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A loud thunderclap shattered the deep
        Sleep in my head, so that I started up
        Like someone shaken forcibly awake.
 
        Then, looking all around with rested eyes,
5        I stood straight up with a steady stare,
        Attempting to discover where I was.
 
        The truth is I found myself upon the edge
        Of the chasm of the valley of salt tears
        Which stores the clamor of unending crying.
 
10       Dark and deep and foggy was the valley:
        So, when I strained my eyes to see the bottom,
        I was not able to discern a thing.
 
        "Now let us descend to the blind world
        Below," the poet, pale as death, began:
15      "I will be first, and you shall follow me."
 
        And I, observing the change in his color,
        Asked, "How can I come if you are frightened,
        You who strengthen me when I have doubts?"
 
        And he told me, "The anguish of the people
20      Who are down here blanches my complexion
        With the pity that you mistake for fear.
 
        "Let us go on: the long road makes it urgent."
        So he went down, and so he had me enter
        The first circle ringing the abyss.
 
25      Here, as far as listening could tell,
        The only lamentations were the sighs
        That caused the everlasting air to tremble.
 
        Suffering without torments drew these sighs
        From crowds, multitudinous and vast,
30      Of babies and of women and of men.
 
        My gracious teacher said, "Do you not question
        Who these spirits are whom you observe?
        Before you go on, I would have you know
 
        "They did not sin: yet even their just merits
35       Were not enough, for they lacked baptism,
        The gateway of the faith that you profess.
 
        "And, if they lived before the Christian era,
        They did not worship God in the right way:
        And I myself am one of those poor souls.
 
40      "For this failure and for no other fault
        Here we are lost, and our sole punishment
        Is without hope to live on in desire."
 
        Deep sorrow crushed my heart when I heard him,
        Because both men and women of great worth
45      I knew to be suspended here in limbo.
 
        "Tell me, my master, tell me, my good lord,"
        I then began, wishing to be assured
        Of that belief which conquers every error,
 
        "Have any left here, either through their merits
50      Or someone else's, to be blessed later on?"
        And he, grasping my unexpressed appeal,
 
        Responded, "I was newly in this place
        When I saw come down here a mighty One
        Crowned with the symbol of his victory.
 
55      "He snatched away the shade of our first parent,
        Of his son Abel, and the shade of Noah,
        Of Moses, the obedient lawgiver,
 
        "Of Abraham the patriarch, King David,
        Israel with his father, with his children,
60      And with Rachel for whom he worked so hard,
 
        "And many others, and he made them blessed.
        But I would have you know, before these souls
        No human being ever had been saved."
 
        We did not keep from walking while he talked,
65      But all along we journeyed through the forest —
        I mean the forest that was dense with spirits.
 
        Our path had not yet led us far away
        From where I'd slept, when I descried a fire
        That overcame a hemisphere of shadows.
 
70      We were still a little distance from it
        But close enough for me to dimly see
        That honored people tenanted that place.
 
         "O you, glory of the arts and sciences,
        Who are these souls who here have the high honor
75      Of being kept distinct from all the rest?"
 
        And he told me, "Their distinguished names
        Which yet re-echo in your world above
        Win for them heaven's grace which furthers them."
 
         Meanwhile I could hear a voice that called,
80       "Honor to the most illustrious poet!
         His shade that had departed now returns."
 
        After the voice had ceased and all was still,
         I saw four lofty shades approaching us,
         In their appearance neither sad nor joyful.
 
85      My worthy teacher now began by saying,
        "Notice there the one with sword in hand,
        Coming before the three others like a lord:
 
         "That is Homer, the majestic poet.
         The next who comes is Horace, the satirist;
90       Ovid is third, and Lucan last of all.
 
        "Since each one shares with me the name of poet,
        The name you heard the single voice call out,
        They honor me, and they do well to do so."

Through Me Pass into the Painful City,
         Through Me Pass into Eternal Grief,
         Through Me Pass among the Lost People.
 
         Justice Moved My Master-Builder:
5         Heavenly Power First Fashioned Me
         With Highest Wisdom and with Primal Love.
 
         Before Me Nothing Was Created That  
         Was Not Eternal, and I Last Eternally.
         All Hope Abandon, You Who Enter Here.
10       These words in dim color I beheld
         Inscribed on the lintel of an archway.
         "Master," I said, "this saying's hard for me."
 
         And he — as someone who understands — told me:
         "Here you must give up all irresolution;
15       All cowardice must here be put to death.
 
         "We are come to the place I spoke to you about
         Where you shall see the sorrow-laden people,
         Those who have lost the Good of the intellect."
 
         And with that, putting his own hand on mine,
20       With smiling face, just to encourage me,
         He led me to things hidden from the world.
 
         Here heartsick sighs and groanings and shrill cries
         Re-echoed through the air devoid of stars,
         So that, but started, I broke down in tears.
 
25       Babbling tongues, terrible palaver,
         Words of grief, inflections of deep anger,
         Strident and muffled speech, and clapping hands,
 
         All made a tumult that whipped round and round
         Forever in that colorless and timeless air,
30       Like clouds of sand caught up in a whirlwind.
 
         And I, my head enwreathed with wayward doubts,
         Asked, "Master, what is this that I am hearing?
         Who are these people overwhelmed by pain?"
 
         And he told me: "This way of wretchedness
35       Belongs to the unhappy souls of those
         Who lived without being blamed or applauded.
 
         "They are now scrambled with that craven crew
         Of angels who elected neither rebellion
         Nor loyalty to God, but kept apart.
 
40       "Not to mar its beauty, heaven expelled them,
         Nor will the depths of hell take them in there,
         Lest the damned have any glory over them."
 
         And I: "Master, what is so burdensome
         To them that they should wail so dismally?"
45       He answered, "Very briefly, I will tell you.
 
         "These people have no hope of again dying,
         And so deformed has their blind life become
         That they must envy every other fate.
 
50       "The world will not allow a word about them;
         Mercy and justice hold them in disdain.
         Let us not discuss them. Look and pass on."
 
         And I, looking again, observed a banner
         Which, as it circled, raced on with such speed
         It did not seem ever to want to stop.
 
55       And there, behind it, marched so long a file
         Of people, I would never have believed
         That death could have undone so many souls.
 
         After I had recognized some there,
         I saw and then identified the shade
60       Of that coward who made the great refusal.
 
         Immediately I understood for certain
         That this troop was the sect of evil souls
         Displeasing both to God and to his enemy.
 
         These wretches, who had never been alive,
65       Went naked and repeatedly were bitten
         By wasps and hornets swarming everywhere.
 
         The bites made blood streak down upon their faces;
         Blood mixed with tears ran coursing to their feet,
         And there repulsive worms sucked the blood back.
 
70       Then, looking again a little farther on,
         I saw people at the shore of a vast river.
         At that I said, "Master, permit me now
 
         "To know who these souls are and what law
         Makes them appear so eager to cross over,
75       As, even in this weak light, I can discern."
 
         And he: "These things will become clear to you
         After the two of us come to a halt
         Upon the gloomy banks of the Acheron."
 
         Then, with eyes downcast, deeply abashed,
80       In fear that what I said offended him,
         I spoke no more until we reached the river.
 
         And look! coming toward us in a boat,
         An old man, his hair hoary with age, rose
         Yelling, "Woe to you, you wicked souls!
 
85       "Have no hope of ever seeing heaven!
         I come to take you to the other shore,
         To endless darkness, to fire, and to ice.
 
         "And you over there, the living soul,
         Get away from those who are already dead!"
90       But when he saw that I had not moved off,
 
         He said, "By other routes, by other harbors,
         Not here -- you shall cross over to this shore.
         A lighter skiff will have to transport you!"
 
         And my guide: "Charon, do not rack yourself!
95       This deed has so been willed where One can do
         Whatever He wills — and ask no more questions."
 
         With these words he silenced the wooly cheeks
         Of the old ferryman of the livid marshes
         Who had two rings of flame around his eyes.
 
100      Those souls, however, who were weak and naked
         Began to lose color and grind their teeth
         When they heard the ferryman's cruel words.
 
         They called down curses on God and their parents,
         The human race, the place, the time, the seed
105      Of their conception and of their birth.
 
         At that they massed all the closer together,
         Weeping loudly on the malicious strand
         Which waits for those who have no fear of God.
 
         The demon Charon, with burning-ember eyes,
110      Gave a signal and gathered all on board,
         Smacking lagging stragglers with his oar.
 
         As in the autumn the leaves peel away,
         One following another, until the bough
         Sees all its treasures spread upon the ground,
 
115      In the same manner that evil seed of Adam
         Drifted from that shoreline one by one
         To a signal — like a falcon to its call.
 
         So they departed over the dark water,
         And even before they landed on that side
120      Already over here a new crowd mustered.
 
         "My son," my kindly master said to me,
         "Those who have perished by the wrath of God
         Are all assembled here from every land,
 
         "And they are quick to pass across the river
125      Because divine justice goads them on,
         Turning their timidity to zeal.
 
         "No good soul ever crossed by this way.
         If Charon, therefore, has complained about you,
         You now know clearly what he meant to say."
 
130      Just as he finished, the blackened landscape
         Violently shuddered — with the fright of it
         My memory once more bathes me in sweat.
 
         The harsh tear-laden earth exhaled a wind
         That hurtled forth a bright-red flash of light
135      That knocked me right out of all my senses,
 
         And I fell as a man drops off to sleep.

Day was now fading, and the dusky air
         Released the creatures dwelling here on earth
         From tiring tasks, while I, the only one,
 
         Readied myself to endure the battle
5        Both of the journey and the pathos,
         Which flawless memory shall here record.
 
         O Muses, O high genius, aid me now!
         O memory that noted what I saw,
         Now shall your true nobility be seen!
 
10       I then began, "Poet, you guide me here:
         Be on your guard lest my power fail me
         Before you make me face that plunging pass.
 
         "You tell us how the father of Silvius,
         While in the flesh, to the eternal world
15       Journeyed, with all his senses still alert.
 
         "But if the Enemy of every evil
         Was kind to him, considering the high purpose
         He performed, and who and what he was,
 
         "This is not hard for us to understand,
20       Since in the highest heaven he was chosen
         Father of honored Rome and of her empire.
 
         "The two — city and empire — to tell the truth,
         Were destined to become the holy place
         Where the successor of mighty Peter sits.
 
25       "By this journey which you praise him for
         He came to comprehend what was to bring
         Triumph to him and mantle to the pope.
 
         "Later the Chosen Vessel journeyed beyond
         To bring back reassurance in the faith
30       Which is the source of the way to salvation.

         "But I, why should I go? Who gives permission?
         I am not Aeneas, nor am I Paul!
         Not I nor anyone else would judge me worthy.
 
         "So, if I surrender myself to going there,
35       I fear the undertaking shall prove folly.
         You are wise, you see more than I say."

         Just as the man who, unwilling what he wills,
         Thinks back over each thing he proposes
         And ends by giving up all he has started,

40       So I acted in that darkened place
         As I undid, by thinking, the same task
         I had so readily right away accepted.
 
         "If I have grasped the meaning of your words,"
         That soul of generosity responded,
45       "Your heart has been beset by cowardice
 
         "Which often places burdens on a man
         To turn him back from honorable deeds
         Like some animal frightened by its shadow.
 
         "Once and for all to rid you of that fear
50       I will tell you why I came and what I heard
         From the first moment I felt sorry for you.
 
         "I was among those spirits in suspense:
         A lady called me, so beautiful and blessed
         That I at once implored her to command me.
 
55       "Her eyes outshone the light of any star.
         Sweetly and softly she began to speak
         With the voice of an angel, in her own words:
 
         " 'O courteous spirit from Mantua
         Whose fame has lasted in the world till now
60       And shall endure as long as does the world,
 
        " 'My friend, who is no longer fortune's friend,
         On a wasted slope has been so thwarted
         Along his path that he turns back in panic.
 
         " 'I fear that he already is so lost
65       I have arisen too late to bring him aid —
         At least from what I hear of him in heaven.
 
         " 'Hasten now, and with your polished words
         And all that is required for his rescue,
         Help him, so that I can be consoled.
 
70       " 'I am Beatrice who urges you to journey,
         Come from a place to which I long to return.
         Love moved me to speak my heart to you.
 
         " ' When I stand once more before my Lord,
         I shall often sing your praises to him.'
75       With that she fell silent, and I ventured:
 
        "O lady of virtue, through whom alone
        The human race surpasses all contained
         Within the heavens to the smallest sphere,
 
         "Your command pleases me so thoroughly
80       That already to have done it would seem tardy:
         Only let me know what it is you want.
 
         "Tell me, however, why you are so bold
         To descend as far as to this center
         Out of the wide sky to which you would return?"

85       " 'Since you wish to know the inmost reason,
         I will tell you directly,' she answered me,
         ' Why I do not dread to come down here.
 
         " 'The only things we really need to fear
         Are those that have the power to do harm:
90       Nothing else should cause us to be fearful.
 
         " 'God in his mercy has so fashioned me
         That I am not affected by your pain;
         The fires burning here do me no hurt.
 
         " 'There is a noble Lady who weeps in heaven
95       For this thwarted man to whom I send you,
         So that heaven's strict decree is broken.
 
         " 'That Lady called on Lucia with her request
         And said: "Your faithful follower has now
         Such need of you that I commend him to you."
 
100      " 'Lucia, the foe of every cruelty,
         Started up and came to where I was,
         Sitting at the side of the aged Rachel.
 
         " 'She said, "Beatrice, true credit to our God,
         Will you not help the man who so loves you
105      That for your sake he left the common crowd?
 
         " ' "Do you not hear his pathetic grieving?
         Do you not see the death besieging him
         On the river which the ocean cannot sway?"
 
         " 'No one in this whole world was ever quicker
110      To take advantage or escape from harm
         Than I — when such words as these were spoken —
 
         " 'To come below here from my blessed seat,
         Putting my trust in your honest speech
         Which honors you and those who listen to it.'
 
115      "After she had discussed these matters with me,
         She turned her eyes, glittering with tears,
         And so made me more diligent to come.
 
         "And I did come to you, just as she wished:
         I saved you from the fierce beast barring you
120      From the short route up the lovely mountain.
 
         "So — what is this? Why? why do you stay?
         Why entertain such cowardice of heart?
         Why not be courageous and straightforward
 
         "When there are three such blessed ladies
125      Caring for you in the court of heaven
         And my words guarantee you so much good?"
 
         As little flowers in the chill of night
         Drooping and shriveled, when the sun lights them,
         Straighten up all open on their stalks,
 
130      So I, with my limp stamina, now bloomed.
         And such good warmth coursed boldly to my heart
         That like a free man I once more began:
 
         "O tender-hearted lady who came to aid me,
         And you, too, so kind to obey swiftly
135      The words of truth that she proposed to you!
 
         "You, by your words, have so filled my heart
         With fervor to go with you on this journey
         That I am turned again to my first purpose.
 
         "Now go — one will within the both of us —
140     You the leader, you the lord and master!"
         These things I said to him. When he moved on,
 
         I entered on the rank and plunging path

Halfway through the journey we are living
         I found myself deep in a darkened forest,
         For I had lost all trace of the straight path.
 
         Ah how hard it is to tell what it was like,
5         How wild the forest was, how dense and rugged!
         To think of it still fills my mind with panic.
 
         So bitter it is that death is hardly worse!
         But to describe the good discovered there
         I here will tell the other things I saw.
 
10       I cannot say clearly how I entered there,
         So drowsy with sleep had I grown at that hour
         When first I wandered off from the true way.
 
         But when I had reached the base of a hill,
         There at the border where the valley ended
15       That had cut my heart to the quick with panic,
 
         I looked up at the hill and saw its shoulder
         Mantled already with the planet's light
         That leads all people straight by every road.
 
         With that my panic quieted a little
20       After lingering on in the lake of my heart
         Through the night I had so grievously passed.
 
         And like a person who with panting breath
         Struggles ashore out of the wide ocean
         Only to glance back at the treacherous surf,
 
25       Just so my mind, racing on ahead,
         Turned back to marvel at the pass no one
         Ever before had issued from alive.
 
         After resting awhile my worn-out body,
         I pressed on up the wasted slope so that
30       I always had one firm foot on the ground.
 
         But look! right near the upgrade of the climb
         Loomed a fleet and nimble-footed leopard
         With coat completely covered by dark spots!
 
         He did not flinch or back off from my gaze,
35       But blocking the path that lay before me,
         Time and again he forced me to turn around.
 
         The hour was the beginning of the morning,
         And the sun was rising with those stars
         That first attended it when divine Love
 
40       Set these lovely creations round in motion,
         So that the early hour and the pleasant season
         Gave me good reason to keep up my hopes
 
         Of that fierce beast there with his gaudy pelt.
         But not so when — to add now to my fears —
45       In front of me I caught sight of a lion!
 
         He appeared to be coming straight at me
         With head held high and furious for hunger,
         So that the air itself seemed to be shaking.
 
         And then a wolf stalked, ravenously lean,
50       Seemingly laden with such endless cravings
         That she had made many live in misery!
 
         She caused my spirits to sink down so low,
         From the dread I felt in seeing her there,
         I lost all hope of climbing to the summit.
 
55       And just as a man, anxious for big winnings,
         But the time comes instead for him to lose,
         Cries and grieves the more he thinks about it,
 
         So did the restless she-beast make me feel
         When, edging closer toward me, step by step,
60       She drove me back to where the sun is silent.
 
         While I was falling back to lower ground,
         Before my eyes now came a figure forward
         Of one grown feeble from long being mute.
 
         When I saw him in that deserted spot,
65       "Pity me!" I shouted out to him,
         "Whoever you are, a shade or living man."
 
         "Not a man," he answered. "Once a man,
         Of parents who had come from Lombardy;
         Both of them were Mantuans by birth.