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Readings on the Purgatorio of Dante (1); Chiefly Based on the Commentary of Benvenuto Da Imola
Readings on the Purgatorio of Dante Chiefly Based on the Commentary of Benvenuto Da Imola - 1 Author:William Warren Vernon Volume: 1 General Books publication date: 2009 Original publication date: 1889 Original Publisher: Macmillan Subjects: Literary Criticism / European / Italian Poetry / Continental European Notes: This is a black and white OCR reprint of the original. It has no illustrations and there may be typos or missing text. When you buy the Genera... more »l Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free. Excerpt: CANTO II. The Dawn. The Angel Pilot. Casella. As in the preceding Canto, which was an introductory one, Dante stated his proposition, made his invocation, and described how, by means of Cato, he entered into Purgatory, and was washed and girded by Virgil, he now proceeds in the present Canto, to treat of those who delayed their repentance until their death, and are on that account relegated to the Ante-Purgatory. The Canto may be divided, according to Benvenuto, into four Divisions : -- In the First Division, v. I to v. 9, he describes the time and the place in beautiful language. In the Second Division, v. 10 to v. 51, he describes how an Angel brought a band of spirits to Purgatory in a boat. In the Third Division, v. 52 to v. 105, we hear of Dante's interview with the Spirits, among whom he recognizes his old friend Casella, the musician. In the Fourth Division, v. 106 to v. 133, Dante persuades Casella to sing, but his minstrelsy is interrupted by the severe censures of Cato. Division I. The first three lines, says Dr. Moore, describe sunset at Jerusalem ; it was consequently sunrise at Purgatory. Gia era il sole al1' orizzonte giunto, Lo cui meridian cerchio coverchia Jerusalem col suo piii alto punto : Now had the sun reached the horizon of that hemisphere, the northern, whose meridian circle hangs, at its most elevated point, above Jerusalem. By horizon understand that point of the horizon. E la notte, che opposita a lui cerchia, Uscla di Gange fuor colle...« less