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小说: the divine comedy(神曲) 字数: 每页4000字

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A friend of mine; and not the friend of fortune;
  Upon the desert slope is so impeded
  Upon his way; that he has turned through terror;

And may; I fear; already be so lost;
  That I too late have risen to his succour;
  From that which I have heard of him in Heaven。

Bestir thee now; and with thy speech ornate;
  And with what needful is for his release;
  Assist him so; that I may be consoled。

Beatrice am I; who do bid thee go;
  I come from there; where I would fain return;
  Love moved me; which compelleth me to speak。

When I shall be in presence of my Lord;
  Full often will I praise thee unto him。'
  Then paused she; and thereafter I began:

'O Lady of virtue; thou alone through whom
  The human race exceedeth all contained
  Within the heaven that has the lesser circles;

So grateful unto me is thy commandment;
  To obey; if 'twere already done; were late;
  No farther need'st thou ope to me thy wish。

But the cause tell me why thou dost not shun
  The here descending down into this centre;
  From the vast place thou burnest to return to。'

'Since thou wouldst fain so inwardly discern;
  Briefly will I relate;' she answered me;
  'Why I am not afraid to enter here。

Of those things only should one be afraid
  Which have the power of doing others harm;
  Of the rest; no; because they are not fearful。

God in his mercy such created me
  That misery of yours attains me not;
  Nor any flame assails me of this burning。

A gentle Lady is in Heaven; who grieves
  At this impediment; to which I send thee;
  So that stern judgment there above is broken。

In her entreaty she besought Lucia;
  And said; 〃Thy faithful one now stands in need
  Of thee; and unto thee I recommend him。〃

Lucia; foe of all that cruel is;
  Hastened away; and came unto the place
  Where I was sitting with the ancient Rachel。

〃Beatrice〃 said she; 〃the true praise of God;
  Why succourest thou not him; who loved thee so;
  For thee he issued from the vulgar herd?

Dost thou not hear the pity of his plaint?
  Dost thou not see the death that combats him
  Beside that flood; where ocean has no vaunt?〃

Never were persons in the world so swift
  To work their weal and to escape their woe;
  As I; after such words as these were uttered;

Came hither downward from my blessed seat;
  Confiding in thy dignified discourse;
  Which honours thee; and those who've listened to it。'

After she thus had spoken unto me;
  Weeping; her shining eyes she turned away;
  Whereby she made me swifter in my coming;

And unto thee I came; as she desired;
  I have delivered thee from that wild beast;
  Which barred the beautiful mountain's short ascent。

What is it; then?  Why; why dost thou delay?
  Why is such baseness bedded in thy heart?
  Daring and hardihood why hast thou not;

Seeing that three such Ladies benedight
  Are caring for thee in the court of Heaven;
  And so much good my speech doth promise thee?〃

Even as the flowerets; by nocturnal chill;
  Bowed down and closed; when the sun whitens them;
  Uplift themselves all open on their stems;

Such I became with my exhausted strength;
  And such good courage to my heart there coursed;
  That I began; like an intrepid person:

〃O she compassionate; who succoured me;
  And courteous thou; who hast obeyed so soon
  The words of truth which she addressed to thee!

Thou hast my heart so with desire disposed
  To the adventure; with these words of thine;
  That to my first intent I have returned。

Now go; for one sole will is in us both;
  Thou Leader; and thou Lord; and Master thou。〃
  Thus said I to him; and when he had moved;

I entered on the deep and savage way。



Inferno: Canto III


〃Through me the way is to the city dolent;
  Through me the way is to eternal dole;
  Through me the way among the people lost。

Justice incited my sublime Creator;
  Created me divine Omnipotence;
  The highest Wisdom and the primal Love。

Before me there were no created things;
  Only eterne; and I eternal last。
  All hope abandon; ye who enter in!〃

These words in sombre colour I beheld
  Written upon the summit of a gate;
  Whence I: 〃Their sense is; Master; hard to me!〃

And he to me; as one experienced:
  〃Here all suspicion needs must be abandoned;
  All cowardice must needs be here extinct。

We to the place have come; where I have told thee
  Thou shalt behold the people dolorous
  Who have foregone the good of intellect。〃

And after he had laid his hand on mine
  With joyful mien; whence I was comforted;
  He led me in among the secret things。

There sighs; complaints; and ululations loud
  Resounded through the air without a star;
  Whence I; at the beginning; wept thereat。

Languages diverse; horrible dialects;
  Accents of anger; words of agony;
  And voices high and hoarse; with sound of hands;

Made up a tumult that goes whirling on
  For ever in that air for ever black;
  Even as the sand doth; when the whirlwind breathes。

And I; who had my head with horror bound;
  Said: 〃Master; what is this which now I hear?
  What folk is this; which seems by pain so vanquished?〃

And he to me: 〃This miserable mode
  Maintain the melancholy souls of those
  Who lived withouten infamy or praise。

Commingled are they with that caitiff choir
  Of Angels; who have not rebellious been;
  Nor faithful were to God; but were for self。

The heavens expelled them; not to be less fair;
  Nor them the nethermore abyss receives;
  For glory none the damned would have from them。〃

And I: 〃O Master; what so grievous is
  To these; that maketh them lament so sore?〃
  He answered: 〃I will tell thee very briefly。

These have no longer any hope of death;
  And this blind life of theirs is so debased;
  They envious are of every other fate。

No fame of them the world permits to be;
  Misericord and Justice both disdain them。
  Let us not speak of them; but look; and pass。〃

And I; who looked again; beheld a banner;
  Which; whirling round; ran on so rapidly;
  That of all pause it seemed to me indignant;

And after it there came so long a train
  Of people; that I ne'er would have believed
  That ever Death so many had undone。

When some among them I had recognised;
  I looked; and I beheld the shade of him
  Who made through cowardice the great refusal。

Forthwith I comprehended; and was certain;
  That this the sect was of the caitiff wretches
  Hateful to God and to his enemies。

These miscreants; who never were alive;
  Were naked; and were stung exceedingly
  By gadflies and by hornets that were there。

These did their faces irrigate with blood;
  Which; with their tears commingled; at their feet
  By the disgusting worms was gathered up。

And when to gazing farther I betook me。
  People I saw on a great river's bank;
  Whence said I: 〃Master; now vouchsafe to me;

That I may know who these are; and what law
  Makes them appear so ready to pass over;
  As I discern athwart the dusky light。〃

And he to me: 〃These things shall all be known
  To thee; as soon as we our footsteps stay
  Upon the dismal shore of Acheron。〃

Then with mine eyes ashamed and downward cast;
  Fearing my words might irksome be to him;
  From speech refrained I till we reached the river。

And lo! towards us coming in a boat
  An old man; hoary with the hair of eld;
  Crying: 〃Woe unto you; ye souls depraved!

Hope nevermore to look upon the heavens;
  I come to lead you to the other shore;
  To the eternal shades in heat and frost。

And thou; that yonder standest; living soul;
  Withdraw thee from these people; who are dead!〃
  But when he saw that I did not withdraw;

He said: 〃By other ways; by other ports
  Thou to the shore shalt come; not here; for passage;
  A lighter vessel needs must carry thee。〃

And unto him the Guide: 〃Vex thee not; Charon;
  It is so willed there where is power to do
  That which is willed; and farther question not。〃

Thereat were quieted the fleecy cheeks
  Of him the ferryman of the livid fen;
  Who round about his eyes had wheels of flame。

But all those souls who weary were and naked
  Their colour changed and gnashed their teeth together;
  As soon as they had heard those cruel words。

God they blasphemed and their progenitors;
  The human race; the place; the time; the seed
  Of their engendering and of their birth!

Thereafter all together they drew back;
  Bitterly weeping; to the accursed shore;
  Which waiteth every man who fears not God。

Charon the demon; with the eyes of glede;
  Beckoning to them; collects them all together;
  Beats with his oar whoever lags behind。

As in the autumn…time the leaves fall off;
  First one and then another; till the branch
  Unto the earth surrenders all its spoils;

In similar wise the evil seed of Adam
  Throw themselves from that margin one by one;
  At signals; as a bird unto its lure。

So they depart across the dusky wave;
  And ere upon the other side they land;
  Again on this side a new troop assembles。

〃My son;〃 the courteous Master said to me;
  〃All those who perish in the wrath of God
  Here meet together out of every land;

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