Dante ("Dante Alighieri")

O how far remov'd,
Predestination! is thy foot from such
As see not the First Cause entire: read more

O how far remov'd,
Predestination! is thy foot from such
As see not the First Cause entire: and ye,
O mortal men! be wary how ye judge:
For we, who see the Maker, know not yet
The number of the chosen; and esteem
Such scantiness of knowledge our delight:
For all good is, in that primal good,
Concentrate; and God's will and ours are one.

The splendors that belong unto the fame of earth are but a wind,
that in the same direction lasts read more

The splendors that belong unto the fame of earth are but a wind,
that in the same direction lasts not long.
[It., Non e il mondam romore alro che un fiato
Di vento, che vien quinci et or vien quindi,
E muta nome, perche muta lato.]

Be steadfast as a tower that doth not bend its stately summit to
the tempest's shock.
[It., Sta read more

Be steadfast as a tower that doth not bend its stately summit to
the tempest's shock.
[It., Sta come torre ferme, che non crolla
Giammai la cima per soffiar de' venti.]

There is no greater sorrow
Than to be mindful of the happy time
In misery.
read more

There is no greater sorrow
Than to be mindful of the happy time
In misery.
[Lat., Nessun maggior dolore
Che ricordarsi del tempo felice
Nella miseria.]

All your renown is like the summer flower that blooms and dies;
because the sunny glow which brings it read more

All your renown is like the summer flower that blooms and dies;
because the sunny glow which brings it forth, soon slays with
parching power.
[It., La vostra nominanza e color d'erba,
Che viene e va; e quei la discolora
Per cui ell' esce della terra acerba.]