The Divine Comedy — Dante Alighieri
80 HELL. Canto XXI. So from beneath the bridge they sallied round ^" And all their prongs towards him pointed : " Stay ! Cried he to them ; " your evil will be bound. Before your hooks can rend me stand away. And one of you come forth my words to hear, And then consult to tear me, yea or nay." ^'' " Go, Malacoda,'* cried they all, and near Drew one, the whilst the other stood at fee, Saying, ** In what will this avail him here ?
" Thinkest thou, Malacoda, thou wouldst see Me venture here," replied the master mine, ^" *' From all your fiends' attacks so far 'scaped free Without propitious Fate and will Divine ? Permit my passage through this way forlorn. Where 1 must guide my fnend through Heaven's design. On that his toppling pride was straightway shorn, ^^ And he let drop his weapon to his feet. And said to the others, " He must not be torn.
My leader then to me : " Thou from the seat Where, 'midst the rocks, thou dost in hiding keep In safety now abandon thy retreat." ^ Then rising towards him quickly did I creep ; And all the devils pressed so very near, I feared their promise they would never keep. So did I see of yore the soldiers fear Who issued from Oaprona under pact, ^ Seeing so many enemies appear.
Close to my leader's form in trembling act I clung, but never did I turn my eyes From those fierce faces which all goodness lackt. They dropped their hooks^ but one to the other cries, ^°* " Shall I just touch him up upon the breech ? Who answers, " Yes — give him a slight surprise. But that chief demon, who had held some speech With my dear leader, quickly turning, cried, " Scarmiglione, peace to all and each !
'^* To us then : " Further passage by the side Of this rock is impossible, below The sixth arch shattered leaves all way denied. Still forwards if your wish is yet to go, You must walk upwards by yon rocky way, "* Near which another ridge will pathway show. Line 95. The surrender of Caprona, a oastle belonging to the Pisans, to the combined forces of Lncca and Florence, occurred in 1290. Dante is stated to have been present at the siege.
Canto XXII. HELL. 81 Just five hours later was it yesterday We count twelve hundred sixty and six years Since first this passage was all burst away. I now am sending there a few compeers "* To see that no one tries to sally out, Go on with them ; they need not raise your fears. Alichin, Calcabrina, step ye out," Began he unto them, '* and thou Cagnazzo And Barbariccia, thou shalt lead the rout. "'^ Come forward, Libicocco, Draghignazzo, Ciriatto with the tusks, and GrafBacan, And Farfarel, and Eubicante mad so. Qro circle all around the boiling pan. These till the other rock must be left free, ^** Which all unbroken doth the valley span." " Ah me ! my master, what is this I see ? If thou but know'st the way I ask not these : Ah ! let us walk without their company. If thou art prudent as thy nature is, Dost not thou see how these their fangs lay bare, And with their eyebrows threaten treacheries ?" And he to me : " I would discourage fear ; Let them grin on, as is their sense malign, They do it for the souls in torment there." By the left bank we find our road incline, But first their tongues, as far as they could reach. Each pointed to his leader as a sign, ' While he had made a trumpet of his breach. Line 112. The demon alladeB to the descent of Christ into Hell at the ninth honr of the day, which took place 1,276 years before the previous day ; that day is fixed, therefore, as Good IViday, on which day, in reverent imitation, Dante fixed the epoch of his own descent. Line 137- The elegant pantomime between the devils and their leader is intended to show their intense appreciation of the deceit which Malacoda has practised on the poets.
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CANTO XXII. The poets following the ten demons, they come suddenly upon a sinner, who before he can escape into the lake is speared bv one of the fiends. With the permission of the leader, Yirg^ questions the sinner as to himself and his companions. The trickster tiien induces the demons to stand aside, under pretence that he will lure more of his comrades into their clutobea, and takes the opportunity of plunging into the burning pitch ; two of the demons chasing him are caught in the slimy lake, and while the rest are extricating them the poets continue their way. G
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80 HELL. Canto XXI. So from beneath the bridge they sallied round ^" And all their prongs towards him pointed : " Stay !" Cried he to them ; " your evil will be bound. Before your hooks can rend me stand away. And one of you come forth my words to hear, And then consult to tear me, yea or nay." ^'' " Go, Malacoda,'* cried they all, and near Drew one, the whilst the other stood at fee, Saying, ** In what will this avail him here ?" " Thinkest you, Malacoda, you would see Me venture here," replied the master mine, ^" *' From all your fiends' attacks so far 'scaped free Without propitious Fate and will Divine ? Permit my passage through this way forlorn. Where 1 must guide my fnend through Heaven's design." On that his toppling pride was straightway shorn, ^^ And he let drop his weapon to his feet. And said to the others, " He must not be torn." My leader then to me : " You from the seat Where, 'midst the rocks, you do in hiding keep In safety now abandon your retreat." ^ Then rising towards him quickly did I creep ; And all the devils pressed so very near, I feared their promise they would never keep. So did I see of yore the soldiers fear Who issued from Oaprona under pact, ^ Seeing so many enemies appear. Close to my leader's form in trembling act I clung, but never did I turn my eyes From those fierce faces which all goodness lackt. They dropped their hooks^ but one to the other cries, ^°* " Shall I just touch him up upon the breech ?" Who answers, " Yes — give him a slight surprise." But that chief demon, who had held some speech With my dear leader, quickly turning, cried, " Scarmiglione, peace to all and each !" '^* To us then : " Further passage by the side Of this rock is impossible, below The sixth arch shattered leaves all way denied. Still forwards if your wish is yet to go, You must walk upwards by yon rocky way, "* Near which another ridge will pathway show. Line 95. The surrender of Caprona, a oastle belonging to the Pisans, to the combined forces of Lncca and Florence, occurred in 1290. Dante is stated to have been present at the siege.
Canto XXII. HELL. 81 Just five hours later was it yesterday We count twelve hundred sixty and six years Since first this passage was all burst away. I now am sending there a few compeers "* To see that no one tries to sally out, Go on with them ; they need not raise your fears. Alichin, Calcabrina, step you out," Began he unto them, '* and you Cagnazzo And Barbariccia, you shall lead the rout. "'^ Come forward, Libicocco, Draghignazzo, Ciriatto with the tusks, and GrafBacan, And Farfarel, and Eubicante mad so. Qro circle all around the boiling pan. These till the other rock must be left free, ^** Which all unbroken does the valley span." " Ah me ! my master, what is this I see ? If you but know'st the way I ask not these : Ah ! let us walk without their company. If you are prudent as your nature is, Dost not you see how these their fangs lay bare, And with their eyebrows threaten treacheries ?" And he to me : " I would discourage fear ; Let them grin on, as is their sense malign, They do it for the souls in torment there." By the left bank we find our road incline, But first their tongues, as far as they could reach. Each pointed to his leader as a sign, ' While he had made a trumpet of his breach. Line 112. The demon alladeB to the descent of Christ into Hell at the ninth honr of the day, which took place 1,276 years before the previous day ; that day is fixed, therefore, as Good IViday, on which day, in reverent imitation, Dante fixed the epoch of his own descent. Line 137- The elegant pantomime between the devils and their leader is intended to show their intense appreciation of the deceit which Malacoda has practised on the poets.
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CANTO XXII. The poets following the ten demons, they come suddenly upon a sinner, who before he can escape into the lake is speared bv one of the fiends. With the permission of the leader, Yirg^ questions the sinner as to himself and his companions. The trickster tiien induces the demons to stand aside, under pretence that he will lure more of his comrades into their clutobea, and takes the opportunity of plunging into the burning pitch ; two of the demons chasing him are caught in the slimy lake, and while the rest are extricating them the poets continue their way. G
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