With the same fury, and the same uproar, As dogs leap out upon a mendicant, Who on a sudden begs, where'er he stops, They issued from beneath the little bridge, And turned against him all their grappling-irons; But he cried out: "Be none of you malignant! Before those hooks of yours lay hold of me, hear me, Let one of you step forward, who may Whereat one started, and the rest stood still, "Thinkest thou, Malacoda, to behold me Advanced into this place," my Master said, "Safe hitherto from all your skill of fence, Without the will divine, and fate auspicious? Let me go on, for it in Heaven is willed That I another show this savage road." Then was his arrogance so humbled in him, That he let fall his grapnel at his feet, And to the others said: "Now strike him not." And unto me my Guide: "O thou, who sittest Among the splinters of the bridge crouched down, 70 75 80 85 90 Wherefore I started and came swiftly to him; And all the devils forward thrust themselves, So that I feared they would not keep their And thus beheld I once afraid the soldiers Who issued under safeguard from Caprona, Seeing themselves among so many foes. Close did I press myself with all my person Beside my Leader, and turned not mine eyes compact. 95 ΙΟΙ From off their countenance, which was not good. They lowered their rakes, and "Wilt thou have me hit him,” They said to one another, "on the rump?" And answered: "Yes; see that thou nick him with it.' But the same demon who was holding parley With my Conductor turned him very quickly, And said: "Be quiet, be quiet, Scarmiglione"; Then said to us: "You can no farther go Forward upon this crag, because is lying All shattered, at the bottom, the sixth arch. And if it still doth please you to go onward, Pursue your way along upon this rock; Near is another crag that yields a path. Yesterday, five hours later than this hour, One thousand and two hundred sixty-six 105 Years were complete, that here the way was broken. I send in that direction some of mine To see if any one doth air himself; Go ye with them; for they will not be vicious. Step forward Alichino and Calcabrina," Began he to cry out, "and thou, Cagnazzo; And Barbariccia do thou guide the ten. That all unbroken passes o'er the dens." "O me! what is it, Master, that I see? Pray let us go," I said, “without an escort, Dost thou not see that they do gnash their teeth, And he to me: "I will not have thee fear; Let them gnash on, according to their fancy, Along the left-hand dike they wheeled about; But first had each one thrust his tongue between 17 115 120 125 130 135 CANTO XXII. I HAVE erewhile seen horsemen moving camp, Begin the storming, and their muster make, And sometimes starting off for their escape; Vaunt-couriers have I seen upon your land, O Aretines, and foragers go forth, Tournaments stricken, and the joustings run, Sometimes with trumpets and sometimes with bells, With kettle-drums, and signals of the castles, And with our own, and with outlandish things, But never yet with bagpipe so uncouth Did I see horsemen move, nor infantry, Nor ship by any sign of land or star. We went upon our way with the ten demons; Ever ΤΟ With saints, and in the tavern with the gluttons! 15 upon the pitch was my intent, To see the whole condition of that Bolgia, And of the people who therein were burned. 5 Even as the dolphins, when they make a sign To mariners by arching of the back, That they should counsel take to save their vessel, Thus sometimes, to alleviate his pain, One of the sinners would display his back, As on the brink of water in a ditch The frogs stand only with their muzzles out, So upon every side the sinners stood; 20 25 But ever as Barbariccia near them came, 30 I saw, and still my heart doth shudder at it, Grappled him by his tresses smeared with pitch, I knew, before, the names of all of them, So had I noted them when they were chosen, And when they called each other, listened how. "O Rubicante, see that thou do lay Thy claws upon him, so that thou mayst flay him,” 35 40 |