CANTO XXIII.
Argument.
New fear of Dante, followed by the demons. — Sixth valley; the hypocrites — Caiaphas crucified on the path.
S ILENT , alone, without an escort, now
We one by one upon our journey went,
As Minor Friars walk with bended brow.
My mind on Esop's fable was intent,
From what had chanced within the dire abyss;
Because he tells of what the frog had meant
To do unto the mouse. For, aye and yes
Are not more like than this and that, if well
End and beginning are compared in this.
As thought doth spring from thought, it now befel
There woke within my brain another dread,
Which greatly my first terror did excel.
" Those fiends for us, " within myself I said,
" Are scorn'd with hurt and mocking laughter shrill;
And well from thence may wrath in them be bred.
If anger doth succeed to their ill-will,
They will pursue us with more cruel mind
Than dogs when they the panting lev'ret kill.
And now cold shuddering through my veins did wind;
Intently listening then with backward glance
I said: " My Master, if thou dost not find
Some means to hide both thee and me at once,
Great fear have I of Malibranch; for he
Doth with his crew in chase of us advance;
Methinks I feel his claws. " And then to me
Virgil replied: " Were I a mirror clear,
No plainer there thine outward mien would be
Portray'd than now in me thy thought I bear;
For thine and mine do wear the selfsame face,
And form one counsel. If it be that here
The bank inclines as elsewhere in this place,
We thence may to the next abyss descend,
And safely hide from the imagined chace. "
Already scarcely did his counsel end,
When I descried them coming with spread wing
(And not afar) to take us. Then my Friend
And Master suddenly his arms did fling
Around me with a mother's gentle care,
As she who, in the fearful wakening
At the dread cry of fire, yet doth not spare
A thought save but to catch her child and flee,
Though scarce a scanty garment she doth wear.
Then from the edge of the firm bank did he
Supine glide down the hanging rocks which close
This from the next abyss. Ne'er did I see
The water run so swiftly, when it goes
To turn the mill-wheel, and, its course nigh done,
Most near unto the whirling spokes it flows,
As my good Master down this ledge pass'd on,
And bore me on his breast as though I were
Not his companion, but his much loved son
Scarce did the solid ground his footsteps bear,
When the dark fiends arrived with flying pace,
Above our heads: but nought was there to fear;
For the high Providence that gave this race
As stewards of the fifth sad vale, doth well
Deprive them of all power to quit their place.
Beneath, a strangely painted people dwell;
Who wander'd round and round with footsteps slow,
With mournful mien and tears which ever fell:
And cloaks they wore, with close-drawn hoods which flow
Before their eyes, in the like form and law
As those of monks who in Cologne do go.
All gilt without, their dazzling ray I saw;
But lead within, so heavily they lie,
That near them Frederick's casques had seem'd of straw:
In sooth a weary mantle, worn for aye!
To the left hand we turn'd with them, intent
To list each mournful plaint and wailing sigh.
But, for the weight that those sad spirits bent,
So slowly they advanced, that we renew'd
Our company at every step we went.
Then spake I thus unto my Master good:
" I pray thee, seek for some whom I may know
By word or deed. " And one who near us stood,
Hearing the Tuscan voice, cried: " If more slow
Ye now will journey, nor so hastily
Through the dim air of this sad valley go,
That which thou seek'st, perchance, thou'lt find in me. "
Wherefore my Leader turn'd, and said: " Await
Their coming, and then let thy footsteps be
At one with theirs. " And two I saw, whose gait
Show'd that they fain toward me would advance,
But could not, for their load, and pathway strait.
When they had join'd me, long with look askance
They gaze, and with surprise their eyeballs roll;
Then to each other said: " How doth it chance
That as a living man doth breathe this soul?
If he be dead, what privilege is his
To go uncover'd by the heavy stole? "
And then to me: " O Tuscan, who to this
Sad college of the hypocrites hast sped,
Scorn not to tell thy name. " And then, I wis,
Thus I made auswer: " I was born and bred
In the fair city upon Arno's stream,
And with my mortal body here am led.
But who are ye from whom (if well I deem)
Sore anguish trickles o'er your cheeks adown?
What is the grief which sheds so bright a gleam? "
" The golden seeming cloaks, " he answer'd, thrown
Round us, are lead; such heavy weights are these,
That aye the balances do sigh and groan.
For jolly monks were we, and Bolognese;
I, Catalano named; this shade anear
Is Loderingo: erst, to keep the peace,
Thy city chose us both at once, to bear
The wonted rule ye give to men who know
No tie among you; and like us appear
Some in Gardingo still. " I said: " Your woe,
My brothers " — — and no more; for I perceived
One crucified, who on the path lay low,
And, by three stakes transfix'd, for ever grieved.
Then, seeing me, he writhed with many a sigh;
And Catalano, who aright conceived
My wonder, said: " Lo! he who here doth lie
Counsell'd the Pharisees that it were well,
And fitting, One should for the people die.
Stretch'd out and naked he doth ever dwell,
As here thou seest; and needs for aye must bear
Whatever footstep treads this depth of Hell.
And he who ruled with him still suffers here
And those who with ill counsel did beguile
The Jews, and seed of such sore evil were. "
Now Virgil seem'd to marvel much, the while,
At him who lay extended like a cross,
For ever in eternal exile vile.
And to the friar then he raised his voice:
" Now may it please thee, if thou canst, to say
If to the right hand we may safely pass,
And issue forth upon our onward way,
Withouten hurt from the dark angels' wrath,
Who from yon bourne have hunted us away. "
" Nearer than thou dost think, there lies a path, "
He answer'd, " by a bridge of rock that springs
From the great circle, and each valley hath
Within. But broken here alone, it brings
To us no covering; ye well may go
And mount the fragments which its ruin flings. "
My leader stood awhile with bended brow;
Then said: " To us he spake in falsest guise,
Who yonder adds unto the sinners' woe. "
" I, in Bologna, heard of many a vice
Of the foul fiend; they call him 'mong the rest,
A liar, and the father of all lies: "
Thus spake the friar. Virgil then in haste
Departed with a somewhat angry mien;
And I from those sore-burden'd spirits pass'd,
Still following the track of his dear steps, I ween.
Argument.
New fear of Dante, followed by the demons. — Sixth valley; the hypocrites — Caiaphas crucified on the path.
S ILENT , alone, without an escort, now
We one by one upon our journey went,
As Minor Friars walk with bended brow.
My mind on Esop's fable was intent,
From what had chanced within the dire abyss;
Because he tells of what the frog had meant
To do unto the mouse. For, aye and yes
Are not more like than this and that, if well
End and beginning are compared in this.
As thought doth spring from thought, it now befel
There woke within my brain another dread,
Which greatly my first terror did excel.
" Those fiends for us, " within myself I said,
" Are scorn'd with hurt and mocking laughter shrill;
And well from thence may wrath in them be bred.
If anger doth succeed to their ill-will,
They will pursue us with more cruel mind
Than dogs when they the panting lev'ret kill.
And now cold shuddering through my veins did wind;
Intently listening then with backward glance
I said: " My Master, if thou dost not find
Some means to hide both thee and me at once,
Great fear have I of Malibranch; for he
Doth with his crew in chase of us advance;
Methinks I feel his claws. " And then to me
Virgil replied: " Were I a mirror clear,
No plainer there thine outward mien would be
Portray'd than now in me thy thought I bear;
For thine and mine do wear the selfsame face,
And form one counsel. If it be that here
The bank inclines as elsewhere in this place,
We thence may to the next abyss descend,
And safely hide from the imagined chace. "
Already scarcely did his counsel end,
When I descried them coming with spread wing
(And not afar) to take us. Then my Friend
And Master suddenly his arms did fling
Around me with a mother's gentle care,
As she who, in the fearful wakening
At the dread cry of fire, yet doth not spare
A thought save but to catch her child and flee,
Though scarce a scanty garment she doth wear.
Then from the edge of the firm bank did he
Supine glide down the hanging rocks which close
This from the next abyss. Ne'er did I see
The water run so swiftly, when it goes
To turn the mill-wheel, and, its course nigh done,
Most near unto the whirling spokes it flows,
As my good Master down this ledge pass'd on,
And bore me on his breast as though I were
Not his companion, but his much loved son
Scarce did the solid ground his footsteps bear,
When the dark fiends arrived with flying pace,
Above our heads: but nought was there to fear;
For the high Providence that gave this race
As stewards of the fifth sad vale, doth well
Deprive them of all power to quit their place.
Beneath, a strangely painted people dwell;
Who wander'd round and round with footsteps slow,
With mournful mien and tears which ever fell:
And cloaks they wore, with close-drawn hoods which flow
Before their eyes, in the like form and law
As those of monks who in Cologne do go.
All gilt without, their dazzling ray I saw;
But lead within, so heavily they lie,
That near them Frederick's casques had seem'd of straw:
In sooth a weary mantle, worn for aye!
To the left hand we turn'd with them, intent
To list each mournful plaint and wailing sigh.
But, for the weight that those sad spirits bent,
So slowly they advanced, that we renew'd
Our company at every step we went.
Then spake I thus unto my Master good:
" I pray thee, seek for some whom I may know
By word or deed. " And one who near us stood,
Hearing the Tuscan voice, cried: " If more slow
Ye now will journey, nor so hastily
Through the dim air of this sad valley go,
That which thou seek'st, perchance, thou'lt find in me. "
Wherefore my Leader turn'd, and said: " Await
Their coming, and then let thy footsteps be
At one with theirs. " And two I saw, whose gait
Show'd that they fain toward me would advance,
But could not, for their load, and pathway strait.
When they had join'd me, long with look askance
They gaze, and with surprise their eyeballs roll;
Then to each other said: " How doth it chance
That as a living man doth breathe this soul?
If he be dead, what privilege is his
To go uncover'd by the heavy stole? "
And then to me: " O Tuscan, who to this
Sad college of the hypocrites hast sped,
Scorn not to tell thy name. " And then, I wis,
Thus I made auswer: " I was born and bred
In the fair city upon Arno's stream,
And with my mortal body here am led.
But who are ye from whom (if well I deem)
Sore anguish trickles o'er your cheeks adown?
What is the grief which sheds so bright a gleam? "
" The golden seeming cloaks, " he answer'd, thrown
Round us, are lead; such heavy weights are these,
That aye the balances do sigh and groan.
For jolly monks were we, and Bolognese;
I, Catalano named; this shade anear
Is Loderingo: erst, to keep the peace,
Thy city chose us both at once, to bear
The wonted rule ye give to men who know
No tie among you; and like us appear
Some in Gardingo still. " I said: " Your woe,
My brothers " — — and no more; for I perceived
One crucified, who on the path lay low,
And, by three stakes transfix'd, for ever grieved.
Then, seeing me, he writhed with many a sigh;
And Catalano, who aright conceived
My wonder, said: " Lo! he who here doth lie
Counsell'd the Pharisees that it were well,
And fitting, One should for the people die.
Stretch'd out and naked he doth ever dwell,
As here thou seest; and needs for aye must bear
Whatever footstep treads this depth of Hell.
And he who ruled with him still suffers here
And those who with ill counsel did beguile
The Jews, and seed of such sore evil were. "
Now Virgil seem'd to marvel much, the while,
At him who lay extended like a cross,
For ever in eternal exile vile.
And to the friar then he raised his voice:
" Now may it please thee, if thou canst, to say
If to the right hand we may safely pass,
And issue forth upon our onward way,
Withouten hurt from the dark angels' wrath,
Who from yon bourne have hunted us away. "
" Nearer than thou dost think, there lies a path, "
He answer'd, " by a bridge of rock that springs
From the great circle, and each valley hath
Within. But broken here alone, it brings
To us no covering; ye well may go
And mount the fragments which its ruin flings. "
My leader stood awhile with bended brow;
Then said: " To us he spake in falsest guise,
Who yonder adds unto the sinners' woe. "
" I, in Bologna, heard of many a vice
Of the foul fiend; they call him 'mong the rest,
A liar, and the father of all lies: "
Thus spake the friar. Virgil then in haste
Departed with a somewhat angry mien;
And I from those sore-burden'd spirits pass'd,
Still following the track of his dear steps, I ween.