The one with the sword
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Lo buon maestro cominciò a dire: « Mira colui con quella spada in mano, che vien dinanzi ai tre sì come sire:
The good master began to speak: ‘Behold him with the sword in hand, who comes before the other three like a lord:
Virgil names the first: behold the one with the sword in hand, who comes before the three as their lord.
Virgil turns tour guide. The first figure carries a sword — the mark of epic, of Homer's battles — and walks ahead of the others <i>sì come sire</i>, like a lord.
The sword is telling. Of the four poets, only Homer sang of arms as his chief matter, so the emblem identifies him before the name does. Precedence among poets is being staged as a small procession, with Homer at its head.
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Inferno 4.85 — The Great Library Project interlinear edition · greatlibraryproject.com/book/dante-inferno/4.85/