Rick Seddon wrote:
> Good thought abut Urania in Purgatorio. Interestingly the "Temple
> Classics" edition of "Purgatorio" that TSE carried in his pocket puts
> that canticle thusly:
>
> Now 'tis meet that Helicon for me stream forth
> and Urania aid me with her choir to set in verse
> things hard to conceive.
>
> Note the last word "conceive" fits nicely into the context of your
> reading.
While the translation including the word "conceive" fits the context,
I don't think the original nor other translations do. I doubt that
the Italian "pensar" is used or was used in any kind of way for
physical conception.
Dante:
Or convien che Elicona per me versi,
e Uranie m'aiuti col suo coro
forti cose a pensar mettere in versi.
Longfellow:
Now Helicon must needs pour forth for me,
And with her choir Urania must assist me,
To put in verse things difficult to think.
Norton:
O Virgins sacrosanct, if ever hunger, cold, or vigils I have
endured for you, time occasion spurs me that I claim reward
therefor. Now it behoves that Helicon pour forth for me, and
Urania aid me with her choir to put in verse things difficult
to think.
Cary:
O ye thrice holy virgins! for your sakes
If e'er I suffer'd hunger, cold and watching,
Occasion calls on me to crave your bounty.
Now through my breast let Helicon his stream
Pour copious; and Urania with her choir
Arise to aid me: while the verse unfolds
Things that do almost mock the grasp of thought.
Temple Classics:
Now 'tis meet that Helicon for me stream forth
and Urania aid me with her choir to set in verse
things hard to conceive.
|