Classic Poem

CANTO XIX.

Argument.

Those guilty of simony; and, among them, Pope Nicholas III, who announces that he waits the coming of Boniface VIII and Clement V.

O FOLLOWERS of Simon Magus! ye
Rapacious ones, who take the things of God,
Which unto good should consecrated be,
And souls for silver and for gold defraud!
Here must I sound the trumpet of your doom,
For in this third abyss is your abode.
Now we had come unto the next sad tomb,
Mounting upon the rock, above that part
Which o'er the precipice doth darkly loom.
O highest Wisdom, how sublime thine art,
In heaven, on earth, and in the world of sighs!
How justly doth thy rule to each impart!
As to the depth below I strain'd mine eyes,
I saw the livid stone, on every side
All pierced with holes, of selfsame shape and guise.
They did not seem more ample nor less wide
Than those in my fair temple of St. John,
Made for the place of the baptismal tide.
One of those fonts, not many years agone,
I broke, to save a child that drown'd within:
Thus let the truth to all men be made known.
Forth issuing from every grave were seen
A sinner's feet and legs, unto the knee;
And all the rest was there enclosed, I ween.
Upon the feet of each whom I did see
Was fire, whereby such strong convulsions came,
Each binding cord were broken utterly.
Ev'n as upon anointed things the flame
Doth only on the upper surface run,
The manner of this torment was the same.
" Now who is this, my Master? " I began,
" Whom fiercer pains convulse than others there?
A redder flame than his is found on none. "
He said: " If thou desirest me to bear
Thee downwards to yon lower bank of hell,
Of him and of his deeds thou then shalt hear. "
And I: " What pleases thee to me is well;
Thou art my guide, and know'st how I obey
Thy will, and know'st e'en what I do not tell. "
Then to the fourth descent we wend our way,
And ever to the left our pathway lies,
Down to the bottom, pierced in strange array;
Nor from beside him did my Master wise
Permit me to depart, until we came
To him whose feet were pain'd in such sad guise.
" Thou mournful soul, who standest with thy frame
Revers'd, and fix'd as in the earth a stake,
Now speak, if here thou mayest without blame. "
And still I stood before him as I spake;
Like him who doth confess the wretch, whose fear
Would from his punishment some respite take.
And he cried out: " So soon art thou come here,
So soon art thou come here, O Boniface?
The prophecy has lied by many a year.
So quickly art thou sated with the place
And the possessions which thou didst obtain,
As one who first deceiveth, and then slays? "
All silent and amazed did I remain,
Because I understood not what was said,
And knew not how to answer it again.
Then Virgil thus: " Now answer him with speed,
" I am not what thou takest me to be:" "
And to my Master's bidding I gave heed.
The spirit writhed his feet in agony;
And now he spake in voice of anguish sore,
And said: " What dost thou seek for then from me?
If such desire hath led thee to this shore,
To know of me and of my deeds, give ear;
For I the mantle of St. Peter wore.
And truly I was offspring of the bear;
So greedy was I to advance my race,
That, as in life I lock'd up gold, so here
Myself am lock'd. Beneath, in lower place,
Fix'd in the fissure of the stone, are those
Who went before in Simon Magus' trace.
Also on me the sepulchre must close,
When he shall come whom I believed thou wert
When in such sudden speech my voice arose.
Already longer it hath been my part,
With burning feet, inverted thus to stand,
Than from his ancles the red flames shall dart;
For, after him, from out a western land,
A lawless pastor, of more evil deed,
Shall come, to dwell above me in this strand.
New Jason he shall be, of whom ye read
In Maccabees; who with his king did hold
Such grace as he with him who now doth lead
The realm of France. " Perchance I was too bold,
That on this manner my reply should be:
" Now say how much of silver or of gold
Our Saviour sought, when first each holy key
He gave unto the fisher of the lake?
He did but ask of him, " Follow thou me."
Nor did St. Peter from Matthias take
A bribe, when he was chosen to fill the room
Of him who sold his Lord for lucre's sake.
Then richly hast thou merited thy doom;
And hold thou fast the evil-gotten gain,
Which made thee in the face of Charles presume.
And were it not that somewhat I refrain,
From reverence for the most holy keys,
Which thou didst, in thine earthly life, retain,
I well might speak more wrathful words than these:
Ye spoil the good, and ye raise up the bad,
And sadden earth with your great avarice.
Of pastors such as you, the prophet had
A vision, when before his eyes arose
The harlot, who on many waters sat
And sinn'd with kings; seven heads she did disclose;
And she unto the Law's ten horns did pay
Respect, as long as virtue pleased her spouse.
Ye have made gods of gold and silver; say,
Where are ye better than the pagan? He
Worships but one, where ye to hundreds pray.
Ah! Constantine, what evil fruits there be,
Not sprung from thy conversion, but the gain
Which the first wealthy Father had from thee! "
And while I spake unto him in this strain,
Whether or wrath or conscience did impel,
With both his feet he struggled, as in pain.
In sooth, I think it pleased my Leader well;
With gladsome air he listen'd to the sound
Of the true words that from my lips thus fell.
And gently then his arms he round me wound,
And after he had raised me to his breast,
Went back the path which led us to this bound.
Nor loaded thus, had he desire for rest,
But bore me to the summit of the way
Joining this margin to the next; at last,
Then softly there his burden did he lay,
Softly upon the steep and rugged rock,
That to the goat scarce offer'd step or stay;
Its height before me did another vale unlock.