At the foot of the hill where beauty's garment

A pie' de' colli ove la bella vesta

first clothed that lady with earthly members,

prese de le terrene membra pria

who has often sent wakefulness to him,

la donna che colui ch'a te ne 'nvia

who sends us to you, out of melancholy sleep,

spesso dal somno lagrimando desta,

we passed by freely in peace through this

libere in pace passavam per questa

mortal life, that all creatures yearn for,

vita mortal, ch'ogni animal desia,

without suspicion of finding, on the way,

senza sospetto di trovar fra via

anything that would trouble our going.

cosa ch'al nostr'andar fosse molesta.

But in the miserable state where we are

Ma del misero stato ove noi semo

driven from that other serene life

condotte da la vita altra serena

we have one solace only, that is death:

un sol conforto, et de la morte, avemo:

which is his retribution, who led him to this,

che vendetta è di lui ch'a ciò ne mena,

he who, in another's power, near to the end,

lo qual in forza altrui presso a l'extremo

remains bound with a heavier chain.

riman legato con maggior catena.