The Divine Comedy of Dante: HellPart 4 out of 4the Lateran by Constantine to Silvester, of which Dante himself seems to imply a doubt, in his treatise "De Monarchia." - "Ergo scindere Imperium, Imperatori non licet. Si ergo aliquae, dignitates per Constantinum essent alienatae, (ut dicunt) ab Imperio," &c. l. iii. The gift is by Ariosto very humorously placed in the moon, among the things lost or abused on earth. Di varj fiori, &c. O. F. c. xxxiv. st. 80. Milton has translated both this passage and that in the text. Prose works, vol. i. p. 11. ed. 1753. CANTO XX v. 11. Revers'd.] Compare Spenser, F. Q. b. i. c. viii. st. 31 v. 30. Before whose eyes.] Amphiaraus, one of the seven kings who besieged Thebes. He is said to have been swallowed up by an opening of the earth. See Lidgate's Storie of Thebes, Part III where it is told how the "Bishop Amphiaraus" fell down to hell. And thus the devill for his outrages, Like his desert payed him his wages. A different reason for his being doomed thus to perish is assigned by Pindar. [GREEK HERE] Nem ix. For thee, Amphiaraus, earth, By Jove's all-riving thunder cleft Her mighty bosom open'd wide, Thee and thy plunging steeds to hide, Or ever on thy back the spear Of Periclymenus impress'd A wound to shame thy warlike breast For struck with panic fear The gods' own children flee. v. 37. Tiresias.] Duo magnorum viridi coeuntia sylva Corpora serpentum baculi violaverat ictu, &c. Ovid. Met. iii. v. 43. Aruns.] Aruns is said to have dwelt in the mountains of Luni (from whence that territory is still called Lunigiana), above Carrara, celebrated for its marble. Lucan. Phars. l. i. 575. So Boccaccio in the Fiammetta, l. iii. "Quale Arunte," &c. "Like Aruns, who amidst the white marbles of Luni, contemplated the celestial bodies and their motions." v. 50. Manto.] The daughter of Tiresias of Thebes, a city dedicated to Bacchus. From Manto Mantua, the country of Virgil derives its name. The Poet proceeds to describe the situation of that place. v. 61. Between the vale.] The lake Benacus, now called the Lago di Garda, though here said to lie between Garda, Val Camonica, and the Apennine, is, however, very distant from the latter two v. 63. There is a spot.] Prato di Fame, where the dioceses of Trento, Verona, and Brescia met. v. 69. Peschiera.] A garrison situated to the south of the lake, where it empties itself and forms the Mincius. v. 94. Casalodi's madness.] Alberto da Casalodi, who had got possession of Mantua, was persuaded by Pinamonte Buonacossi, that he might ingratiate himself with the people by banishing to their own castles the nobles, who were obnoxious to them. No sooner was this done, than Pinamonte put himself at the head of the populace, drove out Casalodi and his adherents, and obtained the sovereignty for himself. v. 111. So sings my tragic strain.] Suspensi Eurypilum scitatum oracula Phoebi Mittimus. Virg. Aeneid. ii. 14. v. 115. Michael Scot.] Sir Michael Scott, of Balwearie, astrologer to the Emperor Frederick II. lived in the thirteenth century. For further particulars relating to this singular man, see Warton's History of English Poetry, vol. i. diss. ii. and sect. ix. p 292, and the Notes to Mr. Scott's "Lay of the Last Minstrel," a poem in which a happy use is made of the traditions that are still current in North Britain concerning him. He is mentioned by G. Villani. Hist. l. x. c. cv. and cxli. and l. xii. c. xviii. and by Boccaccio, Dec. Giorn. viii. Nov. 9. v. 116. Guido Bonatti.] An astrologer of Forli, on whose skill Guido da Montefeltro, lord of that place, so much relied, that he is reported never to have gone into battle, except in the hour recommended to him as fortunate by Bonatti. Landino and Vellutello, speak of a book, which he composed on the subject of his art. v. 116. Asdente.] A shoemaker at Parma, who deserted his business to practice the arts of divination. v. 123. Cain with fork of thorns.] By Cain and the thorns, or what is still vulgarly called the Man in the Moon, the Poet denotes that luminary. The same superstition is alluded to in the Paradise, Canto II. 52. The curious reader may consult Brand on Popular Antiquities, 4to. 1813. vol. ii. p. 476. CANTO XXI v. 7. In the Venetians' arsenal.] Compare Ruccellai, Le Api, 165, and Dryden's Annus Mirabilis, st. 146, &c. v. 37. One of Santa Zita's elders.] The elders or chief magistrates of Lucca, where Santa Zita was held in especial veneration. The name of this sinner is supposed to have been Martino Botaio. v. 40. Except Bonturo, barterers.] This is said ironically of Bonturo de' Dati. By barterers are meant peculators, of every description; all who traffic the interests of the public for their own private advantage. v. 48. Is other swimming than in Serchio's wave.] Qui si nuota altrimenti che nel Serchio. Serchio is the river that flows by Lucca. So Pulci, Morg. Mag. c. xxiv. Qui si nuota nel sangue, e non nel Serchio. v. 92. From Caprona.] The surrender of the castle of Caprona to the combined forces of Florence and Lucca, on condition that the garrison should march out in safety, to which event Dante was a witness, took place in 1290. See G. Villani, Hist. l. vii. c. 136. v. 109. Yesterday.] This passage fixes the era of Dante's descent at Good Friday, in the year 1300 (34 years from our blessed Lord's incarnation being added to 1266), and at the thirty-fifth year of our poet's age. See Canto I. v. 1. The awful event alluded to, the Evangelists inform us, happened "at the ninth hour," that is, our sixth, when "the rocks were rent," and the convulsion, according to Dante, was felt even in the depths in Hell. See Canto XII. 38. CANTO XXII v. 16. In the church.] This proverb is repeated by Pulci, Morg. Magg. c. xvii. v. 47. Born in Navarre's domain.] The name of this peculator is said to have been Ciampolo. v. 51. The good king Thibault.] "Thibault I. king of Navarre, died on the 8th of June, 1233, as much to be commended for the desire he showed of aiding the war in the Holy Land, as reprehensible and faulty for his design of oppressing the rights and privileges of the church, on which account it is said that the whole kingdom was under an interdict for the space of three entire years. Thibault undoubtedly merits praise, as for his other endowments, so especially for his cultivation of the liberal arts, his exercise and knowledge of music and poetry in which he much excelled, that he was accustomed to compose verses and sing them to the viol, and to exhibit his poetical compositions publicly in his palace, that they might be criticized by all." Mariana, History of Spain, b. xiii. c. 9. An account of Thibault, and two of his songs, with what were probably the original melodies, may be seen in Dr. Burney's History of Music, v. ii. c. iv. His poems, which are in the French language, were edited by M. l'Eveque de la Ravalliere. Paris. 1742. 2 vol. 12mo. Dante twice quotes one of his verses in the Treatise de Vulg. Eloq. l. i. c. ix. and l. ii. c. v. and refers to him again, l. ii. c. vi. From "the good king Thibault" are descended the good, but more unfortunate monarch, Louis XVI. of France, and consequently the present legitimate sovereign of that realm. See Henault, Abrege Chron. 1252, 2, 4. v. 80. The friar Gomita.] He was entrusted by Nino de' Visconti with the government of Gallura, one of the four jurisdictions into which Sardinia was divided. Having his master's enemies in his power, he took a bribe from them, and allowed them to escape. Mention of Nino will recur in the Notes to Canto XXXIII. and in the Purgatory, Canto VIII. v. 88. Michel Zanche.] The president of Logodoro, another of the four Sardinian jurisdictions. See Canto XXXIII. CANTO XXIII v. 5. Aesop's fable.] The fable of the frog, who offered to carry the mouse across a ditch, with the intention of drowning him when both were carried off by a kite. It is not among those Greek Fables which go under the name of Aesop. v. 63. Monks in Cologne.] They wore their cowls unusually large. v. 66. Frederick's.] The Emperor Frederick II. is said to have punished those who were guilty of high treason, by wrapping them up in lead, and casting them into a furnace. v. 101. Our bonnets gleaming bright with orange hue.] It is observed by Venturi, that the word "rance" does not here signify "rancid or disgustful," as it is explained by the old commentators, but "orange-coloured," in which sense it occurs in the Purgatory, Canto II. 9. v. 104. Joyous friars.] "Those who ruled the city of Florence on the part of the Ghibillines, perceiving this discontent and murmuring, which they were fearful might produce a rebellion against themselves, in order to satisfy the people, made choice of two knights, Frati Godenti (joyous friars) of Bologna, on whom they conferred the chief power in Florence. One named M. Catalano de' Malavolti, the other M. Loderingo di Liandolo; one an adherent of the Guelph, the other of the Ghibelline party. It is to be remarked, that the Joyous Friars were called Knights of St. Mary, and became knights on taking that habit: their robes were white, the mantle sable, and the arms a white field and red cross with two stars. Their office was to defend widows and orphans; they were to act as mediators; they had internal regulations like other religious bodies. The above-mentioned M. Loderingo was the founder of that order. But it was not long before they too well deserved the appellation given them, and were found to be more bent on enjoying themselves than on any other subject. These two friars were called in by the Florentines, and had a residence assigned them in the palace belonging to the people over against the Abbey. Such was the dependence placed on the character of their order that it was expected they would be impartial, and would save the commonwealth any unnecessary expense; instead of which, though inclined to opposite parties, they secretly and hypocritically concurred in promoting their own advantage rather than the public good." G. Villani, b. vii. c.13. This happened in 1266. v. 110. Gardingo's vicinage.] The name of that part of the city which was inhabited by the powerful Ghibelline family of Uberti, and destroyed under the partial and iniquitous administration of Catalano and Loderingo. v. 117. That pierced spirit.] Caiaphas. v. 124. The father of his consort.] Annas, father-in-law to Caiaphas. v. 146. He is a liar.] John, c. viii. 44. Dante had perhaps heard this text from one of the pulpits in Bologna. CANTO XXIV v. 1. In the year's early nonage.] "At the latter part of January, when the sun enters into Aquarius, and the equinox is drawing near, when the hoar-frosts in the morning often wear the appearance of snow but are melted by the rising sun." v. 51. Vanquish thy weariness.] Quin corpus onustum Hesternis vitiis animum quoque praegravat una, Atque affigit humi divinae particulam aurae. Hor. Sat. ii. l. ii. 78. v. 82. Of her sands.] Compare Lucan, Phars. l. ix. 703. v. 92. Heliotrope.] The occult properties of this stone are described by Solinus, c. xl, and by Boccaccio, in his humorous tale of Calandrino. Decam. G. viii. N. 3. In Chiabrera's Ruggiero, Scaltrimento begs of Sofia, who is sending him on a perilous errand, to lend him the heliotrope. In mia man fida L'elitropia, per cui possa involarmi Secondo il mio talento agli occhi altrui. c. vi. Trust to my hand the heliotrope, by which I may at will from others' eyes conceal me Compare Ariosto, II Negromante, a. 3. s. 3. Pulci, Morg. Magg. c xxv. and Fortiguerra, Ricciardetto, c. x. st. 17. Gower in his Confessio Amantis, lib. vii, enumerates it among the jewels in the diadem of the sun. Jaspis and helitropius. v. 104. The Arabian phoenix.] This is translated from Ovid, Metam. l. xv. Una est quae reparat, seque ipsa reseminat ales, &c. See also Petrarch, Canzone: "Qual piu," &c. v. 120. Vanni Fucci.] He is said to have been an illegitimate offspring of the family of Lazari in Pistoia, and, having robbed the sacristy of the church of St. James in that city, to have charged Vanni della Nona with the sacrilege, in consequence of which accusation the latter suffered death. v. 142. Pistoia.] "In May 1301, the Bianchi party, of Pistoia, with the assistance and favor of the Bianchi who ruled Florence, drove out the Neri party from the former place, destroying their houses, Palaces and farms." Giov. Villani, Hist. l. viii. e xliv. v. 144. From Valdimagra.] The commentators explain this prophetical threat to allude to the victory obtained by the Marquis Marcello Malaspina of Valdimagra (a tract of country now called the Lunigiana) who put himself at the head of the Neri and defeated their opponents the Bianchi, in the Campo Piceno near Pistoia, soon after the occurrence related in the preceding note. Of this engagement I find no mention in Villani. Currado Malaspina is introduced in the eighth Canto of Purgatory; where it appears that, although on the present occaision they espoused contrary sides, some important favours were nevertheless conferred by that family on our poet at a subsequent perid of his exile in 1307. Canto XXV v.1. The sinner ] So Trissino Poi facea con le man le fiche al cielo Dicendo: Togli, Iddio; che puoi piu farmi? L'ital. Lib. c. xii v. 12. Thy seed] Thy ancestry. v. 15. Not him] Capanaeus. Canto XIV. v. 18. On Marenna's marsh.] An extensive tract near the sea-shore in Tuscany. v. 24. Cacus.] Virgil, Aen. l. viii. 193. v. 31. A hundred blows.] Less than ten blows, out of the hundred Hercules gave him, deprived him of feeling. v. 39. Cianfa] He is said to have been of the family of Donati at Florence. v. 57. Thus up the shrinking paper.] --All my bowels crumble up to dust. I am a scribbled form, drawn up with a pen Upon a parchment; and against this fire Do I shrink up. Shakespeare, K. John, a. v. s. 7. v. 61. Agnello.] Agnello Brunelleschi v. 77. In that part.] The navel. v. 81. As if by sleep or fev'rous fit assail'd.] O Rome! thy head Is drown'd in sleep, and all thy body fev'ry. Ben Jonson's Catiline. v. 85. Lucan.] Phars. l. ix. 766 and 793. v. 87. Ovid.] Metam. l. iv. and v. v. 121. His sharpen'd visage.] Compare Milton, P. L. b. x. 511 &c. v. 131. Buoso.] He is said to have been of the Donati family. v. 138. Sciancato.] Puccio Sciancato, a noted robber, whose familly, Venturi says, he has not been able to discover. v. 140. Gaville.] Francesco Guercio Cavalcante was killed at Gaville, near Florence; and in revenge of his death several inhabitants of that district were put to death. CANTO XXVI v. 7. But if our minds.] Namque sub Auroram, jam dormitante lucerna, Somnia quo cerni tempore vera solent. Ovid, Epist. xix The same poetical superstition is alluded to in the Purgatory, Cant. IX. and XXVII. v. 9. Shall feel what Prato.] The poet prognosticates the calamities which were soon to befal his native city, and which he says, even her nearest neighbor, Prato, would wish her. The calamities more particularly pointed at, are said to be the fall of a wooden bridge over the Arno, in May, 1304, where a large multitude were assembled to witness a representation of hell nnd the infernal torments, in consequence of which accident many lives were lost; and a conflagration that in the following month destroyed more than seventeen hundred houses, many ofthem sumptuous buildings. See G. Villani, Hist. l. viii. c. 70 and 71. v. 22. More than I am wont.] "When I reflect on the punishment allotted to those who do not give sincere and upright advice to others I am more anxious than ever not to abuse to so bad a purpose those talents, whatever they may be, which Nature, or rather Providence, has conferred on me." It is probable that this declaration was the result of real feeling Textd have given great weight to any opinion or party he had espoused, and to whom indigence and exile might have offerred strong temptations to deviate from that line of conduct which a strict sense of duty prescribed. v. 35. as he, whose wrongs.] Kings, b. ii. c. ii. v. 54. ascending from that funeral pile.] The flame is said to have divided on the funeral pile which consumed tile bodies of Eteocles and Polynices, as if conscious of the enmity that actuated them while living. Ecce iterum fratris, &c. Statius, Theb. l. xii. Ostendens confectas flamma, &c. Lucan, Pharsal. l. 1. 145. v. 60. The ambush of the horse.] "The ambush of the wooden horse, that caused Aeneas to quit the city of Troy and seek his fortune in Italy, where his descendants founded the Roman empire." v. 91. Caieta.] Virgil, Aeneid. l. vii. 1. v. 93. Nor fondness for my son] Imitated hp Tasso, G. L. c. viii. Ne timor di fatica o di periglio, Ne vaghezza del regno, ne pietade Del vecchio genitor, si degno affetto Intiepedir nel generoso petto. This imagined voyage of Ulysses into the Atlantic is alluded to by Pulci. E sopratutto commendava Ulisse, Che per veder nell' altro mondo gisse. Morg. Magg. c. xxv And by Tasso, G. L. c. xv. 25. v. 106. The strait pass.] The straits of Gibraltar. v. 122. Made our oars wings.l So Chiabrera, Cant. Eroiche. xiii Faro de'remi un volo. And Tasso Ibid. 26. v. 128. A mountain dim.] The mountain of Purgatorg CANTO XXVII. v. 6. The Sicilian Bull.] The engine of torture invented by Perillus, for the tyrant Phalaris. v. 26. Of the mountains there.] Montefeltro. v. 38. Polenta's eagle.] Guido Novello da Polenta, who bore an eagle for his coat of arms. The name of Polenta was derived from a castle so called in the neighbourhood of Brittonoro. Cervia is a small maritime city, about fifteen miles to the south of Ravenna. Guido was the son of Ostasio da Polenta, and made himself master of Ravenna, in 1265. In 1322 he was deprived of his sovereignty, and died at Bologna in the year following. This last and most munificent patron of Dante is himself enumerated, by the historian of Italian literature, among the poets of his time. Tiraboschi, Storia della Lett. Ital. t. v. 1. iii. c. ii. 13. The passnge in the text might have removed the uncertainty wwhich Tiraboschi expressed, respecting the duration of Guido's absence from Ravenna, when he was driven from that city in 1295, by the arms of Pietro, archbishop of Monreale. It must evidently have been very short, since his government is here represented (in 1300) as not having suffered any material disturbance for many years. v. 41. The land.l The territory of Forli, the inhabitants of which, in 1282, mere enabled, hy the strategem of Guido da Montefeltro, who then governed it, to defeat with great slaughter the French army by which it had been besieged. See G. Villani, l. vii. c. 81. The poet informs Guido, its former ruler, that it is now in the possession of Sinibaldo Ordolaffi, or Ardelaffi, whom he designates by his coat of arms, a lion vert. v. 43. The old mastiff of Verucchio and the young.] Malatesta and Malatestino his son, lords of Rimini, called, from their ferocity, the mastiffs of Verruchio, which was the name of their castle. v. 44. Montagna.] Montagna de'Parcitati, a noble knight, and leader of the Ghibelline party at Rimini, murdered by Malatestino. v. 46. Lamone's city and Santerno's.] Lamone is the river at Faenza, and Santerno at Imola. v. 47. The lion of the snowy lair.] Machinardo Pagano, whose arms were a lion azure on a field argent; mentioned again in the Purgatory, Canto XIV. 122. See G. Villani passim, where he is called Machinardo da Susinana. v. 50. Whose flank is wash'd of SSavio's wave.] Cesena, situated at the foot of a mountain, and washed by the river Savio, that often descends with a swoln and rapid stream from the Appenine. v. 64. A man of arms.] Guido da Montefeltro. v. 68. The high priest.] Boniface VIII. v. 72. The nature of the lion than the fox.] Non furon leonine ma di volpe. So Pulci, Morg. Magg. c. xix. E furon le sua opre e le sue colpe Non creder leonine ma di volpe. v. 81. The chief of the new Pharisee.] Boniface VIII. whose enmity to the family of Colonna prompted him to destroy their houses near the Lateran. Wishing to obtain possession of their other seat, Penestrino, he consulted with Guido da Montefeltro how he might accomplish his purpose, offering him at the same time absolution for his past sins, as well as for that which he was then tempting him to commit. Guido's advice was, that kind words and fair promises nonld put his enemies into his power; and they accordingly soon aftermards fell into the snare laid for them, A.D. 1298. See G. Villani, l. viii. c. 23. v. 84. Nor against Acre one Had fought.] He alludes to the renegade Christians, by whom the Saracens, in Apri., 1291, were assisted to recover St.John d'Acre, the last possession of the Christians in the Iloly Land. The regret expressed by the Florentine annalist G. Villani, for the loss of this valuable fortress, is well worthy of observation, l. vii. c. 144. v. 89. As in Soracte Constantine besought.] So in Dante's treatise De Monarchia: "Dicunt quidam adhue, quod Constantinus Imperator, mundatus a lepra intercessione Syvestri, tunc summni pontificis imperii sedem, scilicet Romam, donavit ecclesiae, cum multis allis imperii dignitatibus." Lib.iii. v. 101. My predecessor.] Celestine V. See Notes to Canto III. CANTO XXVIII. v.8. In that long war.] The war of Hannibal in Italy. "When Mago brought news of his victories to Carthage, in order to make his successes more easily credited, he commanded the golden rings to be poured out in the senate house, which made so large a heap, that, as some relate, they filled three modii and a half. A more probable account represents them not to have exceeded one modius." Livy, Hist. v. 12. Guiscard's Norman steel.] Robert Guiscard, who conquered the kingdom of Naples, and died in 1110. G. Villani, l. iv. c. 18. He is introduced in the Paradise, Canto XVIII. v. 13. And those the rest.] The army of Manfredi, which, through the treachery of the Apulian troops, wns overcome by Charles of Anjou in 1205, and fell in such numbers that the bones of the slain were still gathered near Ceperano. G. Villani, l. vii. c. 9. See the Purgatory, Canto III. v. 10. O Tagliocozzo.] He alludes to tile victory which Charles gained over Conradino, by the sage advice of the Sieur de Valeri, in 1208. G. Villani, l. vii. c. 27. v. 32. Ali.] The disciple of Mohammed. v. 53. Dolcino.] "In 1305, a friar, called Dolcino, who belonged to no regular order, contrived to raise in Novarra, in Lombardy, a large company of the meaner sort of people, declaring himself to be a true apostle of Christ, and promulgating a community of property and of wives, with many other such heretical doctrines. He blamed the pope, cardinals, and other prelates of the holy church, for not observing their duty, nor leading the angelic life, and affirmed that he ought to be pope. He was followed by more than three thousand men and women, who lived promiscuously on the mountains together, like beasts, and, when they wanted provisions, supplied themselves by depredation and rapine. This lasted for two years till, many being struck with compunction at the dissolute life they led, his sect was much diminished; and through failure of food, and the severity of the snows, he was taken by the people of Novarra, and burnt, with Margarita his companion and many other men and women whom his errors had seduced." G. Villanni, l. viii. c. 84. Landino observes, that he was possessed of singular eloquence, and that both he and Margarita endored their fate with a firmness worthy of a better cause. For a further account of him, see Muratori Rer. Ital. Script. t. ix. p. 427. v. 69. Medicina.] A place in the territory of Bologna. Piero fomented dissensions among the inhabitants of that city, and among the leaders of the neighbouring states. v. 70. The pleasant land.] Lombardy. v. 72. The twain.] Guido dal Cassero and Angiolello da Cagnano, two of the worthiest and most distinguished citizens of Fano, were invited by Malatestino da Rimini to an entertainment on pretence that he had some important business to transact with them: and, according to instructions given by him, they mere drowned in their passage near Catolica, between Rimini and Fano. v. 85. Focara's wind.] Focara is a mountain, from which a wind blows that is peculiarly dangerous to the navigators of that coast. v. 94. The doubt in Caesar's mind.] Curio, whose speech (according to Lucan) determined Julius Caesar to proceed when he had arrived at Rimini (the ancient Ariminum), and doubted whether he should prosecute the civil war. Tolle moras: semper nocuit differre paratis Pharsal, l. i. 281. v. 102. Mosca.] Buondelmonte was engaged to marry a lady of the Amidei family, but broke his promise and united himself to one of the Donati. This was so much resented by the former, that a meeting of themselves and their kinsmen was held, to consider of the best means of revenging the insult. Mosca degli Uberti persuaded them to resolve on the assassination of Buondelmonte, exclaiming to them "the thing once done, there is an end." The counsel and its effects were the source of many terrible calamities to the state of Florence. "This murder," says G. Villani, l. v. c. 38, "was the cause and beginning of the accursed Guelph and Ghibelline parties in Florence." It happened in 1215. See the Paradise, Canto XVI. 139. v. 111. The boon companion.] What stronger breastplate than a heart untainted? Shakespeare, 2 Hen. VI. a. iii. s. 2. v. 160. Bertrand.] Bertrand de Born, Vicomte de Hautefort, near Perigueux in Guienne, who incited John to rebel against his father, Henry II. of England. Bertrand holds a distinguished place among the Provencal poets. He is quoted in Dante, "De Vulg. Eloq." l. ii. c. 2. For the translation of some extracts from his poems, see Millot, Hist. Litteraire des Troubadors t. i. p. 210; but the historical parts of that work are, I believe, not to be relied on. CANTO XXIX. v. 26. Geri of Bello.] A kinsman of the Poet's, who was murdered by one of the Sacchetti family. His being placed here, may be considered as a proof that Dante was more impartial in the allotment of his punishments than has generally been supposed. v. 44. As were the torment.] It is very probable that these lines gave Milton the idea of his celebrated description: Immediately a place Before their eyes appear'd, sad, noisome, dark, A lasar-house it seem'd, wherein were laid Numbers of all diseas'd, all maladies, &c. P. L. b. xi. 477. v. 45. Valdichiana.] The valley through which passes the river Chiana, bounded by Arezzo, Cortona, Montepulciano, and Chiusi. In the heat of autumn it was formerly rendered unwholesome by the stagnation of the water, but has since been drained by the Emperor Leopold II. The Chiana is mentioned as a remarkably sluggish stream, in the Paradise, Canto XIII. 21. v. 47. Maremma's pestilent fen.] See Note to Canto XXV. v. 18. v. 58. In Aegina.] He alludes to the fable of the ants changed into Myrmidons. Ovid, Met. 1. vii. v. 104. Arezzo was my dwelling.] Grifolino of Arezzo, who promised Albero, son of the Bishop of Sienna, that he would teach him the art of flying; and because be did not keep his promise, Albero prevailed on his father to have him burnt for a necromancer. v. 117. Was ever race Light as Sienna's?] The same imputation is again cast on the Siennese, Purg. Canto XIII. 141. v. 121. Stricca.] This is said ironically. Stricca, Niccolo Salimbeni, Caccia of Asciano, and Abbagliato, or Meo de Folcacchieri, belonged to a company of prodigal and luxurious young men in Sienna, called the "brigata godereccia." Niccolo was the inventor of a new manner of using cloves in cookery, not very well understood by the commentators, and which was termed the "costuma ricca." v. 125. In that garden.] Sienna. v. 134. Cappocchio's ghost.] Capocchio of Sienna, who is said to have been a fellow-student of Dante's in natural philosophy. CANTO XXX. v. 4. Athamas.] From Ovid, Metam. 1. iv. Protinos Aelides, &c. v. 16. Hecuba. See Euripedes, Hecuba; and Ovid, Metnm. l. xiii. v. 33. Schicchi.] Gianni Schicci, who was of the family of Cavalcanti, possessed such a faculty of moulding his features to the resemblance of others, that he was employed by Simon Donati to personate Buoso Donati, then recently deceased, and to make a will, leaving Simon his heir; for which service he was renumerated with a mare of extraordinary value, here called "the lady of the herd." v. 39. Myrrha.] See Ovid, Metam. l. x. v. 60. Adamo's woe.] Adamo of Breschia, at the instigation of Cuido Alessandro, and their brother Aghinulfo, lords of Romena, coonterfeited the coin of Florence; for which crime he was burnt. Landino says, that in his time the peasants still pointed out a pile of stones near Romena as the place of his execution. v. 64. Casentino.] Romena is a part of Casentino. v. 77. Branda's limpid spring.] A fountain in Sienna. v. 88. The florens with three carats of alloy.] The floren was a coin that ought to have had tmenty-four carats of pure gold. Villani relates, that it was first used at Florence in 1253, an aera of great prosperity in the annals of the republic; before which time their most valuable coinage was of silver. Hist. l. vi. c. 54. v. 98. The false accuser.] Potiphar's wife. CANTO XXXI. v. 1. The very tongue.] Vulnus in Herculeo quae quondam fecerat hoste Vulneris auxilium Pellas hasta fuit. Ovid, Rem. Amor. 47. The same allusion was made by Bernard de Ventadour, a Provencal poet in the middle of the twelfth century: and Millot observes, that it was a singular instance of erudition in a Troubadour. But it is not impossible, as Warton remarks, (Hist. of Engl. Poetry, vol. ii. sec. x. p 215.) but that he might have been indebted for it to some of the early romances. In Chaucer's Squier's Tale, a sword of similar quality is introduced: And other folk have wondred on the sweard, That could so piercen through every thing; And fell in speech of Telephus the king, And of Achillcs for his queint spere, For he couth with it both heale and dere. So Shakspeare, Henry VI. p. ii. a. 5. s. 1. Whose smile and frown like to Achilles' spear Is able with the change to kill and cure. v. 14. Orlando.l When Charlemain with all his peerage fell At Fontarabia Milton, P. L. b. i. 586. See Warton's Hist. of Eng. Poetrg, v. i. sect. iii. p. 132. "This is the horn which Orlando won from the giant Jatmund, and which as Turpin and the Islandic bards report, was endued with magical power, and might be heard at the distance of twenty miles." Charlemain and Orlando are introduced in the Paradise, Canto XVIII. v. 36. Montereggnon.] A castle near Sienna. v. 105. The fortunate vale.] The country near Carthage. See Liv. Hist. l. xxx. and Lucan, Phars. l. iv. 590. Dante has kept the latter of these writers in his eye throughout all this passage. v. 123. Alcides.] The combat between Hercules Antaeus is adduced by the Poet in his treatise "De Monarchia," l. ii. as a proof of the judgment of God displayed in the duel, according to the singular superstition of those times. v. 128. The tower of Carisenda.] The leaning tower at Bologna CANTO XXXII. v. 8. A tongue not us'd To infant babbling.] Ne da lingua, che chiami mamma, o babbo. Dante in his treatise " De Vulg. Eloq." speaking of words not admissble in the loftier, or as he calls it, tragic style of poetry, says- "In quorum numero nec puerilia propter suam simplicitatem ut Mamma et Babbo," l. ii. c. vii. v. 29. Tabernich or Pietrapana.] The one a mountain in Sclavonia, the other in that tract of country called the Garfagnana, not far from Lucca. v. 33. To where modest shame appears.] "As high as to the face." v. 35. Moving their teeth in shrill note like the stork.] Mettendo i denti in nota di cicogna. So Boccaccio, G. viii. n. 7. "Lo scolar cattivello quasi cicogna divenuto si forte batteva i denti." v. 53. Who are these two.] Alessandro and Napoleone, sons of Alberto Alberti, who murdered each other. They were proprietors of the valley of Falterona, where the Bisenzio has its source, a river that falls into the Arno about six miles from Florence. v. 59. Not him,] Mordrec, son of King Arthur. v. 60. Foccaccia.] Focaccia of Cancellieri, (the Pistoian family) whose atrocious act of revenge against his uncle is said to have given rise to the parties of the Bianchi and Neri, in the year 1300. See G. Villani, Hist. l, viii. c. 37. and Macchiavelli, Hist. l. ii. The account of the latter writer differs much from that given by Landino in his Commentary. v. 63. Mascheroni.] Sassol Mascheroni, a Florentiue, who also murdered his uncle. v. 66. Camiccione.] Camiccione de' Pazzi of Valdarno, by whom his kinsman Ubertino was treacherously pnt to death. v. 67. Carlino.] One of the same family. He betrayed the Castel di Piano Travigne, in Valdarno, to the Florentines, after the refugees of the Bianca and Ghibelline party had defended it against a siege for twenty-nine days, in the summer of 1302. See G. Villani, l. viii. c. 52 and Dino Compagni, l. ii. v. 81. Montaperto.] The defeat of the Guelfi at Montaperto, occasioned by the treachery of Bocca degli Abbati, who, during the engagement, cut off the hand of Giacopo del Vacca de'Pazzi, bearer of the Florentine standard. G. Villani, l. vi. c. 80, and Notes to Canto X. This event happened in 1260. v. 113. Him of Duera.] Buoso of Cremona, of the family of Duera, who was bribed by Guy de Montfort, to leave a pass between Piedmont and Parma, with the defence of which he had been entrusted by the Ghibellines, open to the army of Charles of Anjou, A.D. 1265, at which the people of Cremona were so enraged, that they extirpated the whole family. G. Villani, l. vii. c. 4. v. 118. Beccaria.] Abbot of Vallombrosa, who was the Pope's Legate at Florence, where his intrigues in favour of the Ghibellines being discovered, he was beheaded. I do not find the occurrence in Vallini, nor do the commentators say to what pope he was legate. By Landino he is reported to have been from Parma, by Vellutello from Pavia. v. 118. Soldanieri.] "Gianni Soldanieri," says Villani, Hist. l. vii. c14, "put himself at the head of the people, in the hopes of rising into power, not aware that the result would be mischief to the Ghibelline party, and his own ruin; an event which seems ever to have befallen him, who has headed the populace in Florence." A.D. 1266. v. 119. Ganellon.] The betrayer of Charlemain, mentioned by Archbishop Turpin. He is a common instance of treachery with the poets of the middle ages. Trop son fol e mal pensant, Pis valent que Guenelon. Thibaut, roi de Navarre O new Scariot, and new Ganilion, O false dissembler, &c. Chaucer, Nonne's Prieste's Tale And in the Monke's Tale, Peter of Spaine. v. 119. Tribaldello.] Tribaldello de'Manfredi, who was bribed to betray the city of Faonza, A. D. 1282. G. Villani, l. vii. c. 80 v. 128. Tydeus.] See Statius, Theb. l. viii. ad finem. CANTO XXXIII. v. 14. Count Ugolino.] "In the year 1288, in the month of July, Pisa was much divided by competitors for the sovereignty; one party, composed of certain of the Guelphi, being headed by the Judge Nino di Gallura de'Visconti; another, consisting of others of the same faction, by the Count Ugolino de' Gherardeschi; and the third by the Archbishop Ruggieri degli Ubaldini, with the Lanfranchi, Sismondi, Gualandi, and other Ghibelline houses. The Count Ugolino,to effect his purpose, united with the Archbishop and his party, and having betrayed Nino, his sister's son, they contrived that he and his followers should either be driven out of Pisa, or their persons seized. Nino hearing this, and not seeing any means of defending himself, retired to Calci, his castle, and formed an alliance with the Florentines and people of Lucca, against the Pisans. The Count, before Nino was gone, in order to cover his treachery, when everything was settled for his expulsion, quitted Pisa, and repaired to a manor of his called Settimo; whence, as soon as he was informed of Nino's departure, he returned to Pisa with great rejoicing and festivity, and was elevated to the supreme power with every demonstration of triumph and honour. But his greatness was not of long continuauce. It pleased the Almighty that a total reverse of fortune should ensue, as a punishment for his acts of treachery and guilt: for he was said to have poisoned the Count Anselmo da Capraia, his sister's son, on account of the envy and fear excited in his mind by the high esteem in which the gracious manners of Anselmo were held by the Pisans. The power of the Guelphi being so much diminished, the Archbishop devised means to betray the Count Uglino and caused him to be suddenly attacked in his palace by the fury of the people, whom he had exasperated, by telling them that Ugolino had betrayed Pisa, and given up their castles to the citizens of Florence and of Lucca. He was immediately compelled to surrender; his bastard son and his grandson fell in the assault; and two of his sons, with their two sons also, were conveyed to prison." G. Villani l. vii. c. 120. "In the following march, the Pisans, who had imprisoned the Count Uglino, with two of his sons and two of his grandchildren, the offspring of his son the Count Guelfo, in a tower on the Piazza of the Anzania, caused the tower to be locked, the key thrown into the Arno, and all food to be withheld from them. In a few days they died of hunger; but the Count first with loud cries declared his penitence, and yet neither priest nor friar was allowed to shrive him. All the five, when dead, were dragged out of the prison, and meanly interred; and from thence forward the tower was called the tower of famine, and so shall ever be." Ibid. c. 127. Chancer has briefly told Ugolino's story. See Monke's Tale, Hugeline of Pise. v. 29. Unto the mountain.] The mountain S. Giuliano, between Pisa and Lucca. v. 59. Thou gav'st.] Tu ne vestisti Queste misere carni, e tu le spoglia. Imitated by Filicaja, Canz. iii. Di questa imperial caduca spoglia Tu, Signor, me vestisti e tu mi spoglia: Ben puoi'l Regno me tor tu che me'l desti. And by Maffei, in the Merope: Tu disciogleste Queste misere membra e tu le annodi. v. 79. In that fair region.] Del bel paese la, dove'l si suona. Italy as explained by Dante himself, in his treatise De Vulg. Eloq. l. i. c. 8. "Qui autem Si dicunt a praedictis finibus. (Januensiem) Oreintalem (Meridionalis Europae partem) tenent; videlicet usque ad promontorium illud Italiae, qua sinus Adriatici maris incipit et Siciliam." v. 82. Capraia and Gorgona.] Small islands near the mouth of the Arno. v. 94. There very weeping suffers not to weep,] Lo pianto stesso li pianger non lascia. So Giusto de'Conti, Bella Mano. Son. "Quanto il ciel." Che il troppo pianto a me pianger non lassa. v. 116. The friar Albigero.] Alberigo de'Manfredi, of Faenza, one of the Frati Godenti, Joyons Friars who having quarrelled with some of his brotherhood, under pretence of wishing to be reconciled, invited them to a banquet, at the conclusion of which he called for the fruit, a signal for the assassins to rush in and dispatch those whom he had marked for destruction. Hence, adds Landino, it is said proverbially of one who has been stabbed, that he has had some of the friar Alberigo's fruit. Thus Pulci, Morg. Magg. c. xxv. Le frutte amare di frate Alberico. v. 123. Ptolomea.] This circle is named Ptolomea from Ptolemy, the son of Abubus, by whom Simon and his sons were murdered, at a great banquet he had made for them. See Maccabees, ch xvi. v. 126. The glazed tear-drops.] -sorrow's eye, glazed with blinding tears. Shakspeare, Rich. II. a. 2. s. 2. v. 136. Branca Doria.] The family of Doria was possessed of great influence in Genoa. Branca is said to have murdered his father-in-law, Michel Zanche, introduced in Canto XXII. v. 162 Romagna's darkest spirit.] The friar Alberigo. Canto XXXIV. v. 6. A wind-mill.] The author of the Caliph Vathek, in the notes to that tale, justly observes, that it is more than probable that Don Quixote's mistake of the wind-mills for giants was suggested to Cervantes by this simile. v. 37. Three faces.] It can scarcely be doubted but that Milton derived his description of Satan in those lines, Each passion dimm'd his face Thrice chang'd with pale, ire, envy, and despair. P. L. b. iv. 114. from this passage, coupled with the remark of Vellutello upon it: "The first of these sins is anger which he signifies by the red face; the second, represented by that between pale and yellow is envy and not, as others have said, avarice; and the third, denoted by the black, is a melancholy humour that causes a man's thoughts to be dark and evil, and averse from all joy and tranquillity." v. 44. Sails.] --His sail-broad vans He spreads for flight. Milton, P. L. b. ii. 927. Compare Spenser, F. Q. b. i. c. xi. st. 10; Ben Jonson's Every Man out of his humour, v. 7; and Fletcher's Prophetess, a. 2. s. 3. v. 46. Like a bat.] The description of an imaginary being, who is called Typhurgo, in the Zodiacus Vitae, has some touches very like this of Dante's Lucifer. Ingentem vidi regem ingentique sedentem In solio, crines flammanti stemmate cinctum ---utrinque patentes Alae humeris magnae, quales vespertilionum Membranis contextae amplis-- Nudus erat longis sed opertus corpora villis. M. Palingenii, Zod. Vit. l. ix. A mighty king I might discerne, Plac'd hie on lofty chaire, His haire with fyry garland deckt Puft up in fiendish wise. x x x x x x Large wings on him did grow Framde like the wings of flinder mice, &c. Googe's Translation v. 61. Brutus.] Landino struggles, but I fear in vain, to extricate Brutus from the unworthy lot which is here assigned him. He maintains, that by Brutus and Cassius are not meant the individuals known by those names, but any who put a lawful monarch to death. Yet if Caesar was such, the conspirators might be regarded as deserving of their doom. v. 89. Within one hour and half of noon.] The poet uses the Hebrew manner of computing the day, according to which the third hour answers to our twelve o'clock at noon. v. 120. By what of firm land on this side appears.] The mountain of Purgatory. v.123. The vaulted tomb.] "La tomba." This word is used to express the whole depth of the infernal region. End Notes for Hell.
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