AboutFrancesco Marchesani Expertise I`m interested and have deep knowledge in Italian history, traditions and culture. I can answer your questions on my country`s language and literature, as well as Latin language and literature.
Experience I live in Pavia (northern Italy, near Milan) and have strong interests in my country's history.
All English translations I've come across apparently take 'questi' as accusative to 'terra e peltro'. The Latin origin (supposedly, "eccum esti")for 'questi' can't support that idea, I don't think. Also, cf. the nearby line 107, "Questi la caccera per ogne villa". It might intend chiasmus, but how, exactly?
Actually, looking at Vergilius' full prophecy there, it seems more compelling to me to imagine la lupa as dying of grief by being fed a different substance from her normal meal of mud and money. If that reading be possible...
Might you, howsomever and anyway, clarify for me how, grammatically, the standard reading for l. 103 came to be? I can't get my grammatical readings to cohere there, and I would be much appreciative of your elucidation.
Answer Hello,
"questi" means "this one" (even though it looks plural, it is used as a singular pronoun; modern Italian sometimes uses it the same way) and is referred to the veltro, the dog who will hunt the she-wolf and re-establish order to the world. This veltro will not desire land and money , but wisdom, love and virtue.
Questi non cibera' ne' terra ne' peltro, ma sapienza, amore e virtute: this one won't eat (that is, desire) either land or money, but wisdom, love and virtue.
The next lines (109-11) again talk about the veltro who will hunt the she-wolf:
Questi la caccerà per ogne villa, fin che l'avrà rimessa ne lo 'nferno,
là onde 'nvidia prima dipartilla: this one will hunt her through every city, until he'll have sent her back to hell, from where envy first made her come.
So here Virgil is telling Dante that a messenger sent by God (from Dante's political ideas we understand he's referring to the emperor) will finally hunt the she-wolf, symbol of greed.
