Inferno: Canto Ii
INFERNO: CANTO II
The sun was setting, and the darkened sky
Released the other Earthly animals
From their daily toils; and I alone
Made myself ready to sustain the war,
Both of the way and of the woe,
Which I will, from memory, retrace as best I can.
O Muses, O high genius, now assist me!
O memory, that wrote down what I saw,
Here your accuracy shall be revealed!
And I began: "Poet, who guides me,
Look into my soul, see if it is strong enough,
For the arduous path you place me on.
You once said, that Silvius the parent,
While yet corruptible, went to the world
Of the Immortal, and was there bodily.
But the adversary of all evil
Was courteous to him, knowing who he was
And what would become of him,
This, to thoughtful men, seems fitting for him;
For he was from great Rome, and from her empire
The leaders of the church of Heaven would rule;
Going everywhere, speaking only the truth,
He established the holy place, where
The Popes, the successors of the great Peter, sit.
Upon this journey, which you have written,
Aeneas learned many things that would bring about
Both his victory and the papal throne.
And later came the Chosen Vessel, Paul,
Who brought comfort to that Faith,
Which is the beginning of salvation's way.
But why was I chosen to come, and who allows it?
I am not Aeneas, I am not Paul,
Not I, nor others, think me worthy of it.
Therefore, if I resign myself to come,
I fear that coming may be ill-advised;
You are wise, and know what I am saying."
And as a man, who unwishes what he once wished,
And by new thoughts does his intention change,
So that from his original plan he withdraws,
Such I became, upon that dark hillside,
Because, in thinking, I understood the journey,
Which seemed so simple in the beginning.
"If I understand what you are saying,"
Replied the ghost of Virgil,
"Your soul is filled with cowardice,
So many times a man's thoughts will waver,
That it turns him back from honored paths,
As false sight turns a beast, when he is afraid.
So you can be free from this apprehension,
I'll tell you why I came, and what I heard
At the first moment when I grieved for you.
I was among those who are in limbo,
And a fair, saintly Lady called to me
In such a way, I asked her to command me.
Her eyes where shining brighter than the stars;
And she began to say, gentle and low,
With a voice angelic, in her own language:
'O courteous spirit of Mantua,
Of whose fame still endures in the world,
And shall endure, as long as the world endures;
A friend of mine, but not a fortunate friend,
Is so impeded on the desert slope, that he has
Turned from his path because he is afraid,
And may, I fear, already be so lost,
From what I have heard of him in Heaven,
That I have risen to his aid too late.
Please go now, and with your ornate speech,
Say what he needs to hear for his release,
Assist him please, that I may be consoled.
Beatrice am I, who asks you to go;
I come from Heaven, where I must return;
Love moved me and compelled me to speak.
When I am in the presence of my Lord,
Every time will I praise you to him.'
Then she paused, and thereafter I began:
'O Lady of virtue, through you alone
The human race exceeds all things contained
In heaven and Earth and all places in between.
So grateful am I to obey your commandment,
That if it were already done, it would be too late;
You need not ask me again.
But tell me why you chose to make this journey
Descending down from heaven into this place,
And leaving there, where you so wish to return.'
'Since you have asked, briefly will I tell you,'
She answered me,
'Why am I not afraid to enter here?
One should only be afraid of those things
Which have the power of doing others harm;
For the rest, fear not; because they are not fearful.
God in his mercy has created me
So that your misery affects me not,
Nor any flame assails me of this burning.
The Virgin Mary is in Heaven, and grieves
At this impediment, to which I send you,
Such that the stern rules of Heaven are broken.
In her entreaty she called Saint Lucy, and said,
"Lucy, come. A faithful one now stands in need
Of you, and I would like for you to help him."
Lucy, foe of all that is cruel,
Hastened away, and came to the place
Where I was sitting with the ancient Rachel.
"Beatrice" said she, "As one who praises God,
Why do you not help him, who loved you so,
And who, for you, left the unruly crowd?
Do you not hear the pity of his plight?
Do you not see the death that combats him
Beside that river, which flows only to the desert?"
Never were people in the world so swift
To work their way and to escape their woe,
As I, after such words as these were uttered,
I came down from my blessed seat,
Confident in your dignified discourse,
Which honors you, and those who have listened to it.'
After she had spoken to me,
Weeping, with teary eyes, she turned away;
Whereby she made me swifter in my coming;
And unto you I came, as she desired;
I have delivered you from that wild beast,
Which barred the beautiful mountain's short ascent.
What is it, then? Why do you delay?
Why is such cowardice in your heart?
Why do you not have daring and enthusiasm,
Seeing that so many angelic Ladies
Are caring for you in the court of Heaven,
And so much good awaits you at the end?"
Even as the flowerets, by nocturnal chill,
Bow down and close, but when the sun whitens them,
Uplift themselves all open on their stems;
Such I became with my exhausted strength,
And such courage in my heart there surged,
That I began, like an intrepid person:
"I thank her, who encouraged me,
And you, who have obeyed so soon
The words of truth which she addressed to you!
You have filled my heart with such desire
For the adventure, with those words of yours,
That I have decided to follow you on this journey.
Now go, for we share the same will,
You are the Leader, Lord, and Master now."
Thus said I to him; and when he had moved,
I entered on the deep and savage way.