Review
"The English Dante of choice."--Hugh Kenner.

"Exactly what we have waited for these years, a Dante with clarity, eloquence, terror, and profoundly moving depths."--Robert Fagles, Princeton University.

"Tough and supple, tender and violent . . . vigorous, vernacular . . . Mandelbaum's Dante will stand high among modern translations."--The Christian Science Monitor

"Lovers of the English language will be delighted by this eloquently accomplished enterprise."
--Book Review Digest


From the Inside Flap
This brilliant new verse translation by Allen Mandelbaum captures the consummate beauty of the third and last part of Dante's Divine Comedy. The Paradiso is a luminous poem of love and light, of optics, angelology, polemics, prayer, prophecy, and transcendent experience. As Dante ascends to the Celestial Rose, in the tenth and final heaven, all the spectacle and splendor of a great poet's vision now becomes accessible to the modern reader in this highly acclaimed, superb dual language edition. With extensive notes and commentary.


About the Author
Dante Alighieri was born in Florence, Italy in 1265. His early poetry falls into the tradition of love poetry that passed from the Provencal to such Italian poets as Guido Cavalcanti, Dante's friend and mentor. Dante's first major work is the Vita Nuova, 1293-1294. This sequence of lyrics, sonnets, and prose narrative describes his love, first earthly, then spiritual, for Beatrice, whom he had first seen as a child of nine, and who had died when Dante was 25. Dante married about 1285, served Florence in battle, and rose to a position of leadership in the bitter factional politics of the city-state. As one of the city's magistrates, he found it necessary to banish leaders of the so-called "Black" faction, and his friend Cavalcanti, who like Dante was a prominent "White." But after the Blacks seized control of Florence in 1301, Dante himself was tried in absentia and was banished from the city on pain of death. He never returned to Florence. We know little about Dante's life in exile. Legend has it that he studied at Paris, but if so, he returned to Italy, for his last years were spent in Verona and Ravenna. In exile he wrote his Convivio, kind of poetic compendium of medieval philosophy, as well as a political treatise, Monarchia. He began his Comedy (later to be called the Divine Comedy) around 1307-1308. On a diplomatic mission to Venice in 1321, Dante fell ill, and returned to Ravenna, where he died.

Allen Mendelbaum's five verse volumes are: Chelmaxions; The Savantasse of Montparnasse; Journeyman; Leaves of Absence; and A Lied of Letterpress. His volumes of verse translation include The Aeneid of Virgil, a University of California Press volume (now available from Bantam) for which he won a National Book Award; the Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso volumes of the California Dante (now available from Bantam); The Odyssey of Homer (now available from Bantam); The Metamorphoses of Ovid, a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in poetry; Ovid in Sicily; Selected Poems of Giuseppe Ungaretti; Selected Writings of Salvatore Quasimodo; and David Maria Turoldo. Mandelbaum is co-editor with Robert Richardson Jr. of Three Centuries of American Poetry (Bantam Books) and, with Yehuda Amichai, of the eight volumes of the JPS Jewish Poetry Series. After receiving his Ph.D. from Columbia, he was in the Society of Fellows at Harvard. While chairman of the Ph.D. program in English at the Graduate Center of CUNY, he was a visiting professor at Washington University in St. Louis, and at the universities of Houston, Denver, Colorado, and Purdue. His honorary degrees are from Notre Dame University, Purdue University, the University of Assino, and the University of Torino. He received the Gold Medal of Honor from the city of Florence in 2000, celebrating the 735th anniversary of Dante's birth, the only translator to be so honored; and in 2003 he received the President of Italy's award for translation. He is now Professor of the History of Literary Criticism at the University of Turin and the W.R. Kenan Professor of Humanities at Wake Forest University.


Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
CANTO

ILa gloria di colui che tutto move
per l'universo penetra, e risplende
in una parte piu e meno altrove.
Nel ciel che piu de la sua luce prende4
fu' io, e vidi cose che ridire
ne sa ne puo chi di la su discende;
perche appressando se al suo disire,7
nostro intelletto si profonda tanto,
che dietro la memoria non puo ire.
Veramente quant' io del regno santo10
ne la mia mente potei far tesoro,
sara ora materia del mio canto.
O buono Appollo, a l'ultimo lavoro13
fammi del tuo valor si fatto vaso,
come dimandi a dar l'amato alloro.
Infino a qui l'un giogo di Parnaso16
assai mi fu; ma or con amendue
m'e uopo intrar ne l'aringo rimaso.
Entra nel petto mio, e spira tue19
si come quando Marsia traesti
de la vagina de le membra sue.
O divina virtu, se mi ti presti22
tanto che l'ombra del beato regno
segnata nel mio capo io manifesti,
vedra'mi al pie del tuo diletto legno25
venire, e coronarmi de le foglie
che la materia e tu mi farai degno.
Si rade volte, padre, se ne coglie28
per triunfare o cesare o poeta,
colpa e vergogna de l'umane voglie,

Proem and Invocation to Apollo. Dante's passing beyond the human, beyond the earth, in heavenward ascent with Beatrice. His wonder. Beatrice on the Empyrean and the order of the universe.

The glory of the One who moves all things
permeates the universe and glows
in one part more and in another less.
I was within the heaven that receives4
more of His light; and I saw things that he
who from that height descends, forgets or can
not speak; for nearing its desired end,7
our intellect sinks into an abyss
so deep that memory fails to follow it.
Nevertheless, as much as I, within10
my mind, could treasure of the holy kingdom
shall now become the matter of my song.
O good Apollo, for this final task
make me the vessel of your excellence,
what you, to merit your loved laurel, ask.
Until this point, one of Parnassus' peaks16
sufficed for me; but now I face the test,
the agon that is left; I need both crests.
Enter into my breast; within me breathe19
the very power you made manifest
when you drew Marsyas out from his limbs' sheath.
O godly force, if you so lend yourself22
to me, that I might show the shadow of
the blessed realm inscribed within my mind,
then you would see me underneath the tree25
you love; there I shall take as crown the leaves
of which my theme and you shall make me worthy.
So seldom, father, are those garlands gathered28
for triumph of a ruler or a poet—
a sign of fault or shame in human wills—

che parturir letizia in su la lieta31
delfica deita dovria la fronda
peneia, quando alcun di se asseta.
Poca favilla gran fiamma seconda:34
forse di retro a me con miglior voci
si preghera perche Cirra risponda.
Surge ai mortali per diverse foci37
la lucerna del mondo; ma da quella
che quattro cerchi giugne con tre croci,
con miglior corso e con migliore stella40
esce congiunta, e la mondana cera
piu a suo modo tempera e suggella.
Fatto avea di la mane e di qua sera43
tal foce, e quasi tutto era la bianco
quello emisperio, e l'altra parte nera,
quando Beatrice in sul sinistro fianco46
vidi rivolta e riguardar nel sole:
aguglia si non li s'affisse unquanco.
E si come secondo raggio suole49
uscir del primo e risalire in suso,
pur come pelegrin che tornar vuole,
cosi de l'atto suo, per li occhi infuso52
ne l'imagine mia, il mio si fece,
e fissi li occhi al sole oltre nostr' uso.
Molto e licito la, che qui non lece55
a le nostre virtu, merce del loco
fatto per proprio de l'umana spece.
Io nol soffersi molto, ne si poco,58
ch'io nol vedessi sfavillar dintorno,
com' ferro che bogliente esce del foco;
e di subito parve giorno a giorno61
essere aggiunto, come quei che puote
avesse il ciel d'un altro sole addorno.
Beatrice tutta ne l'etterne rote64
fissa con li occhi stava; e io in lei
le luci fissi, di la su rimote.
Nel suo aspetto tal dentro mi fei,67
qual si fe Glauco nel gustar de l'erba
che 'l fe consorto in mar de li altri dei.

that when Peneian branches can incite31
someone to long and thirst for them, delight
must fill the happy Delphic deity.
Great fire can follow a small spark: there may34
be better voices after me to pray
to Cyrrha's god for aid--that he may answer.
The lantern of the world approaches mortals37
by varied paths: but on that way which links
four circles with three crosses, it emerges
joined to a better constellation and40
along a better course, and it can temper
and stamp the world's wax more in its own manner.
Its entry from that point of the horizon43
brought morning there and evening here;
almost all of that hemisphere was white--while ours
was dark--when I saw Beatrice turn round46
and left, that she might see the sun: no eagle
has ever stared so steadily at it.
And as a second ray will issue from49
the first and reascend, much like a pilgrim
who seeks his home again, so on her action,
fed by my eyes to my imagination,52
my action drew, and on the sun I set
my sight more than we usually do.
More is permitted to our powers there55
than is permitted here, by virtue of
that place, made for mankind as its true home.
I did not bear it long, but not so briefly58
as not to see it sparkling round about,
like molten iron emerging from the fire;
and suddenly it seemed that day had been61
added to day, as if the One who can
had graced the heavens with a second sun.
The eyes of Beatrice were all intent64
on the eternal circles; from the sun,
I turned aside: I set my eyes on her.
In watching her, within me I was changed67
as Glaucus changed, tasting the herb that made
him a companion of the other sea gods.

Trasumanar significar per verba70
non si poria; pero l'essemplo basti
a cui esperienza grazia serba.
S'i' era sol di me quel che creasti73
novellamente, amor che 'l ciel governi,
tu 'l sai, che col tuo lume mi levasti.
Quando la rota che tu sempiterni76
desiderato, a se mi fece atteso
con l'armonia che temperi e discerni,
parvemi tanto allor del cielo acceso79
de la fiamma del sol, che pioggia o fiume
lago non fece alcun tanto disteso.
La novita del suono e 'l grande lume82
di lor cagion m'accesero un disio
mai non sentito di cotanto acume.
Ond' ella, che vedea me si com' io,85
a quietarmi l'animo commosso,
pria ch'io a dimandar, la bocca aprio
e comincio: "Tu stesso ti fai grosso88
col falso imaginar, si che non vedi
cio che vedresti se l'avessi scosso.
Tu non se' in terra, si come tu credi;91
ma folgore, fuggendo il proprio sito,
non corse come tu ch'ad esso riedi.
"S'io fui del primo dubbio disvestito94
per le sorrise parolette brevi,
dentro ad un nuovo piu fu' inretitoe
dissi: "Gia contento requievi97
di grande ammirazion; ma ora ammiro
com' io trascenda questi corpi levi.
"Ond' ella, appresso d'un pio sospiro,100
li occhi drizzo ver' me con quel sembiante
che madre fa sovra figlio deliro,
e comincio: "Le cose tutte quante103
hanno ordine tra loro, e questo e forma
che l'universo a Dio fa simigliante.
Qui veggion l'alte creature l'orma106
de l'etterno valore, il qual e fine
al quale e fatta la toccata norma.

Passing beyond the human cannot be70
worded: let Glaucus serve as simile—
until grace grant you the experience.
Whether I only was the part of me73
that You created last, You—governing
the heavens--know: it was Your light that raised me.
When that wheel which You make eternal through76
the heavens' longing for You drew me with
the harmony You temper and distinguish,
the fire of the sun then seemed to me79
to kindle so much of the sky, that rain
or river never formed so broad a lake.
The newness of the sound and the great light82
incited me to learn their cause--I was
more keen than I had ever been before.
And she who read me as I read myself,85
to quiet the commotion in my mind,
opened her lips before I opened mine
to ask, and she began: "You make yourself88
obtuse with false imagining; you can
not see what you would see if you dispelled it.
You are not on the earth as you believe;91
but lightning, flying from its own abode,
is less swift than you are, returning home.
"While I was freed from my first doubt by these94
brief words she smiled to me, I was yet caught
in new perplexity. I said: "I was
content already; after such great wonder,97
I rested. But again I wonder how
my body rises past these lighter bodies.
"At which, after a sigh of pity, she100
settled her eyes on me with the same look
a mother casts upon a raving child,
and she began: "All things, among themselves,103
possess an order; and this order is
the form that makes the universe like God.
Here do the higher beings see the imprint106
of the Eternal Worth, which is the end
to which the pattern I have mentioned tends.

Ne l'ordine ch'io dico sono accline109
tutte nature, per diverse sorti,
piu al principio loro e men vicine;
onde si muovono a diversi porti112
per lo gran mar de l'essere, e ciascuna
con istinto a lei dato che la porti.
Questi ne porta il foco inver' la luna;115
questi ne' cor mortali e permotore;
questi la terra in se stringe e aduna;
ne pur le creature che son fore118
d'intelligenza quest' arco saetta,
ma quelle c'hanno intelletto e amore.
La provedenza, che cotanto assetta,121
del suo lume fa 'l ciel sempre quieto
nel qual si volge quel c'ha maggior fretta;
e ora li, come a sito decreto,124
cen porta la virtu di quella corda
che cio che scocca drizza in segno lieto.
Vero e che, come forma non s'accorda127
molte fiate a l'intenzion de l'arte,
perch' a risponder la materia e sorda,
cosi da qesto corso si diparte130
talor la creatura, c'ha podere
di piegar, cosi pinta, in altra parte;
e si come veder si puo cadere133
foco di nube, si l'impeto primo
l'atterra torto da falso piacere.
Non dei piu ammirar, se bene stimo,136
lo tuo salir, se non come d'un rivo
se d'alto monte scende giuso ad imo.
Maraviglia sarebbe in te se, privo139
d'impedimento, giu ti fossi assiso,
com' a terra quiete in foco vivo."
Quinci rivolse inver' lo cielo il viso.142

Within that order, every nature has109
its bent, according to a different station,
nearer or less near to its origin.
Therefore, these natures move to different ports112
across the mighty sea of being, each
given the impulse that will bear it on.
This impulse carries fire to the moon:115
this is the motive force in mortal creatures:
this binds the earth together, makes it one.
Not only does the shaft shot from this bow118
strike creatures lacking intellect, but those
who have intelligence, and who can love.
The Providence that has arrayed all this121
forever quiets--with Its light--that heaven
in which the swiftest of the spheres revolves;
to there, as toward a destined place, we now124
are carried by the power of the bow
that always aims its shaft at a glad mark.
Yet it is true that, even as a shape127
may, often, not accord with art's intent,
since matter may be unresponsive, deaf,
so, from this course, the creature strays at times130
because he has the power, once impelled,
to swerve elsewhere; as lightning from a cloud
is seen to fall, so does the first impulse,133
when man has been diverted by false pleasure,
turn him toward earth. You should--if I am right—
not feel more marvel at your climbing than136
you would were you considering a stream
that from a mountain's height falls to its base.
It would be cause for wonder in you if,139
no longer hindered, you remained below,
as if, on earth, a living flame stood still."
Then she again turned her gaze heavenward. 142

ANNOTATION

This title contains The Inferno, Purgatory, and Paradise.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

The Divine Comedy stands as one of the towering creations of world literature, and its climactic section, Paradiso, is perhaps the most ambitious poetic attempt ever made to represent the merging of individual destiny with universal order. Having passed through Hell and Purgatory, Dante is led by his beloved Beatrice to the upper sphere of Paradise, wherein lie the sublime truths of Divine will and eternal salvation, to at last experience a rapturous vision of God.

FROM THE CRITICS

Library Journal

Dante's Divine Comedy has inspired artists from Giotto down to the present. Perhaps among the most beautiful illustrations are those of the 15th-century Sienese painter Giovanni di Paolo, who illuminated a Paradiso manuscript for the library of the King of Naples, now in the British Library as Yates-Thompson MS 36. Pope-Hennessy, the noted British art historian, presents reproductions of di Paolo's 61 illuminations in a large format and in full color. He includes a lucid historical introduction and a commentary on the content of each of the miniatures. This book also includes Charles Singleton's prose translation of the Paradiso . This is a wonderful gift for the student of Dante and the lover of art.-- T.L. Cooksey, Armstrong State Coll., Savannah, Ga.

Christian Science Monitor

Tough and supple, tender and violent . . . vigorous, vernacular . . . Mandelbaum's Dante will stand high among modern translations.

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING

The English Dante of choice. — Hugh Kenner

A spectacular achievement...A text with the clarity and sobriety of a first-rate prose translation which at the same time suggests in powerful and unmistakable ways the run and rhythm of the great original."
 — Archibald MacLeish

Exactly what we have waited for these years, a Dante with clarity, eloquence, terror, and profoundly moving depths. — Robert Fagles