Inferno: Canto Xxiii
INFERNO: CANTO XXIII
We walked onward, silent, alone, and without company,
One in front, the other behind,
As Minor Friars going along their way.
When I was thinking about the quarrel we had just seen,
It reminded me of Aesop's fable
About the frog and mouse;
For what happened then and what happened now
Could not have been more alike if you compare
The Beginning and The End of the events.
And as one thought springs from another,
And after that, yet a different thought,
The fear inside of me began to double. I was thinking:
"These demons were laughed at and scorned because of us. They were not only tricked, but injured as well
And they will be very annoyed with us.
If angry thoughts become vengeful actions,
They will come after us more merciless
Than a dog chasing a rabbit."
I felt my hair stand on end
With terror, and stood looking backward,
When said I: "Master, I think that we should hide
From the Malebranche,
I am afraid that they are right behind us;
I can almost feel them there." And he said:
"Even if I were a mirror,
I could not reflect your outer terror
Any faster than I can already feel your inner fear.
Just now, your thoughts came to me,
And they were very similar to my own,
So that both of us were in agreement before you spoke.
If we find a place ahead where the right bank slopes
So that we can descend into the circle,
We will be escape from the chase you think is coming."
He had barely finished speaking,
When I saw them coming with outstretched wings,
Not very far away, and they were heading towards us.
My Leader seized me at once,
Like a mother, awakened by a noise,
And sees flames close behind her,
Who takes her son, and flies, and does not stop,
Caring more for him than for herself,
Not even stopping to grab her own clothing;
And from the top of the bank, he dragged me,
Sliding along the rocky path, holding me to his chest,
Down the side of the circle wall.
Water never ran so swiftly through a sluice
To turn the wheel of any mill,
When it approaches the paddles,
As my Master slid down along that bank,
Riding on his back, bearing me on his chest,
As he would his own son, and not as a companion.
We had barely reached the bed of the ravine below
When the flying devils arrived on the hill
Right above us; but he was not afraid;
For the Divine Powers, which had ruled that they
Be the ministers of the fifth circle,
Left them powerless to pursue us in the sixth.
Here in our new circle, we found people who were painted,
Who walked along very slowly,
Weeping and tired as though vanquished.
They had on robes with the hoods pulled low
Over their eyes, and fashioned similar
To those worn by the monks of Cologne.
Outside, they were gilded so it dazzled in the faint light;
But inside, they are filled with lead and so heavy
That Frederick would put them on straw to keep it in place.
Oh what a cloak of everlasting fatigue!
Again we turned, as before, to the left
And walked along with them, watching this sad group;
But because of the weight that made them so weary,
They moved very slowly, so that we were always in a new
Group every time we took a step.
I said to my Leader:
"If you find someone who I might know by name or deed,
Please point them out to me."
And one, who understood what I had asked,
Cried out from behind us: "Stay where you are,
You who are running though this heavy air!
Perhaps you will get what you want from me."
My Leader turned to me, and said:
"Wait, and we will walk with him at his pace."
I stopped, and saw two of them hurrying to join us,
The strain showing in their faces; But they were slowed down
By the burden they carried and the narrow path.
When they caught up, they looked at me for a long time
Without uttering a word.
Then they looked at each other and one said:
"The way that his throat is moving, he appears to be alive;
And if they are dead, what gives them the privilege
To be here without having to wear this heavy robe?"
Then he said to me: "Tuscan, who has come to the college
Of miserable hypocrites,
Tell us who you are." And I said to them:
"I was born, and grew up
In the great town on the Arno river,
And I am here with the body that I have always had.
But who are you, with your tears trickling down
Along your cheeks from such grief?
And what pain do you carry that sparkles so much?"
And one replied to me: "These orange cloaks
Are made of lead so heavy, that the weight of them
Causes us, who carry them, to creak when we walk.
We were Jovial Friars, and Bolognese;
I am Catalano, and he is Loderingo,
We were taken together by your city,
Though they usually take only one man alone,
To maintain peace; and what we did
Can still be seen around Gardingo."
"Oh Friars," I began, "Your wickedness. . ."
But then I stopped; for I was distracted by
A man on the ground crucified with three stakes.
When he saw me, he began writhing all over,
Breathing through his beard with heavy gasps;
Friar Catalano noticed my gaze and said to me:
"This transfixed one, that you see there,
Advised the Pharisees that it was better
To torture one man, Jesus, than to lose a nation.
Now he himself is naked and on the cross,
As you see; and he feels the weight
Of whoever walks past him;
His father-in-law is punished in similar fashion
Within this circle, as are the others of the council,
Which were the seed of evil for the Jews."
And I saw Virgil marvel
At the man who was extended on the cross
Punished so violently in eternal banishment.
Then he said to the Friar:
"If you do not mind, can you tell us
If any pass along here slopes down to the right?
That way, we can leave here,
Without having the black angels
Come and pull us from this cavern."
He answered: "Closer than you think,
There is a rock, that leads out of this great circle,
And crosses all of the cruel valleys,
Except this one, over which it is broken;
You will be able to climb up the ruins,
That rise from the bottom of this pit."
The Leader stood awhile with his head bowed down;
Then said: " He lied to us. The one who punishes the Sinners up there." And the Friar said:
"I have heard many of the Devil's vices
When I was at Bologna, and among them is
That he is a liar and the father of lies."
My Leader moved on, taking great strides.
He looked somewhat disturbed with anger;
I also turned and left the heavy-laden Friars
Trying to keep up and follow in his footprints.