Inferno: Canto Xxii
INFERNO: CANTO XXII
I have seen horsemen moving camp,
Begin the attack, and review their troops,
And sometimes, I have even seen them in retreat;
I have seen scouts exploring the land,
Raiding parties sacking villages, holding tournaments,
And jousting between men, and each carries its own signal.
Sometimes with trumpets and sometimes with bells,
With kettle-drums, and fires from the castles,
And many common and outlandish things,
But I have never seen a group set out, nor horsemen move,
Nor infantry march, nor ship set sail,
No matter how uncouth, with such a blast as we had received.
We went on our way with the ten demons;
What a savage company it was! But, when in the church
You are with saints, and in the tavern, with the gluttons!
I was constantly watching the boiling pitch,
To better understand what was happening in this circle,
And to the people who were punished there.
Even as dolphins, when they make a sign
To mariners by arching their back,
That they should be careful when sailing their vessel,
Sometimes here, to alleviate his pain,
One of the sinners would arch his back,
But would instantly pull it back down.
As frogs sit at the edge of the water in a ditch
Completely submerged, with only their muzzles out,
So that they can hide their feet and bodies,
Everywhere, here, the sinners sat;
But as soon as Barbariccia came near them,
They would dive underneath the boiling pitch.
I saw, and my heart still shudders at the thought,
One sinner waiting, even sometimes as
One frog remains, and another dives down;
And Graffiacan, standing in front of him,
Grabbed him by his pitch smeared hair,
And pulled him up, so that he looked like an otter.
I knew the names of all of our troop,
As I had memorized them when they were chosen,
And when they spoke to each other, I listened as well.
"Hey Rubicante, see that you grab him with
Your claws, so that you can rip his skin off."
Our troop cried out to him. And I said:
"Master, if at all possible, can you find out
Who that unlucky sinner is,
That is held in his adversaries' hands."
My Leader stepped up close to him,
And asked him who he was; and he replied:
"I was born in the kingdom of Navarre;
My mother placed me in the service of a lord,
Because my father was a dishonest knave,
Who destroyed all that he owned before he killed himself.
Then I was a servant for good King Thibault;
And he taught me how to steal,
Which now has me burning in this boiling pitch."
And Ciriatto, who had a tusk projecting from each side
Of his mouth, like a boar,
Gored the man and began to rip off his skin.
This poor mouse had fallen among malicious cats;
But Barbariccia clasped Ciriatto by his arms,
And said: "Stand aside, while I stab him."
He turned to face my master; "Ask him again,"
He said, "If you want to know any more from him,
Before one of us destroys him."
My Guide said: "Tell us of the other sinners;
Do you know of any Italians stuck there,
Under the pitch?" And he said:
"I was just with someone who was from that area;
I wish I were still covered up with him,
For then I would not be clawed or gored!"
And Libicocco said: "We have heard enough;"
And with his pitch fork, he stabbed him in the arm,
Then twisting hard, he tore off a piece of flesh.
Draghignazzo wanted a piece of him as well,
He tried to grab a leg; when their leader
Turned around and gave him an evil look.
The others started to back away now.
The sinner was still looking at his wound,
When my Master asked him:
"Who was the person you spoke of? The one you left
When you were dragged ashore?"
And he replied: "It was the Friar Gomita,
He was from Gallura, the place filled with fraud,
When the enemies of his lord were captured,
They were very pleased with their treatment;
He would take money from them and send them on their way,
As he tells it; But he was not a petty thief
For all of his stealing was from noblemen.
He now sits with Don Michael Zanche
Of Logodoro; and they gossip of Sardinia
But their tongues never get tired.
O me! See that one, how he grinds his teeth;
I would say more, but I am afraid
That he is getting ready to gore me again."
And then their leader, turned to Farfarello,
Who rolled his eyes as if ready to strike,
And said: "You stay right there, you filthy hawk."
"If you want to either see or hear more,"
The terror-stricken sinner continued,
"Tuscans or Lombards, I can make them come.
But have the Malebranche back away a little,
So that the new comers will not fear being ripped apart,
I will sit right here in this spot,
And I will call. Seven of them will come,
When I whistle, as it is our custom
To do when it is safe to come out of the pit."
Cagnazzo lifted his muzzle listened when he heard this.
Shaking his head, he said: "Did you all hear the trick that he Is playing on us? He is lying so that we will set him free!"
And the sinner replied:
"I agree with you that I have many tricks,
But that would just bring more trouble to my friends."
Alichino could not resist the challenge, and, not caring what the others thought, cried out: "If you think that you can escape, then try. I will not come running for you,
But I will fly past you and beat you to the pitch;
We will leave this area, and stand behind the hill.
And then we will see just how fast you are."
To you, dear reader, this was suddenly a new game!
Each of them turned away from their prisoner;
And the first to turn was the one who was most reluctant.
The Navarrese chose his time well;
He planted his feet on the ground, and in a moment
Leaped, and rushed away from them.
Suddenly each one of them swung around, stung with shame,
But the one that stung the most he who caused
Them to lose. He ran and cried out; "I've got you now."
But it was no use, for his wings were not
As fast as the others fear; the sinner dove into the pitch,
And the flyer had to pull up quickly;
Just like a duck which will suddenly
Dive under, when the falcon is approaching,
Causing the falcon to pull back, cross and weary.
Infuriated at the mockery, Calcabrina
Flying close behind him, hoped that the sinner would escape
So that you would have a reason to quarrel with Alchino.
And when the sinner disappeared,
He turned his talons on his companion,
And grappled with him above the boiling moat.
But his opponent was a hawk as well and had his own
Set of claws; With both fighting and neither flying,
They fell in the middle of the boiling pond.
The heat was quick to separate them;
But nevertheless neither of them could fly,
Because their wings were bogged down in pitch.
As upset as the others, Barbariccia
Made four of them fly quickly to the other side
With their pitch forks.
The ones on this side also lowered their forks;
They all stretched their hooks towards the ones caught,
In the pitch, who were already baking in the crust,
And that is how we left them.