The Divine Comedy of Dante Alighieri Inferno. Translated by Warburton
Pike. (Kenn Paul, Trench, and Co.)—We do not claim to have compared this version with the original, and can only speak to its being intelligible and readable, with something, at least, of the dignity which characterises the original, but which it is not always easy for a translator of Dante, any more than it is easy for a trans- lator of .ZEschylus to maintain. Here is a specimen of Mr. Pike's manner, which it seems well to take from what is perhaps the beat known passage in the Inferno :- " Then, turning to the pair, I said, 'My ears, Francesca and seeing thy agonies,
Have made me sad and tender, even to tears. But tell me, in the season of sweet sighs, At what and how Love granted to you twain, To see your dubious longings with clear eyes: Then she to me—' There is no greater pain Than to remember, in the midst of woe, The happy time, and this thy guide sees plain; But if thou bast so great desire to know The primal root from which our love was bred, I will, as ene who talks, 'mid weeping, show, One day, for our delight, we sat and read Of Lancelot, how he Love's prisoner grew We were alone, and knew no cause of dread. That reading several times together drew Our eyes, and changed our colour suddenly, Only one thing it was that overthrew.
When we read how a lover, such as be,
Had kissed the smile on lips desired before— This one, who shall be parted ne'er from me, 'Kissed me, too, on the mouth, all trembling o'er. Galeotto was the book, he who writ The tale ; that day we read therein no more ' "
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