“Living I am, and dear to thee it may be," Was my response, "if thou demandest fame, That 'mid the other notes thy name I place." And he to me: "For the reverse I long; Take thyself hence, and give me no more trouble; 95 For ill thou knowest to flatter in this hollow." Then by the scalp behind I seized upon him, And said: "It must needs be thou name thyself, Whence he to me: "Though thou strip off my hair, I had his hair in hand already twisted, And more than one shock of it had pulled out, He barking, with his eyes held firmly down, When cried another: "What doth ail thee, Bocca? Is 't not enough to clatter with thy jaws, But thou must bark? what devil touches thee?" "Now," said I, "I care not to have thee speak, Accursed traitor; for unto thy shame I will report of thee veracious news." Begone," replied he, "and tell what thou wilt, But be not silent, if thou issue hence, Of him who had just now his tongue so prompt; He weepeth here the silver of the French; 'I saw,' thus canst thou phrase it, 'him of Duera There where the sinners stand out in the cold.' If thou shouldst questioned be who else was there, Of whom the gorget Florence slit asunder; Yonder with Ganellon, and Tebaldello Already we had gone away from him, When I beheld two frozen in one hole, So that one head a hood was to the other; And even as bread through hunger is devoured, There where the brain is to the nape Not in another fashion Tydeus gnawed The temples of Menalippus in disdain, 115 120 125 united. 130 Than that one did the skull and the other things. "O thou, who showest by such bestial sign Thy hatred against him whom thou art eating, 134 Tell me the wherefore," said I, "with this compact, That if thou rightfully of him complain, In knowing who ye are, and his transgression, I in the world above repay thee for it, If that wherewith I speak be not dried up." CANTO XXXIII. HIS mouth uplifted from his grim repast, That sinner, wiping it upon the hair Of the same head that he behind had wasted. Then he began: "Thou wilt that I renew The desperate grief, which wrings my heart already s To think of only, ere I speak of it; But if my words be seed that may bear fruit Of infamy to the traitor whom I gnaw, I know not who thou art, nor by what mode Thou hast come down here; but a Florentine 5 10 Thou hast to know I was Count Ugolino, Now I will tell thee why I am such a neighbor. 15 And this one was Ruggieri the Archbishop; That, by effect of his malicious thoughts, Trusting in him I was made prisoner, And after put to death, I need not say; But ne'ertheless what thou canst not have heard, That is to say, how cruel was my death, 20 Hear shalt thou, and shalt know if he has wronged me. A narrow perforation in the mew, Which bears because of me the title of Famine, And in which others still must be locked up, Had shown me through its opening many moons Already, when I dreamed the evil dream Which of the future rent for me the veil. Hunting the wolf and whelps upon the mountain With sleuth-hounds gaunt, and eager, and well trained, He had sent out before him to the front. The father and the sons, and with sharp tushes When I before the morrow was awake, Moaning amid their sleep I heard my sons Who with me were, and asking after bread. Cruel indeed art thou, if yet thou grieve not, Thinking of what my heart foreboded me, 25 30 35 40 And weep'st thou not, what art thou wont to weep at ? They were awake now, and the hour drew nigh Of the horrible tower; whereat without a word I gazed into the faces of my sons. I wept not, I within so turned to stone; They wept; and darling little Anselm mine 44 50 Said: 'Thou dost gaze so, father, what doth ail thee?' Still not a tear I shed, nor answer made All of that day, nor yet the night thereafter, Until another sun rose on the world. Into the dolorous prison, and I saw Upon four faces my own very aspect, Both of my hands in agony I bit; And, thinking that I did it from desire Of eating, on a sudden they uprose, And said they 'Father, much less pain 't will give us 55. 60 65 I calmed me then, not to make them more sad. |