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Ciò che narrate di mio corso scrivo/e serbolo a chiosar con altro testo/a donna che saprà, s'a lei arrivo. I write what/that which you narrate of my [life] course and I'll keep [it] to be glossed with other text by a lady who will know how, if I reach her.

For corso Longfellow has "career", Hollanders "future" but I prefer "life course"; serbolo a chiosar[e] confused me, confess Meta AI just explained so shouldn't've put "it" in square brackets i.e. serbo "I keep"+enclitic lo "it" presente into future English & active infinitive into passive.

Soooo who's the Lady? (capped by Longfellow). I'm guessing Beatrice but could be BVM? Off to check Hollanders' notes ... drum roll ... 🥁 ... Right, the Mother of God would not be glossing anyone's text. Beatrice it is.

Tanto vogl'io che vi sia manifesto/pur che mia coscienza non mi garra/ch'a la Fortuna, come vuol, son presto. This much only I want [that] it is clear to you, providing my conscience would not reproach me, that to Fortune, as she wills, I am ready.

Pardon ugh parsing translateeze: tanto as per Trecanni Dantesca - this word ricorre in tutte le opera di Dante, "recurs in all Dante's works" & this example in senso restrittivo solo questo in the "restricted sense of only this"; pur che=purché my olde dictionary "providing, provided";

garra - congiuntivo presente garr[isc]a syncopated/ elided/contracted, garrire "to chirp, warble, screech" becomes rimproverare "to reprove, chide" fig.poet. says Trecanni Dantesca with this example; son[o]; presto=pronto again Trecanni; forgot vi not usual "there" but dative pronoun "to you".

Non è nuova a li orecchi miei tal arra/però giri Fortuna la sua rota/come le piace e 'l villan la sua marra." This pledge is not new to my ears but let Fortune turn her wheel as she pleases and the peasant, his hoe.

Great to have an easy one when returning after 2 weeks due to guests. Longfellow translates arra "pledge" (olde dictionary) as "handsel" so had to look up. He goes very olde English betimes, also "mattock" for hoe. Thought rota simple present but no, imperative jussive 'soft command' mood form.

Lo mio maestro allora in su la gota/destra si volse in dietro e riguardommi/poi disse: "Bene ascolta chi la nota." My master then, on his right cheek side, turned back and regarded me, then said: "He llistens well who notes it."

We've got a lot of body movement here on Virgil's part. To underscore the last line? He's turning his face, la gota destra, (right cheek, positive vibe) & his body, si volse in dietro & his eyes are pinning Dante also. Then he basically says "good, you're finally paying attention, blockhead."

Né per tanto di men parlando vommi/con ser Brunetto e dimando chi sono/li suoi compagni più noti e più sommi. Nor do I go on speaking less with Ser Brunetto and asking who are his most noted and greatest companions.

Parse: men[o]; vo=vado Tuscan, literary (Trecanni.it) doubling to add mi after a vowel seen previously is raddoppiamento sintattico, "syntatic gemination" lol. I AM A GRAMMAR MAVEN. I can't believe they don't teach it in skule anymore. I loved parsing sentences - subject, predicate etc.

So question here of whether it's Longfellow's correct grammar "nor speaking less ... I go with Ser" attaching vommi to Brunetto or Hollanders' also correct view that Dante is not moving away from Virgil hence it goes with parlando. I voted for scene context over grammar here.

My process in translating & commenting is this: I translate the verse myself using olde Italian & Latin dictionaries, Trecanni (it) & Trecanni Dantesca, sometimes confessio Google Translate app & even Meta AI which can explain odd things. I then compare with Longfellow's & Hollanders' translations

Ed elli a me: "Saper d'alcuno è buono/de li altri fia laudabile tacerci/ché 'l tempo saria corto a tanto suono. And he to me: "To know of some is good and of the others it will be laudible for us to remain silent/as the time would be [too] short for so much sound.

Parse: antiquated versions of verb "to be" fia is ant. forma di futuro (fie, pl fiano, fieno) & saria is condiz. ant. (conditional); the ci in tacerci is ignored by translators as it throws off syllable count but Dante adds dative "to/for us" to emphasise specifically the two of them stay silent.

Tanto can be adj "so much, as much" or adverb "so, so long, so much"; mea culpa "sound" for suono is wrong., translators have "speech" (Longfellow) & "talk" (Hollanders) & Trecanni explains suono is Old Tuscan discorso "speech" or racconto "tale".Well I'll be damned. (🥁)

In somma sappi che tutti fur cherci/e litterati grandi e di gran fama/d'un peccato medesmo al mondo lerci. In sum, know that all were clerics and literary grandees and of great fame, sullied in the world by the one and same sin.

Putting aside outrageous homophobia to parse: sappi imperativo presente; fur[ono] appocoped pass remoto essere; cherci pl cherco ant. form chiercico; gone a bit Spanish with grandi but like to use English closest to Italian word, anyway fits here as Dante's being cutting (& slanderous).

Parse cont'd: medesmo syncoped medesimo; lerci apocoped lerciato participo passato. For the record (i.e. my head) syncope is abbreviating in the middle of a word i.e. dropping a sound or syllable while apocope is doing same at the end. (Modern linguistics verbs are syncopated & apocopated but why.)

Again putting aside filthy scurf of homophobia to parse (I reject "it was the time"; history & literature show us courageous-through-the-ages people with open minds & hearts): confessio I consulted AI for "sen" & was told se+ne poetic elision, se reflexive particle & ne locative/ablative ...

... ne being clipped inde "from here, thence"; this is all related to va so you've got the classic Italian verb of departure andarsene "to take oneself off from here" as we say in the Irish English (ne different from previous use i.e. partitive/ anaphoric referring back to avoid repetition)