In which I get cranky about imagery

[larryhammer]

Cary renders Purgatorio viii.67-69 thus:

Then turning round to me: "By that rare mark
Of honor, which thou owest to him, who hides
So deeply his first cause it hath no ford; ...

There is a BIG DIFFERENCE between saying God's purposes are "unfathomable" and they have "no ford." Just sayin'.

(If you're having trouble parsing that last line, try inserting a "that" after "cause." Don't thank me, thank Miltonic syntax.)

Longfellow, BTW, also has the ford, as does Mandelbaum:

Then, when he turned to me: "By that especial
gratitude you owe to Him who hides
his primal aim so that no human mind

may find the ford to it, ...

Sayers has the image but expresses it differently:

Then turned to me: "By that most singular
Favour thou ow'st to Him whose primal why
Lies so deep hid, no wit can wade so far, ...

Ciardi just has the deep, thus showing he isn't.

Meanwhile, I'm almost amused to learn that on the fourth cornice of Purgatory we purge "the sin of gloominess." That's right: depression isn't just your own fault -- it's a sin. This one's also not Cary's fault, but his editor's.

Onward without sloth! ... or something like that.

---L.