From: Peter Stephenson <pws@ifh.de>
Subject: Re: (urth) Inferno
Date: Mon, 15 Jun 1998 11:15:08 +0200

m.driussi@genie.com wrote:
> Or vo' che sappi che l'altra fiata
> chi'i' discesi qua giu nel basso inferno,
> questa roccia non era ancor cascata.
> Ma certo poco pria, se ben discerno,
> che venisse colui che la gran preda
> levo a Dite del cerchio superno,
> da tutte parti l'alta valle feda
> tremo si, ch'i' pensai che l'universo
> sentisse amor, per lo qual e chi creda
> piu volte il mondo in caosso converso;
> e in quel punto questa vecchia roccia,
> qui e altrove, tal fece riverso.
> (Canto XII, lines 34-45)

Oh, goody, can I have a go?

Last time I took a trip, I'd better say,
To this great depth to fry my bacon,
The stone had not yet come away.
But just before (if I'm not much mistaken)
The One took that great booty up from Dis,
The prize from Gods (or upper circle?) shaken,  [*]
On every side this wretched wilderness
Fell trembling, and it seemed a universal
Feeling of His love; some say that bliss
Has often brought the world's dispersal;
And here and there the ancient rock
Was knocked off, lying in reversal.

[*] Attempted theatrical joke. Gods = gallery.  (Well, it's a *comedy*,
damn you!)

[Yeah, I know, it needs some work anyway.  `The Divine Comedy before
Dante took the jokes out.'  Don't hold your breath.]

> Oh, right! "The one who took/from Dis the highest circle's splendid
> spoils" must be Herakles bringing Kerberus up for Labor Twelve. <g>

this is also a joke, right?  I'm out of my depth again (which is somewhere
in Malbolges), but I think it's clear it refers to the earthquake which
accompanied the rending of the curtain in the temple, followed by the
`harrowing of hell', i.e. the visitor is Christ.  Yes, I realise everyone
knew that anyway.

We now return you to the Mines of Saltus, where our correspondent is
watching operations from the safety of the cave mouth.

-- 
Peter Stephenson <pws@ifh.de>       Tel: +39 50 844536
WWW:  http://www.ifh.de/~pws/
Gruppo Teorico, Dipartimento di Fisica
Piazza Torricelli 2, 56100 Pisa, Italy

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