Four great shades
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Poi che la voce fu restata e queta, vidi quattro grand’ ombre a noi venire: sembianz’ avevan né trista né lieta.
When the voice had ceased and grown still, I saw four great shades coming toward us: their looks were neither sad nor glad.
When the voice had ceased and grown still, Dante sees four great shades coming, their looks neither sad nor glad.
The four who approach are the great poets of antiquity, and Dante marks them first by their bearing. Their faces are <i>né trista né lieta</i> — neither sad nor glad — a grave, level calm.
That composure is the signature of Limbo's noblest souls. They neither weep like the damned below nor rejoice like the saved above; they hold a settled, dignified middle, matching their suspended state. Even their expressions live in the space between sorrow and joy.
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Inferno 4.82 — The Great Library Project interlinear edition · greatlibraryproject.com/book/dante-inferno/4.82/