CANTO XIV.
Argument.
Third Zone of the Seventh Circle; the rebellious against God exposed to a fiery rain. — The Giant Capaneus — Source of the rivers of Hell.
T HE love I bore my native place prevail'd;
Thus gather'd I the scatter'd leaves once more,
And gave them back to him whose voice had fail'd
We journey'd on, until our steps passed o'er
The bound betwixt the third and second zone,
Where God's great justice punishes full sore.
To clearly manifest those things unknown
Till now, I here relate that to a land
We came, where never leaf or plant hath grown.
The doleful forest round it forms a band,
Itself enwreathid by the river dread;
Here on the utmost border did we stand.
O'er all the space a dry thick sand was shed,
Like that which on the burning desert lies,
Whereon of old the feet of Cato sped.
Vengeance of God, what fear of thee should rise
Within the heart of him who readeth here
That which was manifest unto mine eyes!
For now did many a naked soul appear,
All weeping with the mournful sound of woe:
And each did seem a different law to bear.
Some, stretch'd supine, upon the earth lay low,
And some were seated, crouching on the shore,
And others ever wander'd to and fro.
They who pass'd on erect were many more,
And fewer they who lay upon the strand;
But these most loudly mourn'd in torment sore.
And ever slowly falling on the sand,
Great flakes of fire came down in burning rain,
As without wind the snow on mountain-land.
As Alexander, on the arid plain
Of India, erst beheld the fiery shower
Above his army fall: when he was fain
To cause the multitude to trample o'er
The burning soil, because with greater ease
They quench it, ere it gain a twofold power;
Thus never do the flames eternal cease
To spring from the hot sand (as when the steel
Doth strike the flint), the suffering to increase;
And never rest those wretched hands which feel
Now here, now there, the flakes that ever fall
Afresh, and yet a newer pain reveal.
Thus I began: " My Master, thou who all
Canst vanquish, save those Demons proud, who dared
'Gainst us to issue forth beyond this wall,
Who is yon Shade who seems as if he cared
Nought for the torment, lying in fierce pride,
As though he by the fiery rain were spared? "
Then he, who saw that I unto my guide
Of him did speak, to me made answer thus:
" Even as in life, in death do I abide.
I would that Jove his armourer should press
To hardest work, as when he once in ire
Snatch'd the sharp thunderbolt, with which, I wis,
On my last day he smote me. Let him tire
Those who at Etna's forge the hammers wield
And cry, " Good Vulcan, aid us with thy fire;"
And fiercely as of yore on Phlegra's field,
Pierce me with darts; yet shall he not rejoice
That I beneath his vengeance ere should yield. "
And then my Leader answer'd, with a voice
Of louder tone than I had heard till then:
" O Capaneus, more sad and sore annoys
Thou hast because thy pride doth work thee pain;
No suffering, save thine own rage alone,
Could to the measure of thy guilt attain. "
And then he turn'd and said with softer tone:
" This shade was one of the seven kings of old,
Who erst besiegid Thebes; by him was shown
Disdain of God, whom still he seems to hold
In scorn; but, as I said, he well doth wear,
As fitting ornament, his fierceness bold.
Now follow me, and look thou well that here
Thou plant no footstep on the burning sand,
But ever to the forest keep thou near. "
Silent we came to where a stream doth wend
Forth from the wood; its crimson hue doth still
Cause, in my fear, each hair erect to stand.
As from the Bulicami flows the rill
Which then the harlots each with each divide,
Thus through the sand did this red fount distil.
The bed o'er which it pass'd, and each steep side,
And margin all around were turn'd to stone;
Thus saw I that my steps might there abide.
" 'Mid all the wonders I to thee have shown,
Since we the gate have enter'd, which denies
The right to pass its limit unto none,
There hath not been perceivid by thine eyes
So notable a thing as this strange rill;
For every flame above its vapour dies. "
These words my Leader spake to me, and still
I pray'd for yet more largesse from his hand,
The larger longing of my soul to fill.
" Amid the ocean is a desert land, "
He said, " whose name is Crete; beneath its king
The earth was peopled by a sinless band.
A hill is there call'd Ida; in the spring
Of Time, all gay with streams and verdure bright,
Now is it lone as some forbidden thing.
And Rhea chose, to screen her son from sight,
This isle; and that the spot should be unknown,
Whene'er he wept she waked the cymbal's might.
Within the mount there stands an image lone,
From Damietta backward doth it turn;
On Rome, as on a mirror, aye is thrown
Its glance. The head with finest gold doth burn,
And of pure silver are the arms and breast;
The body brass; and thence ye may discern
Downwards of polish'd steel is all the rest,
Save the left foot, of clay, whereon is leant
More heavy weight than on the right is prest.
Each part, save only the fine gold, is rent
By a long fissure, aye distilling tears,
Which, gather'd, hew this grot. Their course is bent
Throughout this valley, where their stream appears,
As Acheron and Styx: the burning shore
Of Phlegethon is here; and as it nears
The depth from which ye may descend no more,
Through this strait channel downwards does it flow,
To the sad flood of Cocytus, whose lore
I tell not, since thou for thyself shalt know. "
Then I: " If in our world its source is found,
How saw we nought thereof until this low
Dim shore? " " Thou know'st this valley's form is round, "
He answer'd; " though thou many a step hast gone,
Still to the left descending its dark bound,
Yet hast thou not encircled all the zone;
Thus, if some novelty should meet thine eye,
Here on thy brow need no surprise be shown. "
Then I: " My Master, where may we descry
Lethe and Phlegethon? thou sayest nought
Of one, and that the other's fount doth lie
Within this rill. " " Thine every quest is fraught
To me with pleasure, " thus he 'gan to say,
" Yet this hot wave should partly solve thy thought
Far from this vale, thou Lethe shalt one day
Behold; where spirits go to be made clean,
When the repented sin is wash'd away. "
And then he said: " Now walk no more within
The forest; be thy footsteps on the same
Margin whereon I tread; for there, I ween,
Each vapour soon is spent, and flake of burning flame. "
Argument.
Third Zone of the Seventh Circle; the rebellious against God exposed to a fiery rain. — The Giant Capaneus — Source of the rivers of Hell.
T HE love I bore my native place prevail'd;
Thus gather'd I the scatter'd leaves once more,
And gave them back to him whose voice had fail'd
We journey'd on, until our steps passed o'er
The bound betwixt the third and second zone,
Where God's great justice punishes full sore.
To clearly manifest those things unknown
Till now, I here relate that to a land
We came, where never leaf or plant hath grown.
The doleful forest round it forms a band,
Itself enwreathid by the river dread;
Here on the utmost border did we stand.
O'er all the space a dry thick sand was shed,
Like that which on the burning desert lies,
Whereon of old the feet of Cato sped.
Vengeance of God, what fear of thee should rise
Within the heart of him who readeth here
That which was manifest unto mine eyes!
For now did many a naked soul appear,
All weeping with the mournful sound of woe:
And each did seem a different law to bear.
Some, stretch'd supine, upon the earth lay low,
And some were seated, crouching on the shore,
And others ever wander'd to and fro.
They who pass'd on erect were many more,
And fewer they who lay upon the strand;
But these most loudly mourn'd in torment sore.
And ever slowly falling on the sand,
Great flakes of fire came down in burning rain,
As without wind the snow on mountain-land.
As Alexander, on the arid plain
Of India, erst beheld the fiery shower
Above his army fall: when he was fain
To cause the multitude to trample o'er
The burning soil, because with greater ease
They quench it, ere it gain a twofold power;
Thus never do the flames eternal cease
To spring from the hot sand (as when the steel
Doth strike the flint), the suffering to increase;
And never rest those wretched hands which feel
Now here, now there, the flakes that ever fall
Afresh, and yet a newer pain reveal.
Thus I began: " My Master, thou who all
Canst vanquish, save those Demons proud, who dared
'Gainst us to issue forth beyond this wall,
Who is yon Shade who seems as if he cared
Nought for the torment, lying in fierce pride,
As though he by the fiery rain were spared? "
Then he, who saw that I unto my guide
Of him did speak, to me made answer thus:
" Even as in life, in death do I abide.
I would that Jove his armourer should press
To hardest work, as when he once in ire
Snatch'd the sharp thunderbolt, with which, I wis,
On my last day he smote me. Let him tire
Those who at Etna's forge the hammers wield
And cry, " Good Vulcan, aid us with thy fire;"
And fiercely as of yore on Phlegra's field,
Pierce me with darts; yet shall he not rejoice
That I beneath his vengeance ere should yield. "
And then my Leader answer'd, with a voice
Of louder tone than I had heard till then:
" O Capaneus, more sad and sore annoys
Thou hast because thy pride doth work thee pain;
No suffering, save thine own rage alone,
Could to the measure of thy guilt attain. "
And then he turn'd and said with softer tone:
" This shade was one of the seven kings of old,
Who erst besiegid Thebes; by him was shown
Disdain of God, whom still he seems to hold
In scorn; but, as I said, he well doth wear,
As fitting ornament, his fierceness bold.
Now follow me, and look thou well that here
Thou plant no footstep on the burning sand,
But ever to the forest keep thou near. "
Silent we came to where a stream doth wend
Forth from the wood; its crimson hue doth still
Cause, in my fear, each hair erect to stand.
As from the Bulicami flows the rill
Which then the harlots each with each divide,
Thus through the sand did this red fount distil.
The bed o'er which it pass'd, and each steep side,
And margin all around were turn'd to stone;
Thus saw I that my steps might there abide.
" 'Mid all the wonders I to thee have shown,
Since we the gate have enter'd, which denies
The right to pass its limit unto none,
There hath not been perceivid by thine eyes
So notable a thing as this strange rill;
For every flame above its vapour dies. "
These words my Leader spake to me, and still
I pray'd for yet more largesse from his hand,
The larger longing of my soul to fill.
" Amid the ocean is a desert land, "
He said, " whose name is Crete; beneath its king
The earth was peopled by a sinless band.
A hill is there call'd Ida; in the spring
Of Time, all gay with streams and verdure bright,
Now is it lone as some forbidden thing.
And Rhea chose, to screen her son from sight,
This isle; and that the spot should be unknown,
Whene'er he wept she waked the cymbal's might.
Within the mount there stands an image lone,
From Damietta backward doth it turn;
On Rome, as on a mirror, aye is thrown
Its glance. The head with finest gold doth burn,
And of pure silver are the arms and breast;
The body brass; and thence ye may discern
Downwards of polish'd steel is all the rest,
Save the left foot, of clay, whereon is leant
More heavy weight than on the right is prest.
Each part, save only the fine gold, is rent
By a long fissure, aye distilling tears,
Which, gather'd, hew this grot. Their course is bent
Throughout this valley, where their stream appears,
As Acheron and Styx: the burning shore
Of Phlegethon is here; and as it nears
The depth from which ye may descend no more,
Through this strait channel downwards does it flow,
To the sad flood of Cocytus, whose lore
I tell not, since thou for thyself shalt know. "
Then I: " If in our world its source is found,
How saw we nought thereof until this low
Dim shore? " " Thou know'st this valley's form is round, "
He answer'd; " though thou many a step hast gone,
Still to the left descending its dark bound,
Yet hast thou not encircled all the zone;
Thus, if some novelty should meet thine eye,
Here on thy brow need no surprise be shown. "
Then I: " My Master, where may we descry
Lethe and Phlegethon? thou sayest nought
Of one, and that the other's fount doth lie
Within this rill. " " Thine every quest is fraught
To me with pleasure, " thus he 'gan to say,
" Yet this hot wave should partly solve thy thought
Far from this vale, thou Lethe shalt one day
Behold; where spirits go to be made clean,
When the repented sin is wash'd away. "
And then he said: " Now walk no more within
The forest; be thy footsteps on the same
Margin whereon I tread; for there, I ween,
Each vapour soon is spent, and flake of burning flame. "