Inferno: Canto Xxx
INFERNO: CANTO XXX
In ancient times when Juno was enraged
Against the Thebans because of Semele,
As she had been more than once,
She could drive King Athamas insane.
One Day, when seeing his wife carrying
Their two children in her arms,
He cried: "Spread out the nets, I want to catch that
Lioness and her pups when they pass;"
And then he extended his hands like claws.
He grabbed his first son, who was named Learchus,
Whirled him around, and smashed him on a rock;
And his wife, still holding the other son, drowned herself;
When fortune toppled
The Trojan's arrogance,
So that the king was crushed along with his kingdom,
Hecuba, the king's wife, sad, disconsolate, and held captive,
After finding her daughter Plyxena dead,
And seeing her son, Polydorus,
Left unburied on the ocean shore,
Completely lost her senses and barked like a dog,
Since her mind could not handle the extreme anguish;
But not in the furies of Thebes nor of Troy
Was there ever anyone,
Whether goading beasts, or even other human beings,
Who was so cruel as two spirits, pale and naked,
That I saw, who were biting everything, as they ran like
A wild boar does, when it is turned loose from the sty.
One came up to Capocchio, and grabbing him by the throat,
Sank its teeth into his neck, and started dragging him
So that his belly scraped along the rugged road.
And Aretine, who still stood there trembling, said to me:
"That mad spirit is Gianni Schicchi, and he harasses
Everyone like this with his mad ravings and savage attacks."
I said to him, "In hopes that the other one does not sink his teeth in you, if you don't mind, please
Tell me who it is, before it darts over here."
And he said to me: "That is the ancient ghost
Of the nefarious Myrrha, who became,
Against all natural love, her father's lover.
She began to sin with him,
By pretending to be another person;
Just like that spirit running over there
So that he can gain the heart of a woman,
By pretending to be Buoso Donati,
And making himself look like the other."
And after the two maniacs had passed
Beyond my sight, I turned back
To look at the other evil-born spirits.
I saw one that would have looked exactly like a lute,
If only his groin had been cut off
At the point where his legs joined his hips.
Bloated with dropsy, so that his limbs were too large
As were the other bodily parts, and this made his face look very small compared to his belly,
He was forced to keep his mouth open
Like someone who is very thirsty, who will lower his chin
And open his jaw wide to catch a drop of water.
"You, who is not being tormented down here,
Why have you come down to this world of woe?"
He said to us, "Look and see
The misery that has befallen me, Master Adamo;
When I was living, I had everything I wanted,
And now, all I want is a drop of water.
The rivers that flowed from the green hills
Of Cassentin descending down into the Arno,
Making their channels cool and wet,
Would flow right in front of me, but in vain;
For thinking of them only makes me drier
Than this disease which strips the flesh from my face.
The harsh justice that chastises me
Also makes me remember the place where
I sinned, which only makes me sigh all the more.
I can still see Romena, where I counterfeited
The currency imprinted with the image of the Baptist,
The crime for which my body was burned above.
But if I could see the horrid soul of Guido,
Or Alessandro, or their brother down here, I would even
Exchange one last look at Branda's fountain for that.
One of them is here already, if the raving
Spirits that are going round have spoken the truth;
But what does it matter to me, with my useless limbs?
If only I were so light, that in
A hundred years, I could move one inch,
I would have already started on the way,
Seeking him out among these squalid people,
Although the circuit is eleven miles around,
And is not less than half a mile across.
It is my own fault that I am here;
But it was they that persuaded me to coin the florins,
Which had three carats of impurity."
And I said to him: "Who are the two poor wretches
That smoke like steam coming from a wet hand in winter,
Lying there near your right side?"
"I found them here," He replied, "When I fell
Into this chasm, and since then, they have not turned,
Nor do I think they ever will.
One is the woman who falsely accused Joseph,
The other is Sinon, the betraying Greek of Troy;
It is their burning fever that makes them reek."
And one of them, who felt annoyed
At being talked about in such a bad way,
Slammed his fist against his stomach.
It resounded as though it were a drum;
And Master Adamo hit him in the face,
With an arm that was no less hard,
Saying to him: "Although all movement has been taken
From me, for my limbs are very heavy,
I still have one arm I can use if I need to."
And the other answered back: "When you went into the fire,
Your arm was not so free and ready for action, but you
Seemed to be able to use it when you were making coins."
And he replied: "What you say now is true;
But you were not such a true witness back then,
Where you were questioned about the truth at Troy."
"I may have spoken falsely, but you falsified the coin,"
Said Sinon; "And I am here for my one false action,
But you are here for more reasons than any other demon."
"Remember, perjurer, about the horse," he screamed back, "And the whole world knows how horrible it was."
"Not as horrible as the thirst
Which cracks your tongue,"
The Greek said, "And the putrid water
That gives you such a bloated stomach."
Then the false-coiner said:
"It is not as bloated as your gaping mouth;
Because even if I were thirsty and stuffed,
You are the one who is burning and whose head aches,
And it would not take many words to coax you
To lick up the mirror of Narcissus."
I was intently listening to them argue, when the Master
Said to me: "If you insist on staying and watching them,
Then you and I are going to have a fight."
When I heard the anger in his voice,
I turned around to him in shame,
So much so that it still swirls through my memory.
And like someone who dreams of his own harm,
Who, while dreaming, wishes it were just a dream,
And so craves what is, as if it were not;
That is how I became, not having any power to speak,
I wanted to beg for his forgiveness,
And I did, but did not think I did.
"Having less shame can wash away a greater fault,"
The Master said, "Much greater than you just had;
Therefore get rid of your sadness,
And know that I am still here with you, if ever it comes To pass that fortune brings you to where there are people who are fighting like this, remember,
It is a weakness to enjoy hearing this kind of bickering."