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Dante Alighieri
The Divine Comedy
Hell

Translated from the Italian size of the original

Dmitry Min.

Preface

More than ten years have passed since I first decided to try my hand at translation. Divina Commedia Danta Alighieri. At first I had no intention of translating it completely; but only in the form of experience did he translate into Russian those passages that, when reading immortal poem, most amazed me with their greatness. Little by little, however, as you study Divina Commedia, and feeling that I was able to overcome, at least in part, one of the most important obstacles in a difficult task - the size of the original, within two years I managed to complete the translation of the first part of Dante's Poem - Inferno. More than anyone aware of the weakness of my work, I hid it under a bushel for a long time, until finally the encouraging judgments of my friends, to whom I read excerpts from my translation, and the even more unusually flattering review of Mr. Professor S.P. Shevyrev forced me in 1841, for the first time, presented to the public with the V song of Hell, published in the same year in Moskvityanin. After that, I published another excerpt in Sovremennik, published by Mr. Pletnev, and finally, in 1849, songs XXI and XXII in Moskvityanin.

Having made sure that my work is not completely insignificant and if it does not have any special merits, then at least it is quite close to the original, I now decide to fully present it to the judgment of lovers and connoisseurs of such a colossal creation as Divna Socialtia Danta Alighieri.

I consider it necessary to say a few words about the publication of my translation itself.

A poet like Dante, who reflected in his creation, as in a mirror, all the ideas and beliefs of his time, filled with so many relationships to all branches of the then knowledge, cannot be understood without explaining the many hints found in his poem: historical, theological, philosophical, astronomical, etc. Therefore, all the best editions of Dante's Poem, even in Italy, and especially in Germany, where the study of Dante has become almost universal, are always accompanied by a more or less multifaceted commentary. But compiling a commentary is an extremely difficult task: in addition to a deep study of the poet himself, his language, his views on the world and humanity, it requires a thorough knowledge of the history of the century, this in highest degree a wonderful time when a terrible struggle of ideas arose, a struggle between spiritual and secular power. Moreover, Dante is a mystical poet; The main idea of ​​his poem is understood and explained differently by different commentators and translators.

Not having so much extensive information, having not studied the poet to such depth, I in no way take upon myself the responsibility, passing on a weak copy from the immortal original, to be at the same time his interpreter. I will limit myself to adding only those explanations without which the non-connoisseur reader is unable to understand a highly original creation, and, consequently, is unable to enjoy its beauties. These explanations will consist for the most part in historical, geographical and some other indications related to the science of that time, especially astronomy, physics and natural history. My main leaders in this matter will be German translators and interpreters: Karl Witte, Wagner, Kannegiesser and especially Kopish and Philalethes (Prince John of Saxony). Where necessary, I will quote from the Bible, comparing them with the Vulgate - the source from which Dante drew so abundantly. As for the mysticism of Dante's Poem, I will give, as briefly as possible, only those explanations that are most accepted, without going into any of my own assumptions.

Finally, most of the publications and translations of Dante are usually preceded by the life of the poet and the history of his time. No matter how important these aids are for a clear understanding of the wonderfully mysterious creation, I cannot currently add them to the publication of my translation; however, I would not refuse this work if the interest aroused by my translation required it from me.

I consider myself quite happy if my translation, no matter how colorless it is in front of the unattainable beauties of the original, will retain so much of its greatness that in the reader who did not enjoy the beauties Divina Commedia in the original, will arouse the desire to study it in the original. Studying Dante for people who love and comprehend the graceful and great gives the same pleasure as reading other poets of genius: Homer, Aeschylus, Shakespeare and Goethe.

I leave it to people who are more knowledgeable than me to judge whether I was able to retain in my translation even a faint spark of that divine fire with which the gigantic building was illuminated - that poem that Philalethes so successfully compared with a Gothic cathedral, fantastically bizarre in detail, marvelously beautiful, majestic and solemn overall. I am not afraid of the strict verdict of learned criticism, who amused myself with the thought that I was the first to decide to translate a part of the immortal creation into the Russian language, so capable of reproducing everything great. But horrified by the thought that with a daring feat I offended the poet’s shadow, I address her in his own words:

Vagliami "l lungo studio e "l grande amore,
Che m"han fatto cercar lo tuo volume.

Inf. Cant I, 83–84.

Canto I

Content. Dodging in deep sleep from the straight road, Dante awakens in a dark forest, with the faint flickering of the moon he goes further and, before the day dawns, reaches the base of a hill, the top of which is illuminated rising sun. Having rested from fatigue, the poet ascends the hill; but three monsters - a Leopard with a motley skin, a hungry Lion and a skinny Wolf - block his way. The latter frightens Dante so much that he is ready to return to the forest, when Virgil’s shadow suddenly appears. Dante begs her for help. Virgil, to console him, predicts that the She-Wolf, who frightened him there, will soon die from the Dog, and, to lead him out of the dark forest, offers herself to him as a guide on his journey through Hell and Purgatory, adding that if he wishes to ascend later to Heaven, he will find a counselor who is a hundred times more worthy of him. Dante accepts his offer and follows him.

1. In the middle of our life's path, 1
According to the monk Gilarius, Dante began to write his poem in Latin. The first three verses were:
Ultima regna canam, fluido contermina mundo, Spiritibus quae lata patent, quae praemia solvuut Pro meritis cuicunque suis (data lege tonantis). - “In dimidio dierum meorum vadam adportas infori.” Vulgat. Biblia.
In the middle of the and. roads, i.e., at the 35th year of life, an age that Dante in his Convito calls the pinnacle of human life. By general opinion, Dante was born in 1265: therefore, he was 35 years old in 1300; but, in addition, from the XXI song of Hell it is clear that Dante assumes the beginning of his journey in 1300, during the jubilee declared by Pope Boniface VIII, on Holy Week on Good Friday, the year he turned 35, although his poem was written much later; therefore, all incidents that happened later than this year are given as predictions.

Overwhelmed by sleep, I entered the dark forest, 2
Dark forest, according to the usual interpretation of almost all commentators, means human life in general, and in relation to the poet - his own life in particular, that is, a life filled with delusions and overwhelmed by passions. Others, by the name of forest, mean the political state of Florence at that time (which Dante calls trista selva, Clean XIV, 64), and, combining all the symbols of this mystical song into one, give it political meaning. For example: as Count Perticari (Apolog. di Dante. Vol. II, p. 2: fec. 38: 386 della Proposta) explains this song: in 1300, in the 35th year of his life, Dante, elected prior of Florence, was soon convinced of the troubles , intrigues and frenzies of parties, that the true path to the public good is lost, and that he himself is in dark forest disasters and exiles. When he tried to climb hills, the pinnacle of state happiness, he was presented with insurmountable obstacles from his native city (Leopard with a motley skin), pride and ambition of the French king Philip the Fair and his brother Charles of Valois (Leo) and the self-interest and ambitious plans of Pope Boniface VIII (She-wolf). Then, indulging in his poetic passion and placing all his hope in the military talents of Charlemagne, Lord of Verona ( Dog), he wrote his poem, where, with the assistance of spiritual contemplation (donna gentile) heavenly enlightenment (Luchia) and theology ( Beatrice), guided by reason, human wisdom, personified in poetry (Virgil), he goes through places of punishment, purification and reward, thus punishing vices, consoling and correcting weaknesses and rewarding virtue by immersion in the contemplation of the highest good. From this it is clear that the ultimate goal of the poem is to call a vicious nation, torn apart by strife, to political, moral and religious unity.

The true path is lost in the hour of anxiety.

4. Ah! it's hard to say how scary it was
This forest, so wild, so dense and fierce, 3
Fierce – an epithet not peculiar to the forest; but just as the forest has a mystical meaning here and means, according to some, human life, and according to others, Florence, agitated by the discord of parties, then this expression, I think, will not seem entirely inappropriate.

That in his thoughts he renewed my fear. 4
Dante escaped this life, full of passions and delusions, especially the discord of the party, into which he had to plunge as the ruler of Florence; but this life was so terrible that the memory of it again gives birth to horror in him.

7. And death is only a little more bitter than this turmoil! 5
In the original: “It (the forest) is so bitter that death is a little more painful.” – The eternally bitter world (Io mondo senia fine amaro) is hell (Paradise XVII. 112). “Just as material death destroys our earthly existence, so moral death deprives us of clear consciousness, the free manifestation of our will, and therefore moral death is slightly better than material death itself.” Streckfuss.

But to talk about the goodness of heaven,
I’ll tell you everything I saw in those minutes. 6
About those visions that the poet talks about from verses 31–64.

10. And I myself don’t know how I entered the forest:
I fell into such a deep sleep 7
Dream means, on the one hand, human weakness, darkening of the inner light, lack of self-knowledge, in a word - sleep of the spirit; on the other hand, sleep is a transition to spiritual world(See Ada III, 136).

At that moment when the true path disappeared.

13. When I woke up near the hill, 8
Hill, according to the explanation of most commentators, it means virtue, according to others, ascent to the highest good. In the original, Dante awakens at the foot of a hill; base of the hill- the beginning of salvation, that minute when a saving doubt arises in our soul, the fatal thought that the path along which we have followed until this moment is false.

Where is the limit of that vale? 9
The limits of the vale. The vale is a temporary area of ​​life, which we usually call the vale of tears and disasters. From the XX Song of Hell, Art. 127–130, it is clear that in this vale the flickering of the month served as the poet’s guiding light. The month signifies the faint light of human wisdom. You save.

In which horror entered my heart, -

16. I looked up and saw the head of the hill
In the rays of the planet that is on the straight road 10
The planet that leads people on a straight path is the sun, which, according to the Ptolemaic system, belongs to the planets. The sun here has not only the meaning of a material luminary, but, in contrast to the month (philosophy), it is complete, direct knowledge, divine inspiration. You save.

Leads people to accomplish good deeds.

19. Then my fear, so much, fell silent for a while.
Over the sea of ​​hearts raging into the night,
Which proceeded with so much anxiety. 11
Even a glimpse of divine knowledge is already able to reduce in us partly the false fear of the earthly vale; but it completely disappears only when we are completely filled with the fear of the Lord, like Beatrice (Ada II, 82–93). You save.

22. And how, having managed to overcome the storm,
Stepping barely breathing onto the shore from the sea,
Keeps your eyes on the dangerous waves:

25. So I, still arguing with fear in my soul,
He looked back and fixed his gaze there, 12
That is, he looked into the dark forest and this vale of disasters, in which to remain means to die morally.

Where no one alive walked without grief.

28. And having rested in the desert from labor,
I went again, and my stronghold is strong
It was always in the lower leg. 13
When climbing, the leg on which we rely is always lower. “Ascending from the lower to the higher, we move forward slowly, only step by step, only then, as we firmly and truly stand on the lower: spiritual ascent is subject to the same laws as physical.” Streckfuss.

31. And now, almost at the beginning of the steep mountain,
Covered with motley skin, circling,
Leopard rushes both light and agile. 14
Leopard (uncia, leuncia, lynx, catus pardus Oken), according to the interpretation of ancient commentators, means voluptuousness, Leo - pride or lust for power, She-Wolf - self-interest and stinginess; others, especially the newest ones, see Florence and the Guelphs in Leo, France and especially Charles Valois in Leo, the Pope or the Roman Curia in She-Wolf, and, according to this, give the entire first song a purely political meaning. According to Kannegiesser's explanation, Leopard, Leo and She-Wolf mean three degrees of sensuality, moral corruption of people: Leopard is awakening sensuality, as indicated by its speed and agility, motley skin and persistence; The lion is a sensuality that has already awakened, prevailing and not hidden, demanding satisfaction: therefore he is depicted with a majestic (in the original: raised) head, hungry, angry to the point that the air around him shudders; finally, the She-Wolf is the image of those who have completely given themselves over to sin, which is why it is said that she has already been the poison of life for many, and therefore she completely deprives Dante of peace and constantly drives him more and more into the vale of moral death.

34. The monster did not run away from sight;
But before that my path was blocked,
I thought about escaping downstairs more than once.
37. The day was already dawning, and the sun was setting out on its journey
With a crowd of stars, as in the moment when it
Suddenly I felt a sense of divine love

40. Your first move, illuminated with beauty; 15
In this terzina the time of the poet’s journey is determined. It, as stated above, began on Good Friday in Holy Week, or March 25: therefore, around spring equinox. However, Philalethes, based on the XXI canto of Hell, believes that Dante began his journey on April 4. – Divine love, according to Dante, there is a reason for the movement of celestial bodies. – A crowd of stars denotes the constellation Aries, into which the sun enters at this time.

And everything flattered me with hope then:
Animal luxurious fleece,

43. The hour of morning and the young star. 16
The poet, enlivened by the radiance of the sun and the season (spring), hopes to kill Leopard and steal his motley skin. If Bars means Florence, then the calm state of this city in the spring of 1300, when the White and Black parties were in apparently perfect agreement with each other, could indeed give rise to some hope for the duration of peace in a superficial observer of events. But this calm was only apparent.

But again fear awakened in my heart
A fierce Lion, appearing with proud strength. 17
As a symbol of France, which "darkens all christian world"(Pure. XX, 44), Leo here represents violence, a terrifying material force.

46. ​​He seemed to come out to me,
Hungry, angry, with a majestic head,
And, it seemed, the air was trembling.

49. He walked with the She-Wolf, lean and crafty, 18
Dante turned the wolf of Scripture into a she-wolf (lupa) and even more harshly outlined the greed of the Roman Curia (if it should be understood under the name She-Wolf), for lupa in Latin has another meaning. Dante's entire poem is directed against the Roman Curia (Ada VII, 33 et seq., XIX, 1–6 and 90-117, XXVII, 70 et seq.; Pur. XVI, 100 et seq., XIX, 97 et seq., XXXII , 103–160; Raya IX, 125, etc., XII, 88, etc., XV, 142, XVII, 50, etc., XVIII, 118–136, XXI, 125–142, XXII, 76, etc. , XXVII, 19 126).

What, in thinness is full of everyone’s desires,
For many, this life was poison.

52. She was such a hindrance to me,
What, frightened by the stern appearance,
I was losing hope of going up.

55. And like a miser, always ready to save,
When the terrible hour of loss comes,
Sad and crying with every new thought:

58. So the beast in me shook the calm,
And, coming to meet me, he drove all the time
Me to the land where the sun's ray has faded.

61. While I was falling headlong into terrible darkness,
An unexpected friend appeared before my eyes,
Voiceless from long silence. 19
Mute, in the original: fioco hoarse. This is a clever hint at the indifference of Dante's contemporaries to the study of Virgil's works.

64. “Have mercy on me!” I suddenly cried out 20
In the original: Miserere de me, and there is an appeal not to Virgil alone, but also to divine goodness. At the foot of Mount Purgatory, the souls of those violently killed sing the same thing. (Pure V, 24.)

When I saw him in a deserted field,
“O whoever you are: a man or a spirit?”

67. And he: “I am a spirit, I am no longer a man;
I had Lombard parents, 21
68. Virgil was born in the town of Andes, the present village of Bande, otherwise Pietola, near Mantua, on the Mincio. His father, according to some reports, was a farmer, according to others, a potter.

But in Mantua those born into poverty.

70. Sub Julio I saw the light late 22
He was born in 684 AD. Rama, 70 years BC, under the consuls M. Licinius Crassus and Prince. Pompey the Great, on the Ides of October, which, according to the current calendar, corresponds to October 15. – Virgil, poet of the Roman Empire (princeps poetarum), saying that he was born under Julius Caesar, wants to glorify his name: Dante looks at Caesar as a representative of the Roman Empire; those who betrayed Caesar, Brutus and Cassius, are punished by him with cruel execution (Ada XXXXV, 55–67). – Sub Julio is one of those Latin expressions that are found so much in Dante’s poem, according to the general custom of not only poets and prose writers of that time.

And in Rome he lived in the happy age of Augustus;
In the days of the gods I became numb in false faith. 23
With these words, Virgil seems to want to justify himself in his paganism.

73. I was a poet, and I sang the truthful
Ankhiz's son, who built a new city,
When the arrogant Ilion was burned.

76. But why are you running back into this darkness?
Why are you not in a hurry to the joyful mountains,
To the beginning and cause of all joy? 24
Virgil asks why Dante, being a Christian, did not rush to the true path leading to a happy mountain or hill? - Dante, without answering him to this, pours out animated praise to the poet. This seems to express the desire of the poet, who has experienced the sorrows of life, to find solace in poetry.

79. – “Oh, are you Virgil, that stream that
The waves of words roll like a wide river?”
I answered, bowing my eyes shyly. 25
Virgil in the Middle Ages was in great respect: the common people looked at him as a sorcerer and soothsayer, enthusiasts as a semi-Christian, the reason for which, in addition to his fame, passed down from antiquity, was his famous fourth eclogue. He was the favorite poet of Dante, who taught him for a long time and valued him unusually highly, as can be seen from many places in his poem. However, Dante’s Virgil is not only his favorite poet, but also a symbol of human wisdom, knowledge, and philosophy in general, in contrast to Beatrice, who, as we will see in her place, personifies divine wisdom - Theology.

82. “O wondrous light, oh the honor of other singers!
Be kind to me for my long study
And for the love for the beauty of your poems.

85. You are my author, my mentor in song;
You were the one from whom I took
A wonderful style that has earned me praise. 26
That is, the style is Italian. Dante was already famous for his Vita Nuova and poems (Rime).

88. Look: here is the beast, I ran before him...
Save me, O wise one, in this valley...
It’s in my veins, it stirs the blood in my heart.

91. – “You must take a different path from now on,”
He answered, seeing my sorrow,
“If you don’t want to die here in the desert.

94. This fierce beast that has troubled your chest,
On his way he does not let others through,
But, having stopped the path, he destroys everyone in battle.

97. And he has such a harmful property,
That greed is not satisfied by anything,
Following the food, he pushes even harder.

100. He is associated with many animals,
And with many more he will copulate;
But the Dog is near, before whom he will die. 27
Under the name of the Dog (in the original: greyhound - veltro) most commentators mean Cana Grande (Great) della Scala, ruler of Verona, a noble youth, a stronghold of the Ghibellines and subsequently the representative of the Emperor in Italy, on whom Dante and his party had great hopes, but who while Dante's hopes began to be realized, he died in 1329 at the age of 40. But since Kan was born in 1290, and in 1300, the year of Dante’s journey in the grave world, he was 10 years old, it must be thought that Dante inserted this prediction about him later, or completely redid the beginning of the poem. Troya(Veltro allegorlco di Dante. Fir. 1826) in this Dog they see Uguccione della Fagiola, the leader of the Canov troops, the same one to whom he dedicated his Hell (Paradise is dedicated to Can), and who even before 1300 and before 1308, when Can was still young , rebelled for the Ghibellines in Romagna and Tuscany against the Guelphs and secular power dad. Be that as it may, Dante hid with them the one who should be understood by the symbol of the Dog: perhaps the state of political affairs of that time required this.

103. Not copper and earth will turn into food for the Dog, 28
Copper is used here instead of metal in general, as in the original: peltro (in Latin peltrum), a mixture of tin and silver, instead of silver or gold. The meaning is this: he will not be seduced by the acquisition of possessions (land), or wealth, but by virtue, wisdom and love.

But virtue, wisdom and love;
Between Feltro and between Feltro the Dog will be born. 29
Between Feltro and between Feltro. If we mean Cana the Great by the name of the Dog, then this verse defines his possessions: all of Marcha Trivigiana, where the city of Feltre is located, and all of Romagna, where Mount Feltre is: therefore, all of Lombardy.

106. He will save Italy again for the slave, 30
In the original: umile Italia. It seems that Dante here imitated Virgil, who said in canto 3 of the Aeneid: humllemque videmus Italiam.

In whose honor the maiden Camilla died,
Turnus, Euriades and Nisus shed blood.

109. The strength of the She-Wolf will rush from city to city,
Until she is imprisoned in hell,
Where did envy let her into the world? 31
"Invidia autem diaboli mors introivit in orbem terrarum." Vulg.

113. So believe me, not to your detriment:
Follow me; to the fatal region,
Your leader, I will lead you from here.

115. You will hear desperate, evil grief; 32
The souls of the great men of antiquity, kept, according to the concepts of the Catholic Church, on the eve of Hell or Limbo and not saved by baptism. They died in body, but desire a second death, that is, the destruction of the soul.

You will see a host of ancient souls in that country,
Those who vainly call for a second death.

118. You will see the quiet ones who are on fire 33
Souls in Purgatory.

They live in hope that to the empyrean
Someday they too will ascend.

121. But I don’t dare bring you into the empyrean:
There is a soul there that is a hundred times more worthy; 34
An allusion to Beatrice appearing to Dante in the earthly paradise (Pure XXX) and leading him to heaven.

When I am separated, I will leave you with her.

124. Zane Monarch, whose power is like an adversary 35
In the original: Imperadore. The Emperor, as the highest judge on earth, seems to the poet the most worthy likeness of the Supreme Judge in heaven.

I did not know, now it forbids me
To bring you into His holy city. 36
God does not want human reason (Virgil) to achieve the highest heavenly bliss, which is a gift from above. You save.

127. He is the King everywhere, but there He rules: 37
According to Dante, the power of God dominates everywhere, but His throne is in the highest heaven (empyrean), in which the other nine circles of heaven revolve around the earth, which, according to the Ptolemaic system, constitutes the center of the universe.

There is His city and unapproachable light;
O happy is he who enters His city!”

130. And I: “I pray to you, poet,
That Lord, you did not glorify Him, -
May I avoid this and greater troubles, 38
Greater troubles, that is, hell, through which I will go.

133. Lead to the land where you directed the path:
And I will ascend to the holy gates of Peter, 39
The Holy Gates of Petrov are the gates described in Pure. IX, 76. The mourners are the inhabitants of hell.

And I will see those whose sorrow you presented to me.”

136. Here he went, and I followed him.

Canto II

Content. Evening is coming. Dante, calling on the muses for help, tells how at the very beginning of the journey a doubt arose in his soul: whether he had enough strength for a bold feat. Virgil reproaches Dante for his cowardice and, encouraging him to perform a feat, explains to him the reason for his coming: how, on the eve of hell, Beatrice appeared to him and how she begged him to save the dying man. Encouraged by this news, Dante accepts his first intention, and both wanderers set off on their destined path.

1. The day was passing and darkness fell in the valleys, 40
Evening of March 25, or, according to Philalethes, April 8.

Allowing everyone on earth to rest
From their labors; I'm the only one

4. Prepared for battle - on a dangerous journey,
For work, for sorrow, what is the true story about?
I dare to draw from memory.

7. O highest spirit, O muses, calls to you!
O genius, describe everything that I have matured,
May your proud flight appear!

10. I began like this: “With all the power of my soul
Measure first, travel poet;
Then hurry with me on a brave journey. 41
The whole day passes in fluctuations of the mind; night comes and with it new doubts: the determination excited by reason has disappeared, and faith wavers. Dante asks himself: is he capable of performing a brave feat?

13. You said that Silvius is the parent, 42
Aeneas, the son of Venus and Anchises, the father of Silvius from Lavinia, led by the Sibyl of Cumae, descended into Tartarus (Enemda VI) in order to learn from the shadow of his father, Anchises, how he could defeat Turnus, the king of the Rutuli.

Still alive and decaying, he descended
Witness to the underground monastery.

16. But if the lot decreed this for him,
Then remembering how much fame he gained
And who is this husband? How truthful was he?

19. A sound mind will consider him worthy:
He was chosen in order to create
Great Rome and to be the father of the state, -

22. The powers of the one where – to be honest – * 43
To truly say - a hint that the Ghibelline spirit is prompting him to hide the truth, or to say the opposite. Lonbardi.

The Lord himself set the sacred throne
The Petrov governors should sit down.

25. In this journey - you glorified him with them -
He learned the way to victory over the enemy
And he gave the tiara to the popes.

28………………… …………………………..
………………… ………………………………
………………… ………………………………

31. But should I go? who gave me permission?

34. And so, if I perform a daring feat,
I'm afraid he'll blame me for madness.
Sage, you will understand more clearly than I say.”

37. Like someone who wants, but begins to fear,
Full of new thoughts, changing his plan,
Rejecting what I wanted to decide:

40. So I languished in that dark jungle,
And, having thought it over, he threw it again,
At least he was devoted to her alone at first.

43. “Since I have fully penetrated the meaning of the word,”
The shadow said to the generous one,
“Your soul is ready to experience fear.

46. ​​Fear of people takes away every day
From honest deeds, like a false ghost
It frightens the horse when a shadow falls.

49. But listen - and dispel the anxious fear, -
What is my coming wine
And what the immutable lot revealed to me.

52. I was with those whose lot is not complete; 44
That is, in Limbo, where the great men of antiquity are placed (see note to Hell. I, 115). – Whose fate is not complete in the original: che son sospesi. The pagans imprisoned in Limbo remain in doubt about their final fate; they are in a middle state between torment and bliss and are awaiting the Last Judgment (Ada IV, 31–45, and Pure III, 40 etc.).

There, hearing the voice of the beautiful Messenger, 45
Beautiful messenger(in the subtext donna beata e bella) - Beatrice, a symbol of divine teaching, theology (see below article 70, note). - “Divine teaching descends to the languid human mind, which once did not listen to God, so that it fulfills its true purpose - to lead man.” You save.

I asked: what will she command?

55. Brighter than a star, a clear ray burned in my eyes, 46
Under the name stars here of course the sun, which is primarily called a star (Daniello, Landino, Velluteno, etc.). Heavenly wisdom in the Bible is often compared to the sun; so about her in the book. Wise One VII, 39, it is said: “This is more beautiful than the sun, and more than any arrangement of stars, the first is found equal to light.”

And in a quiet, harmonious tongue in response
She spoke like a sweet-voiced angel:

58. “O Mantua, affable poet,
Whose glory filled the light far away
And it will be there as long as the light lasts! 47
The light will last. I followed here the text of the Nidobeatan manuscripts, the libraries of Corsini, Chigi, etc., which is followed by Lombardi and Wagner (Il Parnasso Ilaliano), where: quanto "I mondo (in others: moto) lontana*

61. My favorite, but not the favorite of rock,
I met obstacles on the empty shore
And he runs back, frightened and cruel.

64. And I am afraid: so he went astray on him,
Isn’t it too late that I came with salvation?
How in heaven there was news of this to me.

67. Move forward with wise conviction
Prepare everything for his salvation:
Deliver him and be my consolation,

70. I, Beatrice, beg again...... 48
Beatrice, the daughter of a wealthy Florentine citizen Folco Portinari, whom Dante, still 9 years old, met for the first time on the first day of May 1274. According to the custom of that time, the first of May was celebrated with songs, dances and festivities. Folso Portinari invited his neighbor and friend, Allighiero Allighieri, father of Dante, and his whole family to his holiday. Then, during children's games, Dante fell passionately in love with the eight-year-old daughter of Folco Portinari, however, in such a way that Beatrice never knew about his love. This is Boccaccio's story about Dante's love - a story, perhaps somewhat embellished with poetic fiction. However, Dante himself spoke about his love in sonnets and canzones (Rime) and especially in his Vita Nuova. Beatrice, who later married her husband, died in 1290 at the age of 26. Despite the fact that Dante retained the feeling of first love throughout his life, he soon after the death of Beatrice married Gemma Donati and had six sons and one daughter from her. He was not happy in his marriage and even divorced his wife. – By the symbol of Beatrice, as we have repeatedly said, Dante means theology, the favorite science of his time, a science that he studied deeply in Bologna, Padova and Paris.

………………… ………………………………
………………… ………………………………

73. There, before my Lord, with compassion,
Poet, I will often boast about you.”
I fell silent here, I began with an appeal

76. “O grace, by which alone
Our mortal race has surpassed all creation
Under the sky that completes a smaller circle! 49
Look at the sky that makes a circle. Here, of course, is the moon, which, belonging to the planets in the Ptolemaic system, rotates closer than all other luminaries to the earth and, therefore, makes a smaller circle (see note to Hell. I, 127). The meaning is this: man, by divine teaching, surpasses all creatures in the sublunary world.

79. Your commands to me are so sweet,
That I am ready to accomplish them immediately;
Don't repeat your prayer.

82. But explain: how can you descend
Without trembling into the universal middle 50
World Middle(original: in queeto centro). The earth (see note to Hell I, 127), according to Ptolemy, is located in the middle of the universe. Dante's hell is located inside the earth, as we will see below: therefore, according to his concepts, it constitutes the real center of the whole world.

From the mountainous countries, where are you going to soar? -

85. – “When you want to know the reason for it,”
She advertised, “I’ll give you a short answer,
Almost without fear I will go down to you into the abyss.

88. One should only fear that harm
Inflicts on us: what a fruitless fear,
How is it not fear of something in which there is no fear? 51
Only then do we not feel fear not only of earthly horrors, but also of hell, when, like Beatrice, we are imbued with divine wisdom, the fear of the Lord. (See note Ad. I, 19–21).

91. Thus I was created by the goodness of the Lord,
That your sorrow does not burden me
And the flames of the underworld do not harm me. 52
Although Virgil and other virtuous pagans are not punished with any torment, and although there is no hellfire in Limbo, Beatrice’s words are nevertheless true, because Limbo is still part of hell.

94 There a certain Intercessor mourns
About who I am sending you to,
And for her the cruel trial is broken. 53
Cruel judge(original: duro giudicio). The poet meant: “Judicium durissimum iis, qui praesunt, fiet” Sapient IV, 6.

97. She, having raised Lucia…. 54
Lucia(from lux, light), as a martyr of the Catholic Church, is called to the aid of those who suffer from bodily eyes. This seems to have led Dante to choose her preferentially for the role she plays in his poem. She is mentioned in Pure. IX, 55, and Rae, XXVII.

Advertisement: Your faithful one is waiting for you in tears,
And from here I entrust it to you.

100. And Lucia, the hard-hearted enemy,
Having moved forward, she spoke to me where forever
With ancient Rachel I will sit in the rays: 55
Rachel is a symbol of contemplative life (Pur. XVXII, 100–108), like her sister, Leah, of active life. – Dante very thoughtfully places the divine teaching (Beatrice) near Rachel, eternally immersed in the contemplation of the ineffable Good of Landino.

103. “Oh Beatrice, a heartfelt hymn to the Creator!
Save the one who loved you so much
What has become alien to you to the careless crowd. 56
With his love for Beatrice Portinari, Dante rose above the crowd, on the one hand, indulging in poetry, on the other, studying theology, which Beatrice personifies.

106. Do you not hear how sad his crying is?
Can't you see the death he fought?
In the river, in front of it is the ocean without strength?

109. No one in the world has strived so quickly 57
Under the name rivers(in the original: fiumana, whirlpool, gurges, aquaram congeries, Vocab. della Crueca) refers to the worries of life; the storms of everyday misfortunes surpass all the turbulence of the ocean.

From destruction, or to one’s own gain,
How my flight accelerated from those words

112. From the bench of the blessed to the abysses of the earth -
You gave me faith with wise words,
And honor to you and to those who listen to them!”

115. Then, having told me this, with tears
Grief raised a radiant gaze,
And I flowed in the fastest steps.

118. And, as desired, he arrived at that time,
When this beast stopped in a deserted field
Your short path to that beautiful mountain.

121. So what? why, why does he hesitate longer?
What kind of low fear do you harbor in your heart?
What happened to courage, to good will...

124. ……………………………………………………
………………… ………………………………
…………………………………………………?»

127. And like flowers, in the cold of the night
Bent over, in the silver of the day's rays
They stand with their heads open on the branches:

130. Thus I was raised by my valor;
Such wondrous courage flowed into my chest,
What did I begin, as if I had thrown off the burden of chains:

133. “Oh glory to her, giver of goodness!
O honor to you, that right words
He believed and did not slow down!

136. So my heart longs for your footsteps
You kindled your journey with your wise words,
That I return to the first thought myself.

139. Let's go: hope is strong in the new heart -
You are the leader, the teacher, you are my master!”
So I said, and under his cover

142. Descended through a wooded path into the darkness of the abyss.

Canto III

Content. Poets come to the door of hell. Dante reads the inscription above it and is horrified; but, encouraged by Virgil, he follows him into the dark abyss. Sighs, loud cries and screams deafen Dante: he cries and learns from his leader that here, still outside the bounds of hell, the souls of insignificant people, those who did not act, and cowards, with whom the choirs of angels are mixed, are being punished in the midst of eternal darkness. who did not take the side of His adversary. Then the poets come to the first hellish river - Acheron. The gray-haired Charon, the helmsman of hell, does not want to accept Dante into his boat, saying that he will penetrate into hell in a different way, and transports a crowd of the dead to the other side of the Acheron. Then the banks of the infernal river shake, a whirlwind rises, lightning flashes and Dante falls unconscious.

1. Here I enter the mournful city to torment,
Here I enter into the eternal torment,
Here I enter the fallen generations.

4. My eternal Architect has been moved by truth:
The Lord's power, the omnipotent mind
And the first loves of the Holy Spirit

7. I was created before all creation,
But after the eternal, and I don’t have a century.
Abandon hope, everyone who comes here! 58
The famous inscription above the door of hell. The first three verses express the teaching of the church about the infinity of hellish torment, the fourth indicates the reason for the creation of hell - the Justice of God. The last verse expresses the hopelessness of the condemned. – There is no way to fully convey this marvelous inscription in all its gloomy grandeur; after many futile attempts, I settled on this translation as being closer to the original.

10. In such words, which had a dark color,
I matured the inscription above the entrance to the execution area
And he said: “The meaning of it is cruel to me, poet!”

13. And like a sage, he spoke, full of affection:
“There is no room for any doubts here,
Here let all the vanity of fear die.

16. This is the land where, as I said, we will see
An unfortunate race that has lost its soul
The light of reason with the most holy good. 59
Light of the mind(in the original il ben dello "ntelletto) there is God. The wicked have lost the knowledge of God, the only good of souls.

19. And took my hand with your hand*
With a calm face my spirit was encouraged
And he entered with me into the secrets of the abyss. 60
Virgil introduces Dante under the arch of the earth, which, according to the poet’s idea, covers the huge funnel-shaped abyss of hell. We will say more about the architecture of Dante's Inferno in its own place; Here we will only note that this abyss, wide at the top, gradually narrows towards the bottom. Its sides consist of ledges, or circles, completely dark and only in places illuminated by underground fire. The uppermost outskirts of hell, directly under the arch of earth that covers it, constitutes the dwelling of the insignificant ones that Dante speaks of here.

22. There in the air without sun and luminaries
Sighs, cries and screams rumble in the abyss,
And I cried as soon as I entered there.

25. A mixture of languages, speeches of a terrible cabal,
Gusts of anger, groans of terrible pain
And with a splash of hands, now a hoarse voice, now wild,

28. They give birth to a roar, and it swirls throughout the century
In the abyss, covered with timeless darkness,
Like dust when the aquilon spins.

31. And I, with my head twisted in horror, 61
With a head twisted in horror. I followed the text adopted by Wagner; (d"error la testa cinta; in other publications; d"error la testa cinta (by ignorance of the midwife).

He asked: “My teacher, what do I hear?
Who are these people, so killed by grief? -

34. And he answered: “This vile execution
That sad family is punishing………………..
……………………………………………………………….62
Sad kind(in the original: l "anime triste; tristo has the meaning of sad and evil, dark), who has not deserved either blasphemy or glory in life, there is a countless crowd of insignificant people who did not act, who did not distinguish their memory with either good or evil deeds. That is why they will forever remain unnoticed even by justice itself: there is no destruction for them, there is no judgment for them, and that is why they envy every fate. How, people who did not act, who never lived, as the poet puts it, the world forgot about them; they are not worth participating; they are not even worth talking about. Eternal darkness looms over them, like over the dark forest in the first canto (also Ada IV, 65–66), which is their faithful representative. Just as in life they were occupied by petty worries, insignificant passions and desires, so here they are tormented by the most useless insects - flies and wasps. The blood now shed by them for the first time can only serve as food for vile worms. You save and Streckfuss.

37. Those choirs of evil angels are mixed with him,
That they stood up for themselves,
……………………………………………………………….

40. ………………………………………………………….
……………………………………………………………….
……………………………………………»

43. – “Teacher,” I asked, “what is the burden
Are they being forced to complain like this?” -
And he: “I won’t waste time for them,

46. ​​The hope of death does not shine for the blind,
And blind life is so unbearable,
That each fate is enviable to them,

49. Their trace in the world disappeared faster than smoke;
There is no compassion for them, the court despised them,
What do they say about them? take a look and pass by!”

52. And I looked and saw the banner there:
It was soaring as it ran,
That, it seemed, rest was not his destiny. 63
Among the insignificant, Dante also places cowards, whose banner, cowardly abandoned by them in life, is now doomed to eternal flight, so fast that it seems he will never stop. – Not for him- in the original it is even stronger: Che d "ogni posa mi pareva indegna (unworthy of any peace).

55. Behind him ran a line of dead so abundant,
That I could not believe that the lot would overthrow
Such a multitude in the darkness of the grave.

57. And I, recognizing some there, went up
I looked and saw the shadow of the one who
From the base great gift rejected 64
No matter how colorless or dark the life of the people condemned here is, Dante recognizes some of them, but who exactly, he does not consider worthy to say. He especially points to the shadow of someone who has rejected a great gift. Commentators guess in her that Esau, who ceded the right of birthright to his brother Jacob; then the Emperor Diocletian, who in old age resigned his imperial dignity; then Pope Celestine V who, through the machinations of Bonaiface VIII, refused the papal tiara in favor of the latter. Finally, some see here a timid fellow citizen of Dante, Torreggiano dei Cerchi, a supporter of the Whites, who did not support his party.

61. I instantly understood - my eyes were convinced of that -
What is this mob……………………….
……………………………………………………………….

64. A despised race that never lived,
Kicked and pale, was wounded by swarms
And the flies and wasps that flocked there.

67. Blood rolled down their faces in streams,
And mixed with a stream of tears, in the dust,
At the feet, eaten by vile worms.

70. And I, straining my eyesight, far away
I saw a crowd on the shore of the great
Rivers and said: “Leader, favor

73. Explain to me: what does a host mean?
And what attracts him from all sides,
How can I see through the darkness in the wild valley? -

76. – “You will find out about this,” he answered me,
When we reach the shore of Krutovo,
Where Acheron flooded with swamp 65
Dante places the Acheron of the ancients on the uppermost edge of the funnel-shaped abyss of hell in the form of a stagnant swamp.

79. And I lowered my embarrassed gaze again 66
Throughout the poem, Dante portrays with extraordinary tenderness his attitude towards Virgil as a student to a teacher, achieving an almost dramatic effect.

And, so as not to offend the leader, to the shores
I walked along the river without saying a word.

82. And now the boat is rowing towards us
A stern old man with ancient hair, 67
The old man is stern– Charon, to whom Dante in Art. 109 gives the appearance of a demon with wheels of fire around his eyes. We will see below that Dante turned many mythical figures of antiquity into demons: this is exactly what the monks of the Middle Ages did with the ancient gods. Mythological figures in Dante's Poem mostly have a deep allegorical meaning, or serve a technical purpose, giving plastic roundness to the whole. However, the habit of mixing the pagan with the Christian was a common practice in medieval art: the exterior of Gothic churches was often decorated with mythological figures. – Charon in the Last Judgment Michel Angelo wrote based on Dante’s idea. Ampere.

Shouting: “Oh woe, you evil ones, woe to you!

85. Here say goodbye to heaven forever:
I'm going to throw you over the edge
Into eternal darkness and into heat and cold with ice. 68
Darkness, heat and cold characterize the general outline and the correct sequence of the three main divisions of hell, in which ice is located on the very two. (Ada XXXIV).

88. And you, living soul, in this order,
Part with this dead crowd!
But seeing that I was standing motionless:

91. “In another way,” he said, “in another wave,
Not here, you will penetrate into the sad land:
The lightest boat will rush you like an arrow. 69
Dante is not a light shadow like other souls, and therefore the weight of his body would be too burdensome for the light boat of shadows.

94. And the leader to him: “Harom, do not forbid!
So there want where every wish is
There is a law: old man, don’t ask! 70
That is, in the sky. With these same words, Virgil tames the wrath of Minos, the infernal judge (Ada V, 22–24).

97. The swaying of the shaggy cheeks has died down here 71
A plastically faithful image of a toothless old man who, when he speaks, makes his cheeks and beard move violently.

At the helmsman, but the wheels of fire
The sparkle around the eyes intensified.

100. There is a host of shadows, agitated chaos, 72
These are the souls of other sinners who do not belong to the host of insignificant ones and must hear a sentence from Minos, according to which they will take their places in hell.

His face became confused, his teeth chattered,
As soon as Charon pronounced the menacing judgment, 73
Charon's words plunge sinners into horror and despair. Their state at this decisive moment is presented in an inimitably terrible way.

103. And he cursed his parents with blasphemies,
The whole race of people, place of birth, hour
And the seed of the seed with their tribes.

106. Then all the shadows, crowding into a single host,
They burst into tears on the cruel shore,
Where will there be everyone in whom the fear of God has faded away?

109. Charon, the demon, has a sparkling eye like coal,
Alluring, he drives a host of shadows into the boat,
Strikes the stragglers over the stream with an oar. 74
Imitation of Virgil, although Dante’s comparison is incomparably more beautiful:
Quam multa in silvis antumni frigore primoLapsa cadunt folia. Aeneid. VI, 309–310.

112. How the bore circles in the forest in autumn
Behind the leaf is a leaf, until its impulses
They will not throw all the luxury of the branches into dust:

115. Like the wicked race of Adam,
Behind the shadow is a shadow, rushing from the banks,
To the rower's sign, like a falcon to calls.

118. So everyone floats through the muddy darkness of the shafts,
And before they go ashore sleepy,
In that country a new host is already ready.

121. “My son,” said the benevolent teacher,
“Before the Lord those who died in sins
From all lands they soar to the bottomless river 75
This is Virgil's answer to the question asked of him by Dante above (vv. 72–75).

124. And they hurry through it in tears;
God's justice motivates them
So fear turned into desire. 76
Justice, which prompted God to create a place of execution, encourages sinners, as if of their own free will, to occupy the monastery prepared for them.

127. A good soul does not penetrate into hell,
And if here you are greeted like this by a rower,
Then you yourself will understand what this cry means.” -

130. Silenced. Then the whole gloomy valley is all around
I was so shaken that I'm still in cold sweat
It sprinkles me, as soon as I remember it.

133. A whirlwind rushed through this tearful valley,
The crimson ray flashed from all sides
And, having lost my senses, in a desperate abyss

136. I fell like one who is overcome by sleep. 77
Dante covered his crossing of the Acheron with an impenetrable secret. The poet falls into a sleep, during which miraculously is transported to the other shore, just as in the first canto (Ada I, 10–12) he enters a dark forest in deep sleep. In the same mystical dream he ascends to the gates of purgatory (Purgatory IX, 19ff.). He also falls asleep before entering the earthly paradise (Pur. XXVII, 91 et d).

In his amazing, terrifying creation" The Divine Comedy"Dante Alighieri painted pictures of the punishments of sinners. The expression “9 circles of hell” received a vivid visualization, which undoubtedly had a strong effect on believers. And in our time, Dante’s work is studied and interpreted, because as long as religion continues to exist, punishments will continue to be relevant for transgressions before God. Our article is devoted to describing the circles of hell according to famous work. Let us imagine the unique picture that stretches before the eyes of the heroes of the Divine Comedy.

Generalized features of Dante's hell

Traveling through the terrible circles of hell, you can see a pattern. The first circles represent eternal punishment for intemperance during life. The further you go, the less material human sins are, that is, they affect the moral aspects of life. Accordingly, with each round the torture of sinners becomes more terrible. The way Dante presented the 9 circles of hell to readers causes a storm of emotions and, as we hope and what the ancient author hoped for, will warn people from bad deeds. Dante's picturesque idea of ​​the geography of hell, naturally, was not the original information. The poet expressed the experience and theories of philosophers and scientist predecessors, describing the 9 circles of hell. According to the Bible, such a concept is expressed in seven levels that cleanse the souls of sinners.

Thus, Dante in his work relies on the centric structure of hell, where groups of circles are characterized by different severity of sins. As we have already noticed, the closer to the center, the more serious the sin.

Aristotle in his work “Ethics” classifies sins into categories: the first is intemperance, the second is violence against others and oneself, the third category is deception and betrayal.

Now we will embark on a journey through the world, where punishment reigns, and every misdemeanor is rewarded in full - we begin to get acquainted with the circles of hell.

First lap. Limbo

In the first circle of hell, the suffering of sinners is painless. The punishment here is eternal sorrow, and it fell to the lot of those who were not baptized.

Thus, among the grieving souls on Limbo there are the righteous from (Noah, Abraham, Moses), ancient philosophers (including Virgil). The circle is guarded by Charon - the same carrier of souls through Next - about the interesting things that Dante's "Divine Comedy" contains, on other circles.

Circle two. Voluptuousness

In the second circle, created to punish those who are intemperate in love during life, sinners are guarded by the very father of the monster Minotaur. Here he also acts as a fair judge, distributing souls into appropriate circles.

There is constant darkness in this circle, in which a hurricane rages. The souls of those who cheated on their spouse are mercilessly thrown by the wind.

Circle three. Gluttony

In the third circle of hellish torment are those who were incontinent in food during their lifetime. The glutton is showered with cold rain, there is eternal mud underfoot.

A hellish dog with three heads, Cerberus, is assigned as guard to the gluttons. Those sinful souls that fall into his clutches, he gnaws. And we will continue to delve into how Dante presented the 9 circles of hell.

Circle four. Greed

On the next round, the punishments become even harsher. Here are the souls of those who were greedy in different areas of life. The punishment looks like this: on a vast plain, two masses of souls push huge stones towards each other. When the lines collide, you have to separate again and start the work again.

Plutos, the wealth mentioned in Homer's Odyssey, stands guard over greedy sinners.

Circle five. Anger and laziness

The fifth circle is a wide swamp. Violent and lazy souls fight incessantly while swimming in swamp water. Phlegias, the founder of the Phlegian robbers, the son of Ares, was assigned as a guard to the circle of terrible punishments.

Circle six. False teachers and heretics

Anyone who preached other gods and misled peoples ended up in the seventh (according to Dante) circle of hell. In the Burning City are the souls of such sinners. There they suffer in open, hot, oven-like graves. They are guarding them scary monsters- mythical Fury sisters with snakes instead of hair. Between the sixth and next circles there is a fetid ditch demarcating it. Distant regions begin, where people are tortured for even more serious sins.

Seventh circle. Murderers and rapists

The 9 circles of hell presented by Dante continue with the seventh - a place where the souls of murderers of various types, including suicides and tyrants, are tormented.

The murderers and perpetrators of violence are in the middle of the steppe, over which a fiery rain is pouring. It scorches sinners, and here they are torn apart by dogs, caught and tortured by harpies. Even trees, forever standing helpless, are turned into murderers in the seventh circle of hell. The terrible mythical monster Minotaur watches over the souls regularly being tortured.

Circle eight. Deceived

Ahead of us are the most impressive of the 9 circles of hell. According to the Christian Bible, just like in other religions, deceivers are subject to one of the most severe punishments. So in Dante they got a place so destructive that only immortal souls can exist here.

The eighth circle represents the Sinisters - 10 ditches in which fortune-tellers and soothsayers, delinquent priests, hypocrites, sorcerers, false witnesses, and alchemists walk among the sewage. Sinners are boiled in tar, beaten with hooks, chained to rocks, and their feet doused with fire. They are tormented by various reptiles and diseases. The giant Geryon stands guard here.

Circle nine, center. Traitors and Traitors

In the center of hell, according to Dante's poem, there is Lucifer frozen in the icy lake Cocytus. His face is turned down. He also tortures other famous traitors: Judas, Brutus, Cassius.

In the midst of the hellish cold, all the other betrayed souls are also tormented. They are guarded by the giant Antaeus, the traitor to the Spartans Ephialtes and the son of Uranus and Gaia of the Briares.

Conclusion

Finally, we have emerged from the hellish world created by Dante Alighieri. The “Divine Comedy,” the content of which we have thus covered, is a work that has come down to us through the centuries thanks to its ability to impress the minds of readers. The work is deservedly considered a classic and a must-read.

Now we know on what basis the legendary Dante created the 9 circles of hell, and what they are. Let us note once again that the pictures that appear before readers amaze with their scale and content: as if all of man’s fear of death was embodied in a single thought, expressed by the poem “The Divine Comedy”. If this book is not yet open in front of you, the 9 circles of hell are quite ready to accommodate your soul...

Preface

(K. DERZHAVIN)

"The Divine Comedy" arose in troubled times early years XIV century from the depths of the national life of Italy seething with intense political struggle. For future generations - close and distant - she remained the greatest monument to the poetic culture of the Italian people, erected at the turn of two historical eras. Engels wrote: “The end of the feudal Middle Ages, the beginning of the modern captalistic era are marked by a colossal figure. This is the Italian Dante, the last poet of the Middle Ages and at the same time the first poet of modern times” (K. Marx and F. Engels. Works, vol. 22, 2nd ed., p. 382.).

“Severe Dante,” as Pushkin called the creator of the Divine Comedy, completed his great poetic work during the bitter years of exile and wandering, to which he was condemned by the “black” party, which triumphed in bourgeois-democratic Florence in 1301 - supporters of the pope and representatives of the interests of the nobility. -bourgeois elite of a rich republic. In Florence - this largest center of Italian economic and cultural life Middle Ages - Dante Alighieri was born, raised and matured in an atmosphere incandescent with a thirst for wealth and power, torn apart by political passions and agitated by brutal civil strife. Here, in this anthill of trade, a city of artisans and noble merchants, bankers and arrogant feudal grandees, in a city-state proud of its wealth and long-standing independence, its ancient guild rights and its democratic constitution - the “Institutions of Justice” (1293), Early on, one of the largest centers of that powerful socio-cultural movement was formed, which formed the ideological content of the era, defined by Engels as “... the greatest progressive revolution of all that humanity had experienced up to that time...” (K. Marx and F. Engels. Works, vol. 20, 2nd ed., p. 346).

Dante stands on the threshold of the Renaissance, on the threshold of an era “... which needed titans and which gave birth to titans in strength of thought, passion and character, in versatility and learning” (Ibid.). The creator of the Divine Comedy was one of these titans, whose poetic legacy has remained throughout the centuries as a majestic contribution of the Italian people to the treasury of world culture.

A scion of an old and noble Florentine family, a member of the guild of doctors and pharmacists, which included persons of various intelligent professions, Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) appears in his life as a representative of a comprehensively educated, active representative of his time and the developed urban structure of his homeland. , strongly connected with local cultural traditions And public interests intelligentsia.

Dante's youth proceeds in brilliant literary circle the young poetic school of the “new sweet style” (doice stil nuovo), led by his friend Guido Cavalcanti, and in communication with the outstanding political figure and one of the early Florentine humanists - Brunetto Latini. Mature years the author of the Divine Comedy spends his time in the service of the republic, participating in its wars, carrying out its diplomatic missions and, finally (1300), being one of the members of the governing council of priors during the days of the political dominance of the bourgeois-democratic party of the “whites”.

By 1302 - the year of his exile and condemnation in absentia to death by the noble-bourgeois elite (the "black" party) who seized power in Florence - Dante was already a paramount literary figure.

Dante's poetic formation occurs in conditions of turning point and transition from the literary Middle Ages to new creative aspirations. The poet himself occupies one of the defining and high places in this complex and contradictory process.

Dante Alighieri

The Divine Comedy

The Divine Comedy arose in the troubled early years of the 14th century from the depths of the national life of Italy seething with intense political struggle. For future generations - near and far - it remains the greatest monument to the poetic culture of the Italian people, erected at the turn of two historical eras. Engels wrote: “The end of the feudal Middle Ages and the beginning of the modern capitalist era are marked by a colossal figure. This is the Italian Dante, the last poet of the Middle Ages and at the same time the first poet of modern times” (K. Marx and F. Engels. Works, vol. 22, 2nd ed., p. 382.).

“Severe Dante,” as Pushkin called the creator of the Divine Comedy, completed his great poetic work during the bitter years of exile and wandering, to which he was condemned by the “black” party, which triumphed in bourgeois-democratic Florence in 1301 - supporters of the pope and representatives of the interests of the nobility. -bourgeois elite of a rich republic. In Florence - this largest center of Italian economic and cultural life of the Middle Ages - Dante Alighieri was born, raised and matured in an atmosphere red-hot with the thirst for wealth and power, torn apart by political passions and agitated by brutal civil strife. Here, in this anthill of trade, a city of artisans and noble merchants, bankers and arrogant feudal grandees, in a city-state proud of its wealth and long-standing independence, its ancient guild rights and its democratic constitution - the “Institutions of Justice” (1293), Early on, one of the largest centers of that powerful socio-cultural movement was formed, which formed the ideological content of the era, defined by Engels as “... the greatest progressive revolution of all that humanity had experienced up to that time...” (K. Marx and F. Engels. Works, vol. 20, 2nd ed., p. 346).

Dante stands on the threshold of the Renaissance, on the threshold of an era “... which needed titans and which gave birth to titans in strength of thought, passion and character, in versatility and learning” (Ibid.). The creator of the Divine Comedy was one of these titans, whose poetic legacy has remained throughout the centuries as a majestic contribution of the Italian people to the treasury of world culture.

A scion of an old and noble Florentine family, a member of the guild of doctors and pharmacists, which included persons of various intelligent professions, Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) appears in his life as a representative of a comprehensively educated, active representative of his time and the developed urban structure of his homeland. , tightly connected with local cultural traditions and the public interests of the intelligentsia.

Dante's youth proceeds in the brilliant literary circle of the young poetic school of the "new sweet style" (dolce stil nuovo), headed by his friend Guido Cavalcanti, and in communication with the outstanding political figure and one of the early Florentine humanists - Brunetto Latini. The author of the Divine Comedy spends his mature years in the service of the republic, participating in its wars, carrying out its diplomatic missions and, finally (1300), being one of the members of the governing council of priors during the days of the political dominance of the bourgeois-democratic party of the “whites”.

By 1302 - the year of his exile and condemnation in absentia to death by the noble-bourgeois elite (the "black" party) who seized power in Florence - Dante was already a paramount literary figure.

Dante's poetic formation occurs in conditions of turning point and transition from the literary Middle Ages to new creative aspirations. The poet himself occupies one of the defining and high places in this complex and contradictory process. His poetic consciousness fully anticipates the “highest development of art” in the era “... which broke the boundaries of the old orbis and, strictly speaking, discovered the Earth for the first time” (K. Marx and F. Engels. Works, vol. 20, ed. 2- e, p. 508.). As the last poet of the Middle Ages, Dante at the same time completes and generalizes the previous philosophical and poetic era, the scholastic world interpretation of which he gave such a grandiose artistic implementation in its creative scale.

By Dante’s own admission, the impetus for the awakening of the poet in him was his reverent and noble love for the daughter of his father’s friend Folco Portinari - the young and beautiful Beatrice. The autobiographical confession “New Life” (“Vita nuova”), written at the fresh grave of his beloved, who died in 1290, remained a poetic document of this love. The two dozen sonnets, several canzones and a ballad included in “New Life” contain a refined philosophical interpretation of the experienced and flaming feeling, the blissful image of the beloved. The poems are interspersed with prose that comments on their sublime content and connects individual links of poetic confessions and reflections into a consistent autobiographical story, into a diary of an excited heart and an analyzing mind - the first literary diary of personal love and philosophical feelings in the modern era. European literature.

In the “New Life”, Dante’s poetic experiences are clothed in the formulas of the “sweet style” of the poetry of his friends and literary mentors - Guido Guinizelli, Cavalcanti, Cino da Pistoia and the entire circle of young Tuscan poets who, in refined words and refined forms philosophical lyrics glorify the great charms of inspired love, attached to ideal spheres, and glorify the excitement of sublime and sweet feelings. And yet - this is the unfading significance of “New Life” - the poetic formula does not obscure its clear aspiration towards really significant, plastic, tangible and truly felt life values. Through the measured stanzas of the sonnets with their complicated philosophical imagery, behind the metaphysical calculations of sophisticated, scholastic thought, and especially in the prose story about the circumstances of his love, Dante reveals to the reader his living and vital worldview, if not subordinating the bookish and poetic wisdom of the “sweet style,” then already testifying to new directions in lyricism and new, vital sources of lyrical experiences.

Even in the Florentine period, Dante diligently studied scholastic philosophy. His thought, naturally, fell into captivity of those ugly mystical fabrications with which the writings of Thomas Aquinas, the most reactionary and pernicious of all the theological “authorities” of the era, are filled. And yet, at the same time, already entering the sphere of awakening humanistic interests, he assimilated the heritage of classical literature, led by Virgil, who was so revered in the Middle Ages. In exile, these activities apparently expanded and deepened. Wandering around various Italian cities, even visiting Paris - the center of philosophical and theological studies of that time, Dante acquired encyclopedic knowledge in the field of scholastic science and natural philosophy, became acquainted with some systems of Eastern, in particular Arabic, philosophical thought and peered into the broad horizons of all-Italian national political life , the outlines and directions of which emerged in the rivalry of papal and secular power, in the struggle of city-communes with the absolutist claims of the nobility, in the aggressive aspirations of greedy trans-Alpine neighbors. The movement of Dante’s thought towards mastering the entire sum of knowledge of his time did not go against the traditions of medieval thinking, prone to encyclopedic generalizations, but in this movement the feature that testified to the coming new times clearly emerged - the feature of a rebellious and demanding personality, asserting itself and its anticipations of the future surrounded by a formal and frozen culture that has already stopped in its historical development.

In the scholastic ethical-philosophical treatise “The Symposium” and in the lengthy utopian discourse “Monarchy” written in Latin, Dante fully follows the medieval traditions of thought. In the second of these works, taking the side of the political program of Ghibellinism (Ghibellines are supporters of the power of the emperor and opponents of the temporal power of the pope.) with its aspirations for a universal feudal empire, idealizing this empire as the path to the elimination of fragmentation

Medieval literature contributed to the strengthening of church power throughout the Old World. Many authors praised God and bowed before the greatness of his creations. But a few geniuses managed to dig a little deeper. Today we will find out what is the “Divine Comedy” about, who wrote this masterpiece, let's reveal the truth through the abundance of lines.

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Master's Immortal Feather

Dante Alighieri is an outstanding thinker, theologian, writer and public figure. The exact date of his birth has not been preserved, but Giovanni Boccaccio states that it is May 1265. One of them mentions that main character born under the sign of Gemini, starting on May 21st. On March 25, 1266, at baptism, the poet was given a new name - Durante.

It is not known exactly where the young man received his education, but he knew the literature of Antiquity and the Middle Ages very well, knew the natural sciences perfectly, and studied the works of heretical authors.

The first documentary mentions of him are by 1296-1297. During this period the author was actively involved social activities, was elected prior of the Florentine Republic. Quite early he joined the White Guelphs, for which he was subsequently expelled from his native Florence.

The years of wandering were accompanied by active literary activity. In the difficult conditions of constant travel, Dante conceived the idea of ​​writing the work of his life. While parts of the Divine Comedy were completed in Ravenna. Paris incredibly impressed Alighieri with such enlightenment.

1321 life ended greatest representative medieval literature. As the ambassador of Ravenna, he went to Venice to make peace, but on the way he fell ill with malaria and died suddenly. The body was buried in its final resting place.

Important! Contemporary portraits of the Italian figure cannot be trusted. The same Boccaccio depicts Dante as bearded, while the chronicles speak of a clean-shaven man. In general, the surviving evidence is consistent with the established view.

The deep meaning of the name

“Divine Comedy” - this phrase can be viewed from several angles. In the literal sense of the word, this is a description of mental wanderings across the expanses of the afterlife.

The righteous and the sinners exist in different planes of existence after death. Purgatory serves as a place for the correction of human souls; those who end up here get a chance to be cleansed of earthly sins for the sake of a future life.

We see the clear meaning of the work - the mortal life of a person determines future fate his soul.

The poem abounds allegorical inserts, For example:

• three beasts symbolize human vices - insidiousness, gluttony, pride;
• the journey itself is presented as a search for a spiritual path for every person surrounded by vices and sinfulness;
• "Paradise" reveals main goal life - the desire for all-consuming and all-forgiving love.

Time of creation and structure of “Comedy”

The writer managed to create an extremely symmetrical work, which consists of three parts (edges) - “Hell”, “Purgatory” and “Paradise”. Each section has 33 songs, which is equal to the number 100 (with an introductory chant).

The Divine Comedy is filled with the magic of numbers:

• the names of the numbers played a large role in the structure of the work, the author gave them a mystical interpretation;
• the number "3" is associated with Christian beliefs about God's Trinity;
• “nine” is formed from “three” squared;
• 33 – symbolizes the time of the earthly life of Jesus Christ;
• 100 is the number of perfection and universal harmony.

Now let's see during the years of writing The Divine Comedy and publication of each part of the poem:

1. From 1306 to 1309 The process of writing “Hell” was underway, editing lasted until 1314. Published a year later.
2. “Purgatory” (1315) lasted for four years (1308-1312).
3. "Paradise" was published after the poet's death (1315-1321).

Attention! The narration process is possible thanks to specific lines - terzas. They consist of three lines, all parts ending with the word “stars”.

Characters of the poem

A striking feature of the writing is identification afterlife with the mortal existence of man. Hell is raging with political passions, here eternal torment awaits Dante's enemies and enemies. It is not for nothing that the papal cardinals are in Hell of Fire, and Henry VII is at the unprecedented heights of a blooming Paradise.

Among the most bright characters can be distinguished:

1. Dante- a genuine one, whose soul is forced to wander through the expanses of the afterlife. He is the one who longs for atonement for his sins, tries to find the right path, to cleanse himself for a new life. Throughout the journey, he observes a host of vices, the sinfulness of human nature.
2. Virgil– a faithful guide and assistant to the main character. He is an inhabitant of Limbo, so he accompanies Dante only through Purgatory and Hell. From a historical point of view, Publius Virgil Maro is the Roman poet most beloved by the author. Dante's Virgil is such an island of Reason and philosophical Rationalism, following him to the end.
3. Nicholas III- Catholic prelate, served as Pope. Despite his education and bright mind, he was condemned by his contemporaries for nepotism (he promoted his grandchildren up the career ladder). Dante's holy father is an inhabitant of the eighth circle of Hell (as a holy merchant).
4. Beatrice- Alighieri's secret lover and literary muse. She personifies all-consuming and all-forgiving love. The desire to become happy through sacred love forces the hero to move along a thorny path, through the abundance of vices and temptations of the afterlife.
5. Gaius Cassius Longinus- Roman leader, conspirator and direct participant in the assassination of Julius Caesar. Being of a noble plebeian family, he was susceptible to lust and vice from a young age. He is given the place of a conspirator in the ninth circle of Hell, which is what Dante’s “Divine Comedy” speaks about.
6. Guido de Montefeltro- mercenary soldier and politician. He entered his name into history thanks to the fame of a talented commander, a cunning, insidious politician. A summary of his “atrocities” is told in verses 43 and 44 of the eighth den.

Plot

Christian teachings say that eternally condemned sinners go to Hell, souls who atone for guilt go to Purgatory, and blessed souls go to Paradise. The author of The Divine Comedy gives a surprisingly detailed picture of the afterlife and its internal structure.

So, let's begin to carefully analyze each part of the poem.

Introductory part

The story is told in the first person and tells about the lost V deep forest a man who miraculously managed to escape from three wild animals.

His deliverer Virgil offers help on his further journey.

We learn about the motives for such an act from the lips of the poet himself.

He names the three women who patronize Dante in heaven: Virgin Mary, Beatrice, Saint Lucia.

The role of the first two characters is clear, and the appearance of Lucia symbolizes the author's painful vision.

Hell

According to Alighieri, the stronghold of sinners is shaped like a titanic funnel, which gradually narrows. For a better understanding of the structure, we will briefly describe each of the parts of the Divine Comedy:

1. The vestibule - here rest the souls of insignificant and petty people who were not remembered for anything during their lifetime.
2. Limbo is the first circle where virtuous pagans suffer. The hero sees the outstanding thinkers of Antiquity (Homer, Aristotle).
3. Lust is the second level, which has become home to harlots and passionate lovers. The sinfulness of all-consuming passion, clouding the mind, is punished by torture in pitch darkness. An example from the author's real life is Francesca da Rimini and Paolo Malatesta.
4. Gluttony is the third circle, punishing gluttons and gourmets. Sinners are forced to rot forever under the scorching sun and freezing rain (analogous to the circles of Purgatory).
5. Greed - spendthrifts and misers are doomed to endless disputes with their own kind. The guardian is Plutos.
6. Wrath - Lazy and intemperate souls are forced to roll huge boulders through the Styk Swamp, constantly getting bogged down, fighting with each other.
7. The walls of the city of Dita - here, in the red-hot graves, heretics and false prophets are destined to reside.
8. The characters of The Divine Comedy are boiling in a bloody river in the middle of the 7th circle of Hell. There are also rapists, tyrants, suicides, blasphemers, and covetous people here. Representatives of each category have their own torturers: harpies, centaurs, hounds.
9. Sinisters await bribe-takers, sorcerers and seducers. They are subjected to reptile bites, evisceration, immersion in feces, and scourging by demons.
10. Ice Lake Katsit is a “warm” place for traitors. Judas, Cassius and Brutus are forced to rest in the ice until the end of time. Here is the gate to the circles of Purgatory.

Purgatory

Place of atonement for sins presented in the form of a truncated mountain.

The entrance is guarded by an angel who draws 7 R on Dante's forehead, a symbol of the seven deadly sins.

The circles of Purgatory are filled with the souls of the proud, careless, greedy and angry.

After completing each level, the hero is ready to enter the heavenly palaces.

The narrative of The Divine Comedy is coming to its logical conclusion.

Paradise

The meaning of the “Divine Comedy” comes down to the passage of the last seven spheres (planets) encircling. Here the hero sees Beatrice, who convinces the poet to repent and unite with the Creator.

Throughout the journey, Dante meets Emperor Justinian, sees the Virgin Mary and Christ, angels and martyrs for the faith. Ultimately, the “heavenly Rose” is revealed to the main character, where the souls of the blessed rest.

Dante's Divine Comedy short review, analysis

Conclusion

"The Divine Comedy" by Dante Alighieri is one of the best examples of not only medieval, but of all world literature. The richness of colors and realistic descriptions make this work stand out from others.

We must not forget about the deep meaning of the work - the search for a spiritual path is important not so much in the afterlife as in earthly life. According to Dante's worldview, every person must realize that the moral principles and principles that are sacredly revered during life will become exemplary virtues in Hell, Paradise and Purgatory.