Love set them turning
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mosse di prima quelle cose belle; sì ch’ a bene sperar m’ era cagione di quella fiera a la gaetta pelle
first set those beautiful things in motion; so that the hour and the sweet season gave me good reason to hope well of that beast with the bright-dappled hide,
...first set those fair things (the stars) in motion — so the hour gave him cause to hope against the beast.
The creating Love that started the stars is the same power now warming Dante's morning, and for a moment it tips him toward optimism: surely, in a world this freshly made, even the spotted beast can be got past.
The hope is real but the grammar warns us — the sentence about the beast is still open, and the next tercet will name what undoes the good cheer. Dante keeps letting his pilgrim feel safe one line too long.
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