Inferno: Canto Xxxi
INFERNO: CANTO XXXI
His quick tongue first wounded me,
So that it made me blush with shame,
And then it comforted me;
I heard that the same was true with Achilles' spear,
Which he got from his father, it was used to first cause
The pain but could also be used to ease the pain.
We turned our backs on the wretched valley,
And climbed the banks surrounding it,
Without saying a word to each other.
Here, it was not quite night, but not quite day either,
So that I could not see very far ahead of me;
But I could hear the blast of a loud horn,
It was so loud it would have made thunder sound faint,
And it made me look, not where I was going,
But rather, I was staring off toward the sound.
After the miserable defeat
When Charlemagne lost all of his holy soldiers,
The sound of Roland's horn was not even this loud.
While I was still looking off to the side,
I thought I saw many high towers standing there,
And I asked: "Master, what city is this?"
And he said to me: "Because what you are looking at
In the darkness is a long way off,
Your mind is playing tricks on you.
You will see when you finally arrive,
How much you have been deceived by the distance;
So, walk a little faster so that we will get there sooner."
Then tenderly he took me by the hand,
And said: "Before we go too much further,
So that you will understand what you are about to see
I want you to know that these are not towers, but giants,
And they are standing in the well, along this bank.
They are hidden from view from their waist down."
As the fog was beginning to fade away,
Little by little the view became clearer
As the mist which filled the air began to disappear,
So, as I looked through the dense and dark air,
Getting closer and closer to the well,
I realized my initial mistake, and became frightened;
As Montereggione crowns itself with towers,
Along its circular walls,
All along the bank which surrounds the well
With one half of their bodies visible
The horrible giants stood, whom Jove torments
Even now from out the heavens.
I could already see the face of one of them,
Shoulders, and chest, and a large part of the belly,
And he held both of his arms down along his sides.
Certainly Nature was wise, when she stopped making
Animals like these,
So that Mars would not have more of them for his army;
And as she has no regrets from making elephants and whales
Whoever was looking at these giants
Would have to consider it good that she stopped;
For when the mind and intellect
Are added to evil spirit and great power,
No one can make a wall strong enough to stop it.
His face appeared to me as long and large
As the pine-cone at Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome,
And the other parts were in the same proportion;
So that the edge of the bank, which looked like an apron
Hanging down his middle, showed so much of him
Above it, that to reach up to his hair
Three men, standing on each other, would still fail;
And I could see that there was still half of him hidden
Down below his belt line, in the well.
"Raphael mai amech izabi almi,"
He began to clamor from his ferocious mouth,
From which sweet words would never issue forth.
And to him my Guide said: "You idiotic soul,
Keep your horn close at hand, and vent yourself with it,
When wrath or some other passion overcomes you.
Look around your neck, and you will find the belt
Which keeps it fastened, you bewildered soul,
There, hanging across your chest." Then he said to me:
"He blames himself for his wrong doing;
This one is Nimrod, and it is because of his evil deeds
That the world speaks in different languages instead of one.
We will leave him and not bother talking to him;
Because, he cannot understand any language he hears,
As his language cannot be understood by others."
Therefore we continued our journey,
Turned to the left, and it was a long time before
We found another giant far more fierce and large.
Whoever was strong enough to bind him,
I cannot say; but he was held tight
With his right arm behind, and his left arm in front,
With chains, that were wrapped around him
From the neck down, covering the part I could see,
It wound itself around at least five times.
"This proud one wanted to test
His own power against the Supreme God, Jove,"
My Leader said, "And this was his reward.
His name is Ephialtes; And he showed great power
When the giants terrified the gods;
But the arms he used back then, he will never move again."
And I said to him: "If it is possible, I would like to see
The massive body of Briareus
Since I will never have this opportunity again."
And he replied: "You will see Antaeus
Very soon, who can speak and is not tied up,
And he will take us to the very bottom of Hell.
Later on, you will have the chance to see the one you want,
And he is bound, and fastened like this one,
Except that he seems to be more ferocious."
There never was an earthquake that was so strong
That it could shake a tower so violently,
As Ephialtes suddenly shook himself.
Then I was more afraid of death than ever,
And fear alone might have killed me,
If I had not seen the manacles that held him.
Then we continued to walk on, and came to Antaeus,
Who was amazingly tall, and would have been, even if
You did not count his head, as his body emerged from the cavern.
"You, who are from the great valley,
Which Scipio made glorious,
When he turned back Hannibal with his entire army,
You, who once captured a thousand lions,
And who was at the mighty war
With your brothers, who some still think
That you would have been victorious:
If you would please place us down below,
There where the cold keeps Cocytus locked up.
Do not make us go to Tityus nor Typhoeus;
Since you can give us what we ask for;
Therefore, please stoop down and scoop us up.
When this one returns to the world, he will restore your fame;
Because he still lives, and expects to have a long life,
If Grace does not call him too soon."
The Master said; and quickly, the giant
Extended his hands and took up my Guide,--
Hands whose great pressure Hercules once felt.
Virgil, when he felt himself embraced,
Said to me: "Stay close to me, and I'll carry you;"
Then he pulled me close to his chest.
As the leaning side of the Carisenda must look
From below, when a cloud goes above it
So that it hangs on the opposite side;
This is how Antaeus seemed to me,
When I saw him stoop down, and it was then that
I wished we could go to the bottom some other way.
But he put us down lightly in the abyss,
Which swallows both Judas and Lucifer;
Once he put us down, he immediately stood back up,
Tall and straight, as a mast rises upward on a ship.