoetic feeling necessary to give the English reader a sense of the work's poetic greatness in Italian. And since Robert Hollander is a masterteacher whose achievements as a Dante scholar are unsurpassed in the English-speaking world, the introduction and commentaries thataccompany each canto offer superb guidance in essential matters of comprehension and interpretation.In addition to its inherent excellence, this transla*'on is also the text of the Princeton Dante Project website , anambitious project that offers a multimedia version of the DIVINE COMEDY and links to other Dante websites. On every count, thisedition of PURGATORIO is the literary and scholarly translation likely to be the one that survives for the greatest period in the newmillennium.

Author Biography

Jean Hollander is a poet, teacher, and director of the Writers' Conference at the College of New Jersey.Robert Hollander, her husband, has been teaching Dante's Divine Comedy to Princeton students for forty years, and is the author of a dozen books and more than seventy articles on Dante, Boccaccio, and other Italian authors. He has received many awards, including the gold medal of the city of Florence, in recognition of his work on Dante.They are at work on their translation of Paradiso, the conclusion of the Divine Comedy.

Review

"The Hollanders have rendered both the supple lyricism and the rich imagery of the Purgatorio with an admirably informed expertise. . . . A model for all translators." The Literary Review

"The Hollanders' translation . . . seems the most accessible and the closest to the Italian. . . . The provision of informative notes . . . is impeccable . . . with ample commentary easily and unobturisvely available at the end of each canto." --Tim Parks, The New Yorker

"The Hollanders' translation is probably the most finely accomplished and may well prove the most enduring." --R.W. B. Lewis, Los Angeles Times

Review Quote

"The Hollanders have rendered both the supple lyricism and the rich imagery of thePurgatoriowith an admirably informed expertise. . . . A model for all translators."The Literary Review "The Hollanders' translation . . . seems the most accessible and the closest to the Italian. . . . The provision of informative notes . . . is impeccable . . . with ample commentary easily and unobturisvely available at the end of each canto." --Tim Parks,The New Yorker "The Hollanders' translation is probably the most finely accomplished and may well prove the most enduring." --R.W. B. Lewis,Los Angeles Times

Excerpt from Book

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, guided by 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 edi

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