Princeton Dante Project: Main Poem Browser (2.0)

un'altra storia ne la roccia imposta;

another story set into the rock.

per ch'io varcai Virgilio, e fe'mi presso,

I went past Virgil and drew near

acciò che fosse a li occhi miei disposta.

so that my eyes might better take it in.

Era intagliato lì nel marmo stesso

There, carved into the marble, were the cart

lo carro e ' buoi, traendo l'arca santa,

and oxen, drawing the sacred ark that makes men fear

per che si teme officio non commesso.

to assume an office not entrusted to them.

Dinanzi parea gente; e tutta quanta,

The foreground, peopled by figures grouped

partita in sette cori, a' due mie' sensi

in seven choirs, made one sense argue 'No'

faceva dir l'un "No," l'altro "Sì, canta."

and the other: 'Yes, they sing.'

Similemente al fummo de li 'ncensi

In the same way, the smoke of incense

che v'era imaginato, li occhi e 'l naso

sculpted there put eyes and nose

e al sì e al no discordi fensi.

in discord, caught between yes and no.

Lì precedeva al benedetto vaso,

There the humble psalmist leaped in dance

trescando alzato, l'umile salmista,

before the blessèd vessel with his robe hitched up--

e più e men che re era in quel caso.

and was at once both more and less than king.

Di contra, effigïata ad una vista

Opposite, a figure at the window

d'un gran palazzo, Micòl ammirava

of a splendid palace, Michal looked on,

sì come donna dispettosa e trista.

like a woman vexed and scornful.

I' mossi i piè del loco dov' io stava,

I moved some steps from where I stood

per avvisar da presso un'altra istoria,

to look more closely at another story

che di dietro a Micòl mi biancheggiava.

that I saw gleaming white beyond Michal.

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