As the Sicilian bull (that bellowed first With the lament of him, and that was right, Who with his file had modulated it) Bellowed so with the voice of the afflicted, That, notwithstanding it was made of brass, At first from out the fire, to its own language My voice, and who but now wast speaking Lombard, To stay and speak with me let it not irk thee; If thou but lately into this blind world Hast fallen down from that sweet Latian land, For I was from the mountains there between I still was downward bent and listening, When my Conductor touched me on the side, Saying: "Speak thou: this one a Latian is." And I, who had beforehand my reply In readiness, forthwith began to speak: "O soul, that down below there art concealed, Romagna thine is not and never has been Without war in the bosom of its tyrants; The Eagle of Polenta there is brooding, Who made such bad disposal of Montagna, Governs the Lioncel of the white lair, Who changes sides 'twixt summer-time and winter; And that of which the Savio bathes the flank, Now I entreat thee tell us who thou art; Be not more stubborn than the rest have been, So may thy name hold front there in the world." After the fire a little more had roared In its own fashion, the sharp point it moved This way and that, and then gave forth such breath: "If I believed that my reply were made To one who to the world would e'er return, This flame without more flickering would stand still; But inasmuch as never from this depth Did any one return, if I hear true, Believing thus begirt to make amends; While I was still the form of bone and pulp The machinations and the covert ways I knew them all, and practised so their craft, When now unto that portion of mine age I saw myself arrived, when each one ought That which before had pleased me then displeased me; The Leader of the modern Pharisees Having a war near unto Lateran, And not with Saracens nor with the Jews, For each one of his enemies was Christian, And none of them had been to conquer Acre, Nor merchandising in the Sultan's land, Nor the high office, nor the sacred orders, Which used to make those girt with it more meagre ; To cure him of the fever of his pride. Counsel he asked of me, and I was silent, As thou dost know; therefore the keys are two, There, where my silence was the worst advice; And said I: Father, since thou washest me Of that sin into which I now must fall, The promise long with the fulfilment short Will make thee triumph in thy lofty seat.' Francis came afterward, when I was dead, For me; but one of the black Cherubim Said to him: 'Take him not; do me no wrong; He must come down among my servitors, Because he gave the fraudulent advice From which time forth I have been at his hair; For who repents not cannot be absolved, Nor can one both repent and will at once, O miserable me! how I did shudder When he seized on me, saying: 'Peradventure Eight times his tail about his stubborn back, The flame departed uttering lamentations, Which the moat covers, where is paid the fee CANTO XXVIII WHO ever could, e'en with untrammelled words, If were again assembled all the people Which formerly upon the fateful land That of the rings made such illustrious spoils, With those who felt the agony of blows By making counterstand to Robert Guiscard, And all the rest, whose bones are gathered still At Ceperano, where a renegade Was each Apulian, and at Tagliacozzo, Where without arms the old Alardo conquered, And one his limb transpierced, and one lopped off, Should show, it would be nothing to compare With the disgusting mode of the ninth Bolgia. A cask by losing centre-piece or cant Was never shattered so, as I saw one Rent from the chin to where one breaketh wind. He looked at me, and opened with his hands In front of me doth Ali weeping go, Cleft in the face from forelock unto chin; 5 35 When we have gone around the doleful road; But who art thou, that musest on the crag, Perchance to postpone going to the pain That is adjudged upon thine accusations?" "Nor death hath reached him yet, nor guilt doth bring him,' My Master made reply, "to be tormented; But to procure him full experience, Me, who am dead, behoves it to conduct him Down here through Hell, from circle unto circle; More than a hundred were there when they heard him, "Now say to Fra Dolcino, then, to arm him, So with provisions, that no stress of snow May give the victory to the Novarese, After one foot to go away he lifted, This word did Mahomet say unto me, And said: "O thou, whom guilt doth not condemn, Call to remembrance Pier da Medicina, If e'er thou see again the lovely plain |