Inferno: Canto XXXII

Had I a rhyme so rugged, rough, and hoarse.
As would become the sorrowful abyss.
O'er which the rocky circles wind their course,—

Then with a more appropriate form I might
Endow my vast conceptions; — wanting this.
Not without fear I bring myself to write.

For no light enterprize it is,' I deem.
To tell the very lowest depth of all;
Nor should a childish tongue attempt the theme.

But may the heavenly Nine their aid afford.
By whom Amphion rear'd Thebes' lofty wall;
So that my words may with the fact accord.

Ill-fated dwellers in this sink forlorn!
Surpassing all in misery and woe, —
Far better had ye sheep or goats been born!

Down in the gulf of darkness, black as night.
We stood, far sunk the giant's feet below; —
Upon the lofty wall still fix'd my sight:

When came a voice: "Beware how you proceed,
And measure well your steps, lest, as you pass.
On our unhappy brethren's heads you tread."

Wherefore I turn'd me round, and saw before
And underneath my feet a lake like glass;
For not of ice the semblance that it bore.

Not Austrian Danube, in the winter driven
By bitter winds, so thick a crust might wear;
Nor Tanais chill'd beneath the inclement heaven:

For Tambernicchi falling from his height.
Or Pietrepana hurl'd in ruin there.
Had not e'en crack'd the margins with their weight.

As stands a frog — his mouth above the stream —
Croaking — in autumn, when the village maid
(Her labour o'er) doth oft of gleaning dream;

So, wedged in ice, the wretched souls complain; —
A livid hue their haggard looks betray'd;
Like storks, their teeth sent forth a chattering strain.

Downcast their looks; — how pinching was the cold
Their mouths bore ample proof; and from each eye
Might the dire anguish of their hearts be told.

When I had somewhat turn'd my sight around.
Two shades beneath so closely link'd I spy.
Their very locks together fast were bound.

"O ye," I said, "united breast to breast,
Tell who ye are:" — whereat the neck they bent;
And when to me their looks were upward cast, —

Their eyes, erst moisten'd with the liquid tear,
O'erflow'd the lids: then did the frost cement
The falling drops, and so detain them there.

Ne'er plank to plank could iron cramp unite
So closely; — like two mountain goats they plied.
And smote each other from excess of spite.

And one, who from intensity of cold
Had lost both ears, his face still stooping, cried:
"Say, wherefore us so earnestly behold?

Who are these two, would'st thou discover, — know,
Their father Albert own'd that valley sweet.
Through which Bisenzio's murmuring waters flow.

One mother bore them both; — thou may'st explore
Caina through, nor with a spirit meet.
Who fix'd in icy bonds, deserves them more.

Not he, whose breast together with his shade
Was at one blow transfix'd by Arthur's might;
Nor yet Foccaccia; nor e'en he, whose head

Casts such a shadow that I cannot see, —
And Sassol Mascheroni was he hight:
If thou art Tuscan, he is known to thee.

And that thou may'st not urge me more to say,
Know that Camicion Pazzi is my name;
And Carlin I expect, to wipe my guilt away."

I saw a thousand faces blue with cold.
Whence comes a deadly shiver o'er my frame.
Whene'er such icy shallows I behold.

Whilst numb'd and trembling I my footsteps bend,
Advancing to the centre, where, compress'd.
All heavy bodies naturally tend; —

Whether impell'd by fate, desire, or luck,
I know not, — but, as 'mid their heads I pass'd.
The face of one my foot severely struck.

Weeping he cried: "Wherefore thus crush my head?
Unless you mean the vengeance to improve
Of Montaperti — why so fiercely tread?"

Then I: "O master, let me here remain.
That by his means my doubts I may remove;
No longer then will I thy steps detain."

The poet stopp'd: whereat, to him I cried
Who still was cursing loudly: — "What, I pray,
Art thou, that others dost so fiercely chide?"

"Who then art thou," retorted he again,
"Through Antenora causing such dismay?—
Wert thou alive I would not this sustain."

"Alive I am; — and if thou wish for fame,"
I answer'd, "it perhaps may give thee joy
Mid other worthies to insert thy name."

"Quite the reverse what I desire," said he;
"So prithee hence, nor cause me more annoy;
Ill knowest thou the art of flattery."

Then did I seize him by the scalp, and said:
"Now will I force thee to declare thy name,
Or not a hair I'll leave upon thy head."

And he to me: "Then strip me of my hair:" —
I ne'er will tell, or show thee who I am,
Although a thousand times my scalp thou tear."

Already in my hand his locks were bound,
And more than one of them were gather'd; — he
Barking awhile — his eyes upon the ground;

When cried another: "Bocca, art thou sane?
Sound not thy chattering teeth sufficiently.
But thou must bark? what devil gives thee pain?

"Traitor accurst, be silent!" — I exclaim:
For know — that back to earth of thee I'll bear
A true account, to thy eternal shame."

"Begone!" — he cried, "and tell what tales you please;
But hence if you escape, his name declare.
Whose tongue but lately ran with so much ease:

Here he bewails the bribe of Frenchmen's gold.
'Him of Duera,' may'st thou say, 'I view'd.
Where sinners stand enshrined in icy cold.'

What others sojourn there, if ask'd to tell —
Him of Beccaria, at thy side, include;
On whom the avenging steel of Florence fell.

Gianni Soldanier, I believe, beyond, —
With Ganellon, and Tebaldello, who
Betray'd Faenza sunk in sleep profound."

Him had we left; when in a single hole
I witnessed two, together frozen so.
The head of one appear'd the other's cowl.

And like a famish'd man devouring bread, —
Thus, where the brain doth with the spine unite.
The upper one upon the under fed.

Not otherwise fierce Tydeus in disdain
Gnaw'd Menalippus' scalp, than, through despite,
This drove his teeth into the skull and brain.

"O thou," I said, "who makest known thy hate
By such foul sign of bestiality, —
The reason why, on this condition, state;

That if with justice thou such malice bear, —
Learning thy name, and his offences — I
To earth return'd, may still thy wrongs declare;

Unless the tongue with which I speak be dry."