Quotations about:
    separation


Note not all quotations have been tagged, so Search may find additional quotes on this topic.


Where the heart is in the giving, there is no question of goods that are being traded thriftily. In giving, you throw a bridge across the chasm of your solitude.

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (1900-1944) French writer, aviator
Citadelle [The Wisdom of the Sands], ch. 46 (1948) [tr. Gilbert (1950)]
    (Source)
 
Added on 3-Nov-23 | Last updated 3-Nov-23
Link to this post | No comments
Topics: , , , ,
More quotes by Saint-Exupery, Antoine

JULIET: Good night, good night. Parting is such sweet sorrow
That I shall say “Good night” till it be morrow.

Shakespeare
William Shakespeare (1564-1616) English dramatist and poet
Romeo and Juliet, Act 2, sc. 2, l. 199ff (2.2.199-200) (c. 1594)
    (Source)
 
Added on 2-Nov-22 | Last updated 8-Feb-24
Link to this post | No comments
Topics: , , , ,
More quotes by Shakespeare, William

Each one of us is alone in the world. He is shut in a tower of brass, and can communicate with his fellows only by signs, and the signs have no common value, so that their sense is vague and uncertain. We seek pitifully to convey to others the treasures of our heart, but they have not the power to accept them, and so we go lonely, side by side but not together, unable to know our fellows and unknown by them. We are like people living in a country whose language they know so little that, with all manner of beautiful and profound things to say, they are condemned to the banalities of the conversation manual. Their brain is seething with ideas, and they can only tell you that the umbrella of the gardener’s aunt is in the house.

W. Somerset Maugham (1874-1965) English novelist and playwright [William Somerset Maugham]
The Moon and Sixpence, ch. 42 (1919)
    (Source)
 
Added on 1-Aug-22 | Last updated 1-Aug-22
Link to this post | No comments
Topics: , ,
More quotes by Maugham, W. Somerset

What is the opposite of two?
A lonely me, a lonely you.

Richard Wilbur
Richard Wilbur (1921-2017) American poet, literary translator
“Some Opposites,” Opposites (1973)
    (Source)
 
Added on 21-Jul-22 | Last updated 21-Jul-22
Link to this post | No comments
Topics: , , , , ,
More quotes by Wilbur, Richard

Fear is a prison. But when you combine it with secrets, it becomes especially toxic, vicious. It puts us all into solitary, unable to hear one another clearly.

Jim Butcher (b. 1971) American author
Peace Talks (2020)
    (Source)
 
Added on 21-Mar-22 | Last updated 21-Mar-22
Link to this post | No comments
Topics: , , ,
More quotes by Butcher, Jim

I never want to be away from you again, except at work, in the restroom, or when one of us is at a movie the other does not want to see.

Lemony Snicket (b. 1970) American author, screenwriter, musician (pseud. for Daniel Handler)
The Beatrice Letters (2006)
 
Added on 24-Mar-21 | Last updated 24-Mar-21
Link to this post | No comments
Topics: , , , ,
More quotes by Snicket, Lemony

We should take comfort that while we may have more still to endure, better days will return: we will be with our friends again; we will be with our families again; we will meet again.

Elizabeth II (b. 1926) Queen of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth realms
Address to the Nation (5 Apr 2020)
    (Source)

On the COVID-19 Pandemic. The last line is an allusion to the famous WWII song.
 
Added on 17-Mar-21 | Last updated 17-Mar-21
Link to this post | No comments
Topics: , , , , , ,
More quotes by Elizabeth II

Candor is always a double-edged sword; it may heal or it may separate.

Wilhelm Stekel (1868-1940) Austrian physician, psychologist
Marriage at the Crossroads (1931)
    (Source)
 
Added on 4-Nov-20 | Last updated 4-Nov-20
Link to this post | No comments
Topics: , , , , , , ,
More quotes by Stekel, Wilhelm

In relation to his public, the artist of to-day […] walks at first with his companions, till one day he falls through a hole in the brambles, and from that moment is following the dark rapids of an underground river which may sometimes flow so near the surface that the laughing picnic parties are heard above, only to re-immerse itself in the solitude of the limestone and carry him along its winding tunnel, until it gushes out through the misty creeper-hung cave which he has always believed to exist, and sets him back in the sun.

Cyril Connolly (1903-1974) English intellectual, literary critic and writer.
“Writers and Society, 1940-3” (1943), The Condemned Playground (1946)
    (Source)
 
Added on 17-Jul-20 | Last updated 17-Jul-20
Link to this post | No comments
Topics: , , , , , , , , , ,
More quotes by Connolly, Cyril

God created man and, finding him not sufficiently alone, gave him a companion to make him feel his solitude more keenly.

Paul Valéry (1871-1945) French poet, critic, author, polymath
“Moralités” (1932), Tel Quel 1 (1941)
 
Added on 18-May-20 | Last updated 18-May-20
Link to this post | No comments
Topics: , , , , , ,
More quotes by Valéry, Paul

As long as our civilization is essentially one of property, of fences, of exclusiveness, it will be mocked by delusions. Our riches will leave us sick; there will be bitterness in our laughter; and our wine will burn our mouth. Only that good profits which we can taste with all doors open, and which serves all men.

Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) American essayist, lecturer, poet
“Napoleon; or, The Man of the World,” Representative Men, Lecture 6 (1850)
    (Source)
 
Added on 11-Feb-20 | Last updated 19-Feb-22
Link to this post | No comments
Topics: , , , , , ,
More quotes by Emerson, Ralph Waldo

A great marriage is like two trees standing tall, side by side. Their branches intertwine so beautifully, so gracefully, they almost become one, yet they remain two. Standing together, they are strong, beautiful and better able to withstand the high winds of storms that come now and then. They are separate living things, yet so interdependent, growing more beautifully entwined year after year. Providing shade, comfort, and safety for each other and all who walk their way.

(Other Authors and Sources)
Carl Walter, Grand Prize winner, “Dr. Mardy’s Quotes of the Week” Marriage Metaphor Competition (2015)
    (Source)
 
Added on 10-Apr-19 | Last updated 10-Apr-19
Link to this post | No comments
Topics: , , , ,
More quotes by ~Other

When Christianity asks the aid of government beyond mere impartial protection, it denies itself. Its laws are divine, and not human. Its essential interests lie beyond the reach and range of human governments. United with government, religion never rises above the merest superstition; united with religion, government never rises above the merest despotism; and all history shows us that the more widely and completely they are separated, the better it is for both.

John Welch (1805-1891) American politician, jurist
Board of Education of Cincinnati v. Minor, Ohio Supreme Court (1872)
    (Source)
 
Added on 4-Sep-18 | Last updated 4-Sep-18
Link to this post | No comments
Topics: , , , , , , ,
More quotes by Welch, John

Segregation is a cancer in the body politic which must be removed before our democratic health can be realized. The underlying philosophy of segregation is diametrically opposed to the underlying philosophy of democracy and Christianity and all the sophisms of the logicians cannot make them lie down together.

Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968) American clergyman, civil rights leader, social activist, preacher
“Keep Moving from This Mountain,” Spelman College (10 Apr 1960)
    (Source)

King used many of these phrases in other speeches and sermons during this period.
 
Added on 8-Sep-17 | Last updated 8-Sep-17
Link to this post | No comments
Topics: , , ,
More quotes by King, Martin Luther

Absence and a friendly neighbor washes away love.

(Other Authors and Sources)
English proverb
 
Added on 29-Aug-17 | Last updated 29-Aug-17
Link to this post | No comments
Topics: , , , , , , ,
More quotes by ~Other

Friendship, like love, is destroyed by long absence, though it may be increased by short intermissions.

Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) English writer, lexicographer, critic
The Idler, #23 (23 Sep 1758)
    (Source)
 
Added on 8-Aug-17 | Last updated 25-Jun-22
Link to this post | No comments
Topics: , , , , , , , ,
More quotes by Johnson, Samuel

Absence from whom we love is worse than death,
And frustrate hope severer than despair.

William Cowper (1731-1800) English poet
“Hope, like the short-lived ray that gleams awhile”
    (Source)
 
Added on 1-Aug-17 | Last updated 5-Sep-17
Link to this post | 3 comments
Topics: , , , , , , ,
More quotes by Cowper, William

The heart may think it knows better: the senses know that absence blots people out.

Elizabeth Bowen (1899-1973) Irish author
The Death of the Heart (1938)
    (Source)
 
Added on 20-Jun-17 | Last updated 20-Jun-17
Link to this post | No comments
Topics: , , , ,
More quotes by Bowen, Elizabeth

We spake of many a vanished scene,
Of what we once had thought and said,
Of what had been, and might have been,
And who was changed, and who was dead;
And all that fills the hearts of friends,
When first they feel, with secret pain,
Their lives thenceforth have separate ends,
And never can be one again.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882) American poet
“The Fire of Drift-Wood”, l. 13 in The Seaside and the Fireside (1850)
 
Added on 17-Nov-16 | Last updated 17-Nov-16
Link to this post | No comments
Topics: , , , ,
More quotes by Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth

Good is that which makes for unity; Evil is that which makes for separateness.

Huxley - good unity evil separateness - wist_info quote

Aldous Huxley (1894-1963) English novelist, essayist and critic
Ends and Means, “Ethics” (1937)
 
Added on 15-Mar-16 | Last updated 15-Mar-16
Link to this post | No comments
Topics: , , , , , , , , , ,
More quotes by Huxley, Aldous

United we stand, divided we fall.

Aesop (620?-560? BC) Legendary Greek storyteller
Fables [Aesopica], “The Four Oxen and the Lion” (6th C BC) [tr. Jacobs (1894)]
    (Source)

Alternate translation: "The quarrels of friends are the opportunities of foes." [tr. James (1848), "The Lion and the Bulls"]

Alternate translation: "Union is strength." [tr. Townsend (1887), "The Lion and the Three Bulls"]
 
Added on 26-Mar-14 | Last updated 16-Sep-21
Link to this post | No comments
Topics: , , , , , , ,
More quotes by Aesop

Never trust a country where the rich live behind high walls and tinted windows. That is a place that is not prospering as one country. That is a place where the rich not only say, “I don’t want you to see how I live,” but “I don’t want to see how you live.”

Thomas Friedman (b. 1953) American journalist, columnist, author
“Tinted Windows,” New York Times (23 Jun 1997)
 
Added on 9-Jan-14 | Last updated 9-Jan-14
Link to this post | No comments
Topics: , , , , , , , ,
More quotes by Friedman, Thomas

Men often hate each other because they fear each other; they fear each other because they don’t know each other; they don’t know each other because they can not communicate; they can not communicate because they are separated.

Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968) American clergyman, civil rights leader, social activist, preacher
Stride Toward Freedom, ch. 2 “Montgomery Before the Protest” (1958)
    (Source)
 
Added on 11-May-12 | Last updated 16-Jan-23
Link to this post | No comments
Topics: , , , , , ,
More quotes by King, Martin Luther

Love your neighbour, yet pull not downe your hedge.

George Herbert (1593-1633) Welsh priest, orator, poet.
Jacula Prudentum, or Outlandish Proverbs, Sentences, &c. (compiler), # 141 (1640 ed.)
    (Source)
 
Added on 29-Apr-10 | Last updated 22-Dec-23
Link to this post | No comments
Topics: , , , , ,
More quotes by Herbert, George

He was my North, my South, my East and West,
My working week and my Sunday rest,
My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;
I thought that love would last forever: I was wrong.

W. H. Auden (1907-1973) Anglo-American poet [Wystan Hugh Auden]
“Stop All the Clocks [Funeral Blues]” (1936)
 
Added on 20-Jan-10 | Last updated 2-Nov-17
Link to this post | No comments
Topics: , , , , , , ,
More quotes by Auden, W. H.

If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animated contest of freedom — go home from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen!

Samuel Adams (1722-1803) American revolutionary, statesman
Speech, State House, Philadelphia (1776-08-01)
    (Source)
 
Added on 19-Aug-08 | Last updated 6-Mar-24
Link to this post | No comments
Topics: , , , , , , , ,
More quotes by Adams, Samuel

Don’t be dismayed at good-byes.
A farewell is necessary before you can meet again.
And meeting again, after moments or lifetimes,
is certain for those who are friends.

Richard Bach (b. 1936) American writer
Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah, ch. 18, epigraph (1977)
    (Source)
 
Added on 1-Feb-04 | Last updated 29-Nov-22
Link to this post | No comments
Topics: , , , ,
More quotes by Bach, Richard

Going away: I can generally bear the separation, but I don’t like the leave-taking.

Samuel Butler (1835-1902) English novelist, satirist, scholar
(Attributed)
 
Added on 1-Feb-04 | Last updated 5-Sep-19
Link to this post | No comments
Topics: , , , ,
More quotes by Butler, Samuel

The wide world is all about you: you can fence yourselves in, but you cannot for ever fence it out.

J.R.R. Tolkien (1892-1973) English writer, fabulist, philologist, academic [John Ronald Reuel Tolkien]
The Lord of the Rings, Vol. 1: The Fellowship of the Ring, Book 1, ch. 3 “Three Is Company” [Gildor, to Frodo] (1954)
    (Source)
 
Added on 1-Feb-04 | Last updated 5-May-22
Link to this post | No comments
Topics: , , , , , ,
More quotes by Tolkien, J.R.R.

Absence diminishes mediocre passions and increases great ones, as the wind blows out candles and fans flames.

[L’absence diminue les médiocres passions, et augmente les grandes, comme le vent éteint les bougies et allume le feu.]

François VI, duc de La Rochefoucauld (1613-1680) French epigrammatist, memoirist, noble
Réflexions ou sentences et maximes morales [Maxims], #276 (1665-1678)

Alt. trans.: "Absence lessens the minor passions and increases the great ones, as the wind douses a candle and kindles a fire."

(See DeBussy)
 
Added on 1-Feb-04 | Last updated 29-Aug-17
Link to this post | No comments
Topics: , , , , ,
More quotes by La Rochefoucauld, Francois

Absence is to love what wind is to fire;
It extinguishes the small, it enkindles the great.

[L’absence est a l’amour ce qu’est au feu le vent;
Il eteint le petit, il allume le grand.]

Roger de Rabutin de Bussy
Roger de Rabutin, Comte de Bussy (1618-1693) French soldier, libertine, writer [a.k.a. Roger Bussy-Rabutin]
Histoire amoureuse des Gaules, “Maximes d’amour [Maxims of Love]” (1660)
 
Added on 1-Feb-04 | Last updated 29-Aug-17
Link to this post | 1 comment
Topics: , , , , ,
More quotes by Bussy-Rabutin, Roger

These miserable ways
The forlorn spirits endure of those who spent
Life without infamy and without praise.
They are mingled with that caitiff rabblement
Of the angels, who rebelled not, yet avowed
To God no loyalty, on themselves intent.
Heaven chased them forth, lest, being there, they cloud
Its beauty, and the deep Hell refuses them,
For, beside these, the wicked might be proud.

[Questo misero modo
tegnon l’anime triste di coloro
che visser sanza ’nfamia e sanza lodo.
Mischiate sono a quel cattivo coro
de li angeli che non furon ribelli
né fur fedeli a Dio, ma per sé fuoro.
Caccianli i ciel per non esser men belli,
né lo profondo inferno li riceve,
ch’alcuna gloria i rei avrebber d’elli.]

Dante Alighieri the poet
Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) Italian poet
The Divine Comedy [Divina Commedia], Book 1 “Inferno,” Canto 3, l. 34ff (3.34-42) [Virgil] (1309) [tr. Binyon (1943)]
    (Source)

This passage is likely the basis for John F. Kennedy's famous paraphrase, which he credited to Dante:

The hottest places in hell are reserved for those who in a period of moral crisis maintain their neutrality.

That was originally written (and ascribed to Dante) by Henry Powell Spring in 1944. JFK used it multiple times, including in a speech as President in Germany a few days before his famous "Ich bin ein Berliner" speech. (More info on this paraphrase here.)

Dante (and, thus, Dante's cosmos) judges based on action. Thus he ranks those who would not act, pusillanimous neutrals both earthly and heavenly, as worse than even those who have acted for evil ends, and the first whose punishment we get to see. Though they committed no evil acts, they also failed to commit good ones, allowing evil to flourish. Even the tortured denizens of Hell would consider themselves their betters, thus their not being allowed in that infernal realm. Rejecting Heaven and Hell, they are blocked from either. While undergoing some corporal punishment, far worse is that, having stood only for themselves, they are robbed of their identity, nameless for all eternity (ll. 46-51).

Compare this sentiment to Revelation 3:15-16:

I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.

(Source (Italian)). Alternate translations:

These doleful Beings, he reply'd, have liv'd
In Indolence, without or blame or praise.
Angels are mix'd with this unhappy band,
Who neither Rebels, nor yet faithful were
To God, but liv'd sequestered by themselves.
These Heavn' discarded for being too remiss,
Nor did e'en Hell this lukewarm herd receive;
That Favour might not to the damnn'd be shewn.
[tr. Rogers (1782), ll. 30-37]

Behold th' ignoble sons of sloth and shame,
Who scorn'd alike the voice of praise and blame,
Nor dreaded punishment, nor sought reward.
Mingled they march with that degen'rate brood,
Who when the Rebel of the sky withstood
His sov'reign Lord, aloof their squadrons held:
Viewing with selfish eye the fierce debate,
Till, from the confines of the heav'nly state,
Trembling they saw the rebel host expell'd.
Nor bore the victor-Lord the alien race,
But straight, the foul pollution to efface,
Hurl'd them indignant from the bounds of light:
This frontier then the dastard crew receiv'd,
Nor deeply damn'd, altho' of bliss bereav'd,
And doom'd to wander on the verge of night';
They suffer here, lest yon' more guilty train
of crimes unequal, doom'd to equal pain,
Blaspheming Heavn'n, should make their impious boast.
[tr. Boyd (1802), st. 8-11]

This miserable fate
Suffer the wretched souls of those, who liv'd
Without or praise or blame, with that ill band
Of angels mix'd, who nor rebellious prov'd
Nor yet were true to God, but for themselves
Were only. From his bounds Heaven drove them forth,
Not to impair his lustre, nor the depth
Of Hell receives them, lest th' accursed tribe
Should glory thence with exultation vain.
[tr. Cary (1814)]

The miserable crew
Of souls now lingers in this piteous mood,
To whom, alive, nor blame nor praise was due.
Commingled are they with that caitiff brood
Of angel natures, which nor dared rebel,
Nor yet kept faith, but selfish ends pursued.
Them, not to be less fair, must heaven expel,
Nor the abyss receive, lest their dispraise
Redound for glory to the sons of hell.
[tr. Dayman (1843)]

This miserable mode the dreary souls of those sustain, who lived without blame, and without praise.
They are mixed with that caitiff choire of the angels, who were not rebellious nor were faithful to God; but were for themselves.
Heaven chased them forth to keep its beauty from impair; and deep Hell receives them not, for the wicked wouild have some glory over them.
[tr. Carlyle (1849)]

This miserable lot
Possess the souls of those whose living days
Passed not with infamy, nor yet with praise.
Immingled they are in the caitiff choir
Of neutral angels, for themselves that stood --
Neither rebelled nor loyal were to God.
The heavens have chased them, for they'd sully heaven --
The infernal depths receive them not, because
No glory can the wicked have by those.
[tr. Bannerman (1850)]

This state of misery is held
By the sad spirits of those, who in their lives
Knew neither act of infamy nor praise.
And they are mingl'd with the wicked choir
Of Angels who, not rebels to their God,
Were yet not faithful, knowing but themselves;
Cast forth that Heav'n's pure beauty be not stain'd,
nto Hell's gloomy depths permitted not
Lest they be cause of glory to the lost.
[tr. Johnston (1867)]

This miserable mode
⁠Maintain the melancholy souls of those
Who lived withouten infamy or praise.
Commingled are they with that caitiff choir
⁠Of Angels, who have not rebellious been,
⁠Nor faithful were to God, but were for self.
The heavens expelled them, not to be less fair;
⁠Nor them the nethermore abyss receives,
⁠For glory none the damned would have from them.
[tr. Longfellow (1867)]

This wretched fashion keep the sorry souls of those who lived without infamy and without praise. They are mingled with that caitiff band of the angels who were not rebel, nor were faithful to God, but were for themselves. Heaven chased them, that it should not be less fair, nor does the deep hell receive them, since the damned would have some boasting of them.
[tr. Butler (1885)]

After this fashion drear
These wretched souls their after-life pursue
Who both from infamy and praise lived clear.
Mingled they are with that contemptible crew
Of angels who would not rebellion dare,
Not faithful Godwards, to themselves but true.
Heaven drove them out, lest it might be less fair,
Neither received them deepest Hell's domain,
That from them, evil should no glory share.
[tr. Minchin (1885)]

This miserable measure the wretched souls maintain of those who lived without infamy and without praise. Mingled are they with that caitiff choir of the angels, who were not rebels, nor were faithful to God, but were for themselves. The heavens chased them out in order to be not less beautiful, nor doth the depth of Hell receive them, because the damned would have some glory from them.
[tr. Norton (1892)]

Such hapless state the joyless souls of those sustain, who lived their lives untouched by either infamy or praise. They are huddled together with that base crew of angels who rose not in revolt, nor kept their faith with God, but were for self alone. Heaven drave them out that its brightness might remain undimmed; nor doth the depth of Hell receive them, for the damned would glory over them.
[tr. Sullivan (1893)]

This miserable condition
Keeps the sad souls of those who in their lifetime
Were without infamy and without praises;
Commingled are they with that caitiff chorus
Of angels who aforetime were not rebels.
Nor faithful were to God, but stood as neutral.
Heaven drave them forth lest they should mar its beauty;
Nor doth the lower depth of hell receive them,
Since that from them the damned would gain some glory.
[tr. Griffith (1908)]

This miserable state is borne by the wretched souls of those who lived without disgrace and without praise. They are mixed with that caitiff choir of the angels who were not rebels, nor faithful to God, but were for themselves. The heavens drove them forth, not to be less fair, and the depth of Hell does not receive them, lest the wicked have some glory over them.
[tr. Sinclair (1939)]

This dismal company
Of wretched spirits thus find their guerdon due
Whose lives knew neither praise nor infamy;
They're mingled with that caitiff angel-crew
Who against God rebelled not, nor to Him
Were faithful, but to self alone were true;
Heaven cast them forth -- their presence there would dim
The light; deep Hell rejects so base a herd,
Lest sin should boast itself because of them.
[tr. Sayers (1949)]

These are the nearly soulless
whose lives concluded neither blame nor praise.
They are mixed here with that despicable corps
of angels who were neither for God nor Satan,
but only for themselves. The High Creator
scourged them from Heaven for its perfect beauty,
and Hell will not receive them since the wicked
might feel some glory over them.
[tr. Ciardi (1954), ll. 32-39]

Such is the miserable condition of the sorry souls of those who lived without infamy and without praise. They are mingled with that base band of angels who were neither rebellious nor faithful to God, but stood apart. The heavens drive them out, so as not to be less beautiful; and deep Hell does not receive them, lest the wicked have some glory over them.
[tr. Singleton (1970)]

This wretched state of being
is the fate of those sad souls who lived a life
but lived it with no blame and with no praise.
They are mixed with that repulsive choir of angels
neither faithful nor unfaithful to their God,
but undecided in their neutrality.
Heaven, to keep its beauty, cast them out,
but even hell itself would not receive them
for fear the wicked there might glory over them.
[tr. Musa (1971)]

This miserable way
is taken by the sorry souls of those
who lived without disgrace and without praise.
They now commingle with the coward angels,
the company of those who were not rebels
nor faithful to their God, but stood apart.
The heavens, that their beauty not be lessened,
have cast them out, nor will deep Hell receive them --
even the wicked cannot glory in them.
[tr. Mandelbaum (1980)]

That is the manner of existence
Endured by the sad souls of those who lived
Without occasion for infamy or praise.
They are mixed with that abject squadron of angels
Who did not think it worth their while to rebel
Or to be faithful to God, but were for themselves.
Heaven chased them out, so as not to become less beautiful,
And the depths of hell also rejected them,
Lest the evil might find occasion to glory over them.
[tr. Sisson (1981)]

This is the sorrowful state of souls unsure,
Whose lives earned neither honor nor bad fame.
And they are mingled with angels of that base sort
Who, neither rebellious to God nor faithful to Him,
Chose neither side, but kept themselves apart --
Now Heaven expels them, not to mar its splendor,
And Hell rejects them, lest the wicked of heart
Take glory over them.
[tr. Pinsky (1994), ll. 30-37]

This wretched measure is kept by the miserable souls who lived without infamy and without praise.
They are mixed with that cowardly chorus of angels who were not rebels yet were not faithful to God, but were for themselves.
The heavens reject them so as not to be less beautiful, nor does deep Hell receive them, for the wicked would have some glory over them.
[tr. Durling (1996)]

This is the miserable mode in which those exist, who lived without praise, without blame. They are mixed in with the despised choir of angels, those not rebellious, not faithful to God, but for themselves. Heaven drove them out, to maintain its beauty, and deep Hell does not accept them, lest the evil have glory over them.
[tr. Kline (2002)]

This awful habitat is given
over to the "so-so souls" who, when they lived,
were neither cold nor hot.
They share this region with a retinue
of neutral angels, those who neither were for God
nor Satan, but for you-know-who.
To keep its reputation from impair,
Heaven expelled them; they were barred from Hell,
in case in case the wicked thought themselves more fair."
[tr. Carson (2002)]

This baleful condition is one, he said
that grips those souls whose lives, contemptibly,
were void alike of honor and ill fame.
These all co-mingle with a noisome choir
of angels who -- not rebels, yet not true
to God -- existed for themselves alone.
To keep their beauty whole, the Heavens spurned them.
Nor would the depths of Hell receive them in,
lest truly wicked souls boast over them.
[tr. Kirkpatrick (2006)]

This miserable state is borne
by the wretched souls of those who lived
without disgrace yet without praise.
They intermingle with that wicked band
of angels, not rebellious and not faithful
to God, who held themselves apart.
Loath to impair its beauty, Heaven casts them out,
and the depth of Hell does not receive them
lest on their account the evil angels gloat.
[tr. Hollander/Hollander (2007)]

This is how the vilest,
Sorriest souls have lived their lives,
Neither disgraced nor ever once admired.
Mixed among them are souls thrown from on high,
Angels who neither joined the Devil's rebellion
Nor stood with God. They simply stayed to the side.
Heaven rejected them as ugly, and Hell
Refused to let them in its deeper parts,
Outshining demons if the Devil let them dwell there.
[tr. Raffel (2010)]

Their pride to have no prejudice,
Seeking no praise for fear of taking blame,
They were for nothing, nor were they against:
They made no waves and so they made no name.
Now their neutrality is recompense,
For here there is no cautious holding back:
Voices once circumspect are now incensed
And raise to make each other's eardrums crack
Thus they are joined to that self-seeking squad
Of angels fitted neither to rebel
Against, nor put their heartfelt faith in, God --
Hunted from Heaven and locked out of Hell
Because the perfect sky would brook no blur,
And in the lower depths the rebels prized
The glory won from being what they were,
Not the nonentities that they despised.
[tr. James (2013), ll. 44-59]

 
Added on 1-Feb-04 | Last updated 8-Sep-23
Link to this post | No comments
Topics: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
More quotes by Dante Alighieri