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the strength of his mind; but it is not so clear that they had not in some degree diminished its freshness and vivacity, nor is it clear that the council of friendly critics would be an influence tending to replace just those gifts.
If a comparison is to be made between the earlier and later renderings, the best way would doubtless be to place them side by side in parallel columns; and while it would be inappropriate to present such a comparison here on any large scale, it may be worth while to take a passage at random to see the effect of the two methods.
Let us take, for instance, a passage from ‘Purgatorio,’ canto XXX.
lines 22 and 23.
They are thus in the original—
Io vidi gia nel cominciar del giorno
La parte oriental tutta rosata,
E l'altro ciel di bel sereno adorno.
The following is
Longfellow's translation of 1839, made by the man of thirty-two—
Oft have I seen, at the approach of day,
The orient sky all stained with roseate hues,
And the other heaven with light serene adorned.
The following is the later version, made by the man of sixty, after ample conference with friendly critics—
Ere now have I beheld, as day began,
The eastern hemisphere all tinged with rose,
And the other heaven with fair serene adorned;
