INFERNO XII
INFERNO XII
Steep was the cliff we had to clamber down,
rocky and steep, but—even worse—it held
3 a sight that every eye would shun.
As on the rockslide that still marks the flank →
of the Àdige, this side of Trent,
6 whether by earthquake or erosion at the base,
from the mountain-top they slid away from,
the shattered boulders strew the precipice
9 and thus give footing to one coming down—
just so was the descent down that ravine.
And at the chasm’s jagged edge
12 was sprawled the infamy of Crete, →
conceived in that false cow.
When he caught sight of us, he gnawed himself
15 like someone ruled by wrath.
My sage cried out to him: ‘You think, →
perhaps, this is the Duke of Athens,
18 who in the world above put you to death.
‘Get away, you beast, for this man
does not come tutored by your sister,
21 he comes to view your punishments.’
Like the bull that breaks its tether →
just as it receives the mortal blow
24 and cannot run, but lunges here and there,
so raged the Minotaur. My artful guide
called out: ‘Run to the passage:
27 hurry down while he is in his fury.’
And so we made our way down the steep landslide →
on scree that often shifted
30 under my feet with unexpected weight.
I went on lost in thought. And he said:
‘Perhaps you’re wondering about this rockslide →
33 guarded by that bestial rage I quelled just now. →
‘I want you to know, the other time →
I came down into nether Hell
36 this rock had not yet fallen.
‘But surely, if memory does not fail,
it was just before He came who carried off
39 from Dis the great spoil of the highest circle →
‘when the deep and foul abyss shook on every side, →
so that I thought the universe felt love,
42 by which, as some believe,
‘the world has many times been turned to chaos.
And at that moment this ancient rock,
45 here and elsewhere, fell broken into pieces.
‘But fix your eyes below, for we draw near
the river of blood that scalds
48 those who by violence do injury to others.’ →
O blind covetousness, insensate wrath, →
which in this brief life goad us on and then,
51 in the eternal, steep us in such misery!
I saw a broad moat curving in its arc
that seemed to circle all the plain,
54 just as my guide had said.
Between the edge of moat and precipice
ran centaurs in a file and armed with arrows, →
57 as when they went off hunting in our world.
They saw us coming, stopped, and three →
departed from the troop with bows
60 and shafts they had selected with great care.
One cried from afar: ‘To what torment
do you come, you two approaching down the slope?
63 Tell us from there. If not, I draw my bow.’
My master said: ‘We will give our answer →
to Chiron once we have come closer.
66 Your will was always hasty, to your hurt.’
Then he nudged me, saying: ‘That is Nessus, →
who died for lovely Deianira
69 and fashioned of himself his own revenge.
‘The middle one, his gaze fixed on his chest, →
is the great Chiron, he who raised Achilles.
72 The other one is Pholus, who was so filled with wrath. →
‘Around the moat they go in thousands,
shooting arrows at any soul that rises
75 higher from the blood than guilt allows.’ →
As we drew near those swift wild beasts, →
Chiron took an arrow and with its nock
78 pulled back his beard along his jaw.
When he had uncovered his enormous mouth
he said to his companions: ‘Have you observed
81 the one behind dislodges what he touches?
‘That is not what the feet of dead men do.’
And my good leader, now at Chiron’s breast,
84 where his two natures join, replied:
‘He is indeed alive, and so alone,
it is my task to show him this dark valley.
87 Necessity compels us, not delight.
‘One briefly left her song of hallelujah →
and came to charge me with this novel task.
90 He is no robber, nor am I a thief.
‘But, by that power by which I move my steps
on this wild road, lend us a guide,
93 one of your band to whom we may stay close, →
‘one who will show us to the ford
and carry this man over on his back,
96 for he is not a spirit that can fly through air.’
Chiron bent his torso to the right, then said →
to Nessus: ‘Go back and guide them.
99 If you meet another troop, have it give way.’
And with this trusty escort we went on,
skirting the edge of the vermilion boil
102 from which the boiled cried out with piercing shrieks.
There I saw some sunken to the eyebrows,
and the great centaur said: ‘They are tyrants →
105 who took to blood and plunder.
‘Here they lament their ruthless crimes. →
Here is Alexander, here cruel Dionysius,
108 who gave to Sicily its years of woe.
‘And that brow with such jet-black hair
is Ezzelino, while the other blond one there
111 is Obizzo d’Este, who was indeed
‘slain by his stepson in the world above.’
Then I turned to the poet, and he said:
114 ‘Now let Nessus be your guide and I will follow.’ →
A little farther on the centaur stopped
above a crowd whose heads, down to their necks, →
117 seemed to issue from that boiling stream.
He pointed out a shade apart, alone:
‘In God’s bosom that one clove in two
120 the heart that on the Thames still drips with blood.’
Then I saw some who had their heads, →
even their whole chests, out of the river,
123 and of these I recognized a number,
as the blood became even more shallow →
until it cooked nothing but their feet.
126 And here was our place to cross the moat. →
‘Just as on this side you can see →
the boiling stream always diminishing,’
129 said the centaur, ‘so, I’ll have you know,
‘on the other side the bottom falls away
until it plumbs the depths
132 where tyranny must groan.
‘There divine justice stings Attila, →
who was a scourge on earth, and Pyrrhus,
135 and Sextus, and eternally wrings
‘tears, loosed by the boiling, →
from Rinier of Corneto and Rinier Pazzo,
who on the highways made such strife.’