My spent courage revived
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tal mi fec’ io di mia virtude stanca, e tanto buono ardire al cor mi corse, ch’ i’ cominciai come persona franca:
so I grew, out of my spent courage, and such good daring rushed to my heart that I began, like one set free:
so Dante grew, out of his spent courage, and such good daring ran to his heart that he began like one set free.
The flower simile lands on the pilgrim. His <i>virtude stanca</i>, his weary courage, revives; <i>buono ardire</i>, good daring, floods his heart. The transformation Virgil worked for is complete.
<i>Come persona franca</i> — like one made free — is the exact reversal of the canto's opening bondage to fear. Cowardice tied him; love and truth have loosed him. He can speak now not to beg off but to commit, and his final words seal the journey.
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Inferno 2.130 — The Great Library Project interlinear edition · greatlibraryproject.com/book/dante-inferno/2.130/