Editing Inferno (Dante) (section)

==Introduction==
===Cantos I–II===
[[File:Gustave Dore Inferno1.jpg|thumb|[[Gustave Doré]]'s engravings illustrated the ''Divine Comedy'' (1861–1868). Here, Dante is lost in Canto I of the ''Inferno'']]

'''''Canto I'''''
<br>
The poem begins on the night of [[Maundy Thursday]] on March 24 (or April 7), AD 1300, shortly before dawn of [[Good Friday]].<ref>Hollander, Robert (2000). [https://books.google.com/books?id=gkCBRhm3x9wC&pg=PA14 Note on ''Inferno'' I.11]. In Robert and Jean Hollander, trans., ''The Inferno'' by Dante. New York: Random House. p. 14. {{ISBN|0-385-49698-2}}</ref><ref>Allen Mandelbaum, ''Inferno'', notes on Canto I, p. 345</ref> The narrator, Dante himself, is thirty-five years old, and thus "midway in the journey of our life" (''Nel mezzo del cammin di nostra vita''<ref>''Inf.'' Canto I, line 1</ref>) – half of the Biblical lifespan of seventy ([[Psalms|Psalm]] 89:10<!-- do not change to Ps. 90; in the Vulgate, as specified, the chapter is 89 -->, Vulgate; Psalm 90:10, KJV). The poet finds himself lost in a dark [[forest|wood]] (''selva oscura''<ref>''Inf.'' Canto I, line 2</ref>), astray from the "straight way" (''diritta via'',<ref>''Inf.'' Canto I, line 3</ref> also translatable as "right way") of salvation. He sets out to climb directly up a small mountain, but his way is blocked by three beasts he cannot evade: a ''lonza''<ref>''Inf.'' Canto I, line 32</ref> (usually rendered as "[[leopard]]" or "[[leopon]]"),<ref>{{Cite journal|first=Gloria|last=Allaire|title=New evidence towards identifying Dante's enigmatic ''lonza''|publisher=Electronic Bulletin of the Dante Society of America|date=7 August 1997|url=http://www.princeton.edu/~dante/ebdsa/ga97.htm|postscript=<!-- Bot inserted parameter. Either remove it; or change its value to "." for the cite to end in a ".", as necessary. -->{{Inconsistent citations}}}} – defines ''lonza'' as the result of an unnatural pairing between a leopard and a lioness in [[Andrea da Barberino]] ''Guerrino meschino''.</ref> a ''leone''<ref>''Inf.'' Canto I, line 45</ref> ([[lion]]), and a ''lupa''<ref>''Inf.'' Canto I, line 49</ref> ([[Wolf|she-wolf]]). The three beasts, taken from the [[Book of Jeremiah|Jeremiah]] 5:6, are thought to symbolize the three kinds of sin that bring the unrepentant soul into one of the three major divisions of Hell. According to [[John Ciardi]], these are [[Incontinence (philosophy)|incontinence]] (the she-wolf); [[violence]] and bestiality (the lion); and [[fraud]] and malice (the leopard);<ref>John Ciardi, ''Inferno'', notes on Canto I, p. 21</ref> [[Dorothy L. Sayers]] assigns the leopard to incontinence and the she-wolf to fraud/malice.<ref>Dorothy L. Sayers, ''Hell'', notes on Canto I.</ref> It is now dawn of Good Friday, April 8, with the sun rising in [[Aries (constellation)|Aries]]. The beasts drive him back despairing into the darkness of error, a "lower place" (''basso loco''<ref>''Inf.'' Canto I, line 61</ref>) where the sun is silent (''l sol tace''<ref>''Inf.'' Canto I, line 60</ref>). However, Dante is rescued by a figure who announces that he was born ''sub Iulio''<ref>''Inf.'' Canto I, line 70</ref> (i.e. in the time of [[Julius Caesar]]) and lived under [[Augustus]]: it is the shade of the Roman poet [[Virgil]], author of the ''[[Aeneid]]'', a [[Latin literature|Latin epic]].

'''''Canto II'''''
<br>
On the evening of Good Friday, Dante is following Virgil but hesitates; Virgil explains how he has been sent by [[Beatrice Portinari|Beatrice]], the symbol of Divine Love. Beatrice had been moved to aid Dante by the [[Mary, mother of Jesus|Virgin Mary]] (symbolic of compassion) and [[Saint Lucy|Saint Lucia]] (symbolic of illuminating Grace). [[Rachel]], symbolic of the contemplative life, also appears in the heavenly scene recounted by Virgil. The two of them then begin their journey to the [[underworld]].

===Vestibule of Hell===
;<span id='Canto III'>''Canto III''</span>
Dante passes through the gate of Hell, which bears an inscription ending with the famous phrase "''Lasciate ogne<!--Please do not "correct" this to ogni. Please consult a critical edition of the Commedia first. Online, see the Princeton Dante Project: http://etcweb.princeton.edu/cgi-bin/dante/campuscgi/mpb/GetCantoSection.pl?LANG=2&INP_POEM=Inf&INP_SECT=3&INP_START=7&INP_LEN=15 --> speranza, voi ch'intrate<!--Please do not "correct" to entrate; see prev. comment.-->''",<ref>''Inf.'' Canto III, line 9</ref> most frequently translated as "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here."{{Refn|group=nb|There are many English translations of this famous line. Some examples include
*''All hope abandon, ye who enter here'' – [[Henry Francis Cary]] (1805–1814)<!--depending on which edition it first appeared in-->
*''All hope abandon, ye who enter in!'' – [[Henry Wadsworth Longfellow]] (1882)
*''Leave every hope, ye who enter!'' – [[Charles Eliot Norton]] (1891)
*''Leave all hope, ye that enter'' – Carlyle-[[Thomas Okey|Okey]]-[[Philip Wicksteed|Wicksteed]] (1932)
*''Lay down all hope, you that go in by me.'' – [[Dorothy L. Sayers]] (1949)
*''Abandon all hope, ye who enter here'' – [[John Ciardi]] (1954)
*''Abandon every hope, you who enter.'' – [[Charles S. Singleton]] (1970)
*''No room for hope, when you enter this place'' – [[C. H. Sisson]] (1980)
*''Abandon every hope, who enter here.'' – [[Allen Mandelbaum]] (1982)
*''Abandon all hope, you who enter here.'' – [[Robert Pinsky]] (1993); Robert Hollander (2000)
*''Abandon every hope, all you who enter'' – [[Mark Musa]] (1995)
*''Abandon every hope, you who enter.'' – [[Robert M. Durling]] (1996)
Verbatim, the line translates as "Leave (''lasciate'') every (''ogne'') hope (''speranza''), ye (''voi'') that (''ch''') enter (''intrate'')."}} Dante and his guide hear the anguished screams of the Uncommitted. These are the souls of people who in life took no sides; the opportunists who were for neither good nor evil, but instead were merely concerned with themselves. Among these Dante recognizes a figure implied to be [[Pope Celestine V]], whose "cowardice (in selfish terror for his own welfare) served as the door through which so much evil entered the Church".<ref>John Ciardi, ''Inferno'', notes on Canto III, p. 36</ref> Mixed with them are outcasts who took no side in the [[War in Heaven|Rebellion of Angels]]. These souls are forever unclassified; they are neither in Hell nor out of it, but reside on the shores of the [[Acheron]]. Naked and futile, they race around through the mist in eternal pursuit of an elusive, wavering banner (symbolic of their pursuit of ever-shifting [[self-interest]]) while relentlessly chased by swarms of [[wasp]]s and [[hornet]]s, who continually sting them.<ref>Dorothly L. Sayers, ''Hell'', notes on Canto III</ref> Loathsome [[maggot]]s and worms at the sinners' feet drink the putrid mixture of blood, pus, and tears that flows down their bodies. This symbolizes the sting of their guilty [[conscience]] and the repugnance of sin.{{Citation needed|date=April 2017}} This may also be seen as a reflection of the spiritual stagnation in which they lived.
[[File:Gustave Doré - Dante Alighieri - Inferno - Plate 9 (Canto III - Charon).jpg|thumb|left|Gustave Doré's illustration of Canto III: Arrival of Charon]]

After passing through the vestibule, Dante and Virgil reach the ferry that will take them across the river Acheron and to Hell proper. The ferry is piloted by [[Charon]], who does not want to let Dante enter, for he is a living being. Virgil forces Charon to take him by declaring, ''Vuolsi così colà dove si puote / ciò che si vuole'' ("It is so willed there where is power to do / That which is willed"),<ref>''Inferno'', Canto III, lines 95–96, Longfellow translation</ref> referring to the fact that Dante is on his journey on divine grounds. The wailing and blasphemy of the damned souls entering Charon's boat contrast with the joyful singing of the blessed souls arriving by ferry in the ''[[Purgatorio]]''. The passage across the Acheron, however, is undescribed, since Dante faints and does not awaken until he is on the other side.