Books in Brief

Purgatorio, by Dante Alighieri, translated by Jean Hollander and Robert Hollander (Doubleday, 656 pp., $35)

WITH this Purgatorio, the Hollanders take a large step forward with one of the most exciting literary and scholarly projects of our time. The Hollander Divine Comedy is the definitive translation; its. copious notes are both invaluable and civilized. With regard to Dante scholarship, I do not hesitate to apply to the Hollanders what Dante said of Aristotle in the Inferno: They are “the master[s] of those who know.” Readers who do not know the Purgatorio should do themselves a great favor by tackling this book. They may find that they prefer it to the Inferno: The Inferno is sublime, but the Purgatorio is beautiful. The Purgatorio is Mozart to the Inferno’s Beethoven.

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Jeffrey Hart

Jeffrey Hart is a contributor to National Review.

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Purgatorio, by Dante Alighieri, translated by Jean Hollander and Robert Hollander (Doubleday, 656 pp., $35)

WITH this Purgatorio, the Hollanders take a large step forward with one of the most exciting literary and scholarly projects of our time. The Hollander Divine Comedy is the definitive translation; its. copious notes are both invaluable and civilized. With regard to Dante scholarship, I do not hesitate to apply to the Hollanders what Dante said of Aristotle in the Inferno: They are “the master[s] of those who know.” Readers who do not know the Purgatorio should do themselves a great favor by tackling this book. They may find that they prefer it to the Inferno: The Inferno is sublime, but the Purgatorio is beautiful. The Purgatorio is Mozart to the Inferno’s Beethoven.