__________________________________________________________________ Title: Divine Comedy Creator(s): Alighieri, Dante (1265-1321) Rights: Public Domain CCEL Subjects: All; __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ Divine Comedy Translated by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow __________________________________________________________________ The base text for this edition has been provided by Digital Dante, a project sponsored by Columbia University's Institute for Learning Technologies. Specific thanks goes to Jennifer Hogan (Project Editor/Director), Tanya Larkin (Assistant to Editor), Robert W. Cole (Proofreader/Assistant Editor), and Jennifer Cook (Proofreader). The Digital Dante Project is a digital 'study space' for Dante studies and scholarship. The project is multi-faceted and fluid by nature of the Web. Digital Dante attempts to organize the information most significant for students first engaging with Dante and scholars researching Dante. The digital of Digital Dante incurs a new challenge to the student, the scholar, and teacher, perusing the Web: to become proficient in the new tools, e.g., Search, the Discussion Group, well enough to look beyond the technology and delve into the content. For more information and access to the project, please visit its web site at: http://www.ilt.columbia.edu/projects/dante/ For this Project Gutenberg edition the e-text was rechecked. The editor greatly thanks Dian McCarthy for her assistance in proofreading the Paradiso. Also deserving praise are Herbert Fann for programming the text editor "Desktop Tools/Edit" and the late August Dvorak for designing his keyboard layout. Please refer to Project Gutenberg's e-text listings for other editions or translations of 'The Divine Comedy.' Please refer to the end of this file for supplemental materials. Dennis McCarthy, July 1997 imprimatur@juno.com __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ Midway upon the journey of our life I found myself within a forest dark, For the straightforward pathway had been lost. Ah me! how hard a thing it is to say What was this forest savage, rough, and stern, Which in the very thought renews the fear. So bitter is it, death is litt le more; But of the good to tr eat, which there I found, Speak will I of the other things I saw there. I cannot well repeat how there I entered, So full was I of slum ber at the moment In which I had abandoned the true way. But after I had reached a moun tain's foot, At that point where t he valley terminated, Which had with consternation pierced my heart, Upward I looked, and I beheld its shoulders, Vested already with t hat planet's rays Which leadeth others right by every road. Then was the fear a little qui eted That in my heart's la ke had endured throughout The night, which I had passed so piteously. And even as he, who, with dist ressful breath, Forth issued from the sea upon the shore, Turns to the water perilous and gazes; So did my soul, that still was fleeing onward, Turn itself back to r e-behold the pass Which never yet a living person left. After my weary body I had rest ed, The way resumed I on the desert slope, So that the firm foot ever was the lower. And lo! almost where the ascen t began, A panther light and s wift exceedingly, Which with a spotted skin was covered o'er! And never moved she from befor e my face, Nay, rather did imped e so much my way, That many times I to return had turned. The time was the beginning of the morning, And up the sun was mo unting with those stars That with him were, what time the Love Divine At first in motion set those b eauteous things; So were to me occasio n of good hope, The variegated skin of that wild beast, The hour of time, and the deli cious season; But not so much, that did not give me fear A lion's aspect which appeared to me. He seemed as if against me he were coming With head uplifted, a nd with ravenous hunger, So that it seemed the air was afraid of him; And a she-wolf, that with all hungerings Seemed to be laden in her meagreness, And many folk has caused to live forlorn! She brought upon me so much he aviness, With the affright tha t from her aspect came, That I the hope relinquished of the height. And as he is who willingly acq uires, And the time comes th at causes him to lose, Who weeps in all his thoughts and is despondent, E'en such made me that beast w ithouten peace, Which, coming on agai nst me by degrees Thrust me back thither where the sun is silent. While I was rushing downward t o the lowland, Before mine eyes did one present himself, Who seemed from long-continued silence hoarse. When I beheld him in the deser t vast, "Have pity on me," un to him I cried, "Whiche'er thou art, or shade or real man!" He answered me: "Not man; man once I was, And both my parents w ere of Lombardy, And Mantuans by country both of them. 'Sub Julio' was I born, though it was late, And lived at Rome und er the good Augustus, During the time of false and lying gods. A poet was I, and I sang that just Son of Anchises, who came forth from Troy, After that Ilion the superb was burned. But thou, why goest thou back to such annoyance? Why climb'st thou not the Mount Delectable, Which is the source and cause of every joy?" "Now, art thou that Virgilius and that fountain Which spreads abroad so wide a river of speech?" I made response to him with bashful forehead. "O, of the other poets honour and light, Avail me the long stu dy and great love That have impelled me to explore thy volume! Thou art my master, and my aut hor thou, Thou art alone the on e from whom I took The beautiful style that has done honour to me. Behold the beast, for which I have turned back; Do thou protect me fr om her, famous Sage, For she doth make my veins and pulses tremble." "Thee it behoves to take anoth er road," Responded he, when he beheld me weeping, "If from this savage place thou wouldst escape; Because this beast, at which t hou criest out, Suffers not any one t o pass her way, But so doth harass him, that she destroys him; And has a nature so malign and ruthless, That never doth she g lut her greedy will, And after food is hungrier than before. Many the animals with whom she weds, And more they shall b e still, until the Greyhound Comes, who shall make her perish in her pain. He shall not feed on either ea rth or pelf, But upon wisdom, and on love and virtue; 'Twixt Feltro and Feltro shall his nation be; Of that low Italy shall he be the saviour, On whose account the maid Camilla died, Euryalus, Turnus, Nisus, of their wounds; Through every city shall he hu nt her down, Until he shall have d riven her back to Hell, There from whence envy first did let her loose. Therefore I think and judge it for thy best Thou follow me, and I will be thy guide, And lead thee hence through the eternal place, Where thou shalt hear the desp erate lamentations, Shalt see the ancient spirits disconsolate, Who cry out each one for the second death; And thou shalt see those who c ontented are Within the fire, beca use they hope to come, Whene'er it may be, to the blessed people; To whom, then, if thou wishest to ascend, A soul shall be for t hat than I more worthy; With her at my departure I will leave thee; Because that Emperor, who reig ns above, In that I was rebelli ous to his law, Wills that through me none come into his city. He governs everywhere, and the re he reigns; There is his city and his lofty throne; O happy he whom thereto he elects!" And I to him: "Poet, I thee en treat, By that same God whom thou didst never know, So that I may escape this woe and worse, Thou wouldst conduct me there where thou hast said, That I may see the po rtal of Saint Peter, And those thou makest so disconsolate." Then he moved on, and I behind him followed. __________________________________________________________________ Day was departing, and the embrowned air Released the animals that are on earth From their fatigues; and I the only one Made myself ready to sustain t he war, Both of the way and l ikewise of the woe, Which memory that errs not shall retrace. O Muses, O high genius, now as sist me! O memory, that didst write down what I saw, Here thy nobility shall be manifest! And I began: "Poet, who guides t me, Regard my manhood, if it be sufficient, Ere to the arduous pass thou dost confide me. Thou sayest, that of Silvius t he parent, While yet corruptible , unto the world Immortal went, and was there bodily. But if the adversary of all ev il Was courteous, thinki ng of the high effect That issue would from him, and who, and what, To men of intellect unmeet it seems not; For he was of great R ome, and of her empire In the empyreal heaven as father chosen; The which and what, wishing to speak the truth, Were stablished as th e holy place, wherein Sits the successor of the greatest Peter. Upon this journey, whence thou givest him vaunt, Things did he hear, w hich the occasion were Both of his victory and the papal mantle. Thither went afterwards the Ch osen Vessel, To bring back comfort thence unto that Faith, Which of salvation's way is the beginning. But I, why thither come, or wh o concedes it? I not Aeneas am, I am not Paul, Nor I, nor others, think me worthy of it. Therefore, if I resign myself to come, I fear the coming may be ill-advised; Thou'rt wise, and knowest better than I speak." And as he is, who unwills what he willed, And by new thoughts d oth his intention change, So that from his design he quite withdraws, Such I became, upon that dark hillside, Because, in thinking, I consumed the emprise, Which was so very prompt in the beginning. "If I have well thy language u nderstood," Replied that shade of the Magnanimous, "Thy soul attainted is with cowardice, Which many times a man encumbe rs so, It turns him back fro m honoured enterprise, As false sight doth a beast, when he is shy. That thou mayst free thee from this apprehension, I'll tell thee why I came, and what I heard At the first moment when I grieved for thee. Among those was I who are in s uspense, And a fair, saintly L ady called to me In such wise, I besought her to command me. Her eyes where shining brighte r than the Star; And she began to say, gentle and low, With voice angelical, in her own language: 'O spirit courteous of Mantua, Of whom the fame stil l in the world endures, And shall endure, long-lasting as the world; A friend of mine, and not the friend of fortune, Upon the desert slope is so impeded Upon his way, that he has turned through terror, And may, I fear, already be so lost, That I too late have risen to his succour, From that which I have heard of him in Heaven. Bestir thee now, and with thy speech ornate, And with what needful is for his release, Assist him so, that I may be consoled. Beatrice am I, who do bid thee go; I come from there, wh ere I would fain return; Love moved me, which compelleth me to speak. When I shall be in presence of my Lord, Full often will I pra ise thee unto him.' Then paused she, and thereafter I began: 'O Lady of virtue, thou alone through whom The human race exceed eth all contained Within the heaven that has the lesser circles, So grateful unto me is thy com mandment, To obey, if 'twere al ready done, were late; No farther need'st thou ope to me thy wish. But the cause tell me why thou dost not shun The here descending d own into this centre, From the vast place thou burnest to return to.' 'Since thou wouldst fain so in wardly discern, Briefly will I relate ,' she answered me, 'Why I am not afraid to enter here. Of those things only should on e be afraid Which have the power of doing others harm; Of the rest, no; because they are not fearful. God in his mercy such created me That misery of yours attains me not, Nor any flame assails me of this burning. A gentle Lady is in Heaven, wh o grieves At this impediment, t o which I send thee, So that stern judgment there above is broken. In her entreaty she besought L ucia, And said, "Thy faithf ul one now stands in need Of thee, and unto thee I recommend him." Lucia, foe of all that cruel i s, Hastened away, and ca me unto the place Where I was sitting with the ancient Rachel. "Beatrice" said she, "the true praise of God, Why succourest thou n ot him, who loved thee so, For thee he issued from the vulgar herd? Dost thou not hear the pity of his plaint? Dost thou not see the death that combats him Beside that flood, where ocean has no vaunt?" Never were persons in the worl d so swift To work their weal an d to escape their woe, As I, after such words as these were uttered, Came hither downward from my b lessed seat, Confiding in thy dign ified discourse, Which honours thee, and those who've listened to it.' After she thus had spoken unto me, Weeping, her shining eyes she turned away; Whereby she made me swifter in my coming; And unto thee I came, as she d esired; I have delivered thee from that wild beast, Which barred the beautiful mountain's short asce nt. What is it, then? Why, why dos t thou delay? Why is such baseness bedded in thy heart? Daring and hardihood why hast thou not, Seeing that three such Ladies benedight Are caring for thee i n the court of Heaven, And so much good my speech doth promise thee?" Even as the flowerets, by noct urnal chill, Bowed down and closed , when the sun whitens them, Uplift themselves all open on their stems; Such I became with my exhauste d strength, And such good courage to my heart there coursed, That I began, like an intrepid person: "O she compassionate, who succ oured me, And courteous thou, w ho hast obeyed so soon The words of truth which she addressed to thee! Thou hast my heart so with des ire disposed To the adventure, wit h these words of thine, That to my first intent I have returned. Now go, for one sole will is i n us both, Thou Leader, and thou Lord, and Master thou." Thus said I to him; and when he had moved, I entered on the deep and sava ge way. __________________________________________________________________ "Through me the way is to the city dolent; Through me the way is to eternal dole; Through me the way among the people lost. Justice incited my sublime Cre ator; Created me divine Omn ipotence, The highest Wisdom and the primal Love. Before me there were no create d things, Only eterne, and I et ernal last. All hope abandon, ye who enter in!" These words in sombre colour I beheld Written upon the summ it of a gate; Whence I: "Their sense is, Master, hard to me!" And he to me, as one experienc ed: "Here all suspicion n eeds must be abandoned, All cowardice must needs be here extinct. We to the place have come, whe re I have told thee Thou shalt behold the people dolorous Who have foregone the good of intellect." And after he had laid his hand on mine With joyful mien, whe nce I was comforted, He led me in among the secret things. There sighs, complaints, and u lulations loud Resounded through the air without a star, Whence I, at the beginning, wept thereat. Languages diverse, horrible di alects, Accents of anger, wor ds of agony, And voices high and hoarse, with sound of hands, Made up a tumult that goes whi rling on For ever in that air for ever black, Even as the sand doth, when the whirlwind breath es. And I, who had my head with ho rror bound, Said: "Master, what i s this which now I hear? What folk is this, which seems by pain so vanqui shed?" And he to me: "This miserable mode Maintain the melancho ly souls of those Who lived withouten infamy or praise. Commingled are they with that caitiff choir Of Angels, who have n ot rebellious been, Nor faithful were to God, but were for self. The heavens expelled them, not to be less fair; Nor them the nethermo re abyss receives, For glory none the damned would have from them." And I: "O Master, what so grie vous is To these, that maketh them lament so sore?" He answered: "I will tell thee very briefly. These have no longer any hope of death; And this blind life o f theirs is so debased, They envious are of every other fate. No fame of them the world perm its to be; Misericord and Justic e both disdain them. Let us not speak of them, but look, and pass." And I, who looked again, behel d a banner, Which, whirling round , ran on so rapidly, That of all pause it seemed to me indignant; And after it there came so lon g a train Of people, that I ne' er would have believed That ever Death so many had undone. When some among them I had rec ognised, I looked, and I behel d the shade of him Who made through cowardice the great refusal. Forthwith I comprehended, and was certain, That this the sect wa s of the caitiff wretches Hateful to God and to his enemies. These miscreants, who never we re alive, Were naked, and were stung exceedingly By gadflies and by hornets that were there. These did their faces irrigate with blood, Which, with their tea rs commingled, at their feet By the disgusting worms was gathered up. And when to gazing farther I b etook me. People I saw on a gre at river's bank; Whence said I: "Master, now vouchsafe to me, That I may know who these are, and what law Makes them appear so ready to pass over, As I discern athwart the dusky light." And he to me: "These things sh all all be known To thee, as soon as w e our footsteps stay Upon the dismal shore of Acheron." Then with mine eyes ashamed an d downward cast, Fearing my words migh t irksome be to him, From speech refrained I till we reached the rive r. And lo! towards us coming in a boat An old man, hoary wit h the hair of eld, Crying: "Woe unto you, ye souls depraved! Hope nevermore to look upon th e heavens; I come to lead you to the other shore, To the eternal shades in heat and frost. And thou, that yonder standest , living soul, Withdraw thee from th ese people, who are dead!" But when he saw that I did not withdraw, He said: "By other ways, by ot her ports Thou to the shore sha lt come, not here, for passage; A lighter vessel needs must carry thee." And unto him the Guide: "Vex t hee not, Charon; It is so willed there where is power to do That which is willed; and farther question not." Thereat were quieted the fleec y cheeks Of him the ferryman o f the livid fen, Who round about his eyes had wheels of flame. But all those souls who weary were and naked Their colour changed and gnashed their teeth together, As soon as they had heard those cruel words. God they blasphemed and their progenitors, The human race, the p lace, the time, the seed Of their engendering and of their birth! Thereafter all together they d rew back, Bitterly weeping, to the accursed shore, Which waiteth every man who fears not God. Charon the demon, with the eye s of glede, Beckoning to them, co llects them all together, Beats with his oar whoever lags behind. As in the autumn-time the leav es fall off, First one and then an other, till the branch Unto the earth surrenders all its spoils; In similar wise the evil seed of Adam Throw themselves from that margin one by one, At signals, as a bird unto its lure. So they depart across the dusk y wave, And ere upon the othe r side they land, Again on this side a new troop assembles. "My son," the courteous Master said to me, "All those who perish in the wrath of God Here meet together out of every land; And ready are they to pass o'e r the river, Because celestial Jus tice spurs them on, So that their fear is turned into desire. This way there never passes a good soul; And hence if Charon d oth complain of thee, Well mayst thou know now what his speech imports ." This being finished, all the d usk champaign Trembled so violently , that of that terror The recollection bathes me still with sweat. The land of tears gave forth a blast of wind, And fulminated a verm ilion light, Which overmastered in me every sense, And as a man whom sleep hath s eized I fell. __________________________________________________________________ Broke the deep lethargy within my head A heavy thunder, so t hat I upstarted, Like to a person who by force is wakened; And round about I moved my res ted eyes, Uprisen erect, and st eadfastly I gazed, To recognise the place wherein I was. True is it, that upon the verg e I found me Of the abysmal valley dolorous, That gathers thunder of infinite ululations. Obscure, profound it was, and nebulous, So that by fixing on its depths my sight Nothing whatever I discerned therein. "Let us descend now into the b lind world," Began the Poet, palli d utterly; "I will be first, and thou shalt second be." And I, who of his colour was a ware, Said: "How shall I co me, if thou art afraid, Who'rt wont to be a comfort to my fears?" And he to me: "The anguish of the people Who are below here in my face depicts That pity which for terror thou hast taken. Let us go on, for the long way impels us." Thus he went in, and thus he made me enter The foremost circle that surrounds the abyss. There, as it seemed to me from listening, Were lamentations non e, but only sighs, That tremble made the everlasting air. And this arose from sorrow wit hout torment, Which the crowds had, that many were and great, Of infants and of women and of men. To me the Master good: "Thou d ost not ask What spirits these, w hich thou beholdest, are? Now will I have thee know, ere thou go farther, That they sinned not; and if t hey merit had, 'Tis not enough, beca use they had not baptism Which is the portal of the Faith thou holdest; And if they were before Christ ianity, In the right manner t hey adored not God; And among such as these am I myself. For such defects, and not for other guilt, Lost are we and are o nly so far punished, That without hope we live on in desire." Great grief seized on my heart when this I heard, Because some people o f much worthiness I knew, who in that Limbo were suspended. "Tell me, my Master, tell me, thou my Lord," Began I, with desire of being certain Of that Faith which o'ercometh every error, "Came any one by his own merit hence, Or by another's, who was blessed thereafter?" And he, who understood my covert speech, Replied: "I was a novice in th is state, When I saw hither com e a Mighty One, With sign of victory incoronate. Hence he drew forth the shade of the First Parent, And that of his son A bel, and of Noah, Of Moses the lawgiver, and the obedient Abraham, patriarch, and David, king, Israel with his fathe r and his children, And Rachel, for whose sake he did so much, And others many, and he made t hem blessed; And thou must know, t hat earlier than these Never were any human spirits saved." We ceased not to advance becau se he spake, But still were passin g onward through the forest, The forest, say I, of thick-crowded ghosts. Not very far as yet our way ha d gone This side the summit, when I saw a fire That overcame a hemisphere of darkness. We were a little distant from it still, But not so far that I in part discerned not That honourable people held that place. "O thou who honourest every ar t and science, Who may these be, whi ch such great honour have, That from the fashion of the rest it parts them? " And he to me: "The honourable name, That sounds of them a bove there in thy life, Wins grace in Heaven, that so advances them." In the mean time a voice was h eard by me: "All honour be to the pre-eminent Poet; His shade returns again, that was departed." After the voice had ceased and quiet was, Four mighty shades I saw approaching us; Semblance had they nor sorrowful nor glad. To say to me began my gracious Master: "Him with that falchi on in his hand behold, Who comes before the three, even as their lord. That one is Homer, Poet sovere ign; He who comes next is Horace, the satirist; The third is Ovid, and the last is Lucan. Because to each of these with me applies The name that solitar y voice proclaimed, They do me honour, and in that do well." Thus I beheld assemble the fai r school Of that lord of the s ong pre-eminent, Who o'er the others like an eagle soars. When they together had discour sed somewhat, They turned to me wit h signs of salutation, And on beholding this, my Master smiled; And more of honour still, much more, they did me, In that they made me one of their own band; So that the sixth was I, 'mid so much wit. Thus we went on as far as to t he light, Things saying 'tis be coming to keep silent, As was the saying of them where I was. We came unto a noble castle's foot, Seven times encompass ed with lofty walls, Defended round by a fair rivulet; This we passed over even as fi rm ground; Through portals seven I entered with these Sages; We came into a meadow of fresh verdure. People were there with solemn eyes and slow, Of great authority in their countenance; They spake but seldom, and with gentle voices. Thus we withdrew ourselves upo n one side Into an opening lumin ous and lofty, So that they all of them were visible. There opposite, upon the green enamel, Were pointed out to m e the mighty spirits, Whom to have seen I feel myself exalted. I saw Electra with companions many, 'Mongst whom I knew b oth Hector and Aeneas, Caesar in armour with gerfalcon eyes; I saw Camilla and Penthesilea On the other side, an d saw the King Latinus, Who with Lavinia his daughter sat; I saw that Brutus who drove Ta rquin forth, Lucretia, Julia, Marc ia, and Cornelia, And saw alone, apart, the Saladin. When I had lifted up my brows a little, The Master I beheld o f those who know, Sit with his philosophic family. All gaze upon him, and all do him honour. There I beheld both S ocrates and Plato, Who nearer him before the others stand; Democritus, who puts the world on chance, Diogenes, Anaxagoras, and Thales, Zeno, Empedocles, and Heraclitus; Of qualities I saw the good co llector, Hight Dioscorides; an d Orpheus saw I, Tully and Livy, and moral Seneca, Euclid, geometrician, and Ptol emy, Galen, Hippocrates, a nd Avicenna, Averroes, who the great Comment made. I cannot all of them pourtray in full, Because so drives me onward the long theme, That many times the word comes short of fact. The sixfold company in two div ides; Another way my sapien t Guide conducts me Forth from the quiet to the air that trembles; And to a place I come where no thing shines. __________________________________________________________________ Thus I descended out of the first circle Down to the second, t hat less space begirds, And so much greater dole, that goads to wailing. There standeth Minos horribly, and snarls; Examines the transgre ssions at the entrance; Judges, and sends according as he girds him. I say, that when the spirit ev il-born Cometh before him, wh olly it confesses; And this discriminator of transgressions Seeth what place in Hell is me et for it; Girds himself with hi s tail as many times As grades he wishes it should be thrust down. Always before him many of them stand; They go by turns each one unto the judgment; They speak, and hear, and then are downward hurl ed. "O thou, that to this dolorous hostelry Comest," said Minos t o me, when he saw me, Leaving the practice of so great an office, "Look how thou enterest, and i n whom thou trustest; Let not the portal's amplitude deceive thee." And unto him my Guide: "Why criest thou too? Do not impede his journey fate -ordained; It is so willed there where is power to do That which is willed; and ask no further questio n." And now begin the dolesome not es to grow Audible unto me; now am I come There where much lamentation strikes upon me. I came into a place mute of al l light, Which bellows as the sea does in a tempest, If by opposing winds 't is combated. The infernal hurricane that ne ver rests Hurtles the spirits o nward in its rapine; Whirling them round, and smiting, it molests the m. When they arrive before the pr ecipice, There are the shrieks , the plaints, and the laments, There they blaspheme the puissance divine. I understood that unto such a torment The carnal malefactor s were condemned, Who reason subjugate to appetite. And as the wings of starlings bear them on In the cold season in large band and full, So doth that blast the spirits maledict; It hither, thither, downward, upward, drives them; No hope doth comfort them for evermore, Not of repose, but even of lesser pain. And as the cranes go chanting forth their lays, Making in air a long line of themselves, So saw I coming, uttering lamentations, Shadows borne onward by the af oresaid stress. Whereupon said I: "Ma ster, who are those People, whom the black air so castigates?" "The first of those, of whom i ntelligence Thou fain wouldst hav e," then said he unto me, "The empress was of many languages. To sensual vices she was so ab andoned, That lustful she made licit in her law, To remove the blame to which she had been led. She is Semiramis, of whom we r ead That she succeeded Ni nus, and was his spouse; She held the land which now the Sultan rules. The next is she who killed her self for love, And broke faith with the ashes of Sichaeus; Then Cleopatra the voluptuous." Helen I saw, for whom so many ruthless Seasons revolved; and saw the great Achilles, Who at the last hour combated with Love. Paris I saw, Tristan; and more than a thousand Shades did he name an d point out with his finger, Whom Love had separated from our life. After that I had listened to m y Teacher, Naming the dames of e ld and cavaliers, Pity prevailed, and I was nigh bewildered. And I began: "O Poet, willingl y Speak would I to thos e two, who go together, And seem upon the wind to be so light." And, he to me: "Thou'lt mark, when they shall be Nearer to us; and the n do thou implore them By love which leadeth them, and they will come." Soon as the wind in our direct ion sways them, My voice uplift I: "O ye weary souls! Come speak to us, if no one interdicts it." As turtle-doves, called onward by desire, With open and steady wings to the sweet nest Fly through the air by their volition borne, So came they from the band whe re Dido is, Approaching us athwar t the air malign, So strong was the affectionate appeal. "O living creature gracious an d benignant, Who visiting goest th rough the purple air Us, who have stained the world incarnadine, If were the King of the Univer se our friend, We would pray unto hi m to give thee peace, Since thou hast pity on our woe perverse. Of what it pleases thee to hea r and speak, That will we hear, an d we will speak to you, While silent is the wind, as it is now. Sitteth the city, wherein I wa s born, Upon the sea-shore wh ere the Po descends To rest in peace with all his retinue. Love, that on gentle heart dot h swiftly seize, Seized this man for t he person beautiful That was ta'en from me, and still the mode offen ds me. Love, that exempts no one belo ved from loving, Seized me with pleasu re of this man so strongly, That, as thou seest, it doth not yet desert me; Love has conducted us unto one death; Caina waiteth him who quenched our life!" These words were borne along from them to us. As soon as I had heard those s ouls tormented, I bowed my face, and so long held it down Until the Poet said to me: "What thinkest?" When I made answer, I began: " Alas! How many pleasant tho ughts, how much desire, Conducted these unto the dolorous pass!" Then unto them I turned me, an d I spake, And I began: "Thine a gonies, Francesca, Sad and compassionate to weeping make me. But tell me, at the time of th ose sweet sighs, By what and in what m anner Love conceded, That you should know your dubious desires?" And she to me: "There is no gr eater sorrow Than to be mindful of the happy time In misery, and that thy Teacher knows. But, if to recognise the earli est root Of love in us thou ha st so great desire, I will do even as he who weeps and speaks. One day we reading were for ou r delight Of Launcelot, how Lov e did him enthral. Alone we were and without any fear. Full many a time our eyes toge ther drew That reading, and dro ve the colour from our faces; But one point only was it that o'ercame us. When as we read of the much-lo nged-for smile Being by such a noble lover kissed, This one, who ne'er from me shall be divided, Kissed me upon the mouth all p alpitating. Galeotto was the book and he who wrote it. That day no farther did we read therein." And all the while one spirit u ttered this, The other one did wee p so, that, for pity, I swooned away as if I had been dying, And fell, even as a dead body falls. __________________________________________________________________ At the return of consciousness, that closed Before the pity of th ose two relations, Which utterly with sadness had confused me, New torments I behold, and new tormented Around me, whichsoeve r way I move, And whichsoever way I turn, and gaze. In the third circle am I of th e rain Eternal, maledict, an d cold, and heavy; Its law and quality are never new. Huge hail, and water sombre-hu ed, and snow, Athwart the tenebrous air pour down amain; Noisome the earth is, that receiveth this. Cerberus, monster cruel and un couth, With his three gullet s like a dog is barking Over the people that are there submerged. Red eyes he has, and unctuous beard and black, And belly large, and armed with claws his hands; He rends the spirits, flays, and quarters them. Howl the rain maketh them like unto dogs; One side they make a shelter for the other; Oft turn themselves the wretched reprobates. When Cerberus perceived us, th e great worm! His mouths he op ened, and displayed his tusks; Not a limb had he that was motionless. And my Conductor, with his spa ns extended, Took of the earth, an d with his fists well filled, He threw it into those rapacious gullets. Such as that dog is, who by ba rking craves, And quiet grows soon as his food he gnaws, For to devour it he but thinks and struggles, The like became those muzzles filth-begrimed Of Cerberus the demon , who so thunders Over the souls that they would fain be deaf. We passed across the shadows, which subdues The heavy rain-storm, and we placed our feet Upon their vanity that person seems. They all were lying prone upon the earth, Excepting one, who sa t upright as soon As he beheld us passing on before him. "O thou that art conducted thr ough this Hell," He said to me, "recal l me, if thou canst; Thyself wast made before I was unmade." And I to him: "The anguish whi ch thou hast Perhaps doth draw the e out of my remembrance, So that it seems not I have ever seen thee. But tell me who thou art, that in so doleful A place art put, and in such punishment, If some are greater, none is so displeasing." And he to me: "Thy city, which is full Of envy so that now t he sack runs over, Held me within it in the life serene. You citizens were wont to call me Ciacco; For the pernicious si n of gluttony I, as thou seest, am battered by this rain. And I, sad soul, am not the on ly one, For all these suffer the like penalty For the like sin;" and word no more spake he. I answered him: "Ciacco, thy w retchedness Weighs on me so that it to weep invites me; But tell me, if thou knowest, to what shall come The citizens of the divided ci ty; If any there be just; and the occasion Tell me why so much discord has assailed it." And he to me: "They, after lon g contention, Will come to bloodshe d; and the rustic party Will drive the other out with much offence. Then afterwards behoves it thi s one fall Within three suns, an d rise again the other By force of him who now is on the coast. High will it hold its forehead a long while, Keeping the other und er heavy burdens, Howe'er it weeps thereat and is indignant. The just are two, and are not understood there; Envy and Arrogance an d Avarice Are the three sparks that have all hearts enkind led." Here ended he his tearful utte rance; And I to him: "I wish thee still to teach me, And make a gift to me of further speech. Farinata and Tegghiaio, once s o worthy, Jacopo Rusticucci, Ar rigo, and Mosca, And others who on good deeds set their thoughts, Say where they are, and cause that I may know them; For great desire cons traineth me to learn If Heaven doth sweeten them, or Hell envenom." And he: "They are among the bl acker souls; A different sin downw eighs them to the bottom; If thou so far descendest, thou canst see them. But when thou art again in the sweet world, I pray thee to the mi nd of others bring me; No more I tell thee and no more I answer." Then his straightforward eyes he turned askance, Eyed me a little, and then bowed his head; He fell therewith prone like the other blind. And the Guide said to me: "He wakes no more This side the sound o f the angelic trumpet; When shall approach the hostile Potentate, Each one shall find again his dismal tomb, Shall reassume his fl esh and his own figure, Shall hear what through eternity re-echoes." So we passed onward o'er the f ilthy mixture Of shadows and of rai n with footsteps slow, Touching a little on the future life. Wherefore I said: "Master, the se torments here, Will they increase af ter the mighty sentence, Or lesser be, or will they be as burning?" And he to me: "Return unto thy science, Which wills, that as the thing more perfect is, The more it feels of pleasure and of pain. Albeit that this people maledi ct To true perfection ne ver can attain, Hereafter more than now they look to be." Round in a circle by that road we went, Speaking much more, w hich I do not repeat; We came unto the point where the descent is; There we found Plutus the grea t enemy. __________________________________________________________________ "Pape Satan, Pape Satan, Aleppe!" Thus Plutus with his clucking voice began; And that benignant Sage, who all things knew, Said, to encourage me: "Let no t thy fear Harm thee; for any po wer that he may have Shall not prevent thy going down this crag." Then he turned round unto that bloated lip, And said: "Be silent, thou accursed wolf; Consume within thyself with thine own rage. Not causeless is this journey to the abyss; Thus is it willed on high, where Michael wrought Vengeance upon the proud adultery." Even as the sails inflated by the wind Involved together fal l when snaps the mast, So fell the cruel monster to the earth. Thus we descended into the fou rth chasm, Gaining still farther on the dolesome shore Which all the woe of the universe insacks. Justice of God, ah! who heaps up so many New toils and sufferi ngs as I beheld? And why doth our transgression waste us so? As doth the billow there upon Charybdis, That breaks itself on that which it encounters, So here the folk must dance their roundelay. Here saw I people, more than e lsewhere, many, On one side and the o ther, with great howls, Rolling weights forward by main force of chest. They clashed together, and the n at that point Each one turned backw ard, rolling retrograde, Crying, "Why keepest?" and, "Why squanderest tho u?" Thus they returned along the l urid circle On either hand unto t he opposite point, Shouting their shameful metre evermore. Then each, when he arrived the re, wheeled about Through his half-circ le to another joust; And I, who had my heart pierced as it were, Exclaimed: "My Master, now dec lare to me What people these are , and if all were clerks, These shaven crowns upon the left of us." And he to me: "All of them wer e asquint In intellect in the f irst life, so much That there with measure they no spending made. Clearly enough their voices ba rk it forth, Whene'er they reach t he two points of the circle, Where sunders them the opposite defect. Clerks those were who no hairy covering Have on the head, and Popes and Cardinals, In whom doth Avarice practise its excess." And I: "My Master, among such as these I ought forsooth to r ecognise some few, Who were infected with these maladies." And he to me: "Vain thought th ou entertainest; The undiscerning life which made them sordid Now makes them unto all discernment dim. Forever shall they come to the se two buttings; These from the sepulc hre shall rise again With the fist closed, and these with tresses sho rn. Ill giving and ill keeping the fair world Have ta'en from them, and placed them in this scuffle; Whate'er it be, no words adorn I for it. Now canst thou, Son, behold th e transient farce Of goods that are com mitted unto Fortune, For which the human race each other buffet; For all the gold that is benea th the moon, Or ever has been, of these weary souls Could never make a single one repose." "Master," I said to him, "now tell me also What is this Fortune which thou speakest of, That has the world's goods so within its clutche s?" And he to me: "O creatures imb ecile, What ignorance is thi s which doth beset you? Now will I have thee learn my judgment of her. He whose omniscience everythin g transcends The heavens created, and gave who should guide them, That every part to every part may shine, Distributing the light in equa l measure; He in like manner to the mundane splendours Ordained a general ministress and guide, That she might change at times the empty treasures From race to race, fr om one blood to another, Beyond resistance of all human wisdom. Therefore one people triumphs, and another Languishes, in pursua nce of her judgment, Which hidden is, as in the grass a serpent. Your knowledge has no counters tand against her; She makes provision, judges, and pursues Her governance, as theirs the other gods. Her permutations have not any truce; Necessity makes her p recipitate, So often cometh who his turn obtains. And this is she who is so cruc ified Even by those who oug ht to give her praise, Giving her blame amiss, and bad repute. But she is blissful, and she h ears it not; Among the other prima l creatures gladsome She turns her sphere, and blissful she rejoices. Let us descend now unto greate r woe; Already sinks each st ar that was ascending When I set out, and loitering is forbidden." We crossed the circle to the o ther bank, Near to a fount that boils, and pours itself Along a gully that runs out of it. The water was more sombre far than perse; And we, in company wi th the dusky waves, Made entrance downward by a path uncouth. A marsh it makes, which has th e name of Styx, This tristful brookle t, when it has descended Down to the foot of the malign gray shores. And I, who stood intent upon b eholding, Saw people mud-bespre nt in that lagoon, All of them naked and with angry look. They smote each other not alon e with hands, But with the head and with the breast and feet, Tearing each other piecemeal with their teeth. Said the good Master: "Son, th ou now beholdest The souls of those wh om anger overcame; And likewise I would have thee know for certain Beneath the water people are w ho sigh And make this water b ubble at the surface, As the eye tells thee wheresoe'er it turns. Fixed in the mire they say, 'W e sullen were In the sweet air, whi ch by the sun is gladdened, Bearing within ourselves the sluggish reek; Now we are sullen in this sabl e mire.' This hymn do they kee p gurgling in their throats, For with unbroken words they cannot say it." Thus we went circling round th e filthy fen A great arc 'twixt th e dry bank and the swamp, With eyes turned unto those who gorge the mire; Unto the foot of a tower we ca me at last. __________________________________________________________________ I say, continuing, that long before We to the foot of tha t high tower had come, Our eyes went upward to the summit of it, By reason of two flamelets we saw placed there, And from afar another answer them, So far, that hardly could the eye attain it. And, to the sea of all discern ment turned, I said: "What sayeth this, and what respondeth That other fire? and who are they that made it?" And he to me: "Across the turb id waves What is expected thou canst now discern, If reek of the morass conceal it not." Cord never shot an arrow from itself That sped away athwar t the air so swift, As I beheld a very little boat Come o'er the water tow'rds us at that moment, Under the guidance of a single pilot, Who shouted, "Now art thou arrived, fell soul?" Phlegyas, Phlegyas, thou criest out in vain For this once," said my Lord; "thou shalt not have us Longer than in the passing of the slough." As he who listens to some grea t deceit That has been done to him, and then resents it, Such became Phlegyas, in his gathered wrath. My Guide descended down into t he boat, And then he made me e nter after him, And only when I entered seemed it laden. Soon as the Guide and I were i n the boat, The antique prow goes on its way, dividing More of the water than 'tis wont with others. While we were running through the dead canal, Uprose in front of me one full of mire, And said, "Who 'rt thou that comest ere the hour ?" And I to him: "Although I come , I stay not; But who art thou that hast become so squalid?" "Thou seest that I am one who weeps," he answere d. And I to him: "With weeping an d with wailing, Thou spirit maledict, do thou remain; For thee I know, though thou art all defiled." Then stretched he both his han ds unto the boat; Whereat my wary Maste r thrust him back, Saying, "Away there with the other dogs!" Thereafter with his arms he cl asped my neck; He kissed my face, an d said: "Disdainful soul, Blessed be she who bore thee in her bosom. That was an arrogant person in the world; Goodness is none, tha t decks his memory; So likewise here his shade is furious. How many are esteemed great ki ngs up there, Who here shall be lik e unto swine in mire, Leaving behind them horrible dispraises!" And I: "My Master, much should I be pleased, If I could see him so used into this broth, Before we issue forth out of the lake." And he to me: "Ere unto thee t he shore Reveal itself, thou s halt be satisfied; Such a desire 'tis meet thou shouldst enjoy." A little after that, I saw suc h havoc Made of him by the pe ople of the mire, That still I praise and thank my God for it. They all were shouting, "At Ph ilippo Argenti!" And that exasperate s pirit Florentine Turned round upon himself with his own teeth. We left him there, and more of him I tell not; But on mine ears ther e smote a lamentation, Whence forward I intent unbar mine eyes. And the good Master said: "Eve n now, my Son, The city draweth near whose name is Dis, With the grave citizens, with the great throng." And I: "Its mosques already, M aster, clearly Within there in the v alley I discern Vermilion, as if issuing from the fire They were." And he to me: "The fire eternal That kindles them wit hin makes them look red, As thou beholdest in this nether Hell." Then we arrived within the moa ts profound, That circumvallate th at disconsolate city; The walls appeared to me to be of iron. Not without making first a cir cuit wide, We came unto a place where loud the pilot Cried out to us, "Debark, here is the entrance." More than a thousand at the ga tes I saw Out of the Heavens ra ined down, who angrily Were saying, "Who is this that without death Goes through the kingdom of th e people dead?" And my sagacious Mast er made a sign Of wishing secretly to speak with them. A little then they quelled the ir great disdain, And said: "Come thou alone, and he begone Who has so boldly entered these dominions. Let him return alone by his ma d road; Try, if he can; for t hou shalt here remain, Who hast escorted him through such dark regions. " Think, Reader, if I was discom forted At utterance of the a ccursed words; For never to return here I believed. "O my dear Guide, who more tha n seven times Hast rendered me secu rity, and drawn me From imminent peril that before me stood, Do not desert me," said I, "th us undone; And if the going fart her be denied us, Let us retrace our steps together swiftly." And that Lord, who had led me thitherward, Said unto me: "Fear n ot; because our passage None can take from us, it by Such is given. But here await me, and thy wea ry spirit Comfort and nourish w ith a better hope; For in this nether world I will not leave thee." So onward goes and there aband ons me My Father sweet, and I remain in doubt, For No and Yes within my head contend. I could not hear what he propo sed to them; But with them there h e did not linger long, Ere each within in rivalry ran back. They closed the portals, those our adversaries, On my Lord's breast, who had remained without And turned to me with footsteps far between. His eyes cast down, his forehe ad shorn had he Of all its boldness, and he said, with sighs, "Who has denied to me the dolesome houses?" And unto me: "Thou, because I am angry, Fear not, for I will conquer in the trial, Whatever for defence within be planned. This arrogance of theirs is no thing new; For once they used it at less secret gate, Which finds itself without a fastening still. O'er it didst thou behold the dead inscription; And now this side of it descends the steep, Passing across the circles without escort, One by whose means the city sh all be opened." __________________________________________________________________ That hue which cowardice brought out on me, Beholding my Conducto r backward turn, Sooner repressed within him his new colour. He stopped attentive, like a m an who listens, Because the eye could not conduct him far Through the black air, and through the heavy fog . "Still it behoveth us to win t he fight," Began he; "Else. . .S uch offered us herself. . . O how I long that some one here arrive!" Well I perceived, as soon as t he beginning He covered up with wh at came afterward, That they were words quite different from the fi rst; But none the less his saying g ave me fear, Because I carried out the broken phrase, Perhaps to a worse meaning than he had. "Into this bottom of the dolef ul conch Doth any e'er descend from the first grade, Which for its pain has only hope cut off?" This question put I; and he an swered me: "Seldom it comes to p ass that one of us Maketh the journey upon which I go. True is it, once before I here below Was conjured by that pitiless Erictho, Who summoned back the shades unto their bodies. Naked of me short while the fl esh had been, Before within that wa ll she made me enter, To bring a spirit from the circle of Judas; That is the lowest region and the darkest, And farthest from the heaven which circles all. Well know I the way; therefore be reassured. This fen, which a prodigious s tench exhales, Encompasses about the city dolent, Where now we cannot enter without anger." And more he said, but not in m ind I have it; Because mine eye had altogether drawn me Tow'rds the high tower with the red-flaming summ it, Where in a moment saw I swift uprisen The three infernal Fu ries stained with blood, Who had the limbs of women and their mien, And with the greenest hydras w ere begirt; Small serpents and ce rastes were their tresses, Wherewith their horrid temples were entwined. And he who well the handmaids of the Queen Of everlasting lament ation knew, Said unto me: "Behold the fierce Erinnys. This is Megaera, on the left-h and side; She who is weeping on the right, Alecto; Tisiphone is between;" and then was silent. Each one her breast was rendin g with her nails; They beat them with t heir palms, and cried so loud, That I for dread pressed close unto the Poet. "Medusa come, so we to stone w ill change him!" All shouted looking d own; "in evil hour Avenged we not on Theseus his assault!" "Turn thyself round, and keep thine eyes close shut, For if the Gorgon app ear, and thou shouldst see it, No more returning upward would there be." Thus said the Master; and he t urned me round Himself, and trusted not unto my hands So far as not to blind me with his own. O ye who have undistempered in tellects, Observe the doctrine that conceals itself Beneath the veil of the mysterious verses! And now there came across the turbid waves The clangour of a sou nd with terror fraught, Because of which both of the margins trembled; Not otherwise it was than of a wind Impetuous on account of adverse heats, That smites the forest, and, without restraint, The branches rends, beats down , and bears away; Right onward, laden w ith dust, it goes superb, And puts to flight the wild beasts and the sheph erds. Mine eyes he loosed, and said: "Direct the nerve Of vision now along t hat ancient foam, There yonder where that smoke is most intense." Even as the frogs before the h ostile serpent Across the water scat ter all abroad, Until each one is huddled in the earth. More than a thousand ruined so uls I saw, Thus fleeing from bef ore one who on foot Was passing o'er the Styx with soles unwet. From off his face he fanned th at unctuous air, Waving his left hand oft in front of him, And only with that anguish seemed he weary. Well I perceived one sent from Heaven was he, And to the Master tur ned; and he made sign That I should quiet stand, and bow before him. Ah! how disdainful he appeared to me! He reached the gate, and with a little rod He opened it, for there was no resistance. "O banished out of Heaven, peo ple despised!" Thus he began upon th e horrid threshold; "Whence is this arrogance within you couched? Wherefore recalcitrate against that will, From which the end ca n never be cut off, And which has many times increased your pain? What helpeth it to butt agains t the fates? Your Cerberus, if you remember well, For that still bears his chin and gullet peeled. " Then he returned along the mir y road, And spake no word to us, but had the look Of one whom other care constrains and goads Than that of him who in his pr esence is; And we our feet direc ted tow'rds the city, After those holy words all confident. Within we entered without any contest; And I, who inclinatio n had to see What the condition such a fortress holds, Soon as I was within, cast rou nd mine eye, And see on every hand an ample plain, Full of distress and torment terrible. Even as at Arles, where stagna nt grows the Rhone, Even as at Pola near to the Quarnaro, That shuts in Italy and bathes its borders, The sepulchres make all the pl ace uneven; So likewise did they there on every side, Saving that there the manner was more bitter; For flames between the sepulch res were scattered, By which they so inte nsely heated were, That iron more so asks not any art. All of their coverings uplifte d were, And from them issued forth such dire laments, Sooth seemed they of the wretched and tormented. And I: "My Master, what are al l those people Who, having sepulture within those tombs, Make themselves audible by doleful sighs?" And he to me: "Here are the He resiarchs, With their disciples of all sects, and much More than thou thinkest laden are the tombs. Here like together with its li ke is buried; And more and less the monuments are heated." And when he to the right had turned, we passed Between the torments and high parapets. __________________________________________________________________ Now onward goes, along a narrow path Between the torments and the city wall, My Master, and I follow at his back. "O power supreme, that through these impious circles Turnest me," I began, "as pleases thee, Speak to me, and my longings satisfy; The people who are lying in th ese tombs, Might they be seen? a lready are uplifted The covers all, and no one keepeth guard." And he to me: "They all will b e closed up When from Jehoshaphat they shall return Here with the bodies they have left above. Their cemetery have upon this side With Epicurus all his followers, Who with the body mortal make the soul; But in the question thou dost put to me, Within here shalt tho u soon be satisfied, And likewise in the wish thou keepest silent." And I: "Good Leader, I but kee p concealed From thee my heart, t hat I may speak the less, Nor only now hast thou thereto disposed me." "O Tuscan, thou who through th e city of fire Goest alive, thus spe aking modestly, Be pleased to stay thy footsteps in this place. Thy mode of speaking makes the e manifest A native of that nobl e fatherland, To which perhaps I too molestful was." Upon a sudden issued forth thi s sound From out one of the t ombs; wherefore I pressed, Fearing, a little nearer to my Leader. And unto me he said: "Turn the e; what dost thou? Behold there Farinata who has risen; From the waist upwards wholly shalt thou see him ." I had already fixed mine eyes on his, And he uprose erect w ith breast and front E'en as if Hell he had in great despite. And with courageous hands and prompt my Leader Thrust me between the sepulchres towards him, Exclaiming, "Let thy words explicit be." As soon as I was at the foot o f his tomb Somewhat he eyed me, and, as if disdainful, Then asked of me, "Who were thine ancestors?" I, who desirous of obeying was , Concealed it not, but all revealed to him; Whereat he raised his brows a little upward. Then said he: "Fiercely advers e have they been To me, and to my fath ers, and my party; So that two several times I scattered them." "If they were banished, they r eturned on all sides," I answered him, "the first time and the second; But yours have not acquired that art aright." Then there uprose upon the sig ht, uncovered Down to the chin, a s hadow at his side; I think that he had risen on his knees. Round me he gazed, as if solic itude He had to see if some one else were with me, But after his suspicion was all spent, Weeping, he said to me: "If th rough this blind Prison thou goest by loftiness of genius, Where is my son? and why is he not with thee?" And I to him: "I come not of m yself; He who is waiting yon der leads me here, Whom in disdain perhaps your Guido had." His language and the mode of p unishment Already unto me had r ead his name; On that account my answer was so full. Up starting suddenly, he cried out: "How Saidst thou,--he had? Is he not still alive? Does not the sweet light strike upon his eyes?" When he became aware of some d elay, Which I before my ans wer made, supine He fell again, and forth appeared no more. But the other, magnanimous, at whose desire I had remained, did n ot his aspect change, Neither his neck he moved, nor bent his side. "And if," continuing his first discourse, "They have that art," he said, "not learned aright, That more tormenteth me, than doth this bed. But fifty times shall not reki ndled be The countenance of th e Lady who reigns here, Ere thou shalt know how heavy is that art; And as thou wouldst to the swe et world return, Say why that people i s so pitiless Against my race in each one of its laws?" Whence I to him: "The slaughte r and great carnage Which have with crims on stained the Arbia, cause Such orisons in our temple to be made." After his head he with a sigh had shaken, "There I was not alon e," he said, "nor surely Without a cause had with the others moved. But there I was alone, where e very one Consented to the layi ng waste of Florence, He who defended her with open face." "Ah! so hereafter may your see d repose," I him entreated, "sol ve for me that knot, Which has entangled my conceptions here. It seems that you can see, if I hear rightly, Beforehand whatsoe'er time brings with it, And in the present have another mode." "We see, like those who have i mperfect sight, The things," he said, "that distant are from us; So much still shines on us the Sovereign Ruler. When they draw near, or are, i s wholly vain Our intellect, and if none brings it to us, Not anything know we of your human state. Hence thou canst understand, t hat wholly dead Will be our knowledge from the moment when The portal of the future shall be closed." Then I, as if compunctious for my fault, Said: "Now, then, you will tell that fallen one, That still his son is with the living joined. And if just now, in answering, I was dumb, Tell him I did it bec ause I was thinking Already of the error you have solved me." And now my Master was recallin g me, Wherefore more eagerl y I prayed the spirit That he would tell me who was with him there. He said: "With more than a tho usand here I lie; Within here is the se cond Frederick, And the Cardinal, and of the rest I speak not." Thereon he hid himself; and I towards The ancient poet turn ed my steps, reflecting Upon that saying, which seemed hostile to me. He moved along; and afterward thus going, He said to me, "Why a rt thou so bewildered?" And I in his inquiry satisfied him. "Let memory preserve what thou hast heard Against thyself," tha t Sage commanded me, "And now attend here;" and he raised his finger. "When thou shalt be before the radiance sweet Of her whose beauteou s eyes all things behold, From her thou'lt know the journey of thy life." Unto the left hand then he tur ned his feet; We left the wall, and went towards the middle, Along a path that strikes into a valley, Which even up there unpleasant made its stench. __________________________________________________________________ Upon the margin of a lofty bank Which great rocks bro ken in a circle made, We came upon a still more cruel throng; And there, by reason of the ho rrible Excess of stench the deep abyss throws out, We drew ourselves aside behind the cover Of a great tomb, whereon I saw a writing, Which said: "Pope Ana stasius I hold, Whom out of the right way Photinus drew." "Slow it behoveth our descent to be, So that the sense be first a little used To the sad blast, and then we shall not heed it. " The Master thus; and unto him I said, "Some compensation fi nd, that the time pass not Idly;" and he: "Thou seest I think of that. My son, upon the inside of the se rocks," Began he then to say, "are three small circles, From grade to grade, like those which thou art l eaving. They all are full of spirits m aledict; But that hereafter si ght alone suffice thee, Hear how and wherefore they are in constraint. Of every malice that wins hate in Heaven, Injury is the end; an d all such end Either by force or fraud afflicteth others. But because fraud is man's pec uliar vice, More it displeases Go d; and so stand lowest The fraudulent, and greater dole assails them. All the first circle of the Vi olent is; But since force may b e used against three persons, In three rounds 'tis divided and constructed. To God, to ourselves, and to o ur neighbour can we Use force; I say on t hem and on their things, As thou shalt hear with reason manifest. A death by violence, and painf ul wounds, Are to our neighbour given; and in his substance Ruin, and arson, and injurious levies; Whence homicides, and he who s mites unjustly, Marauders, and freebo oters, the first round Tormenteth all in companies diverse. Man may lay violent hands upon himself And his own goods; an d therefore in the second Round must perforce without avail repent Whoever of your world deprives himself, Who games, and dissip ates his property, And weepeth there, where he should jocund be. Violence can be done the Deity , In heart denying and blaspheming Him, And by disdaining Nature and her bounty. And for this reason doth the s mallest round Seal with its signet Sodom and Cahors, And who, disdaining God, speaks from the heart. Fraud, wherewithal is every co nscience stung, A man may practise up on him who trusts, And him who doth no confidence imburse. This latter mode, it would app ear, dissevers Only the bond of love which Nature makes; Wherefore within the second circle nestle Hypocrisy, flattery, and who d eals in magic, Falsification, theft, and simony, Panders, and barrators, and the like filth. By the other mode, forgotten i s that love Which Nature makes, a nd what is after added, From which there is a special faith engendered. Hence in the smallest circle, where the point is Of the Universe, upon which Dis is seated, Whoe'er betrays for ever is consumed." And I: "My Master, clear enoug h proceeds Thy reasoning, and fu ll well distinguishes This cavern and the people who possess it. But tell me, those within the fat lagoon, Whom the wind drives, and whom the rain doth beat, And who encounter with such bitter tongues, Wherefore are they inside of t he red city Not punished, if God has them in his wrath, And if he has not, wherefore in such fashion?" And unto me he said: "Why wand ers so Thine intellect from that which it is wont? Or, sooth, thy mind where is it elsewhere lookin g? Hast thou no recollection of t hose words With which thine Ethi cs thoroughly discusses The dispositions three, that Heaven abides not,- - Incontinence, and Malice, and insane Bestiality? and how I ncontinence Less God offendeth, and less blame attracts? If thou regardest this conclus ion well, And to thy mind recal lest who they are That up outside are undergoing penance, Clearly wilt thou perceive why from these felons They separated are, a nd why less wroth Justice divine doth smite them with its hammer." "O Sun, that healest all diste mpered vision, Thou dost content me so, when thou resolvest, That doubting pleases me no less than knowing! Once more a little backward tu rn thee," said I, "There where thou say est that usury offends Goodness divine, and disengage the knot." "Philosophy," he said, "to him who heeds it, Noteth, not only in o ne place alone, After what manner Nature takes her course From Intellect Divine, and fro m its art; And if thy Physics ca refully thou notest, After not many pages shalt thou find, That this your art as far as p ossible Follows, as the disci ple doth the master; So that your art is, as it were, God's grandchil d. From these two, if thou bringe st to thy mind Genesis at the beginn ing, it behoves Mankind to gain their life and to advance; And since the usurer takes ano ther way, Nature herself and in her follower Disdains he, for elsewhere he puts his hope. But follow, now, as I would fa in go on, For quivering are the Fishes on the horizon, And the Wain wholly over Caurus lies, And far beyond there we descen d the crag." __________________________________________________________________ The place where to descend the bank we came Was alpine, and from what was there, moreover, Of such a kind that every eye would shun it. Such as that ruin is which in the flank Smote, on this side o f Trent, the Adige, Either by earthquake or by failing stay, For from the mountain's top, f rom which it moved, Unto the plain the cl iff is shattered so, Some path 'twould give to him who was above; Even such was the descent of t hat ravine, And on the border of the broken chasm The infamy of Crete was stretched along, Who was conceived in the ficti tious cow; And when he us beheld , he bit himself, Even as one whom anger racks within. My Sage towards him shouted: " Peradventure Thou think'st that he re may be the Duke of Athens, Who in the world above brought death to thee? Get thee gone, beast, for this one cometh not Instructed by thy sis ter, but he comes In order to behold your punishments." As is that bull who breaks loo se at the moment In which he has recei ved the mortal blow, Who cannot walk, but staggers here and there, The Minotaur beheld I do the l ike; And he, the wary, cri ed: "Run to the passage; While he wroth, 'tis well thou shouldst descend. " Thus down we took our way o'er that discharge Of stones, which ofte ntimes did move themselves Beneath my feet, from the unwonted burden. Thoughtful I went; and he said : "Thou art thinking Perhaps upon this rui n, which is guarded By that brute anger which just now I quenched. Now will I have thee know, the other time I here descended to t he nether Hell, This precipice had not yet fallen down. But truly, if I well discern, a little Before His coming who the mighty spoil Bore off from Dis, in the supernal circle, Upon all sides the deep and lo athsome valley Trembled so, that I t hought the Universe Was thrilled with love, by which there are who t hink The world ofttimes converted i nto chaos; And at that moment th is primeval crag Both here and elsewhere made such overthrow. But fix thine eyes below; for draweth near The river of blood, w ithin which boiling is Whoe'er by violence doth injure others." O blind cupidity, O wrath insa ne, That spurs us onward so in our short life, And in the eternal then so badly steeps us! I saw an ample moat bent like a bow, As one which all the plain encompasses, Conformable to what my Guide had said. And between this and the emban kment's foot Centaurs in file were running, armed with arrows, As in the world they used the chase to follow. Beholding us descend, each one stood still, And from the squadron three detached themselves, With bows and arrows in advance selected; And from afar one cried: "Unto what torment Come ye, who down the hillside are descending? Tell us from there; if not, I draw the bow." My Master said: "Our answer wi ll we make To Chiron, near you t here; in evil hour, That will of thine was evermore so hasty." Then touched he me, and said: "This one is Nessus, Who perished for the lovely Dejanira, And for himself, himself did vengeance take. And he in the midst, who at hi s breast is gazing, Is the great Chiron, who brought up Achilles; That other Pholus is, who was so wrathful. Thousands and thousands go abo ut the moat Shooting with shafts whatever soul emerges Out of the blood, more than his crime allots." Near we approached unto those monsters fleet; Chiron an arrow took, and with the notch Backward upon his jaws he put his beard. After he had uncovered his gre at mouth, He said to his compan ions: "Are you ware That he behind moveth whate'er he touches? Thus are not wont to do the fe et of dead men." And my good Guide, wh o now was at his breast, Where the two natures are together joined, Replied: "Indeed he lives, and thus alone Me it behoves to show him the dark valley; Necessity, and not delight, impels us. Some one withdrew from singing Halleluja, Who unto me committed this new office; No thief is he, nor I a thievish spirit. But by that virtue through whi ch I am moving My steps along this s avage thoroughfare, Give us some one of thine, to be with us, And who may show us where to p ass the ford, And who may carry thi s one on his back; For 'tis no spirit that can walk the air." Upon his right breast Chiron w heeled about, And said to Nessus: " Turn and do thou guide them, And warn aside, if other band may meet you." We with our faithful escort on ward moved Along the brink of th e vermilion boiling, Wherein the boiled were uttering loud laments. People I saw within up to the eyebrows, And the great Centaur said: "Tyrants are these, Who dealt in bloodshed and in pillaging. Here they lament their pitiles s mischiefs; here Is Alexander, and fie rce Dionysius Who upon Sicily brought dolorous years. That forehead there which has the hair so black Is Azzolin; and the o ther who is blond, Obizzo is of Esti, who, in truth, Up in the world was by his ste pson slain." Then turned I to the Poet; and he said, "Now he be first to thee, and second I." A little farther on the Centau r stopped Above a folk, who far down as the throat Seemed from that boiling stream to issue forth. A shade he showed us on one si de alone, Saying: "He cleft asu nder in God's bosom The heart that still upon the Thames is honoured ." Then people saw I, who from ou t the river Lifted their heads an d also all the chest; And many among these I recognised. Thus ever more and more grew s hallower That blood, so that t he feet alone it covered; And there across the moat our passage was. "Even as thou here upon this s ide beholdest The boiling stream, t hat aye diminishes," The Centaur said, "I wish thee to believe That on this other more and mo re declines Its bed, until it reu nites itself Where it behoveth tyranny to groan. Justice divine, upon this side , is goading That Attila, who was a scourge on earth, And Pyrrhus, and Sextus; and for ever milks The tears which with the boili ng it unseals In Rinier da Corneto and Rinier Pazzo, Who made upon the highways so much war." Then back he turned, and passe d again the ford. __________________________________________________________________ Not yet had Nessus reached the other side, When we had put ourse lves within a wood, That was not marked by any path whatever. Not foliage green, but of a du sky colour, Not branches smooth, but gnarled and intertangled, Not apple-trees were there, but thorns with pois on. Such tangled thickets have not , nor so dense, Those savage wild bea sts, that in hatred hold 'Twixt Cecina and Corneto the tilled places. There do the hideous Harpies m ake their nests, Who chased the Trojan s from the Strophades, With sad announcement of impending doom; Broad wings have they, and nec ks and faces human, And feet with claws, and their great bellies fledged; They make laments upon the wondrous trees. And the good Master: "Ere thou enter farther, Know that thou art wi thin the second round," Thus he began to say, "and shalt be, till Thou comest out upon the horri ble sand; Therefore look well a round, and thou shalt see Things that will credence give unto my speech." I heard on all sides lamentati ons uttered, And person none behel d I who might make them, Whence, utterly bewildered, I stood still. I think he thought that I perh aps might think So many voices issued through those trunks From people who concealed themselves from us; Therefore the Master said: "If thou break off Some little spray fro m any of these trees, The thoughts thou hast will wholly be made vain. " Then stretched I forth my hand a little forward, And plucked a branchl et off from a great thorn; And the trunk cried, "Why dost thou mangle me?" After it had become embrowned with blood, It recommenced its cr y: "Why dost thou rend me? Hast thou no spirit of pity whatsoever? Men once we were, and now are changed to trees; Indeed, thy hand shou ld be more pitiful, Even if the souls of serpents we had been." As out of a green brand, that is on fire At one of the ends, a nd from the other drips And hisses with the wind that is escaping; So from that splinter issued f orth together Both words and blood; whereat I let the tip Fall, and stood like a man who is afraid. "Had he been able sooner to be lieve," My Sage made answer, "O thou wounded soul, What only in my verses he has seen, Not upon thee had he stretched forth his hand; Whereas the thing inc redible has caused me To put him to an act which grieveth me. But tell him who thou wast, so that by way Of some amends thy fa me he may refresh Up in the world, to which he can return." And the trunk said: "So thy sw eet words allure me, I cannot silent be; a nd you be vexed not, That I a little to discourse am tempted. I am the one who both keys had in keeping Of Frederick's heart, and turned them to and fro So softly in unlocking and in locking, That from his secrets most men I withheld; Fidelity I bore the g lorious office So great, I lost thereby my sleep and pulses. The courtesan who never from t he dwelling Of Caesar turned asid e her strumpet eyes, Death universal and the vice of courts, Inflamed against me all the ot her minds, And they, inflamed, d id so inflame Augustus, That my glad honours turned to dismal mournings. My spirit, in disdainful exult ation, Thinking by dying to escape disdain, Made me unjust against myself, the just. I, by the roots unwonted of th is wood, Do swear to you that never broke I faith Unto my lord, who was so worthy of honour; And to the world if one of you return, Let him my memory com fort, which is lying Still prostrate from the blow that envy dealt it ." Waited awhile, and then: "Sinc e he is silent," The Poet said to me, "lose not the time, But speak, and question him, if more may please thee." Whence I to him: "Do thou agai n inquire Concerning what thou thinks't will satisfy me; For I cannot, such pity is in my heart." Therefore he recommenced: "So may the man Do for thee freely wh at thy speech implores, Spirit incarcerate, again be pleased To tell us in what way the sou l is bound Within these knots; a nd tell us, if thou canst, If any from such members e'er is freed." Then blew the trunk amain, and afterward The wind was into suc h a voice converted: "With brevity shall be replied to you. When the exasperated soul aban dons The body whence it re nt itself away, Minos consigns it to the seventh abyss. It falls into the forest, and no part Is chosen for it; but where Fortune hurls it, There like a grain of spelt it germinates. It springs a sapling, and a fo rest tree; The Harpies, feeding then upon its leaves, Do pain create, and for the pain an outlet. Like others for our spoils sha ll we return; But not that any one may them revest, For 'tis not just to have what one casts off. Here we shall drag them, and a long the dismal Forest our bodies sha ll suspended be, Each to the thorn of his molested shade." We were attentive still unto t he trunk, Thinking that more it yet might wish to tell us, When by a tumult we were overtaken, In the same way as he is who p erceives The boar and chase ap proaching to his stand, Who hears the crashing of the beasts and branche s; And two behold! upon our left- hand side, Naked and scratched, fleeing so furiously, That of the forest, every fan they broke. He who was in advance: "Now he lp, Death, help!" And the other one, wh o seemed to lag too much, Was shouting: "Lano, were not so alert Those legs of thine at joustin gs of the Toppo!" And then, perchance b ecause his breath was failing, He grouped himself together with a bush. Behind them was the forest ful l of black She-mastiffs, ravenou s, and swift of foot As greyhounds, who are issuing from the chain. On him who had crouched down t hey set their teeth, And him they lacerate d piece by piece, Thereafter bore away those aching members. Thereat my Escort took me by t he hand, And led me to the bus h, that all in vain Was weeping from its bloody lacerations. "O Jacopo," it said, "of Sant' Andrea, What helped it thee o f me to make a screen? What blame have I in thy nefarious life?" When near him had the Master s tayed his steps, He said: "Who wast th ou, that through wounds so many Art blowing out with blood thy dolorous speech?" And he to us: "O souls, that h ither come To look upon the sham eful massacre That has so rent away from me my leaves, Gather them up beneath the dis mal bush; I of that city was wh ich to the Baptist Changed its first patron, wherefore he for this Forever with his art will make it sad. And were it not that on the pass of Arno Some glimpses of him are remaining still, Those citizens, who afterwards rebuilt it Upon the ashes left b y Attila, In vain had caused their labour to be done. Of my own house I made myself a gibbet." __________________________________________________________________ Because the charity of my native place Constrained me, gathe red I the scattered leaves, And gave them back to him, who now was hoarse. Then came we to the confine, w here disparted The second round is f rom the third, and where A horrible form of Justice is beheld. Clearly to manifest these nove l things, I say that we arrived upon a plain, Which from its bed rejecteth every plant; The dolorous forest is a garla nd to it All round about, as t he sad moat to that; There close upon the edge we stayed our feet. The soil was of an arid and th ick sand, Not of another fashio n made than that Which by the feet of Cato once was pressed. Vengeance of God, O how much o ughtest thou By each one to be dre aded, who doth read That which was manifest unto mine eyes! Of naked souls beheld I many h erds, Who all were weeping very miserably, And over them seemed set a law diverse. Supine upon the ground some fo lk were lying; And some were sitting all drawn up together, And others went about continually. Those who were going round wer e far the more, And those were less w ho lay down to their torment, But had their tongues more loosed to lamentation . O'er all the sand-waste, with a gradual fall, Were raining down dil ated flakes of fire, As of the snow on Alp without a wind. As Alexander, in those torrid parts Of India, beheld upon his host Flames fall unbroken till they reached the groun d. Whence he provided with his ph alanxes To trample down the s oil, because the vapour Better extinguished was while it was single; Thus was descending the eterna l heat, Whereby the sand was set on fire, like tinder Beneath the steel, for doubling of the dole. Without repose forever was the dance Of miserable hands, n ow there, now here, Shaking away from off them the fresh gleeds. "Master," began I, "thou who o vercomest All things except the demons dire, that issued Against us at the entrance of the gate, Who is that mighty one who see ms to heed not The fire, and lieth l owering and disdainful, So that the rain seems not to ripen him?" And he himself, who had become aware That I was questionin g my Guide about him, Cried: "Such as I was living, am I, dead. If Jove should weary out his s mith, from whom He seized in anger th e sharp thunderbolt, Wherewith upon the last day I was smitten, And if he wearied out by turns the others In Mongibello at the swarthy forge, Vociferating, 'Help, good Vulcan, help!' Even as he did there at the fi ght of Phlegra, And shot his bolts at me with all his might, He would not have thereby a joyous vengeance." Then did my Leader speak with such great force, That I had never hear d him speak so loud: "O Capaneus, in that is not extinguished Thine arrogance, thou punished art the more; Not any torment, savi ng thine own rage, Would be unto thy fury pain complete." Then he turned round to me wit h better lip, Saying: "One of the S even Kings was he Who Thebes besieged, and held, and seems to hold God in disdain, and little see ms to prize him; But, as I said to him , his own despites Are for his breast the fittest ornaments. Now follow me, and mind thou d o not place As yet thy feet upon the burning sand, But always keep them close unto the wood." Speaking no word, we came to w here there gushes Forth from the wood a little rivulet, Whose redness makes my hair still stand on end. As from the Bulicame springs t he brooklet, The sinful women late r share among them, So downward through the sand it went its way. The bottom of it, and both slo ping banks, Were made of stone, a nd the margins at the side; Whence I perceived that there the passage was. "In all the rest which I have shown to thee Since we have entered in within the gate Whose threshold unto no one is denied, Nothing has been discovered by thine eyes So notable as is the present river, Which all the little flames above it quenches." These words were of my Leader; whence I prayed him That he would give me largess of the food, For which he had given me largess of desire. "In the mid-sea there sits a w asted land," Said he thereafterwar d, "whose name is Crete, Under whose king the world of old was chaste. There is a mountain there, tha t once was glad With waters and with leaves, which was called Ida; Now 'tis deserted, as a thing worn out. Rhea once chose it for the fai thful cradle Of her own son; and t o conceal him better, Whene'er he cried, she there had clamours made. A grand old man stands in the mount erect, Who holds his shoulde rs turned tow'rds Damietta, And looks at Rome as if it were his mirror. His head is fashioned of refin ed gold, And of pure silver ar e the arms and breast; Then he is brass as far down as the fork. From that point downward all i s chosen iron, Save that the right f oot is of kiln-baked clay, And more he stands on that than on the other. Each part, except the gold, is by a fissure Asunder cleft, that d ripping is with tears, Which gathered together perforate that cavern. From rock to rock they fall in to this valley; Acheron, Styx, and Ph legethon they form; Then downward go along this narrow sluice Unto that point where is no mo re descending. They form Cocytus; wh at that pool may be Thou shalt behold, so here 'tis not narrated." And I to him: "If so the prese nt runnel Doth take its rise in this way from our world, Why only on this verge appears it to us?" And he to me: "Thou knowest th e place is round, And notwithstanding t hou hast journeyed far, Still to the left descending to the bottom, Thou hast not yet through all the circle turned. Therefore if somethin g new appear to us, It should not bring amazement to thy face." And I again: "Master, where sh all be found Lethe and Phlegethon, for of one thou'rt silent, And sayest the other of this rain is made?" "In all thy questions truly th ou dost please me," Replied he; "but the boiling of the red Water might well solve one of them thou makest. Thou shalt see Lethe, but outs ide this moat, There where the souls repair to lave themselves, When sin repented of has been removed." Then said he: "It is time now to abandon The wood; take heed t hat thou come after me; A way the margins make that are not burning, And over them all vapours are extinguished." __________________________________________________________________ Now bears us onward one of the hard margins, And so the brooklet's mist o'ershadows it, From fire it saves the water and the dikes. Even as the Flemings, 'twixt C adsand and Bruges, Fearing the flood tha t tow'rds them hurls itself, Their bulwarks build to put the sea to flight; And as the Paduans along the B renta, To guard their villas and their villages, Or ever Chiarentana feel the heat; In such similitude had those b een made, Albeit not so lofty n or so thick, Whoever he might be, the master made them. Now were we from the forest so remote, I could not have disc overed where it was, Even if backward I had turned myself, When we a company of souls enc ountered, Who came beside the d ike, and every one Gazed at us, as at evening we are wont To eye each other under a new moon, And so towards us sha rpened they their brows As an old tailor at the needle's eye. Thus scrutinised by such a fam ily, By some one I was rec ognised, who seized My garment's hem, and cried out, "What a marvel! " And I, when he stretched forth his arm to me, On his baked aspect f astened so mine eyes, That the scorched countenance prevented not His recognition by my intellec t; And bowing down my fa ce unto his own, I made reply, "Are you here, Ser Brunetto?" And he: "May't not displease t hee, O my son, If a brief space with thee Brunetto Latini Backward return and let the trail go on." I said to him: "With all my po wer I ask it; And if you wish me to sit down with you, I will, if he please, for I go with him." "O son," he said, "whoever of this herd A moment stops, lies then a hundred years, Nor fans himself when smiteth him the fire. Therefore go on; I at thy skir ts will come, And afterward will I rejoin my band, Which goes lamenting its eternal doom." I did not dare to go down from the road Level to walk with hi m; but my head bowed I held as one who goeth reverently. And he began: "What fortune or what fate Before the last day l eadeth thee down here? And who is this that showeth thee the way?" "Up there above us in the life serene," I answered him, "I lo st me in a valley, Or ever yet my age had been completed. But yestermorn I turned my bac k upon it; This one appeared to me, returning thither, And homeward leadeth me along this road." And he to me: "If thou thy sta r do follow, Thou canst not fail t hee of a glorious port, If well I judged in the life beautiful. And if I had not died so prema turely, Seeing Heaven thus be nignant unto thee, I would have given thee comfort in the work. But that ungrateful and malign ant people, Which of old time fro m Fesole descended, And smacks still of the mountain and the granite , Will make itself, for thy good deeds, thy foe; And it is right; for among crabbed sorbs It ill befits the sweet fig to bear fruit. Old rumour in the world procla ims them blind; A people avaricious, envious, proud; Take heed that of their customs thou do cleanse thee. Thy fortune so much honour dot h reserve thee, One party and the oth er shall be hungry For thee; but far from goat shall be the grass. Their litter let the beasts of Fesole Make of themselves, n or let them touch the plant, If any still upon their dunghill rise, In which may yet revive the co nsecrated Seed of those Romans, who remained there when The nest of such great malice it became." "If my entreaty wholly were fu lfilled," Replied I to him, "no t yet would you be In banishment from human nature placed; For in my mind is fixed, and t ouches now My heart the dear and good paternal image Of you, when in the world from hour to hour You taught me how a man become s eternal; And how much I am gra teful, while I live Behoves that in my language be discerned. What you narrate of my career I write, And keep it to be glo ssed with other text By a Lady who can do it, if I reach her. This much will I have manifest to you; Provided that my cons cience do not chide me, For whatsoever Fortune I am ready. Such handsel is not new unto m ine ears; Therefore let Fortune turn her wheel around As it may please her, and the churl his mattock. " My Master thereupon on his rig ht cheek Did backward turn him self, and looked at me; Then said: "He listeneth well who noteth it." Nor speaking less on that acco unt, I go With Ser Brunetto, an d I ask who are His most known and most eminent companions. And he to me: "To know of some is well; Of others it were lau dable to be silent, For short would be the time for so much speech. Know them in sum, that all of them were clerks, And men of letters gr eat and of great fame, In the world tainted with the selfsame sin. Priscian goes yonder with that wretched crowd, And Francis of Accors o; and thou hadst seen there If thou hadst had a hankering for such scurf, That one, who by the Servant o f the Servants From Arno was transfe rred to Bacchiglione, Where he has left his sin-excited nerves. More would I say, but coming a nd discoursing Can be no longer; for that I behold New smoke uprising yonder from the sand. A people comes with whom I may not be; Commended unto thee b e my Tesoro, In which I still live, and no more I ask." Then he turned round, and seem ed to be of those Who at Verona run for the Green Mantle Across the plain; and seemed to be among them The one who wins, and not the one who loses. __________________________________________________________________ Now was I where was heard the reverberation Of water falling into the next round, Like to that humming which the beehives make, When shadows three together st arted forth, Running, from out a c ompany that passed Beneath the rain of the sharp martyrdom. Towards us came they, and each one cried out: "Stop, thou; for by t hy garb to us thou seemest To be some one of our depraved city." Ah me! what wounds I saw upon their limbs, Recent and ancient by the flames burnt in! It pains me still but to remember it. Unto their cries my Teacher pa used attentive; He turned his face to wards me, and "Now wait," He said; "to these we should be courteous. And if it were not for the fir e that darts The nature of this re gion, I should say That haste were more becoming thee than them." As soon as we stood still, the y recommenced The old refrain, and when they overtook us, Formed of themselves a wheel, all three of them. As champions stripped and oile d are wont to do, Watching for their ad vantage and their hold, Before they come to blows and thrusts between th em, Thus, wheeling round, did ever y one his visage Direct to me, so that in opposite wise His neck and feet continual journey made. And, "If the misery of this so ft place Bring in disdain ours elves and our entreaties," Began one, "and our aspect black and blistered, Let the renown of us thy mind incline To tell us who thou a rt, who thus securely Thy living feet dost move along through Hell. He in whose footprints thou do st see me treading, Naked and skinless th ough he now may go, Was of a greater rank than thou dost think; He was the grandson of the goo d Gualdrada; His name was Guidogue rra, and in life Much did he with his wisdom and his sword. The other, who close by me tre ads the sand, Tegghiaio Aldobrandi is, whose fame Above there in the world should welcome be. And I, who with them on the cr oss am placed, Jacopo Rusticucci was ; and truly My savage wife, more than aught else, doth harm me." Could I have been protected fr om the fire, Below I should have t hrown myself among them, And think the Teacher would have suffered it; But as I should have burned an d baked myself, My terror overmastere d my good will, Which made me greedy of embracing them. Then I began: "Sorrow and not disdain Did your condition fi x within me so, That tardily it wholly is stripped off, As soon as this my Lord said u nto me Words, on account of which I thought within me That people such as you are were approaching. I of your city am; and evermor e Your labours and your honourable names I with affection have retraced and heard. I leave the gall, and go for t he sweet fruits Promised to me by the veracious Leader; But to the centre first I needs must plunge." "So may the soul for a long wh ile conduct Those limbs of thine, " did he make answer then, "And so may thy renown shine after thee, Valour and courtesy, say if th ey dwell Within our city, as t hey used to do, Or if they wholly have gone out of it; For Guglielmo Borsier, who is in torment With us of late, and goes there with his comrades, Doth greatly mortify us with his words." "The new inhabitants and the s udden gains, Pride and extravaganc e have in thee engendered, Florence, so that thou weep'st thereat already!" In this wise I exclaimed with face uplifted; And the three, taking that for my reply, Looked at each other, as one looks at truth. "If other times so little it d oth cost thee," Replied they all, "to satisfy another, Happy art thou, thus speaking at thy will! Therefore, if thou escape from these dark places, And come to rebehold the beauteous stars, When it shall pleasure thee to say, 'I was,' See that thou speak of us unto the people." Then they broke up th e wheel, and in their flight It seemed as if their agile legs were wings. Not an Amen could possibly be said So rapidly as they ha d disappeared; Wherefore the Master deemed best to depart. I followed him, and little had we gone, Before the sound of w ater was so near us, That speaking we should hardly have been heard. Even as that stream which hold eth its own course The first from Monte Veso tow'rds the East, Upon the left-hand slope of Apennine, Which is above called Acquache ta, ere It down descendeth in to its low bed, And at Forli is vacant of that name, Reverberates there above San B enedetto From Alps, by falling at a single leap, Where for a thousand there were room enough; Thus downward from a bank prec ipitate, We found resounding t hat dark-tinted water, So that it soon the ear would have offended. I had a cord around about me g irt, And therewithal I whi lom had designed To take the panther with the painted skin. After I this had all from me u nloosed, As my Conductor had c ommanded me, I reached it to him, gathered up and coiled, Whereat he turned himself to t he right side, And at a little dista nce from the verge, He cast it down into that deep abyss. "It must needs be some novelty respond," I said within myself, "to the new signal The Master with his eye is following so." Ah me! how very cautious men s hould be With those who not al one behold the act, But with their wisdom look into the thoughts! He said to me: "Soon there wil l upward come What I await; and wha t thy thought is dreaming Must soon reveal itself unto thy sight." Aye to that truth which has th e face of falsehood, A man should close hi s lips as far as may be, Because without his fault it causes shame; But here I cannot; and, Reader , by the notes Of this my Comedy to thee I swear, So may they not be void of lasting favour, Athwart that dense and darksom e atmosphere I saw a figure swimmi ng upward come, Marvellous unto every steadfast heart, Even as he returns who goeth d own Sometimes to clear an anchor, which has grappled Reef, or aught else that in the sea is hidden, Who upward stretches, and draw s in his feet. __________________________________________________________________ "Behold the monster with the pointed tail, Who cleaves the hills , and breaketh walls and weapons, Behold him who infecteth all the world." Thus unto me my Guide began to say, And beckoned him that he should come to shore, Near to the confine of the trodden marble; And that uncleanly image of de ceit Came up and thrust as hore its head and bust, But on the border did not drag its tail. The face was as the face of a just man, Its semblance outward ly was so benign, And of a serpent all the trunk beside. Two paws it had, hairy unto th e armpits; The back, and breast, and both the sides it had Depicted o'er with nooses and with shields. With colours more, groundwork or broidery Never in cloth did Ta rtars make nor Turks, Nor were such tissues by Arachne laid. As sometimes wherries lie upon the shore, That part are in the water, part on land; And as among the guzzling Germans there, The beaver plants himself to w age his war; So that vile monster lay upon the border, Which is of stone, and shutteth in the sand. His tail was wholly quivering in the void, Contorting upwards th e envenomed fork, That in the guise of scorpion armed its point. The Guide said: "Now perforce must turn aside Our way a little, eve n to that beast Malevolent, that yonder coucheth him." We therefore on the right side descended, And made ten steps up on the outer verge, Completely to avoid the sand and flame; And after we are come to him, I see A little farther off upon the sand A people sitting near the hollow place. Then said to me the Master: "S o that full Experience of this ro und thou bear away, Now go and see what their condition is. There let thy conversation be concise; Till thou returnest I will speak with him, That he concede to us his stalwart shoulders." Thus farther still upon the ou termost Head of that seventh circle all alone I went, where sat the melancholy folk. Out of their eyes was gushing forth their woe; This way, that way, t hey helped them with their hands Now from the flames and now from the hot soil. Not otherwise in summer do the dogs, Now with the foot, no w with the muzzle, when By fleas, or flies, or gadflies, they are bitten . When I had turned mine eyes up on the faces Of some, on whom the dolorous fire is falling, Not one of them I knew; but I perceived That from the neck of each the re hung a pouch, Which certain colour had, and certain blazon; And thereupon it seems their eyes are feeding. And as I gazing round me come among them, Upon a yellow pouch I azure saw That had the face and posture of a lion. Proceeding then the current of my sight, Another of them saw I , red as blood, Display a goose more white than butter is. And one, who with an azure sow and gravid Emblazoned had his li ttle pouch of white, Said unto me: "What dost thou in this moat? Now get thee gone; and since t hou'rt still alive, Know that a neighbour of mine, Vitaliano, Will have his seat here on my left-hand side. A Paduan am I with these Flore ntines; Full many a time they thunder in mine ears, Exclaiming, 'Come the sovereign cavalier, He who shall bring the satchel with three goats;'" Then twisted he his m outh, and forth he thrust His tongue, like to an ox that licks its nose. And fearing lest my longer sta y might vex Him who had warned me not to tarry long, Backward I turned me from those weary souls. I found my Guide, who had alre ady mounted Upon the back of that wild animal, And said to me: "Now be both strong and bold. Now we descend by stairways su ch as these; Mount thou in front, for I will be midway, So that the tail may have no power to harm thee. " Such as he is who has so near the ague Of quartan that his n ails are blue already, And trembles all, but looking at the shade; Even such became I at those pr offered words; But shame in me his m enaces produced, Which maketh servant strong before good master. I seated me upon those monstro us shoulders; I wished to say, and yet the voice came not As I believed, "Take heed that thou embrace me." But he, who other times had re scued me In other peril, soon as I had mounted, Within his arms encircled and sustained me, And said: "Now, Geryon, bestir thyself; The circles large, an d the descent be little; Think of the novel burden which thou hast." Even as the little vessel shov es from shore, Backward, still backw ard, so he thence withdrew; And when he wholly felt himself afloat, There where his breast had bee n he turned his tail, And that extended lik e an eel he moved, And with his paws drew to himself the air. A greater fear I do not think there was What time abandoned P haeton the reins, Whereby the heavens, as still appears, were scor ched; Nor when the wretched Icarus h is flanks Felt stripped of feat hers by the melting wax, His father crying, "An ill way thou takest!" Than was my own, when I percei ved myself On all sides in the a ir, and saw extinguished The sight of everything but of the monster. Onward he goeth, swimming slow ly, slowly; Wheels and descends, but I perceive it only By wind upon my face and from below. I heard already on the right t he whirlpool Making a horrible cra shing under us; Whence I thrust out my head with eyes cast downw ard. Then was I still more fearful of the abyss; Because I fires behel d, and heard laments, Whereat I, trembling, all the closer cling. I saw then, for before I had n ot seen it, The turning and desce nding, by great horrors That were approaching upon divers sides. As falcon who has long been on the wing, Who, without seeing e ither lure or bird, Maketh the falconer say, "Ah me, thou stoopest," Descendeth weary, whence he st arted swiftly, Thorough a hundred ci rcles, and alights Far from his master, sullen and disdainful; Even thus did Geryon place us on the bottom, Close to the bases of the rough-hewn rock, And being disencumbered of our persons, He sped away as arrow from the string. __________________________________________________________________ There is a place in Hell called Malebolge, Wholly of stone and o f an iron colour, As is the circle that around it turns. Right in the middle of the fie ld malign There yawns a well ex ceeding wide and deep, Of which its place the structure will recount. Round, then, is that enclosure which remains Between the well and foot of the high, hard bank, And has distinct in valleys ten its bottom. As where for the protection of the walls Many and many moats s urround the castles, The part in which they are a figure forms, Just such an image those prese nted there; And as about such str ongholds from their gates Unto the outer bank are little bridges, So from the precipice's base d id crags Project, which inters ected dikes and moats, Unto the well that truncates and collects them. Within this place, down shaken from the back Of Geryon, we found u s; and the Poet Held to the left, and I moved on behind. Upon my right hand I beheld ne w anguish, New torments, and new wielders of the lash, Wherewith the foremost Bolgia was replete. Down at the bottom were the si nners naked; This side the middle came they facing us, Beyond it, with us, but with greater steps; Even as the Romans, for the mi ghty host, The year of Jubilee, upon the bridge, Have chosen a mode to pass the people over; For all upon one side towards the Castle Their faces have, and go unto St. Peter's; On the other side they go towards the Mountain. This side and that, along the livid stone Beheld I horned demon s with great scourges, Who cruelly were beating them behind. Ah me! how they did make them lift their legs At the first blows! a nd sooth not any one The second waited for, nor for the third. While I was going on, mine eye s by one Encountered were; and straight I said: "Already With sight of this one I am not unfed." Therefore I stayed my feet to make him out, And with me the sweet Guide came to a stand, And to my going somewhat back assented; And he, the scourged one, thou ght to hide himself, Lowering his face, bu t little it availed him; For said I: "Thou that castest down thine eyes, If false are not the features which thou bearest, Thou art Venedico Cac cianimico; But what doth bring thee to such pungent sauces? " And he to me: "Unwillingly I t ell it; But forces me thine u tterance distinct, Which makes me recollect the ancient world. I was the one who the fair Ghi sola Induced to grant the wishes of the Marquis, Howe'er the shameless story may be told. Not the sole Bolognese am I wh o weeps here; Nay, rather is this p lace so full of them, That not so many tongues to-day are taught 'Twixt Reno and Savena to say 'sipa;' And if thereof thou w ishest pledge or proof, Bring to thy mind our avaricious heart." While speaking in this manner, with his scourge A demon smote him, an d said: "Get thee gone Pander, there are no women here for coin." I joined myself again unto min e Escort; Thereafterward with f ootsteps few we came To where a crag projected from the bank. This very easily did we ascend , And turning to the ri ght along its ridge, From those eternal circles we departed. When we were there, where it i s hollowed out Beneath, to give a pa ssage to the scourged, The Guide said: "Wait, and see that on thee stri ke The vision of those others evi l-born, Of whom thou hast not yet beheld the faces, Because together with us they have gone." From the old bridge we looked upon the train Which tow'rds us came upon the other border, And which the scourges in like manner smite. And the good Master, without m y inquiring, Said to me: "See that tall one who is coming, And for his pain seems not to shed a tear; Still what a royal aspect he r etains! That Jason is, who by his heart and cunning The Colchians of the Ram made destitute. He by the isle of Lemnos passe d along After the daring wome n pitiless Had unto death devoted all their males. There with his tokens and with ornate words Did he deceive Hypsip yle, the maiden Who first, herself, had all the rest deceived. There did he leave her pregnan t and forlorn; Such sin unto such pu nishment condemns him, And also for Medea is vengeance done. With him go those who in such wise deceive; And this sufficient b e of the first valley To know, and those that in its jaws it holds." We were already where the narr ow path Crosses athwart the s econd dike, and forms Of that a buttress for another arch. Thence we heard people, who ar e making moan In the next Bolgia, s norting with their muzzles, And with their palms beating upon themselves The margins were incrusted wit h a mould By exhalation from be low, that sticks there, And with the eyes and nostrils wages war. The bottom is so deep, no plac e suffices To give us sight of i t, without ascending The arch's back, where most the crag impends. Thither we came, and thence do wn in the moat I saw a people smothe red in a filth That out of human privies seemed to flow; And whilst below there with mi ne eye I search, I saw one with his he ad so foul with ordure, It was not clear if he were clerk or layman. He screamed to me: "Wherefore art thou so eager To look at me more th an the other foul ones?" And I to him: "Because, if I remember, I have already seen thee with dry hair, And thou'rt Alessio I nterminei of Lucca; Therefore I eye thee more than all the others." And he thereon, belabouring hi s pumpkin: "The flatteries have submerged me here below, Wherewith my tongue was never surfeited." Then said to me the Guide: "Se e that thou thrust Thy visage somewhat f arther in advance, That with thine eyes thou well the face attain Of that uncleanly and dishevel led drab, Who there doth scratc h herself with filthy nails, And crouches now, and now on foot is standing. Thais the harlot is it, who re plied Unto her paramour, wh en he said, 'Have I Great gratitude from thee?'--'Nay, marvellous;' And herewith let our sight be satisfied." __________________________________________________________________ O Simon Magus, O forlorn disciples, Ye who the things of God, which ought to be The brides of holiness, rapaciously For silver and for gold do pro stitute, Now it behoves for yo u the trumpet sound, Because in this third Bolgia ye abide. We had already on the followin g tomb Ascended to that port ion of the crag Which o'er the middle of the moat hangs plumb. Wisdom supreme, O how great ar t thou showest In heaven, in earth, and in the evil world, And with what justice doth thy power distribute! I saw upon the sides and on th e bottom The livid stone with perforations filled, All of one size, and every one was round. To me less ample seemed they n ot, nor greater Than those that in my beautiful Saint John Are fashioned for the place of the baptisers, And one of which, not many yea rs ago, I broke for some one, who was drowning in it; Be this a seal all men to undeceive. Out of the mouth of each one t here protruded The feet of a transgr essor, and the legs Up to the calf, the rest within remained. In all of them the soles were both on fire; Wherefore the joints so violently quivered, They would have snapped asunder withes and bands . Even as the flame of unctuous things is wont To move upon the oute r surface only, So likewise was it there from heel to point. "Master, who is that one who w rithes himself, More than his other c omrades quivering," I said, "and whom a redder flame is sucking?" And he to me: "If thou wilt ha ve me bear thee Down there along that bank which lowest lies, From him thou'lt know his errors and himself." And I: "What pleases thee, to me is pleasing; Thou art my Lord, and knowest that I depart not From thy desire, and knowest what is not spoken. " Straightway upon the fourth di ke we arrived; We turned, and on the left-hand side descended Down to the bottom full of holes and narrow. And the good Master yet from o ff his haunch Deposed me not, till to the hole he brought me Of him who so lamented with his shanks. "Whoe'er thou art, that stande st upside down, O doleful soul, impla nted like a stake," To say began I, "if thou canst, speak out." I stood even as the friar who is confessing The false assassin, w ho, when he is fixed, Recalls him, so that death may be delayed. And he cried out: "Dost thou s tand there already, Dost thou stand there already, Boniface? By many years the record lied to me. Art thou so early satiate with that wealth, For which thou didst not fear to take by fraud The beautiful Lady, and then work her woe?" Such I became, as people are w ho stand, Not comprehending wha t is answered them, As if bemocked, and know not how to answer. Then said Virgilius: "Say to h im straightway, 'I am not he, I am no t he thou thinkest.'" And I replied as was imposed on me. Whereat the spirit writhed wit h both his feet, Then, sighing, with a voice of lamentation Said to me: "Then what wantest thou of me? If who I am thou carest so muc h to know, That thou on that acc ount hast crossed the bank, Know that I vested was with the great mantle; And truly was I son of the She -bear, So eager to advance t he cubs, that wealth Above, and here myself, I pocketed. Beneath my head the others are dragged down Who have preceded me in simony, Flattened along the fissure of the rock. Below there I shall likewise f all, whenever That one shall come w ho I believed thou wast, What time the sudden question I proposed. But longer I my feet already t oast, And here have been in this way upside down, Than he will planted stay with reddened feet; For after him shall come of fo uler deed From tow'rds the west a Pastor without law, Such as befits to cover him and me. New Jason will he be, of whom we read In Maccabees; and as his king was pliant, So he who governs France shall be to this one." I do not know if I were here t oo bold, That him I answered o nly in this metre: "I pray thee tell me now how great a treasure Our Lord demanded of Saint Pet er first, Before he put the key s into his keeping? Truly he nothing asked but 'Follow me.' Nor Peter nor the rest asked o f Matthias Silver or gold, when he by lot was chosen Unto the place the guilty soul had lost. Therefore stay here, for thou art justly punished, And keep safe guard o 'er the ill-gotten money, Which caused thee to be valiant against Charles. And were it not that still for bids it me The reverence for the keys superlative Thou hadst in keeping in the gladsome life, I would make use of words more grievous still; Because your avarice afflicts the world, Trampling the good and lifting the depraved. The Evangelist you Pastors had in mind, When she who sitteth upon many waters To fornicate with kings by him was seen; The same who with the seven he ads was born, And power and strengt h from the ten horns received, So long as virtue to her spouse was pleasing. Ye have made yourselves a god of gold and silver; And from the idolater how differ ye, Save that he one, and ye a hundred worship? Ah, Constantine! of how much i ll was mother, Not thy conversion, b ut that marriage dower Which the first wealthy Father took from thee!" And while I sang to him such n otes as these, Either that anger or that conscience stung him, He struggled violently with both his feet. I think in sooth that it my Le ader pleased, With such contented l ip he listened ever Unto the sound of the true words expressed. Therefore with both his arms h e took me up, And when he had me al l upon his breast, Remounted by the way where he descended. Nor did he tire to have me cla sped to him; But bore me to the su mmit of the arch Which from the fourth dike to the fifth is passa ge. There tenderly he laid his bur den down, Tenderly on the crag uneven and steep, That would have been hard passage for the goats: Thence was unveiled to me anot her valley. __________________________________________________________________ Of a new pain behoves me to make verses And give material to the twentieth canto Of the first song, which is of the submerged. I was already thoroughly dispo sed To peer down into the uncovered depth, Which bathed itself with tears of agony; And people saw I through the c ircular valley, Silent and weeping, c oming at the pace Which in this world the Litanies assume. As lower down my sight descend ed on them, Wondrously each one s eemed to be distorted From chin to the beginning of the chest; For tow'rds the reins the coun tenance was turned, And backward it behov ed them to advance, As to look forward had been taken from them. Perchance indeed by violence o f palsy Some one has been thu s wholly turned awry; But I ne'er saw it, nor believe it can be. As God may let thee, Reader, g ather fruit From this thy reading , think now for thyself How I could ever keep my face unmoistened, When our own image near me I b eheld Distorted so, the wee ping of the eyes Along the fissure bathed the hinder parts. Truly I wept, leaning upon a p eak Of the hard crag, so that my Escort said To me: "Art thou, too, of the other fools? Here pity lives when it is who lly dead; Who is a greater repr obate than he Who feels compassion at the doom divine? Lift up, lift up thy head, and see for whom Opened the earth befo re the Thebans' eyes; Wherefore they all cried: 'Whither rushest thou, Amphiaraus? Why dost leave the war?' And downward ceased h e not to fall amain As far as Minos, who lays hold on all. See, he has made a bosom of hi s shoulders! Because he wished to see too far before him Behind he looks, and backward goes his way: Behold Tiresias, who his sembl ance changed, When from a male a fe male he became, His members being all of them transformed; And afterwards was forced to s trike once more The two entangled ser pents with his rod, Ere he could have again his manly plumes. That Aruns is, who backs the o ther's belly, Who in the hills of L uni, there where grubs The Carrarese who houses underneath, Among the marbles white a cave rn had For his abode; whence to behold the stars And sea, the view was not cut off from him. And she there, who is covering up her breasts, Which thou beholdest not, with loosened tresses, And on that side has all the hairy skin, Was Manto, who made quest thro ugh many lands, Afterwards tarried th ere where I was born; Whereof I would thou list to me a little. After her father had from life departed, And the city of Bacch us had become enslaved, She a long season wandered through the world. Above in beauteous Italy lies a lake At the Alp's foot tha t shuts in Germany Over Tyrol, and has the name Benaco. By a thousand springs, I think , and more, is bathed, 'Twixt Garda and Val Camonica, Pennino, With water that grows stagnant in that lake. Midway a place is where the Tr entine Pastor, And he of Brescia, an d the Veronese Might give his blessing, if he passed that way. Sitteth Peschiera, fortress fa ir and strong, To front the Brescian s and the Bergamasks, Where round about the bank descendeth lowest. There of necessity must fall w hatever In bosom of Benaco ca nnot stay, And grows a river down through verdant pastures. Soon as the water doth begin t o run, No more Benaco is it called, but Mincio, Far as Governo, where it falls in Po. Not far it runs before it find s a plain In which it spreads i tself, and makes it marshy, And oft 'tis wont in summer to be sickly. Passing that way the virgin pi tiless Land in the middle of the fen descried, Untilled and naked of inhabitants; There to escape all human inte rcourse, She with her servants stayed, her arts to practise And lived, and left her empty body there. The men, thereafter, who were scattered round, Collected in that pla ce, which was made strong By the lagoon it had on every side; They built their city over tho se dead bones, And, after her who fi rst the place selected, Mantua named it, without other omen. Its people once within more cr owded were, Ere the stupidity of Casalodi From Pinamonte had received deceit. Therefore I caution thee, if e 'er thou hearest Originate my city oth erwise, No falsehood may the verity defraud." And I: "My Master, thy discour ses are To me so certain, and so take my faith, That unto me the rest would be spent coals. But tell me of the people who are passing, If any one note-worth y thou beholdest, For only unto that my mind reverts." Then said he to me: "He who fr om the cheek Thrusts out his beard upon his swarthy shoulders Was, at the time when Greece was void of males, So that there scarce remained one in the cradle, An augur, and with Ca lchas gave the moment, In Aulis, when to sever the first cable. Eryphylus his name was, and so sings My lofty Tragedy in s ome part or other; That knowest thou well, who knowest the whole of it. The next, who is so slender in the flanks, Was Michael Scott, wh o of a verity Of magical illusions knew the game. Behold Guido Bonatti, behold A sdente, Who now unto his leat her and his thread Would fain have stuck, but he too late repents. Behold the wretched ones, who left the needle, The spool and rock, a nd made them fortune-tellers; They wrought their magic spells with herb and im age. But come now, for already hold s the confines Of both the hemispher es, and under Seville Touches the ocean-wave, Cain and the thorns, And yesternight the moon was r ound already; Thou shouldst remembe r well it did not harm thee From time to time within the forest deep." Thus spake he to me, and we wa lked the while. __________________________________________________________________ From bridge to bridge thus, speaking other things Of which my Comedy ca res not to sing, We came along, and held the summit, when We halted to behold another fi ssure Of Malebolge and othe r vain laments; And I beheld it marvellously dark. As in the Arsenal of the Venet ians Boils in the winter t he tenacious pitch To smear their unsound vessels o'er again, For sail they cannot; and inst ead thereof One makes his vessel new, and one recaulks The ribs of that which many a voyage has made; One hammers at the prow, one a t the stern, This one makes oars, and that one cordage twists, Another mends the mainsail and the mizzen; Thus, not by fire, but by the art divine, Was boiling down belo w there a dense pitch Which upon every side the bank belimed. I saw it, but I did not see wi thin it Aught but the bubbles that the boiling raised, And all swell up and resubside compressed. The while below there fixedly I gazed, My Leader, crying out : "Beware, beware!" Drew me unto himself from where I stood. Then I turned round, as one wh o is impatient To see what it behove s him to escape, And whom a sudden terror doth unman, Who, while he looks, delays no t his departure; And I beheld behind u s a black devil, Running along upon the crag, approach. Ah, how ferocious was he in hi s aspect! And how he seemed to me in action ruthless, With open wings and light upon his feet! His shoulders, which sharp-poi nted were and high, A sinner did encumber with both haunches, And he held clutched the sinews of the feet. From off our bridge, he said: "O Malebranche, Behold one of the eld ers of Saint Zita; Plunge him beneath, for I return for others Unto that town, which is well furnished with them. All there are barrato rs, except Bonturo; No into Yes for money there is changed." He hurled him down, and over t he hard crag Turned round, and nev er was a mastiff loosened In so much hurry to pursue a thief. The other sank, and rose again face downward; But the demons, under cover of the bridge, Cried: "Here the Santo Volto has no place! Here swims one otherwise than in the Serchio; Therefore, if for our gaffs thou wishest not, Do not uplift thyself above the pitch." They seized him then with more than a hundred rakes; They said: "It here b ehoves thee to dance covered, That, if thou canst, thou secretly mayest pilfer ." Not otherwise the cooks their scullions make Immerse into the midd le of the caldron The meat with hooks, so that it may not float. Said the good Master to me: "T hat it be not Apparent thou art her e, crouch thyself down Behind a jag, that thou mayest have some screen; And for no outrage that is don e to me Be thou afraid, becau se these things I know, For once before was I in such a scuffle." Then he passed on beyond the b ridge's head, And as upon the sixth bank he arrived, Need was for him to have a steadfast front. With the same fury, and the sa me uproar, As dogs leap out upon a mendicant, Who on a sudden begs, where'er he stops, They issued from beneath the l ittle bridge, And turned against hi m all their grappling-irons; But he cried out: "Be none of you malignant! Before those hooks of yours la y hold of me, Let one of you step f orward, who may hear me, And then take counsel as to grappling me." They all cried out: "Let Malac oda go;" Whereat one started, and the rest stood still, And he came to him, saying: "What avails it?" "Thinkest thou, Malacoda, to b ehold me Advanced into this pl ace," my Master said, "Safe hitherto from all your skill of fence, Without the will divine, and f ate auspicious? Let me go on, for it in Heaven is willed That I another show this savage road." Then was his arrogance so humb led in him, That he let fall his grapnel at his feet, And to the others said: "Now strike him not." And unto me my Guide: "O thou, who sittest Among the splinters o f the bridge crouched down, Securely now return to me again." Wherefore I started and came s wiftly to him; And all the devils fo rward thrust themselves, So that I feared they would not keep their compa ct. And thus beheld I once afraid the soldiers Who issued under safe guard from Caprona, Seeing themselves among so many foes. Close did I press myself with all my person Beside my Leader, and turned not mine eyes From off their countenance, which was not good. They lowered their rakes, and "Wilt thou have me hit him," They said to one anot her, "on the rump?" And answered: "Yes; see that thou nick him with it." But the same demon who was hol ding parley With my Conductor tur ned him very quickly, And said: "Be quiet, be quiet, Scarmiglione;" Then said to us: "You can no f arther go Forward upon this cra g, because is lying All shattered, at the bottom, the sixth arch. And if it still doth please yo u to go onward, Pursue your way along upon this rock; Near is another crag that yields a path. Yesterday, five hours later th an this hour, One thousand and two hundred sixty-six Years were complete, that here the way was broke n. I send in that direction some of mine To see if any one dot h air himself; Go ye with them; for they will not be vicious. Step forward, Alichino and Cal cabrina," Began he to cry out, "and thou, Cagnazzo; And Barbariccia, do thou guide the ten. Come forward, Libicocco and Dr aghignazzo, And tusked Ciriatto a nd Graffiacane, And Farfarello and mad Rubicante; Search ye all round about the boiling pitch; Let these be safe as far as the next crag, That all unbroken passes o'er the dens." "O me! what is it, Master, tha t I see? Pray let us go," I sa id, "without an escort, If thou knowest how, since for myself I ask none . If thou art as observant as th y wont is, Dost thou not see tha t they do gnash their teeth, And with their brows are threatening woe to us?" And he to me: "I will not have thee fear; Let them gnash on, ac cording to their fancy, Because they do it for those boiling wretches." Along the left-hand dike they wheeled about; But first had each on e thrust his tongue between His teeth towards their leader for a signal; And he had made a trumpet of h is rump. __________________________________________________________________ I have erewhile seen horsemen moving camp, Begin the storming, a nd their muster make, And sometimes starting off for their escape; Vaunt-couriers have I seen upo n your land, O Aretines, and forag ers go forth, Tournaments stricken, and the joustings run, Sometimes with trumpets and so metimes with bells, With kettle-drums, an d signals of the castles, And with our own, and with outlandish things, But never yet with bagpipe so uncouth Did I see horsemen mo ve, nor infantry, Nor ship by any sign of land or star. We went upon our way with the ten demons; Ah, savage company! b ut in the church With saints, and in the tavern with the gluttons ! Ever upon the pitch was my int ent, To see the whole cond ition of that Bolgia, And of the people who therein were burned. Even as the dolphins, when the y make a sign To mariners by archin g of the back, That they should counsel take to save their vess el, Thus sometimes, to alleviate h is pain, One of the sinners wo uld display his back, And in less time conceal it than it lightens. As on the brink of water in a ditch The frogs stand only with their muzzles out, So that they hide their feet and other bulk, So upon every side the sinners stood; But ever as Barbaricc ia near them came, Thus underneath the boiling they withdrew. I saw, and still my heart doth shudder at it, One waiting thus, eve n as it comes to pass One frog remains, and down another dives; And Graffiacan, who most confr onted him, Grappled him by his t resses smeared with pitch, And drew him up, so that he seemed an otter. I knew, before, the names of a ll of them, So had I noted them w hen they were chosen, And when they called each other, listened how. "O Rubicante, see that thou do lay Thy claws upon him, s o that thou mayst flay him," Cried all together the accursed ones. And I: "My Master, see to it, if thou canst, That thou mayst know who is the luckless wight, Thus come into his adversaries' hands." Near to the side of him my Lea der drew, Asked of him whence h e was; and he replied: "I in the kingdom of Navarre was born; My mother placed me servant to a lord, For she had borne me to a ribald knave, Destroyer of himself and of his things. Then I domestic was of good Ki ng Thibault; I set me there to pra ctise barratry, For which I pay the reckoning in this heat." And Ciriatto, from whose mouth projected, On either side, a tus k, as in a boar, Caused him to feel how one of them could rip. Among malicious cats the mouse had come; But Barbariccia clasp ed him in his arms, And said: "Stand ye aside, while I enfork him." And to my Master he turned rou nd his head; "Ask him again," he s aid, "if more thou wish To know from him, before some one destroy him." The Guide: "Now tell then of t he other culprits; Knowest thou any one who is a Latian, Under the pitch?" And he: "I separated Lately from one who was a neig hbour to it; Would that I still we re covered up with him, For I should fear not either claw nor hook!" And Libicocco: "We have borne too much;" And with his grapnel seized him by the arm, So that, by rending, he tore off a tendon. Eke Draghignazzo wished to pou nce upon him Down at the legs; whe nce their Decurion Turned round and round about with evil look. When they again somewhat were pacified, Of him, who still was looking at his wound, Demanded my Conductor without stay: "Who was that one, from whom a luckless parting Thou sayest thou hast made, to come ashore?" And he replied: "It was the Friar Gomita, He of Gallura, vessel of all f raud, Who had the enemies o f his Lord in hand, And dealt so with them each exults thereat; Money he took, and let them sm oothly off, As he says; and in ot her offices A barrator was he, not mean but sovereign. Foregathers with him one Don M ichael Zanche Of Logodoro; and of S ardinia To gossip never do their tongues feel tired. O me! see that one, how he gri nds his teeth; Still farther would I speak, but am afraid Lest he to scratch my itch be making ready." And the grand Provost, turned to Farfarello, Who rolled his eyes a bout as if to strike, Said: "Stand aside there, thou malicious bird." "If you desire either to see o r hear," The terror-stricken r ecommenced thereon, "Tuscans or Lombards, I will make them come. But let the Malebranche cease a little, So that these may not their revenges fear, And I, down sitting in this very place, For one that I am will make se ven come, When I shall whistle, as our custom is To do whenever one of us comes out." Cagnazzo at these words his mu zzle lifted, Shaking his head, and said: "Just hear the trick Which he has thought of, down to throw himself!" Whence he, who snares in great abundance had, Responded: "I by far too cunning am, When I procure for mine a greater sadness." Alichin held not in, but runni ng counter Unto the rest, said t o him: "If thou dive, I will not follow thee upon the gallop, But I will beat my wings above the pitch; The height be left, a nd be the bank a shield To see if thou alone dost countervail us." O thou who readest, thou shalt hear new sport! Each to the other sid e his eyes averted; He first, who most reluctant was to do it. The Navarrese selected well hi s time; Planted his feet on l and, and in a moment Leaped, and released himself from their design. Whereat each one was suddenly stung with shame, But he most who was c ause of the defeat; Therefore he moved, and cried: "Thou art o'ertak ern." But little it availed, for win gs could not Outstrip the fear; th e other one went under, And, flying, upward he his breast directed; Not otherwise the duck upon a sudden Dives under, when the falcon is approaching, And upward he returneth cross and weary. Infuriate at the mockery, Calc abrina Flying behind him fol lowed close, desirous The other should escape, to have a quarrel. And when the barrator had disa ppeared, He turned his talons upon his companion, And grappled with him right above the moat. But sooth the other was a doug hty sparhawk To clapperclaw him we ll; and both of them Fell in the middle of the boiling pond. A sudden intercessor was the h eat; But ne'ertheless of r ising there was naught, To such degree they had their wings belimed. Lamenting with the others, Bar bariccia Made four of them fly to the other side With all their gaffs, and very speedily This side and that they to the ir posts descended; They stretched their hooks towards the pitch-ensnared, Who were already baked within the crust, And in this manner busied did we leave them. __________________________________________________________________ Silent, alone, and without company We went, the one in f ront, the other after, As go the Minor Friars along their way. Upon the fable of Aesop was di rected My thought, by reason of the present quarrel, Where he has spoken of the frog and mouse; For 'mo' and 'issa' are not mo re alike Than this one is to t hat, if well we couple End and beginning with a steadfast mind. And even as one thought from a nother springs, So afterward from tha t was born another, Which the first fear within me double made. Thus did I ponder: "These on o ur account Are laughed to scorn, with injury and scoff So great, that much I think it must annoy them. If anger be engrafted on ill-w ill, They will come after us more merciless Than dog upon the leveret which he seizes," I felt my hair stand all on en d already With terror, and stoo d backwardly intent, When said I: "Master, if thou hidest not Thyself and me forthwith, of M alebranche I am in dread; we hav e them now behind us; I so imagine them, I already feel them." And he: "If I were made of lea ded glass, Thine outward image I should not attract Sooner to me than I imprint the inner. Just now thy thoughts came in among my own, With similar attitude and similar face, So that of both one counsel sole I made. If peradventure the right bank so slope That we to the next B olgia can descend, We shall escape from the imagined chase." Not yet he finished rendering such opinion, When I beheld them co me with outstretched wings, Not far remote, with will to seize upon us. My Leader on a sudden seized m e up, Even as a mother who by noise is wakened, And close beside her sees the enkindled flames, Who takes her son, and flies, and does not stop, Having more care of h im than of herself, So that she clothes her only with a shift; And downward from the top of t he hard bank Supine he gave him to the pendent rock, That one side of the other Bolgia walls. Ne'er ran so swiftly water thr ough a sluice To turn the wheel of any land-built mill, When nearest to the paddles it approaches, As did my Master down along th at border, Bearing me with him o n his breast away, As his own son, and not as a companion. Hardly the bed of the ravine b elow His feet had reached, ere they had reached the hill Right over us; but he was not afraid; For the high Providence, which had ordained To place them ministe rs of the fifth moat, The power of thence departing took from all. A painted people there below w e found, Who went about with f ootsteps very slow, Weeping and in their semblance tired and vanquis hed. They had on mantles with the h oods low down Before their eyes, an d fashioned of the cut That in Cologne they for the monks are made. Without, they gilded are so th at it dazzles; But inwardly all lead en and so heavy That Frederick used to put them on of straw. O everlastingly fatiguing mant le! Again we turned us, s till to the left hand Along with them, intent on their sad plaint; But owing to the weight, that weary folk Came on so tardily, t hat we were new In company at each motion of the haunch. Whence I unto my Leader: "See thou find Some one who may by d eed or name be known, And thus in going move thine eye about." And one, who understood the Tu scan speech, Cried to us from behi nd: "Stay ye your feet, Ye, who so run athwart the dusky air! Perhaps thou'lt have from me w hat thou demandest." Whereat the Leader tu rned him, and said: "Wait, And then according to his pace proceed." I stopped, and two beheld I sh ow great haste Of spirit, in their f aces, to be with me; But the burden and the narrow way delayed them. When they came up, long with a n eye askance They scanned me witho ut uttering a word. Then to each other turned, and said together: "He by the action of his throa t seems living; And if they dead are, by what privilege Go they uncovered by the heavy stole?" Then said to me: "Tuscan, who to the college Of miserable hypocrit es art come, Do not disdain to tell us who thou art." And I to them: "Born was I, an d grew up In the great town on the fair river of Arno, And with the body am I've always had. But who are ye, in whom there trickles down Along your cheeks suc h grief as I behold? And what pain is upon you, that so sparkles?" And one replied to me: "These orange cloaks Are made of lead so h eavy, that the weights Cause in this way their balances to creak. Frati Gaudenti were we, and Bo lognese; I Catalano, and he Lo deringo Named, and together taken by thy city, As the wont is to take one man alone, For maintenance of it s peace; and we were such That still it is apparent round Gardingo." "O Friars," began I, "your ini quitous. . ." But said no more; for to mine eyes there rushed One crucified with three stakes on the ground. When me he saw, he writhed him self all over, Blowing into his bear d with suspirations; And the Friar Catalan, who noticed this, Said to me: "This transfixed o ne, whom thou seest, Counselled the Pharis ees that it was meet To put one man to torture for the people. Crosswise and naked is he on t he path, As thou perceivest; a nd he needs must feel, Whoever passes, first how much he weighs; And in like mode his father-in -law is punished Within this moat, and the others of the council, Which for the Jews was a malignant seed." And thereupon I saw Virgilius marvel O'er him who was exte nded on the cross So vilely in eternal banishment. Then he directed to the Friar this voice: "Be not displeased, i f granted thee, to tell us If to the right hand any pass slope down By which we two may issue fort h from here, Without constraining some of the black angels To come and extricate us from this deep." Then he made answer: "Nearer t han thou hopest There is a rock, that forth from the great circle Proceeds, and crosses all the cruel valleys, Save that at this 'tis broken, and does not bridge it; You will be able to m ount up the ruin, That sidelong slopes and at the bottom rises." The Leader stood awhile with h ead bowed down; Then said: "The busin ess badly he recounted Who grapples with his hook the sinners yonder." And the Friar: "Many of the De vil's vices Once heard I at Bolog na, and among them, That he's a liar and the father of lies." Thereat my Leader with great s trides went on, Somewhat disturbed wi th anger in his looks; Whence from the heavy-laden I departed After the prints of his belove d feet. __________________________________________________________________ In that part of the youthful year wherein The Sun his locks ben eath Aquarius tempers, And now the nights draw near to half the day, What time the hoar-frost copie s on the ground The outward semblance of her sister white, But little lasts the temper of her pen, The husbandman, whose forage f aileth him, Rises, and looks, and seeth the champaign All gleaming white, whereat he beats his flank, Returns in doors, and up and d own laments, Like a poor wretch, w ho knows not what to do; Then he returns and hope revives again, Seeing the world has changed i ts countenance In little time, and t akes his shepherd's crook, And forth the little lambs to pasture drives. Thus did the Master fill me wi th alarm, When I beheld his for ehead so disturbed, And to the ailment came as soon the plaster. For as we came unto the ruined bridge, The Leader turned to me with that sweet look Which at the mountain's foot I first beheld. His arms he opened, after some advisement Within himself electe d, looking first Well at the ruin, and laid hold of me. And even as he who acts and me ditates, For aye it seems that he provides beforehand, So upward lifting me towards the summit Of a huge rock, he scanned ano ther crag, Saying: "To that one grapple afterwards, But try first if 'tis such that it will hold the e." This was no way for one clothe d with a cloak; For hardly we, he lig ht, and I pushed upward, Were able to ascend from jag to jag. And had it not been, that upon that precinct Shorter was the ascen t than on the other, He I know not, but I had been dead beat. But because Malebolge tow'rds the mouth Of the profoundest we ll is all inclining, The structure of each valley doth import That one bank rises and the ot her sinks. Still we arrived at l ength upon the point Wherefrom the last stone breaks itself asunder. The breath was from my lungs s o milked away, When I was up, that I could go no farther, Nay, I sat down upon my first arrival. "Now it behoves thee thus to p ut off sloth," My Master said; "for sitting upon down, Or under quilt, one cometh not to fame, Withouten which whoso his life consumes Such vestige leaveth of himself on earth, As smoke in air or in the water foam. And therefore raise thee up, o 'ercome the anguish With spirit that o'er cometh every battle, If with its heavy body it sink not. A longer stairway it behoves t hee mount; 'Tis not enough from these to have departed; Let it avail thee, if thou understand me." Then I uprose, showing myself provided Better with breath th an I did feel myself, And said: "Go on, for I am strong and bold." Upward we took our way along t he crag, Which jagged was, and narrow, and difficult, And more precipitous far than that before. Speaking I went, not to appear exhausted; Whereat a voice from the next moat came forth, Not well adapted to articulate words. I know not what it said, thoug h o'er the back I now was of the arch that passes there; But he seemed moved to anger who was speaking. I was bent downward, but my li ving eyes Could not attain the bottom, for the dark; Wherefore I: "Master, see that thou arrive At the next round, and let us descend the wall; For as from hence I h ear and understand not, So I look down and nothing I distinguish." "Other response," he said, "I make thee not, Except the doing; for the modest asking Ought to be followed by the deed in silence." We from the bridge descended a t its head, Where it connects its elf with the eighth bank, And then was manifest to me the Bolgia; And I beheld therein a terribl e throng Of serpents, and of s uch a monstrous kind, That the remembrance still congeals my blood Let Libya boast no longer with her sand; For if Chelydri, Jacu li, and Phareae She breeds, with Cenchri and with Amphisbaena, Neither so many plagues nor so malignant E'er showed she with all Ethiopia, Nor with whatever on the Red Sea is! Among this cruel and most dism al throng People were running n aked and affrighted. Without the hope of hole or heliotrope. They had their hands with serp ents bound behind them; These riveted upon th eir reins the tail And head, and were in front of them entwined. And lo! at one who was upon ou r side There darted forth a serpent, which transfixed him There where the neck is knotted to the shoulders . Nor 'O' so quickly e'er, nor ' I' was written, As he took fire, and burned; and ashes wholly Behoved it that in falling he became. And when he on the ground was thus destroyed, The ashes drew togeth er, and of themselves Into himself they instantly returned. Even thus by the great sages ' tis confessed The phoenix dies, and then is born again, When it approaches its five-hundredth year; On herb or grain it feeds not in its life, But only on tears of incense and amomum, And nard and myrrh are its last winding-sheet. And as he is who falls, and kn ows not how, By force of demons wh o to earth down drag him, Or other oppilation that binds man, When he arises and around him looks, Wholly bewildered by the mighty anguish Which he has suffered, and in looking sighs; Such was that sinner after he had risen. Justice of God! O how severe it is, That blows like these in vengeance poureth down! The Guide thereafter asked him who he was; Whence he replied: "I rained from Tuscany A short time since into this cruel gorge. A bestial life, and not a huma n, pleased me, Even as the mule I wa s; I'm Vanni Fucci, Beast, and Pistoia was my worthy den." And I unto the Guide: "Tell hi m to stir not, And ask what crime ha s thrust him here below, For once a man of blood and wrath I saw him." And the sinner, who had heard, dissembled not, But unto me directed mind and face, And with a melancholy shame was painted. Then said: "It pains me more t hat thou hast caught me Amid this misery wher e thou seest me, Than when I from the other life was taken. What thou demandest I cannot d eny; So low am I put down because I robbed The sacristy of the fair ornaments, And falsely once 'twas laid up on another; But that thou mayst n ot such a sight enjoy, If thou shalt e'er be out of the dark places, Thine ears to my announcement ope and hear: Pistoia first of Neri groweth meagre; Then Florence doth renew her men and manners; Mars draws a vapour up from Va l di Magra, Which is with turbid clouds enveloped round, And with impetuous and bitter tempest Over Campo Picen shall be the battle; When it shall suddenl y rend the mist asunder, So that each Bianco shall thereby be smitten. And this I've said that it may give thee pain." __________________________________________________________________ At the conclusion of his words, the thief Lifted his hands alof t with both the figs, Crying: "Take that, God, for at thee I aim them. " From that time forth the serpe nts were my friends; For one entwined itse lf about his neck As if it said: "I will not thou speak more;" And round his arms another, an d rebound him, Clinching itself toge ther so in front, That with them he could not a motion make. Pistoia, ah, Pistoia! why reso lve not To burn thyself to as hes and so perish, Since in ill-doing thou thy seed excellest? Through all the sombre circles of this Hell, Spirit I saw not agai nst God so proud, Not he who fell at Thebes down from the walls! He fled away, and spake no fur ther word; And I beheld a Centau r full of rage Come crying out: "Where is, where is the scoffer ?" I do not think Maremma has so many Serpents as he had al l along his back, As far as where our countenance begins. Upon the shoulders, just behin d the nape, With wings wide open was a dragon lying, And he sets fire to all that he encounters. My Master said: "That one is C acus, who Beneath the rock upon Mount Aventine Created oftentimes a lake of blood. He goes not on the same road w ith his brothers, By reason of the frau dulent theft he made Of the great herd, which he had near to him; Whereat his tortuous actions c eased beneath The mace of Hercules, who peradventure Gave him a hundred, and he felt not ten." While he was speaking thus, he had passed by, And spirits three had underneath us come, Of which nor I aware was, nor my Leader, Until what time they shouted: "Who are you?" On which account our story made a halt, And then we were intent on them alone. I did not know them; but it ca me to pass, As it is wont to happ en by some chance, That one to name the other was compelled, Exclaiming: "Where can Cianfa have remained?" Whence I, so that the Leader might attend, Upward from chin to nose my finger laid. If thou art, Reader, slow now to believe What I shall say, it will no marvel be, For I who saw it hardly can admit it. As I was holding raised on the m my brows, Behold! a serpent wit h six feet darts forth In front of one, and fastens wholly on him. With middle feet it bound him round the paunch, And with the forward ones his arms it seized; Then thrust its teeth through one cheek and the other; The hindermost it stretched up on his thighs, And put its tail thro ugh in between the two, And up behind along the reins outspread it. Ivy was never fastened by its barbs Unto a tree so, as th is horrible reptile Upon the other's limbs entwined its own. Then they stuck close, as if o f heated wax They had been made, a nd intermixed their colour; Nor one nor other seemed now what he was; E'en as proceedeth on before t he flame Upward along the pape r a brown colour, Which is not black as yet, and the white dies. The other two looked on, and e ach of them Cried out: "O me, Agn ello, how thou changest! Behold, thou now art neither two nor one." Already the two heads had one become, When there appeared t o us two figures mingled Into one face, wherein the two were lost. Of the four lists were fashion ed the two arms, The thighs and legs, the belly and the chest Members became that never yet were seen. Every original aspect there wa s cancelled; Two and yet none did the perverted image Appear, and such departed with slow pace. Even as a lizard, under the gr eat scourge Of days canicular, ex changing hedge, Lightning appeareth if the road it cross; Thus did appear, coming toward s the bellies Of the two others, a small fiery serpent, Livid and black as is a peppercorn. And in that part whereat is fi rst received Our aliment, it one o f them transfixed; Then downward fell in front of him extended. The one transfixed looked at i t, but said naught; Nay, rather with feet motionless he yawned, Just as if sleep or fever had assailed him. He at the serpent gazed, and i t at him; One through the wound , the other through the mouth Smoked violently, and the smoke commingled. Henceforth be silent Lucan, wh ere he mentions Wretched Sabellus and Nassidius, And wait to hear what now shall be shot forth. Be silent Ovid, of Cadmus and Arethusa; For if him to a snake , her to fountain, Converts he fabling, that I grudge him not; Because two natures never fron t to front Has he transmuted, so that both the forms To interchange their matter ready were. Together they responded in suc h wise, That to a fork the se rpent cleft his tail, And eke the wounded drew his feet together. The legs together with the thi ghs themselves Adhered so, that in l ittle time the juncture No sign whatever made that was apparent. He with the cloven tail assume d the figure The other one was los ing, and his skin Became elastic, and the other's hard. I saw the arms draw inward at the armpits, And both feet of the reptile, that were short, Lengthen as much as those contracted were. Thereafter the hind feet, toge ther twisted, Became the member tha t a man conceals, And of his own the wretch had two created. While both of them the exhalat ion veils With a new colour, an d engenders hair On one of them and depilates the other, The one uprose and down the ot her fell, Though turning not aw ay their impious lamps, Underneath which each one his muzzle changed. He who was standing drew it to w'rds the temples, And from excess of ma tter, which came thither, Issued the ears from out the hollow cheeks; What did not backward run and was retained Of that excess made t o the face a nose, And the lips thickened far as was befitting. He who lay prostrate thrusts h is muzzle forward, And backward draws th e ears into his head, In the same manner as the snail its horns; And so the tongue, which was e ntire and apt For speech before, is cleft, and the bi-forked In the other closes up, and the smoke ceases. The soul, which to a reptile h ad been changed, Along the valley hiss ing takes to flight, And after him the other speaking sputters. Then did he turn upon him his new shoulders, And said to the other : "I'll have Buoso run, Crawling as I have done, along this road." In this way I beheld the seven th ballast Shift and reshift, an d here be my excuse The novelty, if aught my pen transgress. And notwithstanding that mine eyes might be Somewhat bewildered, and my mind dismayed, They could not flee away so secretly But that I plainly saw Puccio Sciancato; And he it was who sol e of three companions, Which came in the beginning, was not changed; The other was he whom thou, Ga ville, weepest. __________________________________________________________________ Rejoice, O Florence, since thou art so great, That over sea and lan d thou beatest thy wings, And throughout Hell thy name is spread abroad! Among the thieves five citizen s of thine Like these I found, w hence shame comes unto me, And thou thereby to no great honour risest. But if when morn is near our d reams are true, Feel shalt thou in a little time from now What Prato, if none other, craves for thee. And if it now were, it were no t too soon; Would that it were, s eeing it needs must be, For 'twill aggrieve me more the more I age. We went our way, and up along the stairs The bourns had made u s to descend before, Remounted my Conductor and drew me. And following the solitary pat h Among the rocks and r idges of the crag, The foot without the hand sped not at all. Then sorrowed I, and sorrow no w again, When I direct my mind to what I saw, And more my genius curb than I am wont, That it may run not unless vir tue guide it; So that if some good star, or better thing, Have given me good, I may myself not grudge it. As many as the hind (who on th e hill Rests at the time whe n he who lights the world His countenance keeps least concealed from us, While as the fly gives place u nto the gnat) Seeth the glow-worms down along the valley, Perchance there where he ploughs and makes his v intage; With flames as manifold resple ndent all Was the eighth Bolgia , as I grew aware As soon as I was where the depth appeared. And such as he who with the be ars avenged him Beheld Elijah's chari ot at departing, What time the steeds to heaven erect uprose, For with his eye he could not follow it So as to see aught el se than flame alone, Even as a little cloud ascending upward, Thus each along the gorge of t he intrenchment Was moving; for not o ne reveals the theft, And every flame a sinner steals away. I stood upon the bridge uprise n to see, So that, if I had sei zed not on a rock, Down had I fallen without being pushed. And the Leader, who beheld me so attent, Exclaimed: "Within th e fires the spirits are; Each swathes himself with that wherewith he burn s." "My Master," I replied, "by he aring thee I am more sure; but I surmised already It might be so, and already wished to ask thee Who is within that fire, which comes so cleft At top, it seems upri sing from the pyre Where was Eteocles with his brother placed." He answered me: "Within there are tormented Ulysses and Diomed, a nd thus together They unto vengeance run as unto wrath. And there within their flame d o they lament The ambush of the hor se, which made the door Whence issued forth the Romans' gentle seed; Therein is wept the craft, for which being dead Deidamia still deplor es Achilles, And pain for the Palladium there is borne." "If they within those sparks p ossess the power To speak," I said, "t hee, Master, much I pray, And re-pray, that the prayer be worth a thousand , That thou make no denial of aw aiting Until the horned flam e shall hither come; Thou seest that with desire I lean towards it." And he to me: "Worthy is thy e ntreaty Of much applause, and therefore I accept it; But take heed that thy tongue restrain itself. Leave me to speak, because I h ave conceived That which thou wishe st; for they might disdain Perchance, since they were Greeks, discourse of thine." When now the flame had come un to that point, Where to my Leader it seemed time and place, After this fashion did I hear him speak: "O ye, who are twofold within one fire, If I deserved of you, while I was living, If I deserved of you or much or little When in the world I wrote the lofty verses, Do not move on, but o ne of you declare Whither, being lost, he went away to die." Then of the antique flame the greater horn, Murmuring, began to w ave itself about Even as a flame doth which the wind fatigues. Thereafterward, the summit to and fro Moving as if it were the tongue that spake, It uttered forth a voice, and said: "When I From Circe had departed, who c oncealed me More than a year ther e near unto Gaeta, Or ever yet Aeneas named it so, Nor fondness for my son, nor r everence For my old father, no r the due affection Which joyous should have made Penelope, Could overcome within me the d esire I had to be experienc ed of the world, And of the vice and virtue of mankind; But I put forth on the high op en sea With one sole ship, a nd that small company By which I never had deserted been. Both of the shores I saw as fa r as Spain, Far as Morocco, and t he isle of Sardes, And the others which that sea bathes round about . I and my company were old and slow When at that narrow p assage we arrived Where Hercules his landmarks set as signals, That man no farther onward sho uld adventure. On the right hand beh ind me left I Seville, And on the other already had left Ceuta. 'O brothers, who amid a hundre d thousand Perils,' I said, 'hav e come unto the West, To this so inconsiderable vigil Which is remaining of your sen ses still Be ye unwilling to de ny the knowledge, Following the sun, of the unpeopled world. Consider ye the seed from whic h ye sprang; Ye were not made to l ive like unto brutes, But for pursuit of virtue and of knowledge.' So eager did I render my compa nions, With this brief exhor tation, for the voyage, That then I hardly could have held them back. And having turned our stern un to the morning, We of the oars made w ings for our mad flight, Evermore gaining on the larboard side. Already all the stars of the o ther pole The night beheld, and ours so very low It did not rise above the ocean floor. Five times rekindled and as ma ny quenched Had been the splendou r underneath the moon, Since we had entered into the deep pass, When there appeared to us a mo untain, dim From distance, and it seemed to me so high As I had never any one beheld. Joyful were we, and soon it tu rned to weeping; For out of the new la nd a whirlwind rose, And smote upon the fore part of the ship. Three times it made her whirl with all the waters, At the fourth time it made the stern uplift, And the prow downward go, as pleased Another, Until the sea above us closed again." __________________________________________________________________ Already was the flame erect and quiet, To speak no more, and now departed from us With the permission of the gentle Poet; When yet another, which behind it came, Caused us to turn our eyes upon its top By a confused sound that issued from it. As the Sicilian bull (that bel lowed first With the lament of hi m, and that was right, Who with his file had modulated it) Bellowed so with the voice of the afflicted, That, notwithstanding it was made of brass, Still it appeared with agony transfixed; Thus, by not having any way or issue At first from out the fire, to its own language Converted were the melancholy words. But afterwards, when they had gathered way Up through the point, giving it that vibration The tongue had given them in their passage out, We heard it said: "O thou, at whom I aim My voice, and who but now wast speaking Lombard, Saying, 'Now go thy way, no more I urge thee,' Because I come perchance a lit tle late, To stay and speak wit h me let it not irk thee; Thou seest it irks not me, and I am burning. If thou but lately into this b lind world Hast fallen down from that sweet Latian land, Wherefrom I bring the whole of my transgression, Say, if the Romagnuols have pe ace or war, For I was from the mo untains there between Urbino and the yoke whence Tiber bursts." I still was downward bent and listening, When my Conductor tou ched me on the side, Saying: "Speak thou: this one a Latian is." And I, who had beforehand my r eply In readiness, forthwi th began to speak: "O soul, that down below there art concealed, Romagna thine is not and never has been Without war in the bo som of its tyrants; But open war I none have left there now. Ravenna stands as it long year s has stood; The Eagle of Polenta there is brooding, So that she covers Cervia with her vans. The city which once made the l ong resistance, And of the French a s anguinary heap, Beneath the Green Paws finds itself again; Verrucchio's ancient Mastiff a nd the new, Who made such bad dis posal of Montagna, Where they are wont make wimbles of their teeth. The cities of Lamone and Sante rno Governs the Lioncel o f the white lair, Who changes sides 'twixt summer-time and winter; And that of which the Savio ba thes the flank, Even as it lies betwe en the plain and mountain, Lives between tyranny and a free state. Now I entreat thee tell us who thou art; Be not more stubborn than the rest have been, So may thy name hold front there in the world." After the fire a little more h ad roared In its own fashion, t he sharp point it moved This way and that, and then gave forth such brea th: "If I believed that my reply w ere made To one who to the wor ld would e'er return, This flame without more flickering would stand s till; But inasmuch as never from thi s depth Did any one return, i f I hear true, Without the fear of infamy I answer, I was a man of arms, then Cord elier, Believing thus begirt to make amends; And truly my belief had been fulfilled But for the High Priest, whom may ill betide, Who put me back into my former sins; And how and wherefore I will have thee hear. While I was still the form of bone and pulp My mother gave to me, the deeds I did Were not those of a lion, but a fox. The machinations and the cover t ways I knew them all, and practised so their craft, That to the ends of earth the sound went forth. When now unto that portion of mine age I saw myself arrived, when each one ought To lower the sails, and coil away the ropes, That which before had pleased me then displeased me; And penitent and conf essing I surrendered, Ah woe is me! and it would have bestead me; The Leader of the modern Phari sees Having a war near unt o Lateran, And not with Saracens nor with the Jews, For each one of his enemies wa s Christian, And none of them had been to conquer Acre, Nor merchandising in the Sultan's land, Nor the high office, nor the s acred orders, In him regarded, nor in me that cord Which used to make those girt with it more meagr e; But even as Constantine sought out Sylvester To cure his leprosy, within Soracte, So this one sought me out as an adept To cure him of the fever of hi s pride. Counsel he asked of m e, and I was silent, Because his words appeared inebriate. And then he said: 'Be not thy heart afraid; Henceforth I thee abs olve; and thou instruct me How to raze Palestrina to the ground. Heaven have I power to lock an d to unlock, As thou dost know; th erefore the keys are two, The which my predecessor held not dear.' Then urged me on his weighty a rguments There, where my silen ce was the worst advice; And said I: 'Father, since thou washest me Of that sin into which I now m ust fall, The promise long with the fulfilment short Will make thee triumph in thy lofty seat.' Francis came afterward, when I was dead, For me; but one of th e black Cherubim Said to him: 'Take him not; do me no wrong; He must come down among my ser vitors, Because he gave the f raudulent advice From which time forth I have been at his hair; For who repents not cannot be absolved, Nor can one both repe nt and will at once, Because of the contradiction which consents not. ' O miserable me! how I did shud der When he seized on me, saying: 'Peradventure Thou didst not think that I was a logician!' He bore me unto Minos, who ent wined Eight times his tail about his stubborn back, And after he had bitten it in great rage, Said: 'Of the thievish fire a culprit this;' Wherefore, here where thou seest, am I lost, And vested thus in going I bemoan me." When it had thus completed its recital, The flame departed ut tering lamentations, Writhing and flapping its sharp-pointed horn. Onward we passed, both I and m y Conductor, Up o'er the crag abov e another arch, Which the moat covers, where is paid the fee By those who, sowing discord, win their burden. __________________________________________________________________ Who ever could, e'en with untrammelled words, Tell of the blood and of the wounds in full Which now I saw, by many times narrating? Each tongue would for a certai nty fall short By reason of our spee ch and memory, That have small room to comprehend so much. If were again assembled all th e people Which formerly upon t he fateful land Of Puglia were lamenting for their blood Shed by the Romans and the lin gering war That of the rings mad e such illustrious spoils, As Livy has recorded, who errs not, With those who felt the agony of blows By making counterstan d to Robert Guiscard, And all the rest, whose bones are gathered still At Ceperano, where a renegade Was each Apulian, and at Tagliacozzo, Where without arms the old Alardo conquered, And one his limb transpierced, and one lopped off, Should show, it would be nothing to compare With the disgusting mode of the ninth Bolgia. A cask by losing centre-piece or cant Was never shattered s o, as I saw one Rent from the chin to where one breaketh wind. Between his legs were hanging down his entrails; His heart was visible , and the dismal sack That maketh excrement of what is eaten. While I was all absorbed in se eing him, He looked at me, and opened with his hands His bosom, saying: "See now how I rend me; How mutilated, see, is Mahomet ; In front of me doth A li weeping go, Cleft in the face from forelock unto chin; And all the others whom thou h ere beholdest, Disseminators of scan dal and of schism While living were, and therefore are cleft thus. A devil is behind here, who do th cleave us Thus cruelly, unto th e falchion's edge Putting again each one of all this ream, When we have gone around the d oleful road; By reason that our wo unds are closed again Ere any one in front of him repass. But who art thou, that musest on the crag, Perchance to postpone going to the pain That is adjudged upon thine accusations?" "Nor death hath reached him ye t, nor guilt doth bring him," My Master made reply, "to be tormented; But to procure him full experience, Me, who am dead, behoves it to conduct him Down here through Hel l, from circle unto circle; And this is true as that I speak to thee." More than a hundred were there when they heard him, Who in the moat stood still to look at me, Through wonderment oblivious of their torture. "Now say to Fra Dolcino, then, to arm him, Thou, who perhaps wil t shortly see the sun, If soon he wish not here to follow me, So with provisions, that no st ress of snow May give the victory to the Novarese, Which otherwise to gain would not be easy." After one foot to go away he l ifted, This word did Mahomet say unto me, Then to depart upon the ground he stretched it. Another one, who had his throa t pierced through, And nose cut off clos e underneath the brows, And had no longer but a single ear, Staying to look in wonder with the others, Before the others did his gullet open, Which outwardly was red in every part, And said: "O thou, whom guilt doth not condemn, And whom I once saw u p in Latian land, Unless too great similitude deceive me, Call to remembrance Pier da Me dicina, If e'er thou see agai n the lovely plain That from Vercelli slopes to Marcabo, And make it known to the best two of Fano, To Messer Guido and A ngiolello likewise, That if foreseeing here be not in vain, Cast over from their vessel sh all they be, And drowned near unto the Cattolica, By the betrayal of a tyrant fell. Between the isles of Cyprus an d Majorca Neptune ne'er yet beh eld so great a crime, Neither of pirates nor Argolic people. That traitor, who sees only wi th one eye, And holds the land, w hich some one here with me Would fain be fasting from the vision of, Will make them come unto a par ley with him; Then will do so, that to Focara's wind They will not stand in need of vow or prayer." And I to him: "Show to me and declare, If thou wouldst have me bear up news of thee, Who is this person of the bitter vision." Then did he lay his hand upon the jaw Of one of his compani ons, and his mouth Oped, crying: "This is he, and he speaks not. This one, being banished, ever y doubt submerged In Caesar by affirmin g the forearmed Always with detriment allowed delay." O how bewildered unto me appea red, With tongue asunder i n his windpipe slit, Curio, who in speaking was so bold! And one, who both his hands di ssevered had, The stumps uplifting through the murky air, So that the blood made horrible his face, Cried out: "Thou shalt remembe r Mosca also, Who said, alas! 'A th ing done has an end!' Which was an ill seed for the Tuscan people." "And death unto thy race," the reto I added; Whence he, accumulati ng woe on woe, Departed, like a person sad and crazed. But I remained to look upon th e crowd; And saw a thing which I should be afraid, Without some further proof, even to recount, If it were not that conscience reassures me, That good companion w hich emboldens man Beneath the hauberk of its feeling pure. I truly saw, and still I seem to see it, A trunk without a hea d walk in like manner As walked the others of the mournful herd. And by the hair it held the he ad dissevered, Hung from the hand in fashion of a lantern, And that upon us gazed and said: "O me!" It of itself made to itself a lamp, And they were two in one, and one in two; How that can be, He knows who so ordains it. When it was come close to the bridge's foot, It lifted high its ar m with all the head, To bring more closely unto us its words, Which were: "Behold now the so re penalty, Thou, who dost breath ing go the dead beholding; Behold if any be as great as this. And so that thou may carry new s of me, Know that Bertram de Born am I, the same Who gave to the Young King the evil comfort. I made the father and the son rebellious; Achitophel not more w ith Absalom And David did with his accursed goadings. Because I parted persons so un ited, Parted do I now bear my brain, alas! From its beginning, which is in this trunk. Thus is observed in me the cou nterpoise." __________________________________________________________________ The many people and the divers wounds These eyes of mine ha d so inebriated, That they were wishful to stand still and weep; But said Virgilius: "What dost thou still gaze at? Why is thy sight stil l riveted down there Among the mournful, mutilated shades? Thou hast not done so at the o ther Bolge; Consider, if to count them thou believest, That two-and-twenty miles the valley winds, And now the moon is underneath our feet; Henceforth the time a llotted us is brief, And more is to be seen than what thou seest." "If thou hadst," I made answer thereupon, "Attended to the caus e for which I looked, Perhaps a longer stay thou wouldst have pardoned ." Meanwhile my Guide departed, a nd behind him I went, already makin g my reply, And superadding: "In that cavern where I held mine eyes with such att ention fixed, I think a spirit of m y blood laments The sin which down below there costs so much." Then said the Master: "Be no l onger broken Thy thought from this time forward upon him; Attend elsewhere, and there let him remain; For him I saw below the little bridge, Pointing at thee, and threatening with his finger Fiercely, and heard him called Geri del Bello. So wholly at that time wast th ou impeded By him who formerly h eld Altaforte, Thou didst not look that way; so he departed." "O my Conductor, his own viole nt death, Which is not yet aven ged for him," I said, "By any who is sharer in the shame, Made him disdainful; whence he went away, As I imagine, without speaking to me, And thereby made me pity him the more." Thus did we speak as far as th e first place Upon the crag, which the next valley shows Down to the bottom, if there were more light. When we were now right over th e last cloister Of Malebolge, so that its lay-brothers Could manifest themselves unto our sight, Divers lamentings pierced me t hrough and through, Which with compassion had their arrows barbed, Whereat mine ears I covered with my hands. What pain would be, if from th e hospitals Of Valdichiana, 'twix t July and September, And of Maremma and Sardinia All the diseases in one moat w ere gathered, Such was it here, and such a stench came from it As from putrescent limbs is wont to issue. We had descended on the furthe st bank From the long crag, u pon the left hand still, And then more vivid was my power of sight Down tow'rds the bottom, where the ministress Of the high Lord, Jus tice infallible, Punishes forgers, which she here records. I do not think a sadder sight to see Was in Aegina the who le people sick, (When was the air so full of pestilence, The animals, down to the littl e worm, All fell, and afterwa rds the ancient people, According as the poets have affirmed, Were from the seed of ants res tored again,) Than was it to behold through that dark valley The spirits languishing in divers heaps. This on the belly, that upon t he back One of the other lay, and others crawling Shifted themselves along the dismal road. We step by step went onward wi thout speech, Gazing upon and liste ning to the sick Who had not strength enough to lift their bodies . I saw two sitting leaned again st each other, As leans in heating p latter against platter, From head to foot bespotted o'er with scabs; And never saw I plied a curryc omb By stable-boy for who m his master waits, Or him who keeps awake unwillingly, As every one was plying fast t he bite Of nails upon himself , for the great rage Of itching which no other succour had. And the nails downward with th em dragged the scab, In fashion as a knife the scales of bream, Or any other fish that has them largest. "O thou, that with thy fingers dost dismail thee," Began my Leader unto one of them, "And makest of them pincers now and then, Tell me if any Latian is with those Who are herein; so ma y thy nails suffice thee To all eternity unto this work." "Latians are we, whom thou so wasted seest, Both of us here," one weeping made reply; "But who art thou, that questionest about us?" And said the Guide: "One am I who descends Down with this living man from cliff to cliff, And I intend to show Hell unto him." Then broken was their mutual s upport, And trembling each on e turned himself to me, With others who had heard him by rebound. Wholly to me did the good Mast er gather, Saying: "Say unto the m whate'er thou wishest." And I began, since he would have it so: "So may your memory not steal away In the first world fr om out the minds of men, But so may it survive 'neath many suns, Say to me who ye are, and of w hat people; Let not your foul and loathsome punishment Make you afraid to show yourselves to me." "I of Arezzo was," one made re ply, "And Albert of Siena had me burned; But what I died for does not bring me here. 'Tis true I said to him, speak ing in jest, That I could rise by flight into the air, And he who had conceit, but little wit, Would have me show to him the art; and only Because no Daedalus I made him, made me Be burned by one who held him as his son. But unto the last Bolgia of th e ten, For alchemy, which in the world I practised, Minos, who cannot err, has me condemned." And to the Poet said I: "Now w as ever So vain a people as t he Sienese? Not for a certainty the French by far." Whereat the other leper, who h ad heard me, Replied unto my speec h: "Taking out Stricca, Who knew the art of moderate expenses, And Niccolo, who the luxurious use Of cloves discovered earliest of all Within that garden where such seed takes root; And taking out the band, among whom squandered Caccia d'Ascian his v ineyards and vast woods, And where his wit the Abbagliato proffered! But, that thou know who thus d oth second thee Against the Sienese, make sharp thine eye Tow'rds me, so that my face well answer thee, And thou shalt see I am Capocc hio's shade, Who metals falsified by alchemy; Thou must remember, if I well descry thee, How I a skilful ape of nature was." __________________________________________________________________ 'Twas at the time when Juno was enraged, For Semele, against t he Theban blood, As she already more than once had shown, So reft of reason Athamas beca me, That, seeing his own wife with children twain Walking encumbered upon either hand, He cried: "Spread out the nets , that I may take The lioness and her w helps upon the passage;" And then extended his unpitying claws, Seizing the first, who had the name Learchus, And whirled him round , and dashed him on a rock; And she, with the other burthen, drowned herself ;-- And at the time when fortune d ownward hurled The Trojan's arroganc e, that all things dared, So that the king was with his kingdom crushed, Hecuba sad, disconsolate, and captive, When lifeless she beh eld Polyxena, And of her Polydorus on the shore Of ocean was the dolorous one aware, Out of her senses lik e a dog she barked, So much the anguish had her mind distorted; But not of Thebes the furies n or the Trojan Were ever seen in any one so cruel In goading beasts, and much more human members, As I beheld two shadows pale a nd naked, Who, biting, in the m anner ran along That a boar does, when from the sty turned loose . One to Capocchio came, and by the nape Seized with its teeth his neck, so that in dragging It made his belly grate the solid bottom. And the Aretine, who trembling had remained, Said to me: "That mad sprite is Gianni Schicchi, And raving goes thus harrying other people." "O," said I to him, "so may no t the other Set teeth on thee, le t it not weary thee To tell us who it is, ere it dart hence." And he to me: "That is the anc ient ghost Of the nefarious Myrr ha, who became Beyond all rightful love her father's lover. She came to sin with him after this manner, By counterfeiting of another's form; As he who goeth yonder undertook, That he might gain the lady of the herd, To counterfeit in him self Buoso Donati, Making a will and giving it due form." And after the two maniacs had passed On whom I held mine e ye, I turned it back To look upon the other evil-born. I saw one made in fashion of a lute, If he had only had th e groin cut off Just at the point at which a man is forked. The heavy dropsy, that so disp roportions The limbs with humour s, which it ill concocts, That the face corresponds not to the belly, Compelled him so to hold his l ips apart As does the hectic, w ho because of thirst One tow'rds the chin, the other upward turns. "O ye, who without any torment are, And why I know not, i n the world of woe," He said to us, "behold, and be attentive Unto the misery of Master Adam ; I had while living mu ch of what I wished, And now, alas! a drop of water crave. The rivulets, that from the ve rdant hills Of Cassentin descend down into Arno, Making their channels to be cold and moist, Ever before me stand, and not in vain; For far more doth the ir image dry me up Than the disease which strips my face of flesh. The rigid justice that chastis es me Draweth occasion from the place in which I sinned, to put the more my sighs in flight. There is Romena, where I count erfeited The currency imprinte d with the Baptist, For which I left my body burned above. But if I here could see the tr istful soul Of Guido, or Alessand ro, or their brother, For Branda's fount I would not give the sight. One is within already, if the raving Shades that are going round about speak truth; But what avails it me, whose limbs are tied? If I were only still so light, that in A hundred years I cou ld advance one inch, I had already started on the way, Seeking him out among this squ alid folk, Although the circuit be eleven miles, And be not less than half a mile across. For them am I in such a family ; They did induce me in to coining florins, Which had three carats of impurity." And I to him: "Who are the two poor wretches That smoke like unto a wet hand in winter, Lying there close upon thy right-hand confines?" "I found them here," replied h e, "when I rained Into this chasm, and since they have not turned, Nor do I think they will for evermore. One the false woman is who acc used Joseph, The other the false S inon, Greek of Troy; From acute fever they send forth such reek." And one of them, who felt hims elf annoyed At being, peradventur e, named so darkly, Smote with the fist upon his hardened paunch. It gave a sound, as if it were a drum; And Master Adam smote him in the face, With arm that did not seem to be less hard, Saying to him: "Although be ta ken from me All motion, for my li mbs that heavy are, I have an arm unfettered for such need." Whereat he answer made: "When thou didst go Unto the fire, thou h adst it not so ready: But hadst it so and more when thou wast coining. " The dropsical: "Thou sayest tr ue in that; But thou wast not so true a witness there, Where thou wast questioned of the truth at Troy. " "If I spake false, thou falsif iedst the coin," Said Sinon; "and for one fault I am here, And thou for more than any other demon." "Remember, perjurer, about the horse," He made reply who had the swollen belly, "And rueful be it thee the whole world knows it. " "Rueful to thee the thirst be wherewith cracks Thy tongue," the Gree k said, "and the putrid water That hedges so thy paunch before thine eyes." Then the false-coiner: "So is gaping wide Thy mouth for speakin g evil, as 'tis wont; Because if I have thirst, and humour stuff me Thou hast the burning and the head that aches, And to lick up the mi rror of Narcissus Thou wouldst not want words many to invite thee. " In listening to them was I who lly fixed, When said the Master to me: "Now just look, For little wants it that I quarrel with thee." When him I heard in anger spea k to me, I turned me round tow ards him with such shame That still it eddies through my memory. And as he is who dreams of his own harm, Who dreaming wishes i t may be a dream, So that he craves what is, as if it were not; Such I became, not having powe r to speak, For to excuse myself I wished, and still Excused myself, and did not think I did it. "Less shame doth wash away a g reater fault," The Master said, "tha n this of thine has been; Therefore thyself disburden of all sadness, And make account that I am aye beside thee, If e'er it come to pa ss that fortune bring thee Where there are people in a like dispute; For a base wish it is to wish to hear it." __________________________________________________________________ One and the selfsame tongue first wounded me, So that it tinged the one cheek and the other, And then held out to me the medicine; Thus do I hear that once Achil les' spear, His and his father's, used to be the cause First of a sad and then a gracious boon. We turned our backs upon the w retched valley, Upon the bank that gi rds it round about, Going across it without any speech. There it was less than night, and less than day, So that my sight went little in advance; But I could hear the blare of a loud horn, So loud it would have made eac h thunder faint, Which, counter to it following its way, Mine eyes directed wholly to one place. After the dolorous discomfiture When Charlemagne the holy emprise lost, So terribly Orlando sounded not. Short while my head turned thi therward I held When many lofty tower s I seemed to see, Whereat I: "Master, say, what town is this?" And he to me: "Because thou pe erest forth Athwart the darkness at too great a distance, It happens that thou errest in thy fancy. Well shalt thou see, if thou a rrivest there, How much the sense de ceives itself by distance; Therefore a little faster spur thee on." Then tenderly he took me by th e hand, And said: "Before we farther have advanced, That the reality may seem to thee Less strange, know that these are not towers, but giants, And they are in the w ell, around the bank, From navel downward, one and all of them." As, when the fog is vanishing away, Little by little doth the sight refigure Whate'er the mist that crowds the air conceals, So, piercing through the dense and darksome air, More and more near ap proaching tow'rd the verge, My error fled, and fear came over me; Because as on its circular par apets Montereggione crowns itself with towers, E'en thus the margin which surrounds the well With one half of their bodies turreted The horrible giants, whom Jove menaces E'en now from out the heavens when he thunders. And I of one already saw the f ace, Shoulders, and breast , and great part of the belly, And down along his sides both of the arms. Certainly Nature, when she lef t the making Of animals like these , did well indeed, By taking such executors from Mars; And if of elephants and whales she doth not Repent her, whosoever looketh subtly More just and more discreet will hold her for it ; For where the argument of inte llect Is added unto evil wi ll and power, No rampart can the people make against it. His face appeared to me as lon g and large As is at Rome the pin e-cone of Saint Peter's, And in proportion were the other bones; So that the margin, which an a pron was Down from the middle, showed so much of him Above it, that to reach up to his hair Three Frieslanders in vain had vaunted them; For I beheld thirty g reat palms of him Down from the place where man his mantle buckles . "Raphael mai amech izabi almi, " Began to clamour the ferocious mouth, To which were not befitting sweeter psalms. And unto him my Guide: "Soul i diotic, Keep to thy horn, and vent thyself with that, When wrath or other passion touches thee. Search round thy neck, and tho u wilt find the belt Which keeps it fasten ed, O bewildered soul, And see it, where it bars thy mighty breast." Then said to me: "He doth hims elf accuse; This one is Nimrod, b y whose evil thought One language in the world is not still used. Here let us leave him and not speak in vain; For even such to him is every language As his to others, which to none is known." Therefore a longer journey did we make, Turned to the left, a nd a crossbow-shot oft We found another far more fierce and large. In binding him, who might the master be I cannot say; but he had pinioned close Behind the right arm, and in front the other, With chains, that held him so begirt about From the neck down, t hat on the part uncovered It wound itself as far as the fifth gyre. "This proud one wished to make experiment Of his own power agai nst the Supreme Jove," My Leader said, "whence he has such a guerdon. Ephialtes is his name; he show ed great prowess. What time the giants terrified the gods; The arms he wielded never more he moves." And I to him: "If possible, I should wish That of the measurele ss Briareus These eyes of mine might have experience." Whence he replied: "Thou shalt behold Antaeus Close by here, who ca n speak and is unbound, Who at the bottom of all crime shall place us. Much farther yon is he whom th ou wouldst see, And he is bound, and fashioned like to this one, Save that he seems in aspect more ferocious." There never was an earthquake of such might That it could shake a tower so violently, As Ephialtes suddenly shook himself. Then was I more afraid of deat h than ever, For nothing more was needful than the fear, If I had not beheld the manacles. Then we proceeded farther in a dvance, And to Antaeus came, who, full five ells Without the head, forth issued from the cavern. "O thou, who in the valley for tunate, Which Scipio the heir of glory made, When Hannibal turned back with all his hosts, Once brought'st a thousand lio ns for thy prey, And who, hadst thou b een at the mighty war Among thy brothers, some it seems still think The sons of Earth the victory would have gained: Place us below, nor b e disdainful of it, There where the cold doth lock Cocytus up. Make us not go to Tityus nor T yphoeus; This one can give of that which here is longed for; Therefore stoop down, and do not curl thy lip. Still in the world can he rest ore thy fame; Because he lives, and still expects long life, If to itself Grace call him not untimely." So said the Master; and in has te the other His hands extended an d took up my Guide,-- Hands whose great pressure Hercules once felt. Virgilius, when he felt himsel f embraced, Said unto me: "Draw n igh, that I may take thee;" Then of himself and me one bundle made. As seems the Carisenda, to beh old Beneath the leaning s ide, when goes a cloud Above it so that opposite it hangs; Such did Antaeus seem to me, w ho stood Watching to see him s toop, and then it was I could have wished to go some other way. But lightly in the abyss, whic h swallows up Judas with Lucifer, h e put us down; Nor thus bowed downward made he there delay, But, as a mast does in a ship, uprose. __________________________________________________________________ If I had rhymes both rough and stridulous, As were appropriate t o the dismal hole Down upon which thrust all the other rocks, I would press out the juice of my conception More fully; but becau se I have them not, Not without fear I bring myself to speak; For 'tis no enterprise to take in jest, To sketch the bottom of all the universe, Nor for a tongue that cries Mamma and Babbo. But may those Ladies help this verse of mine, Who helped Amphion in enclosing Thebes, That from the fact the word be not diverse. O rabble ill-begotten above al l, Who're in the place t o speak of which is hard, 'Twere better ye had here been sheep or goats! When we were down within the d arksome well, Beneath the giant's f eet, but lower far, And I was scanning still the lofty wall, I heard it said to me: "Look h ow thou steppest! Take heed thou do not trample with thy feet The heads of the tired, miserable brothers!" Whereat I turned me round, and saw before me And underfoot a lake, that from the frost The semblance had of glass, and not of water. So thick a veil ne'er made upo n its current In winter-time Danube in Austria, Nor there beneath the frigid sky the Don, As there was here; so that if Tambernich Had fallen upon it, o r Pietrapana, E'en at the edge 'twould not have given a creak. And as to croak the frog doth place himself With muzzle out of wa ter,--when is dreaming Of gleaning oftentimes the peasant-girl,-- Livid, as far down as where sh ame appears, Were the disconsolate shades within the ice, Setting their teeth unto the note of storks. Each one his countenance held downward bent; From mouth the cold, from eyes the doleful heart Among them witness of itself procures. When round about me somewhat I had looked, I downward turned me, and saw two so close, The hair upon their heads together mingled. "Ye who so strain your breasts together, tell me," I said, "who are you; " and they bent their necks, And when to me their faces they had lifted, Their eyes, which first were o nly moist within, Gushed o'er the eyeli ds, and the frost congealed The tears between, and locked them up again. Clamp never bound together woo d with wood So strongly; whereat they, like two he-goats, Butted together, so much wrath o'ercame them. And one, who had by reason of the cold Lost both his ears, s till with his visage downward, Said: "Why dost thou so mirror thyself in us? If thou desire to know who the se two are, The valley whence Bis enzio descends Belonged to them and to their father Albert. They from one body came, and a ll Caina Thou shalt search thr ough, and shalt not find a shade More worthy to be fixed in gelatine; Not he in whom were broken bre ast and shadow At one and the same b low by Arthur's hand; Focaccia not; not he who me encumbers So with his head I see no fart her forward, And bore the name of Sassol Mascheroni; Well knowest thou who he was, if thou art Tuscan . And that thou put me not to fu rther speech, Know that I Camicion de' Pazzi was, And wait Carlino to exonerate me." Then I beheld a thousand faces , made Purple with cold; whe nce o'er me comes a shudder, And evermore will come, at frozen ponds. And while we were advancing to w'rds the middle, Where everything of w eight unites together, And I was shivering in the eternal shade, Whether 'twere will, or destin y, or chance, I know not; but in wa lking 'mong the heads I struck my foot hard in the face of one. Weeping he growled: "Why dost thou trample me? Unless thou comest to increase the vengeance of Montaperti, why dost thou molest me?" And I: "My Master, now wait he re for me, That I through him ma y issue from a doubt; Then thou mayst hurry me, as thou shalt wish." The Leader stopped; and to tha t one I said Who was blaspheming v ehemently still: "Who art thou, that thus reprehendest others?" "Now who art thou, that goest through Antenora Smiting," replied he, "other people's cheeks, So that, if thou wert living, 'twere too much?" "Living I am, and dear to thee it may be," Was my response, "if thou demandest fame, That 'mid the other notes thy name I place." And he to me: "For the reverse I long; Take thyself hence, a nd give me no more trouble; For ill thou knowest to flatter in this hollow." Then by the scalp behind I sei zed upon him, And said: "It must ne eds be thou name thyself, Or not a hair remain upon thee here." Whence he to me: "Though thou strip off my hair, I will not tell thee who I am, nor show thee, If on my head a thousand times thou fall." I had his hair in hand already twisted, And more than one sho ck of it had pulled out, He barking, with his eyes held firmly down, When cried another: "What doth ail thee, Bocca? Is't not enough to cl atter with thy jaws, But thou must bark? what devil touches thee?" "Now," said I, "I care not to have thee speak, Accursed traitor; for unto thy shame I will report of thee veracious news." "Begone," replied he, "and tel l what thou wilt, But be not silent, if thou issue hence, Of him who had just now his tongue so prompt; He weepeth here the silver of the French; 'I saw,' thus canst t hou phrase it, 'him of Duera There where the sinners stand out in the cold.' If thou shouldst questioned be who else was there, Thou hast beside thee him of Beccaria, Of whom the gorget Florence slit asunder; Gianni del Soldanier, I think, may be Yonder with Ganellon, and Tebaldello Who oped Faenza when the people slep." Already we had gone away from him, When I beheld two fro zen in one hole, So that one head a hood was to the other; And even as bread through hung er is devoured, The uppermost on the other set his teeth, There where the brain is to the nape united. Not in another fashion Tydeus gnawed The temples of Menali ppus in disdain, Than that one did the skull and the other things . "O thou, who showest by such b estial sign Thy hatred against hi m whom thou art eating, Tell me the wherefore," said I, "with this compa ct, That if thou rightfully of him complain, In knowing who ye are , and his transgression, I in the world above repay thee for it, If that wherewith I speak be n ot dried up." __________________________________________________________________ His mouth uplifted from his grim repast, That sinner, wiping i t upon the hair Of the same head that he behind had wasted. Then he began: "Thou wilt that I renew The desperate grief, which wrings my heart already To think of only, ere I speak of it; But if my words be seed that m ay bear fruit Of infamy to the trai tor whom I gnaw, Speaking and weeping shalt thou see together. I know not who thou art, nor b y what mode Thou hast come down h ere; but a Florentine Thou seemest to me truly, when I hear thee. Thou hast to know I was Count Ugolino, And this one was Rugg ieri the Archbishop; Now I will tell thee why I am such a neighbour. That, by effect of his malicio us thoughts, Trusting in him I was made prisoner, And after put to death, I need not say; But ne'ertheless what thou ca nst not have heard, That is to say, how c ruel was my death, Hear shalt thou, and shalt know if he has wronge d me. A narrow perforation in the me w, Which bears because o f me the title of Famine, And in which others still must be locked up, Had shown me through its openi ng many moons Already, when I dream ed the evil dream Which of the future rent for me the veil. This one appeared to me as lor d and master, Hunting the wolf and whelps upon the mountain For which the Pisans cannot Lucca see. With sleuth-hounds gaunt, and eager, and well trained, Gualandi with Sismond i and Lanfianchi He had sent out before him to the front. After brief course seemed unto me forespent The father and the so ns, and with sharp tushes It seemed to me I saw their flanks ripped open. When I before the morrow was a wake, Moaning amid their sl eep I heard my sons Who with me were, and asking after bread. Cruel indeed art thou, if yet thou grieve not, Thinking of what my h eart foreboded me, And weep'st thou not, what art thou wont to weep at? They were awake now, and the h our drew nigh At which our food use d to be brought to us, And through his dream was each one apprehensive; And I heard locking up the und er door Of the horrible tower ; whereat without a word I gazed into the faces of my sons. I wept not, I within so turned to stone; They wept; and darlin g little Anselm mine Said: 'Thou dost gaze so, father, what doth ail thee?' Still not a tear I shed, nor a nswer made All of that day, nor yet the night thereafter, Until another sun rose on the world. As now a little glimmer made i ts way Into the dolorous pri son, and I saw Upon four faces my own very aspect, Both of my hands in agony I bi t; And, thinking that I did it from desire Of eating, on a sudden they uprose, And said they: 'Father, much l ess pain 'twill give us If thou do eat of us; thyself didst clothe us With this poor flesh, and do thou strip it off.' I calmed me then, not to make them more sad. That day we all were silent, and the next. Ah! obdurate earth, wherefore didst thou not ope n? When we had come unto the four th day, Gaddo Threw himself down ou tstretched before my feet, Saying, 'My father, why dost thou not help me?' And there he died; and, as tho u seest me, I saw the three fall, one by one, between The fifth day and the sixth; whence I betook me, Already blind, to groping over each, And three days called them after they were dead; Then hunger did what sorrow could not do." When he had said this, with hi s eyes distorted, The wretched skull re sumed he with his teeth, Which, as a dog's, upon the bone were strong. Ah! Pisa, thou opprobrium of t he people Of the fair land ther e where the 'Si' doth sound, Since slow to punish thee thy neighbours are, Let the Capraia and Gorgona mo ve, And make a hedge acro ss the mouth of Arno That every person in thee it may drown! For if Count Ugolino had the f ame Of having in thy cast les thee betrayed, Thou shouldst not on such cross have put his son s. Guiltless of any crime, thou m odern Thebes! Their youth made Uguc cione and Brigata, And the other two my song doth name above! We passed still farther onward , where the ice Another people rugged ly enswathes, Not downward turned, but all of them reversed. Weeping itself there does not let them weep, And grief that finds a barrier in the eyes Turns itself inward to increase the anguish; Because the earliest tears a c luster form, And, in the manner of a crystal visor, Fill all the cup beneath the eyebrow full. And notwithstanding that, as i n a callus, Because of cold all s ensibility Its station had abandoned in my face, Still it appeared to me I felt some wind; Whence I: "My Master, who sets this in motion? Is not below here every vapour quenched?" Whence he to me: "Full soon sh alt thou be where Thine eye shall answe r make to thee of this, Seeing the cause which raineth down the blast." And one of the wretches of the frozen crust Cried out to us: "O s ouls so merciless That the last post is given unto you, Lift from mine eyes the rigid veils, that I May vent the sorrow w hich impregns my heart A little, e'er the weeping recongeal." Whence I to him: "If thou woul dst have me help thee Say who thou wast; an d if I free thee not, May I go to the bottom of the ice." Then he replied: "I am Friar A lberigo; He am I of the fruit of the bad garden, Who here a date am getting for my fig." "O," said I to him, "now art t hou, too, dead?" And he to me: "How ma y my body fare Up in the world, no knowledge I possess. Such an advantage has this Pto lomaea, That oftentimes the s oul descendeth here Sooner than Atropos in motion sets it. And, that thou mayest more wil lingly remove From off my countenan ce these glassy tears, Know that as soon as any soul betrays As I have done, his body by a demon Is taken from him, wh o thereafter rules it, Until his time has wholly been revolved. Itself down rushes into such a cistern; And still perchance a bove appears the body Of yonder shade, that winters here behind me. This thou shouldst know, if th ou hast just come down; It is Ser Branca d' O ria, and many years Have passed away since he was thus locked up." "I think," said I to him, "tho u dost deceive me; For Branca d' Oria is not dead as yet, And eats, and drinks, and sleeps, and puts on cl othes." "In moat above," said he, "of Malebranche, There where is boilin g the tenacious pitch, As yet had Michel Zanche not arrived, When this one left a devil in his stead In his own body and o ne near of kin, Who made together with him the betrayal. But hitherward stretch out thy hand forthwith, Open mine eyes;"--and open them I did not, And to be rude to him was courtesy. Ah, Genoese! ye men at varianc e With every virtue, fu ll of every vice Wherefore are ye not scattered from the world? For with the vilest spirit of Romagna I found of you one su ch, who for his deeds In soul already in Cocytus bathes, And still above in body seems alive! __________________________________________________________________ "'Vexilla Regis prodeunt Inferni' Towards us; therefore look in front of thee," My Master said, "if thou discernest him." As, when there breathes a heav y fog, or when Our hemisphere is dar kening into night, Appears far off a mill the wind is turning, Methought that such a building then I saw; And, for the wind, I drew myself behind My Guide, because there was no other shelter. Now was I, and with fear in ve rse I put it, There where the shade s were wholly covered up, And glimmered through like unto straws in glass. Some prone are lying, others s tand erect, This with the head, a nd that one with the soles; Another, bow-like, face to feet inverts. When in advance so far we had proceeded, That it my Master ple ased to show to me The creature who once had the beauteous semblanc e, He from before me moved and ma de me stop, Saying: "Behold Dis, and behold the place Where thou with fortitude must arm thyself." How frozen I became and powerl ess then, Ask it not, Reader, f or I write it not, Because all language would be insufficient. I did not die, and I alive rem ained not; Think for thyself now , hast thou aught of wit, What I became, being of both deprived. The Emperor of the kingdom dol orous From his mid-breast f orth issued from the ice; And better with a giant I compare Than do the giants with those arms of his; Consider now how grea t must be that whole, Which unto such a part conforms itself. Were he as fair once, as he no w is foul, And lifted up his bro w against his Maker, Well may proceed from him all tribulation. O, what a marvel it appeared t o me, When I beheld three f aces on his head! The one in front, and that vermilion was; Two were the others, that were joined with this Above the middle part of either shoulder, And they were joined together at the crest; And the right-hand one seemed 'twixt white and yellow; The left was such to look upon as those Who come from where the Nile falls valley-ward. Underneath each came forth two mighty wings, Such as befitting wer e so great a bird; Sails of the sea I never saw so large. No feathers had they, but as of a bat Their fashion was; an d he was waving them, So that three winds proceeded forth therefrom. Thereby Cocytus wholly was con gealed. With six eyes did he weep, and down three chins Trickled the tear-drops and the bloody drivel. At every mouth he with his tee th was crunching A sinner, in the mann er of a brake, So that he three of them tormented thus. To him in front the biting was as naught Unto the clawing, for sometimes the spine Utterly stripped of all the skin remained. "That soul up there which has the greatest pain," The Master said, "is Judas Iscariot; With head inside, he plies his legs without. Of the two others, who head do wnward are, The one who hangs fro m the black jowl is Brutus; See how he writhes himself, and speaks no word. And the other, who so stalwart seems, is Cassius. But night is reascend ing, and 'tis time That we depart, for we have seen the whole." As seemed him good, I clasped him round the neck, And he the vantage se ized of time and place, And when the wings were opened wide apart, He laid fast hold upon the sha ggy sides; From fell to fell des cended downward then Between the thick hair and the frozen crust. When we were come to where the thigh revolves Exactly on the thickn ess of the haunch, The Guide, with labour and with hard-drawn breat h, Turned round his head where he had had his legs, And grappled to the h air, as one who mounts, So that to Hell I thought we were returning. "Keep fast thy hold, for by su ch stairs as these," The Master said, pant ing as one fatigued, "Must we perforce depart from so much evil." Then through the opening of a rock he issued, And down upon the mar gin seated me; Then tow'rds me he outstretched his wary step. I lifted up mine eyes and thou ght to see Lucifer in the same w ay I had left him; And I beheld him upward hold his legs. And if I then became disquiete d, Let stolid people thi nk who do not see What the point is beyond which I had passed. "Rise up," the Master said, "u pon thy feet; The way is long, and difficult the road, And now the sun to middle-tierce returns." It was not any palace corridor There where we were, but dungeon natural, With floor uneven and unease of light. "Ere from the abyss I tear mys elf away, My Master," said I wh en I had arisen, "To draw me from an error speak a little; Where is the ice? and how is t his one fixed Thus upside down? and how in such short time From eve to morn has the sun made his transit?" And he to me: "Thou still imag inest Thou art beyond the c entre, where I grasped The hair of the fell worm, who mines the world. That side thou wast, so long a s I descended; When round I turned m e, thou didst pass the point To which things heavy draw from every side, And now beneath the hemisphere art come Opposite that which o verhangs the vast Dry-land, and 'neath whose cope was put to death The Man who without sin was bo rn and lived. Thou hast thy feet up on the little sphere Which makes the other face of the Judecca. Here it is morn when it is eve ning there; And he who with his h air a stairway made us Still fixed remaineth as he was before. Upon this side he fell down ou t of heaven; And all the land, tha t whilom here emerged, For fear of him made of the sea a veil, And came to our hemisphere; an d peradventure To flee from him, wha t on this side appears Left the place vacant here, and back recoiled." A place there is below, from B eelzebub As far receding as th e tomb extends, Which not by sight is known, but by the sound Of a small rivulet, that there descendeth Through chasm within the stone, which it has gnawed With course that winds about and slightly falls. The Guide and I into that hidd en road Now entered, to retur n to the bright world; And without care of having any rest We mounted up, he first and I the second, Till I beheld through a round aperture Some of the beauteous things that Heaven doth be ar; Thence we came forth to rebeho ld the stars. __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ To run o'er better waters hoists its sail The little vessel of my genius now, That leaves behind itself a sea so cruel; And of that second kingdom wil l I sing Wherein the human spi rit doth purge itself, And to ascend to heaven becometh worthy. But let dead Poesy here rise a gain, O holy Muses, since t hat I am yours, And here Calliope somewhat ascend, My song accompanying with that sound, Of which the miserabl e magpies felt The blow so great, that they despaired of pardon . Sweet colour of the oriental s apphire, That was upgathered i n the cloudless aspect Of the pure air, as far as the first circle, Unto mine eyes did recommence delight Soon as I issued fort h from the dead air, Which had with sadness filled mine eyes and brea st. The beauteous planet, that to love incites, Was making all the or ient to laugh, Veiling the Fishes that were in her escort. To the right hand I turned, an d fixed my mind Upon the other pole, and saw four stars Ne'er seen before save by the primal people. Rejoicing in their flamelets s eemed the heaven. O thou septentrional and widowed site, Because thou art deprived of seeing these! When from regarding them I had withdrawn, Turning a little to t he other pole, There where the Wain had disappeared already, I saw beside me an old man alo ne, Worthy of so much rev erence in his look, That more owes not to father any son. A long beard and with white ha ir intermingled He wore, in semblance like unto the tresses, Of which a double list fell on his breast. The rays of the four consecrat ed stars Did so adorn his coun tenance with light, That him I saw as were the sun before him. "Who are you? ye who, counter the blind river, Have fled away from t he eternal prison?" Moving those venerable plumes, he said: "Who guided you? or who has be en your lamp In issuing forth out of the night profound, That ever black makes the infernal valley? The laws of the abyss, are the y thus broken? Or is there changed i n heaven some council new, That being damned ye come unto my crags?" Then did my Leader lay his gra sp upon me, And with his words, a nd with his hands and signs, Reverent he made in me my knees and brow; Then answered him: "I came not of myself; A Lady from Heaven de scended, at whose prayers I aided this one with my company. But since it is thy will more be unfolded Of our condition, how it truly is, Mine cannot be that this should be denied thee. This one has never his last ev ening seen, But by his folly was so near to it That very little time was there to turn. As I have said, I unto him was sent To rescue him, and ot her way was none Than this to which I have myself betaken. I've shown him all the people of perdition, And now those spirits I intend to show Who purge themselves beneath thy guardianship. How I have brought him would b e long to tell thee. Virtue descendeth fro m on high that aids me To lead him to behold thee and to hear thee. Now may it please thee to vouc hsafe his coming; He seeketh Liberty, w hich is so dear, As knoweth he who life for her refuses. Thou know'st it; since, for he r, to thee not bitter Was death in Utica, w here thou didst leave The vesture, that will shine so, the great day. By us the eternal edicts are n ot broken; Since this one lives, and Minos binds not me; But of that circle I, where are the chaste Eyes of thy Marcia, who in loo ks still prays thee, O holy breast, to hol d her as thine own; For her love, then, incline thyself to us. Permit us through thy sevenfol d realm to go; I will take back this grace from thee to her, If to be mentioned there below thou deignest." "Marcia so pleasing was unto m ine eyes While I was on the ot her side," then said he, "That every grace she wished of me I granted; Now that she dwells beyond the evil river, She can no longer mov e me, by that law Which, when I issued forth from there, was made. But if a Lady of Heaven do mov e and rule thee, As thou dost say, no flattery is needful; Let it suffice thee that for her thou ask me. Go, then, and see thou gird th is one about With a smooth rush, a nd that thou wash his face, So that thou cleanse away all stain therefrom, For 'twere not fitting that th e eye o'ercast By any mist should go before the first Angel, who is of those of Paradise. This little island round about its base Below there, yonder, where the billow beats it, Doth rushes bear upon its washy ooze; No other plant that putteth fo rth the leaf, Or that doth indurate , can there have life, Because it yieldeth not unto the shocks. Thereafter be not this way you r return; The sun, which now is rising, will direct you To take the mount by easier ascent." With this he vanished; and I r aised me up Without a word, and w holly drew myself Unto my Guide, and turned mine eyes to him. And he began: "Son, follow tho u my steps; Let us turn back, for on this side declines The plain unto its lower boundaries." The dawn was vanquishing the m atin hour Which fled before it, so that from afar I recognised the trembling of the sea. Along the solitary plain we we nt As one who unto the l ost road returns, And till he finds it seems to go in vain. As soon as we were come to whe re the dew Fights with the sun, and, being in a part Where shadow falls, little evaporates, Both of his hands upon the gra ss outspread In gentle manner did my Master place; Whence I, who of his action was aware, Extended unto him my tearful c heeks; There did he make in me uncovered wholly That hue which Hell had covered up in me. Then came we down upon the des ert shore Which never yet saw n avigate its waters Any that afterward had known return. There he begirt me as the othe r pleased; O marvellous! for eve n as he culled The humble plant, such it sprang up again Suddenly there where he uproot ed it. __________________________________________________________________ Already had the sun the horizo n reached Whose circle of merid ian covers o'er Jerusalem with its most lofty point, And night that opposite to him revolves Was issuing forth fro m Ganges with the Scales That fall from out her hand when she exceedeth; So that the white and the verm ilion cheeks Of beautiful Aurora, where I was, By too great age were changing into orange. We still were on the border of the sea, Like people who are t hinking of their road, Who go in heart and with the body stay; And lo! as when, upon the appr oach of morning, Through the gross vap ours Mars grows fiery red Down in the West upon the ocean floor, Appeared to me--may I again be hold it!-- A light along the sea so swiftly coming, Its motion by no flight of wing is equalled; From which when I a little had withdrawn Mine eyes, that I mig ht question my Conductor, Again I saw it brighter grown and larger. Then on each side of it appear ed to me I knew not what of wh ite, and underneath it Little by little there came forth another. My Master yet had uttered not a word While the first white ness into wings unfolded; But when he clearly recognised the pilot, He cried: "Make haste, make ha ste to bow the knee! Behold the Angel of G od! fold thou thy hands! Henceforward shalt thou see such officers! See how he scorneth human argu ments, So that nor oar he wa nts, nor other sail Than his own wings, between so distant shores. See how he holds them pointed up to heaven, Fanning the air with the eternal pinions, That do not moult themselves like mortal hair!" Then as still nearer and more near us came The Bird Divine, more radiant he appeared, So that near by the eye could not endure him, But down I cast it; and he cam e to shore With a small vessel, very swift and light, So that the water swallowed naught thereof. Upon the stern stood the Celes tial Pilot; Beatitude seemed writ ten in his face, And more than a hundred spirits sat within. "In exitu Israel de Aegypto!" They chanted all toge ther in one voice, With whatso in that psalm is after written. Then made he sign of holy rood upon them, Whereat all cast them selves upon the shore, And he departed swiftly as he came. The throng which still remaine d there unfamiliar Seemed with the place , all round about them gazing, As one who in new matters makes essay. On every side was darting fort h the day. The sun, who had with his resplendent shafts From the mid-heaven chased forth the Capricorn, When the new people lifted up their faces Towards us, saying to us: "If ye know, Show us the way to go unto the mountain." And answer made Virgilius: "Ye believe Perchance that we hav e knowledge of this place, But we are strangers even as yourselves. Just now we came, a little whi le before you, Another way, which wa s so rough and steep, That mounting will henceforth seem sport to us." The souls who had, from seeing me draw breath, Become aware that I w as still alive, Pallid in their astonishment became; And as to messenger who bears the olive The people throng to listen to the news, And no one shows himself afraid of crowding, So at the sight of me stood mo tionless Those fortunate spiri ts, all of them, as if Oblivious to go and make them fair. One from among them saw I comi ng forward, As to embrace me, wit h such great affection, That it incited me to do the like. O empty shadows, save in aspec t only! Three times behind it did I clasp my hands, As oft returned with them to my own breast! I think with wonder I depicted me; Whereat the shadow sm iled and backward drew; And I, pursuing it, pressed farther forward. Gently it said that I should s tay my steps; Then knew I who it wa s, and I entreated That it would stop awhile to speak with me. It made reply to me: "Even as I loved thee In mortal body, so I love thee free; Therefore I stop; but wherefore goest thou?" "My own Casella! to return onc e more There where I am, I m ake this journey," said I; "But how from thee has so much time be taken?" And he to me: "No outrage has been done me, If he who takes both when and whom he pleases Has many times denied to me this passage, For of a righteous will his ow n is made. He, sooth to say, for three months past has taken Whoever wished to enter with all peace; Whence I, who now had turned u nto that shore Where salt the waters of the Tiber grow, Benignantly by him have been received. Unto that outlet now his wing is pointed, Because for evermore assemble there Those who tow'rds Acheron do not descend." And I: "If some new law take n ot from thee Memory or practice of the song of love, Which used to quiet in me all my longings, Thee may it please to comfort therewithal Somewhat this soul of mine, that with its body Hitherward coming is so much distressed." "Love, that within my mind dis courses with me," Forthwith began he so melodiously, The melody within me still is sounding. My Master, and myself, and all that people Which with him were, appeared as satisfied As if naught else might touch the mind of any. We all of us were moveless and attentive Unto his notes; and l o! the grave old man, Exclaiming: "What is this, ye laggard spirits? What negligence, what standing still is this? Run to the mountain t o strip off the slough, That lets not God be manifest to you." Even as when, collecting grain or tares, The doves, together a t their pasture met, Quiet, nor showing their accustomed pride, If aught appear of which they are afraid, Upon a sudden leave t heir food alone, Because they are assailed by greater care; So that fresh company did I be hold The song relinquish, and go tow'rds the hill, As one who goes, and knows not whitherward; Nor was our own departure less in haste. __________________________________________________________________ Inasmuch as the instantaneous flight Had scattered them as under o'er the plain, Turned to the mountain whither reason spurs us, I pressed me close unto my fai thful comrade, And how without him h ad I kept my course? Who would have led me up along the mountain? He seemed to me within himself remorseful; O noble conscience, a nd without a stain, How sharp a sting is trivial fault to thee! After his feet had laid aside the haste Which mars the dignit y of every act, My mind, that hitherto had been restrained, Let loose its faculties as if delighted, And I my sight direct ed to the hill That highest tow'rds the heaven uplifts itself. The sun, that in our rear was flaming red, Was broken in front o f me into the figure Which had in me the stoppage of its rays; Unto one side I turned me, wit h the fear Of being left alone, when I beheld Only in front of me the ground obscured. "Why dost thou still mistrust? " my Comforter Began to say to me tu rned wholly round; "Dost thou not think me with thee, and that I gu ide thee? 'Tis evening there already whe re is buried The body within which I cast a shadow; 'Tis from Brundusium ta'en, and Naples has it. Now if in front of me no shado w fall, Marvel not at it more than at the heavens, Because one ray impedeth not another To suffer torments, both of co ld and heat, Bodies like this that Power provides, which wills That how it works be not unveiled to us. Insane is he who hopeth that o ur reason Can traverse the illi mitable way, Which the one Substance in three Persons follows ! Mortals, remain contented at t he 'Quia;' For if ye had been ab le to see all, No need there were for Mary to give birth; And ye have seen desiring with out fruit, Those whose desire wo uld have been quieted, Which evermore is given them for a grief. I speak of Aristotle and of Pl ato, And many others;"--an d here bowed his head, And more he said not, and remained disturbed. We came meanwhile unto the mou ntain's foot; There so precipitate we found the rock, That nimble legs would there have been in vain. 'Twixt Lerici and Turbia, the most desert, The most secluded pat hway is a stair Easy and open, if compared with that. "Who knoweth now upon which ha nd the hill Slopes down," my Mast er said, his footsteps staying, "So that who goeth without wings may mount?" And while he held his eyes upo n the ground Examining the nature of the path, And I was looking up around the rock, On the left hand appeared to m e a throng Of souls, that moved their feet in our direction, And did not seem to move, they came so slowly. "Lift up thine eyes," I to the Master said; "Behold, on this side , who will give us counsel, If thou of thine own self can have it not." Then he looked at me, and with frank expression Replied: "Let us go t here, for they come slowly, And thou be steadfast in thy hope, sweet son." Still was that people as far o ff from us, After a thousand step s of ours I say, As a good thrower with his hand would reach, When they all crowded unto the hard masses Of the high bank, and motionless stood and close, As he stands still to look who goes in doubt. "O happy dead! O spirits elect already!" Virgilius made beginn ing, "by that peace Which I believe is waiting for you all, Tell us upon what side the mou ntain slopes, So that the going up be possible, For to lose time irks him most who most knows." As sheep come issuing forth fr om out the fold By ones and twos and threes, and the others stand Timidly, holding down their eyes and nostrils, And what the foremost does the others do, Huddling themselves a gainst her, if she stop, Simple and quiet and the wherefore know not; So moving to approach us there upon I saw the leader of t hat fortunate flock, Modest in face and dignified in gait. As soon as those in the advanc e saw broken The light upon the gr ound at my right side, So that from me the shadow reached the rock, They stopped, and backward dre w themselves somewhat; And all the others, w ho came after them, Not knowing why nor wherefore, did the same. "Without your asking, I confes s to you This is a human body which you see, Whereby the sunshine on the ground is cleft. Marvel ye not thereat, but be persuaded That not without a po wer which comes from Heaven Doth he endeavour to surmount this wall." The Master thus; and said thos e worthy people: "Return ye then, and enter in before us," Making a signal with the back o' the hand And one of them began: "Whoe'e r thou art, Thus going turn thine eyes, consider well If e'er thou saw me in the other world." I turned me tow'rds him, and l ooked at him closely; Blond was he, beautif ul, and of noble aspect, But one of his eyebrows had a blow divided. When with humility I had discl aimed E'er having seen him, "Now behold!" he said, And showed me high upon his breast a wound. Then said he with a smile: "I am Manfredi, The grandson of the E mpress Costanza; Therefore, when thou returnest, I beseech thee Go to my daughter beautiful, t he mother Of Sicily's honour an d of Aragon's, And the truth tell her, if aught else be told. After I had my body lacerated By these two mortal s tabs, I gave myself Weeping to Him, who willingly doth pardon. Horrible my iniquities had bee n; But Infinite Goodness hath such ample arms, That it receives whatever turns to it. Had but Cosenza's pastor, who in chase Of me was sent by Cle ment at that time, In God read understandingly this page, The bones of my dead body stil l would be At the bridge-head, n ear unto Benevento, Under the safeguard of the heavy cairn. Now the rain bathes and moveth them the wind, Beyond the realm, alm ost beside the Verde, Where he transported them with tapers quenched. By malison of theirs is not so lost Eternal Love, that it cannot return, So long as hope has anything of green. True is it, who in contumacy d ies Of Holy Church, thoug h penitent at last, Must wait upon the outside this bank Thirty times told the time tha t he has been In his presumption, u nless such decree Shorter by means of righteous prayers become. See now if thou hast power to make me happy, By making known unto my good Costanza How thou hast seen me, and this ban beside, For those on earth can much ad vance us here." __________________________________________________________________ Whenever by delight or else by pain, That seizes any facul ty of ours, Wholly to that the soul collects itself, It seemeth that no other power it heeds; And this against that error is which thinks One soul above another kindles in us. And hence, whenever aught is h eard or seen Which keeps the soul intently bent upon it, Time passes on, and we perceive it not, Because one faculty is that wh ich listens, And other that which the soul keeps entire; This is as if in bonds, and that is free. Of this I had experience posit ive In hearing and in gaz ing at that spirit; For fifty full degrees uprisen was The sun, and I had not perceiv ed it, when We came to where thos e souls with one accord Cried out unto us: "Here is what you ask." A greater opening ofttimes hed ges up With but a little for kful of his thorns The villager, what time the grape imbrowns, Than was the passage-way throu gh which ascended Only my Leader and my self behind him, After that company departed from us. One climbs Sanleo and descends in Noli, And mounts the summit of Bismantova, With feet alone; but here one needs must fly; With the swift pinions and the plumes I say Of great desire, cond ucted after him Who gave me hope, and made a light for me. We mounted upward through the rifted rock, And on each side the border pressed upon us, And feet and hands the ground beneath required. When we were come upon the upp er rim Of the high bank, out on the open slope, "My Master," said I, "what way shall we take?" And he to me: "No step of thin e descend; Still up the mount be hind me win thy way, Till some sage escort shall appear to us." The summit was so high it vanq uished sight, And the hillside prec ipitous far more Than line from middle quadrant to the centre. Spent with fatigue was I, when I began: "O my sweet Father! t urn thee and behold How I remain alone, unless thou stay!" "O son," he said, "up yonder d rag thyself," Pointing me to a terr ace somewhat higher, Which on that side encircles all the hill. These words of his so spurred me on, that I Strained every nerve, behind him scrambling up, Until the circle was beneath my feet. Thereon ourselves we seated bo th of us Turned to the East, f rom which we had ascended, For all men are delighted to look back. To the low shores mine eyes I first directed, Then to the sun uplif ted them, and wondered That on the left hand we were smitten by it. The Poet well perceived that I was wholly Bewildered at the cha riot of the light, Where 'twixt us and the Aquilon it entered. Whereon he said to me: "If Cas tor and Pollux Were in the company o f yonder mirror, That up and down conducteth with its light, Thou wouldst behold the zodiac 's jagged wheel Revolving still more near unto the Bears, Unless it swerved aside from its old track. How that may be wouldst thou h ave power to think, Collected in thyself, imagine Zion Together with this mount on earth to stand, So that they both one sole hor izon have, And hemispheres diver se; whereby the road Which Phaeton, alas! knew not to drive, Thou'lt see how of necessity m ust pass This on one side, whe n that upon the other, If thine intelligence right clearly heed." "Truly, my Master," said I, "n ever yet Saw I so clearly as I now discern, There where my wit appeared incompetent, That the mid-circle of superna l motion, Which in some art is the Equator called, And aye remains between the Sun and Winter, For reason which thou sayest, departeth hence Tow'rds the Septentri on, what time the Hebrews Beheld it tow'rds the region of the heat. But, if it pleaseth thee, I fa in would learn How far we have to go ; for the hill rises Higher than eyes of mine have power to rise." And he to me: "This mount is s uch, that ever At the beginning down below 'tis tiresome, And aye the more one climbs, the less it hurts. Therefore, when it shall seem so pleasant to thee, That going up shall b e to thee as easy As going down the current in a boat, Then at this pathway's ending thou wilt be; There to repose thy p anting breath expect; No more I answer; and this I know for true." And as he finished uttering th ese words, A voice close by us s ounded: "Peradventure Thou wilt have need of sitting down ere that." At sound thereof each one of u s turned round, And saw upon the left hand a great rock, Which neither I nor he before had noticed. Thither we drew; and there wer e persons there Who in the shadow sto od behind the rock, As one through indolence is wont to stand. And one of them, who seemed to me fatigued, Was sitting down, and both his knees embraced, Holding his face low down between them bowed. "O my sweet Lord," I said, "do turn thine eye On him who shows hims elf more negligent Then even Sloth herself his sister were." Then he turned round to us, an d he gave heed, Just lifting up his e yes above his thigh, And said: "Now go thou up, for thou art valiant. " Then knew I who he was; and th e distress, That still a little d id my breathing quicken, My going to him hindered not; and after I came to him he hardly raised his head, Saying: "Hast thou se en clearly how the sun O'er thy left shoulder drives his chariot?" His sluggish attitude and his curt words A little unto laughte r moved my lips; Then I began: "Belacqua, I grieve not For thee henceforth; but tell me, wherefore seated In this place art tho u? Waitest thou an escort? Or has thy usual habit seized upon thee?" And he: "O brother, what's the use of climbing? Since to my torment w ould not let me go The Angel of God, who sitteth at the gate. First heaven must needs so lon g revolve me round Outside thereof, as i n my life it did, Since the good sighs I to the end postponed, Unless, e'er that, some prayer may bring me aid Which rises from a he art that lives in grace; What profit others that in heaven are heard not? " Meanwhile the Poet was before me mounting, And saying: "Come now ; see the sun has touched Meridian, and from the shore the night Covers already with her foot M orocco." __________________________________________________________________ I had already from those shade s departed, And followed in the f ootsteps of my Guide, When from behind, pointing his finger at me, One shouted: "See, it seems as if shone not The sunshine on the l eft of him below, And like one living seems he to conduct him." Mine eyes I turned at utteranc e of these words, And saw them watching with astonishment But me, but me, and the light which was broken! "Why doth thy mind so occupy i tself," The Master said, "tha t thou thy pace dost slacken? What matters it to thee what here is whispered? Come after me, and let the peo ple talk; Stand like a steadfas t tower, that never wags Its top for all the blowing of the winds; For evermore the man in whom i s springing Thought upon thought, removes from him the mark, Because the force of one the other weakens." What could I say in answer but "I come"? I said it somewhat wi th that colour tinged Which makes a man of pardon sometimes worthy. Meanwhile along the mountain-s ide across Came people in advanc e of us a little, Singing the Miserere verse by verse. When they became aware I gave no place For passage of the su nshine through my body, They changed their song into a long, hoarse "Oh! " And two of them, in form of me ssengers, Ran forth to meet us, and demanded of us, "Of your condition make us cognisant." And said my Master: "Ye can go your way And carry back again to those who sent you, That this one's body is of very flesh. If they stood still because th ey saw his shadow, As I suppose, enough is answered them; Him let them honour, it may profit them." Vapours enkindled saw I ne'er so swiftly At early nightfall cl eave the air serene, Nor, at the set of sun, the clouds of August, But upward they returned in br iefer time, And, on arriving, wit h the others wheeled Tow'rds us, like troops that run without a rein. "This folk that presses unto u s is great, And cometh to implore thee," said the Poet; "So still go onward, and in going listen." "O soul that goest to beatitud e With the same members wherewith thou wast born," Shouting they came, "a little stay thy steps, Look, if thou e'er hast any of us seen, So that o'er yonder t hou bear news of him; Ah, why dost thou go on? Ah, why not stay? Long since we all were slain b y violence, And sinners even to t he latest hour; Then did a light from heaven admonish us, So that, both penitent and par doning, forth From life we issued r econciled to God, Who with desire to see Him stirs our hearts." And I: "Although I gaze into y our faces, No one I recognize; b ut if may please you Aught I have power to do, ye well-born spirits, Speak ye, and I will do it, by that peace Which, following the feet of such a Guide, From world to world makes itself sought by me." And one began: "Each one has c onfidence In thy good offices w ithout an oath, Unless the I cannot cut off the I will; Whence I, who speak alone befo re the others, Pray thee, if ever th ou dost see the land That 'twixt Romagna lies and that of Charles, Thou be so courteous to me of thy prayers In Fano, that they pr ay for me devoutly, That I may purge away my grave offences. From thence was I; but the dee p wounds, through which Issued the blood wher ein I had my seat, Were dealt me in bosom of the Antenori, There where I thought to be th e most secure; 'Twas he of Este had it done, who held me In hatred far beyond what justice willed. But if towards the Mira I had fled, When I was overtaken at Oriaco, I still should be o'er yonder where men breathe. I ran to the lagoon, and reeds and mire Did so entangle me I fell, and saw there A lake made from my veins upon the ground." Then said another: "Ah, be tha t desire Fulfilled that draws thee to the lofty mountain, As thou with pious pity aidest mine. I was of Montefeltro, and am B uonconte; Giovanna, nor none ot her cares for me; Hence among these I go with downcast front." And I to him: "What violence o r what chance Led thee astray so fa r from Campaldino, That never has thy sepulture been known?" "Oh," he replied, "at Casentin o's foot A river crosses named Archiano, born Above the Hermitage in Apennine. There where the name thereof b ecometh void Did I arrive, pierced through and through the throat, Fleeing on foot, and bloodying the plain; There my sight lost I, and my utterance Ceased in the name of Mary, and thereat I fell, and tenantless my flesh remained. Truth will I speak, repeat it to the living; God's Angel took me u p, and he of hell Shouted: 'O thou from heaven, why dost thou rob me? Thou bearest away the eternal part of him, For one poor little t ear, that takes him from me; But with the rest I'll deal in other fashion!' Well knowest thou how in the a ir is gathered That humid vapour whi ch to water turns, Soon as it rises where the cold doth grasp it. He joined that evil will, whic h aye seeks evil, To intellect, and mov ed the mist and wind By means of power, which his own nature gave; Thereafter, when the day was s pent, the valley From Pratomagno to th e great yoke covered With fog, and made the heaven above intent, So that the pregnant air to wa ter changed; Down fell the rain, a nd to the gullies came Whate'er of it earth tolerated not; And as it mingled with the mig hty torrents, Towards the royal riv er with such speed It headlong rushed, that nothing held it back. My frozen body near unto its o utlet The robust Archian fo und, and into Arno Thrust it, and loosened from my breast the cross I made of me, when agony o'erc ame me; It rolled me on the b anks and on the bottom, Then with its booty covered and begirt me." "Ah, when thou hast returned u nto the world, And rested thee from thy long journeying," After the second followed the third spirit, "Do thou remember me who am th e Pia; Siena made me, unmade me Maremma; He knoweth it, who had encircled first, Espousing me, my finger with h is gem." __________________________________________________________________ Whene'er is broken up the game of Zara, He who has lost remai ns behind despondent, The throws repeating, and in sadness learns; The people with the other all depart; One goes in front, an d one behind doth pluck him, And at his side one brings himself to mind; He pauses not, and this and th at one hears; They crowd no more to whom his hand he stretches, And from the throng he thus defends himself. Even such was I in that dense multitude, Turning to them this way and that my face, And, promising, I freed myself therefrom. There was the Aretine, who fro m the arms Untamed of Ghin di Ta cco had his death, And he who fleeing from pursuit was drowned. There was imploring with his h ands outstretched Frederick Novello, an d that one of Pisa Who made the good Marzucco seem so strong. I saw Count Orso; and the soul divided By hatred and by envy from its body, As it declared, and not for crime committed, Pierre de la Brosse I say; and here provide While still on earth the Lady of Brabant, So that for this she be of no worse flock! As soon as I was free from all those shades Who only prayed that some one else may pray, So as to hasten their becoming holy, Began I: "It appears that thou deniest, O light of mine, expr essly in some text, That orison can bend decree of Heaven; And ne'ertheless these people pray for this. Might then their expe ctation bootless be? Or is to me thy saying not quite clear?" And he to me: "My writing is e xplicit, And not fallacious is the hope of these, If with sane intellect 'tis well regarded; For top of judgment doth not v ail itself, Because the fire of l ove fulfils at once What he must satisfy who here installs him. And there, where I affirmed th at proposition, Defect was not amende d by a prayer, Because the prayer from God was separate. Verily, in so deep a questioni ng Do not decide, unless she tell it thee, Who light 'twixt truth and intellect shall be. I know not if thou understand; I speak Of Beatrice; her shal t thou see above, Smiling and happy, on this mountain's top." And I: "Good Leader, let us ma ke more haste, For I no longer tire me as before; And see, e'en now the hill a shadow casts." "We will go forward with this day" he answered, "As far as now is pos sible for us; But otherwise the fact is than thou thinkest. Ere thou art up there, thou sh alt see return Him, who now hides hi mself behind the hill, So that thou dost not interrupt his rays. But yonder there behold! a sou l that stationed All, all alone is loo king hitherward; It will point out to us the quickest way." We came up unto it; O Lombard soul, How lofty and disdain ful thou didst bear thee, And grand and slow in moving of thine eyes! Nothing whatever did it say to us, But let us go our way , eying us only After the manner of a couchant lion; Still near to it Virgilius dre w, entreating That it would point u s out the best ascent; And it replied not unto his demand, But of our native land and of our life It questioned us; and the sweet Guide began: "Mantua,"--and the shade, all in itself recluse, Rose tow'rds him from the plac e where first it was, Saying: "O Mantuan, I am Sordello Of thine own land!" and one embraced the other. Ah! servile Italy, grief's hos telry! A ship without a pilo t in great tempest! No Lady thou of Provinces, but brothel! That noble soul was so impatie nt, only At the sweet sound of his own native land, To make its citizen glad welcome there; And now within thee are not wi thout war Thy living ones, and one doth gnaw the other Of those whom one wall and one fosse shut in! Search, wretched one, all roun d about the shores Thy seaboard, and the n look within thy bosom, If any part of thee enjoyeth peace! What boots it, that for thee J ustinian The bridle mend, if e mpty be the saddle? Withouten this the shame would be the less. Ah! people, thou that oughtest to be devout, And to let Caesar sit upon the saddle, If well thou hearest what God teacheth thee, Behold how fell this wild beas t has become, Being no longer by th e spur corrected, Since thou hast laid thy hand upon the bridle. O German Albert! who abandones t Her that has grown re calcitrant and savage, And oughtest to bestride her saddle-bow, May a just judgment from the s tars down fall Upon thy blood, and b e it new and open, That thy successor may have fear thereof; Because thy father and thyself have suffered, By greed of those tra nsalpine lands distrained, The garden of the empire to be waste. Come and behold Montecchi and Cappelletti, Monaldi and Fillippes chi, careless man! Those sad already, and these doubt-depressed! Come, cruel one! come and beho ld the oppression Of thy nobility, and cure their wounds, And thou shalt see how safe is Santafiore! Come and behold thy Rome, that is lamenting, Widowed, alone, and d ay and night exclaims, "My Caesar, why hast thou forsaken me?" Come and behold how loving are the people; And if for us no pity moveth thee, Come and be made ashamed of thy renown! And if it lawful be, O Jove Su preme! Who upon earth for us wast crucified, Are thy just eyes averted otherwhere? Or preparation is 't, that, in the abyss Of thine own counsel, for some good thou makest From our perception utterly cut off? For all the towns of Italy are full Of tyrants, and becom eth a Marcellus Each peasant churl who plays the partisan! My Florence! well mayst thou c ontented be With this digression, which concerns thee not, Thanks to thy people who such forethought take! Many at heart have justice, bu t shoot slowly, That unadvised they c ome not to the bow, But on their very lips thy people have it! Many refuse to bear the common burden; But thy solicitous pe ople answereth Without being asked, and crieth: "I submit." Now be thou joyful, for thou h ast good reason; Thou affluent, thou i n peace, thou full of wisdom! If I speak true, the event conceals it not. Athens and Lacedaemon, they wh o made The ancient laws, and were so civilized, Made towards living well a little sign Compared with thee, who makest such fine-spun Provisions, that to m iddle of November Reaches not what thou in October spinnest. How oft, within the time of th y remembrance, Laws, money, offices, and usages Hast thou remodelled, and renewed thy members? And if thou mind thee well, an d see the light, Thou shalt behold thy self like a sick woman, Who cannot find repose upon her down, But by her tossing wardeth off her pain. __________________________________________________________________ After the gracious and glad sa lutations Had three and four ti mes been reiterated, Sordello backward drew and said, "Who are you?" "Or ever to this mountain were directed The souls deserving t o ascend to God, My bones were buried by Octavian. I am Virgilius; and for no cri me else Did I lose heaven, th an for not having faith;" In this wise then my Leader made reply. As one who suddenly before him sees Something whereat he marvels, who believes And yet does not, saying, "It is! it is not!" So he appeared; and then bowed down his brow, And with humility ret urned towards him, And, where inferiors embrace, embraced him. "O glory of the Latians, thou, " he said, "Through whom our lan guage showed what it could do O pride eternal of the place I came from, What merit or what grace to me reveals thee? If I to hear thy word s be worthy, tell me If thou dost come from Hell, and from what clois ter." "Through all the circles of th e doleful realm," Responded he, "have I come hitherward; Heaven's power impelled me, and with that I come . I by not doing, not by doing, lost The sight of that hig h sun which thou desirest, And which too late by me was recognized. A place there is below not sad with torments, But darkness only, wh ere the lamentations Have not the sound of wailing, but are sighs. There dwell I with the little innocents Snatched by the teeth of Death, or ever they Were from our human sinfulness exempt. There dwell I among those who the three saintly Virtues did not put o n, and without vice The others knew and followed all of them. But if thou know and can, some indication Give us by which we m ay the sooner come Where Purgatory has its right beginning." He answered: "No fixed place h as been assigned us; 'Tis lawful for me to go up and round; So far as I can go, as guide I join thee. But see already how the day de clines, And to go up by night we are not able; Therefore 'tis well to think of some fair sojour n. Souls are there on the right h and here withdrawn; If thou permit me I w ill lead thee to them, And thou shalt know them not without delight." "How is this?" was the answer; "should one wish To mount by night wou ld he prevented be By others? or mayhap would not have power?" And on the ground the good Sor dello drew His finger, saying, " See, this line alone Thou couldst not pass after the sun is gone; Not that aught else would hind rance give, however, To going up, save the nocturnal darkness; This with the want of power the will perplexes. We might indeed therewith retu rn below, And, wandering, walk the hill-side round about, While the horizon holds the day imprisoned." Thereon my Lord, as if in wond er, said: "Do thou conduct us t hither, where thou sayest That we can take delight in tarrying." Little had we withdrawn us fro m that place, When I perceived the mount was hollowed out In fashion as the valleys here are hollowed. "Thitherward," said that shade , "will we repair, Where of itself the h ill-side makes a lap, And there for the new day will we await." 'Twixt hill and plain there wa s a winding path Which led us to the m argin of that dell, Where dies the border more than half away. Gold and fine silver, and scar let and pearl-white, The Indian wood respl endent and serene, Fresh emerald the moment it is broken, By herbage and by flowers with in that hollow Planted, each one in colour would be vanquished, As by its greater vanquished is the less. Nor in that place had nature p ainted only, But of the sweetness of a thousand odours Made there a mingled fragrance and unknown. "Salve Regina," on the green a nd flowers There seated, singing , spirits I beheld, Which were not visible outside the valley. "Before the scanty sun now see ks his nest," Began the Mantuan who had led us thither, "Among them do not wish me to conduct you. Better from off this ledge the acts and faces Of all of them will y ou discriminate, Than in the plain below received among them. He who sits highest, and the s emblance bears Of having what he sho uld have done neglected, And to the others' song moves not his lips, Rudolph the Emperor was, who h ad the power To heal the wounds th at Italy have slain, So that through others slowly she revives. The other, who in look doth co mfort him, Governed the region w here the water springs, The Moldau bears the Elbe, and Elbe the sea. His name was Ottocar; and in s waddling-clothes Far better he than be arded Winceslaus His son, who feeds in luxury and ease. And the small-nosed, who close in council seems With him that has an aspect so benign, Died fleeing and disflowering the lily; Look there, how he is beating at his breast! Behold the other one, who for his cheek Sighing has made of his own palm a bed; Father and father-in-law of Fr ance's Pest Are they, and know hi s vicious life and lewd, And hence proceeds the grief that so doth pierce them. He who appears so stalwart, an d chimes in, Singing, with that on e of the manly nose, The cord of every valour wore begirt; And if as King had after him r emained The stripling who in rear of him is sitting, Well had the valour passed from vase to vase, Which cannot of the other heir s be said. Frederick and Jacomo possess the realms, But none the better heritage possesses. Not oftentimes upriseth throug h the branches The probity of man; a nd this He wills Who gives it, so that we may ask of Him. Eke to the large-nosed reach m y words, no less Than to the other, Pi er, who with him sings; Whence Provence and Apulia grieve already The plant is as inferior to it s seed, As more than Beatrice and Margaret Costanza boasteth of her husband still. Behold the monarch of the simp le life, Harry of England, sit ting there alone; He in his branches has a better issue. He who the lowest on the groun d among them Sits looking upward, is the Marquis William, For whose sake Alessandria and her war Make Monferrat and Canavese we ep." __________________________________________________________________ 'Twas now the hour that turnet h back desire In those who sail the sea, and melts the heart, The day they've said to their sweet friends fare well, And the new pilgrim penetrates with love, If he doth hear from far away a bell That seemeth to deplore the dying day, When I began to make of no ava il My hearing, and to wa tch one of the souls Uprisen, that begged attention with its hand. It joined and lifted upward bo th its palms, Fixing its eyes upon the orient, As if it said to God, "Naught else I care for." "Te lucis ante" so devoutly is sued Forth from its mouth, and with such dulcet notes, It made me issue forth from my own mind. And then the others, sweetly a nd devoutly, Accompanied it throug h all the hymn entire, Having their eyes on the supernal wheels. Here, Reader, fix thine eyes w ell on the truth, For now indeed so sub tile is the veil, Surely to penetrate within is easy. I saw that army of the gentle- born Thereafterward in sil ence upward gaze, As if in expectation, pale and humble; And from on high come forth an d down descend, I saw two Angels with two flaming swords, Truncated and deprived of their points. Green as the little leaflets j ust now born Their garments were, which, by their verdant pinions Beaten and blown abroad, they trailed behind. One just above us came to take his station, And one descended to the opposite bank, So that the people were contained between them. Clearly in them discerned I th e blond head; But in their faces wa s the eye bewildered, As faculty confounded by excess. "From Mary's bosom both of the m have come," Sordello said, "as gu ardians of the valley Against the serpent, that will come anon." Whereupon I, who knew not by w hat road, Turned round about, a nd closely drew myself, Utterly frozen, to the faithful shoulders. And once again Sordello: "Now descend we 'Mid the grand shades , and we will speak to them; Right pleasant will it be for them to see you." Only three steps I think that I descended, And was below, and sa w one who was looking Only at me, as if he fain would know me. Already now the air was growin g dark, But not so that betwe en his eyes and mine It did not show what it before locked up. Tow'rds me he moved, and I tow 'rds him did move; Noble Judge Nino! how it me delighted, When I beheld thee not among the damned! No greeting fair was left unsa id between us; Then asked he: "How l ong is it since thou camest O'er the far waters to the mountain's foot?" "Oh!" said I to him, "through the dismal places I came this morn; and am in the first life, Albeit the other, going thus, I gain." And on the instant my reply wa s heard, He and Sordello both shrank back from me, Like people who are suddenly bewildered. One to Virgilius, and the othe r turned To one who sat there, crying, "Up, Currado! Come and behold what God in grace has willed!" Then, turned to me: "By that e special grace Thou owest unto Him, who so con