Thus peel'd with flame, do call forth scorn on us
And our entreaties, let our great renown

Incline thee to inform us who thou art,

That dost imprint, with living feet unharm'd,
The soil of Hell. He, in whose track thou seest
My steps pursuing, naked though he be
And reft of all, was of more high estate
Than thou believest; grandchild of the chaste
Gualdrada,1 him they Guidoguerra call'd,
Who in his lifetime many a noble act
Achieved, both by his wisdom and his sword.
The other, next to me that beats the sand,
Is Aldobrandi,2 name deserving well,
In the upper world, of honor; and myself,
Who in this torment do partake with them,
Am Rusticucci, whom, past doubt, my wife,
Of savage temper, more than aught beside
Hath to this evil brought." If from the fire
I had been shelter'd, down amidst them straight
I then had cast me; nor my guide, I deem,
Would have restrain'd my going: but that fear
Of the dire burning vanquish'd the desire,
Which made me eager of their wish'd embrace.
I then began: "Not scorn, but grief much more,
Such as long time alone can cure, your doom

1" Gualdrada." Gualdrada was the daughter of Bellincione Berti, of whom mention is made in the Paradise, Cantos xv. and xvi. He was of the family of Ravignani, a branch of the Adimari. The Emperor Otho IV being at a festival in Florence, where Gualdrada was present, was struck with her beauty; and inquiring who she was, was answered by Bellincione, that she was the daughter of one who, if it was his Majesty's pleasure, would make her admit the honor of his salute. On over. hearing this, she arose from her seat, and blushing, in an animated tone of voice desired her father that he would not be so liberal in his offers, for that no man should ever be allowed that freedom except him who should be her lawful husband. The Emperor was not less delighted by her resolute modesty than he had before been by the loveliness of her person; and calling to him Guido, one of his barons, gave her to him in marriage; at the same time raising him to the rank of a count, and bestowing on her the whole of Casentino, and a part of the territory of Romagna, as

her portion. Two sons were the offspring of this union, Guglielmo and Ruggieri; the latter of whom was father of Guidoguerra, a man of great military skill and prowess; who, at the head of four hundred Florentines of the Guelf party, was signally instrumental to the victory obtained at Benevento by Charles of Anjou, over Manfredi, King of Naples, in 1265. One of the consequences of this victory was the expulsion of the Ghibellini, and the re-establishment of the Guelfi at Florence.

ents.

2" Aldobrandi.' Tegghiaio Aldobran di was of the noble family of Adimari, and much esteemed for his military talHe endeavored to dissuade the Florentines from the attack which they meditated against the Siennese; and the rejection of his counsel occasioned the memorable defeat which the former sustained at Montaperto, and_the_conse quent banishment of the Guelfi from Florence.

a" Rusticucci." Giacopo Rusticucci, a Florentine, remarkable for his opulence and the generosity of his spirit.

Fix'd deep within me, soon as this

my lord

Spake words, whose tenor taught me to expect
That such a race, as ye are, was at hand.
I am a countryman of yours, who still
Affectionate have utter'd, and have heard

Your deeds and names renown'd. Leaving the gall,
For the sweet fruit I go, that a sure guide
Hath promised to me. But behoves, that far
As to the centre first I downward tend."

"So may long space thy spirit guide thy limbs,"
He answer straight return'd; "and so thy fame
Shine bright when thou art gone, as thou shalt tell,
If courtesy and valor, as they wont,

Dwell in our city, or have vanish'd clean:
For one amidst us late condemn'd to wail,
Borsiere, yonder walking with his peers,
Grieves us no little by the news he brings."

"An upstart multitude and sudden gains,
Pride and excess, O Florence! have in thee
Engender'd, so that now in tears thou mourn'st!"
Thus cried I, with my face upraised, and they
All three, who for an answer took my words,
Look'd at each other, as men look when truth
Comes to their ear. "If at so little cost,"
They all at once rejoin'd, "thou satisfy
Others who question thee, O happy thou!
Gifted with words so apt to speak thy thought.
Wherefore, if thou escape this darksome clime,
Returning to behold the radiant stars,
When thou with pleasure shalt retrace the past,"
See that of us thou speak among mankind."

This said, they broke the circle, and so swift
Fled, that as pinions seem'd their nimble feet.
Not in so short a time might one have said
"Amen," as they had vanish'd. Straight my guide
Pursued his track. I follow'd: and small space

a

"Borsiere." Guglielmo Borsiere, another Florentine, whom Boccaccio, in a story which he relates of him, terms man of courteous and elegant manners, and of great readiness in conversation." "Dec." G. i. N. 8.

"When thou with pleasure shalt retrace the past."

"Quando ti gioverà dicere io fui." So Tasso, "G. L." c. xv. st. 38: Quando mi gioverò narrar altrui Le novità vedute, e dire; io fui."

Had we past onward, when the water's sound
Was now so near at hand, that we had scarce
Heard one another's speech for the loud din.

E'en as the river, that first holds its course
Unmingled from the Mount of Vesulo,
On the left side of Apennine, toward
The east, which Acquacheta higher up
They call, ere it descend into the vale,
At Forli,' by that name no longer known,
Rebellows o'er Saint Benedict, roll'd on

From the Alpine summit down a precipice,

8

Where space enough to lodge a thousand spreads;
Thus downward from a craggy steep we found
That this dark wave resounded, roaring loud,
So that the ear its clamor soon had stunn'd.
I had a cord that braced my girdle round,
Wherewith I erst had thought fast bound to take
The painted leopard. This when I had all
Unloosen'd from me (so my master bade)
I gather'd up, and stretch'd it forth to him.
Then to the right he turn'd, and from the brink
Standing few paces distant, cast it down.
Into the deep abyss. "And somewhat strange,"
Thus to myself I spake, " signal so strange
Betokens, which my guide with earnest eye
Thus follows." Ah! what caution must men use
With those who look not at the deed alone,
But spy into the thoughts with subtle skill.
"Quickly shall come," he said, "what I expect ;
Thine eye discover quickly that, whereof

Thy thought is dreaming." Ever to that truth,

"E'en as the river." He compares the fall of Phlegethon to that of the Montone (a river in Romagna) from the Apennines above the Abbey of St. Benedict. All the other streams that rise between the sources of the Po and the Montone, and fall from the left side of the Apennines join the Po and accompany it to the sea.

7 At Forli." Because there it loses the name of Acquacheta, and takes that of Montone.

8" Where space." Either because the abbey was capable of containing more than those who occupied it, or because (says Landino) the lords of that terri

tory, as Boccaccio related on the authority of the abbot, had intended to build a castle near the water-fall, and to col. lect within its walls the population of the neighboring villages.

"A cord.' It is believed that our poet, in the earlier part of his life, had entered into the order of St. Francis. By observing the rules of that profes sion he had designed to mortify his carnal appetites, or, as he expresses it, "to take the painted leopard (that animal, which, as we have seen in a note to the first Canto, represented Pleasure) with this cord.'

Which but the semblance of a falsehood wears,
A man, if possible, should bar his lip;

Since, although blameless, he incurs reproach.
But silence here were vain; and by these notes,
Which now I sing, reader, I swear to thee,
So may they favor find to latest times!

That through the gross and murky air I spied
A shape come swimming up, that might have quell'd
The stoutest heart with wonder; in such guise
As one returns, who hath been down to loose
An anchor grappled fast against some rock,
Or to aught else that in the salt wave lies,
Who, upward springing, close draws in his feet.

CANTO XVII

ARGUMENT.-The monster Geryon is described; to whom while Virgil is speaking in order that he may carry them both down to the next circle, Dante, by permission, goes a little further along the edge of the void, to descry the third species of sinners contained in this compartment, namely, those who have done violence to art; and then returning to his master, they both descend, seated on the back of Geryon.

"L

1

O! the fell monster 1 with the deadly sting,

Who passes mountains, breaks through fenced walls And firm embattled spears, and with his filth Taints all the world." Thus me my guide address'd, And beckon'd him, that he should come to shore, Near to the stony causeway's utmost edge. Forthwith that image vile of Fraud appear'd, His head and upper part exposed on land, But laid not on the shore his bestial train. His face the semblance of a just man's wore, So kind and gracious was its outward cheer; The rest was serpent all: two shaggy claws Reach'd to the arm-pits; and the back and breast, And either side, were painted o'er with nodes And orbits. Colors variegated more

1" The fell monster." Fraud.

Nor Turks nor Tartars e'er on cloth of state
With interchangeable embroidery wove,
Nor spread Arachne o'er her curious loom.
As ofttimes a light skiff, moor'd to the shore,
Stands part in water, part upon the land;
Or, as where dwells the greedy German boor,
The beaver settles, watching for his prey;
So on the rim, that fenced the sand with rock,
Sat perch'd the fiend of evil. In the void
Glancing, his tail upturn'd its venomous fork,

With sting like scorpion's arm'd. Then thus my guide,
"Now need our way must turn few steps apart,
Far as to that ill beast, who couches there."

Thereat, toward the right our downward course

We shaped, and, better to escape the flame
And burning marle, ten paces on the verge
Proceeded. Soon as we to him arrive,
A little further on mine eye beholds
A tribe of spirits, seated on the sand

Near to the void. Forthwith my master spake:
"That to the full thy knowledge may extend
Of all this round contains, go now, and mark
The mien these wear: but hold not long discourse.
Till thou returnest, I with him meantime

Will parley, that to us he may vouchsafe

The aid of his strong shoulders." Thus alone,

Yet forward on the extremity I paced

Of that seventh circle, where the mournful tribe.
Were seated. At the eyes forth gush'd their pangs,

Against the vapors and the torrid soil

Alternately their shifting hands they plied.

Thus use the dogs in summer still to ply

Their jaws and feet by turns, when bitten sore
By gnats, or flies, or gadflies swarming round.
Noting the visages of some, who lay
Beneath the pelting of that dolorous fire,
One of them all I knew not; but perceived,
That pendent from his neck each bore a pouch 2

"A pouch." A purse, whereon the armorial bearings of each were emblazoned. According to Landino, our Poet implies that the usurer can pretend to no other honor than such as he derives

from his purse and his family. The description of persons by their heraldic insignia is remarkable both on the present and several other occasions in this poem.