First Things RSS Feed - Dante Alighieri, translated by Andrew Frisardi https://www.firstthings.com/author/dante-alighieri-translated-by-andrew-frisardi en-us Copyright 2025 First Things. All Rights Reserved. ft@firstthings.com (The Editors) ft@firstthings.com (The Editors) Mon, 20 Jan 2025 16:57:05 -0500 https://d2201k5v4hmrsv.cloudfront.net/img/favicon-196.png First Things RSS Feed Image https://www.firstthings.com/rss/author/dante-alighieri-translated-by-andrew-frisardi 60 La Vita Nuova, Sonnet 40 https://www.firstthings.com/article/2011/10/la-vita-nuova-sonnet https://www.firstthings.com/article/2011/10/la-vita-nuova-sonnet Sat, 01 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0400 Oh, pilgrims walking by oblivious,
your minds, it seems, on something not at hand,
can you have come from such a distant land”
the way you look suggests as much to us”
that you’re not weeping, even as you pass
right through the suffering city, like that band
of people who, it seems, don’t understand
a thing about the measure of its loss?

If you’ll just halt your progress now to hear
the tale”I swear it by my sighing heart”
your eyes will fill with tears before you leave.
For she who blessed the city is nowhere
in sight: what words about her we impart
have force enough to make a stranger grieve.

Continue Reading »

]]>