The Inferno (Barnes & Noble Classics Series)

by Dante Alighieri

  The land of tears gave forth a blast of wind. And fulminated a vermilion light, Which overmastered in me every sense,

  And as a man whom sleep doth seize I fell.16

  CANTO IV

  BROKE the deep lethargy within my head A heavy thunder, so that I upstarted, Like to a person who by force is wakened;

  And round about I moved my rested eyes, Uprisen erect, and steadfastly I gazed, To recognize the place wherein I was.

  True is it, that upon the verge I found me Of the abysmal valley dolorous, That gathers thunder of infinite ululations.

  Obscure, profound it was, and nebulous, So that by fixing on its depths my sight Nothing whatever I discerned therein.

  “Let us descend now into the blind world,” Began the Poet, pallid utterly;I “I will be first, and thou shalt second be.”

  And I, who of his color was aware, Said: “How shall I come, if thou art afraid, Who‘rt wont to be a comfort to my fears?”

  And he to me: “The anguish of the people Who are below here in my face depicts That pity which for terror thou hast taken.

  Let us go on, for the long way impels us.“ Thus he went in, and thus he made me enter The foremost circle2 that surrounds the abyss.

  There, in so far as I had power to hear, Were lamentations none, but only sighs, That tremulous made the everlasting air.

  And this arose from sorrow without torment, Which the crowds had, that many were and great, Of infants and of women and of men.

  To me the Master good: “Thou dost not ask What spirits these may be, which thou beholdest. Now will I have thee know, ere thou go farther,

  That they sinned not; and if they merit had, ‘Tis not enough, because they had not baptism, Which is the portal of the Faith thou holdest;

  And if they were before Christianity, In the right manner they adored not God; And among such as these am I myself.

  For such defects, and not for other guilt, Lost are we, and are only so far punished, That without hope we live on in desire.“3

  Great grief seized on my heart when this I heard, Because some people of much worthiness I knew, who, in that Limbo were suspended.4

  “Tell me, my Master, tell me, thou my Lord,” Began I, with desire of being certain Of that Faith which o‘ercometh every error,

  “Came any one by his own merit hence, Or by another‘s, who was blessed thereafter?” And he, who understood my covert speech,

  Replied: “I was a novice in this state, When I saw hither come a Mighty One,5 With sign of victory incoronate.

  Hence he drew forth the shade of the First Parent,ab And that of his son Abel, and of Noah, Of Moses the lawgiver, and the obedient

  Abraham, patriarch, and David, king, Israelac with his father and his children, And Rachel, for whose sake he did so much,

  And others many, and he made them blessed; And thou must know, that earlier than these Never were any human spirits saved.“6

  We ceased not to advance because he spake, But still were passing onward through the forest, The forest, say I, of thick-crowded ghosts.

  Not very far as yet our way had gone This side the summit, when I saw a fire That overcame a hemisphere of darkness.‘ 7

  We were a little distant from it still, But not so far that I in part discerned not That honorable8 people held that place.

  “0 thou who honorest every art and science, Who may these be, which such great honor have, That from the fashion of the rest it parts them?”

  And he to me: “The honorable name, That sounds of them above there in thy life, Wins grace in Heaven, that so advances them.”

  In the meantime a voice was heard by me: “All honor be to the pre-eminent Poet;9 His shade returns again, that was departed.”

  After the voice had ceased and quiet was, Four mighty shades I saw approaching us; Semblance had they nor sorrowful nor glad.

  To say to me began my gracious Master: “Him with that falchionad in his hand behold, Who comes before the three, even as their lord.

  That one is Homer, Poet sovereign; He who comes next is Horace, the satirist; The third is Ovid, and the last is Lucan.10

  Because to each of these with me applies The nameae that solitary voice proclaimed, They do me honor, and in that do well.“

  Thus I beheld assemble the fair school Of that lord of the song pre-eminent,11 Who o‘er the others like an eagle soars.

  When they together had discoursed somewhat, They turned to me with signs of salutation, And on beholding this, my Master smiled;

  And more of honor still, much more, they did me, In that they made me one of their own band;12 So that the sixth was I, ‘mid so much wit.

  Thus we went on as far as to the light, Things saying ‘tis becoming to keep silent, As was the saying of them where I was.

  We came unto a noble castle’s foot, Seven times encompassed with lofty walls, Defended round by a fair rivulet;af

  This we passed over even as firm ground; Through portals seven I entered with these Sages13 We came into a meadow of fresh verdure.

  People were there with solemn eyes and slow, Of great authority in their countenance; They spake but seldom, and with gentle voices.

  Thus we withdrew ourselves upon one side Into an opening luminous and lofty, So that they all of them were visible.

  There opposite, upon the green enamel, Were pointed out to me the mighty spirits, Whom to have seen I feel myself exalted.

  I saw Electra14 with companions many, ‘Mongst whom I knew both Hector and Æneas15 Cæsar in armor with gerfalconag eyes;16

  I saw Camilla17 and Penthesilea18 On the other side, and saw the King Latinus, Who with Lavinia his daughter sat;19

  I saw that Brutus20 who drove Tarquin forth, Lucretia, Julia, Marcia, and Cornelia,21 And saw alone, apart, the Saladin.22

  When I had lifted up my brows a little, The Master I beheld of those who know, Sit with his philosophic family.

  All gaze upon him, and all do him honor. There I beheld both Socrates and Plato,23 Who nearer him before the others stand;

  Democritus,24 who puts the world on chance, Diogenes, Anaxagoras, and Thales,25 Zeno, Empedocles, and Heraclitus;26

  Of qualities I saw the good collector, Hight* Dioscorides; and Orpheus27 saw I, Tully and Livy, and moral Seneca,28

  Euclid, geometrician, and Ptolemy,29 Galen, Hippocrates, and Avicenna,30 Averroes31 who the great Comment made.

  I cannot all of them portray in full, Because so drives me onward the long theme, That many times the word comes short of fact.

  The sixfold company in two divides; Another way my sapient Guide conducts me Forth from the quiet to the air that trembles;

  And to a place I come where nothing shines.

  Canto IV Hemer, the Class Pats

  CANTO V

  THus I descended out of the first circle Down to the second,1 that less space begirds, And so much greater dole,ah that goads to wailing.

  There standeth Minos horribly, and snarls; Examines the transgressions at the entrance; Judges, and sends according as he girds him.

  I say, that when the spirit evil-born Cometh before him, wholly it confesses; And this discriminator of transgressions

  Seeth what place in Hell is meet for it; Girds himself with his tail as many times As grades he wishes it should be thrust down.2

  Always before him many of them stand; They go by turns each one unto the judgment; They speak, and hear, and then are downward hurled.

  “0 thou, that to this dolorous hostelry Comest,” said Minos to me, when he saw me, Leaving the practice of so great an office,

  “Look how thou enterest, and in whom thou trustest; Let not the portal’s amplitude deceive thee.” And unto him my Guide: “Why criest thou too?

  Do not impede his journey fate-ordained; It is so willed there where is power to do That which is willed; and ask no further question.“3

  And now begin the dolesome notes to grow Audible unto me; now am I come There where much lamentation strikes upon me.

  I ca
me into a place mute of all light, Which bellows as the sea does in a tempest, If by opposing winds ‘tis combated.

  The infernal hurricane4 that never rests Hurtles the spirits onward in its rapine; Whirling them round, and smiting, it molests them.

  When they arrive before the precipice,5 There are the shrieks, the plaints, and the laments, There they blaspheme the puissance divine.ai

  I understood that unto such a torment The carnal malefactors were condemned, Who reason subjugate to appetite.

  And as the wings of starlings bear them on In the cold season in large band and full, So doth that blast the spirits maledict aj

  It hither, thither, downward, upward, drives them; No hope doth comfort them forevermore, Not of repose, but even of lesser pain.

  And as the cranes go chanting forth their lays, Making in air a long line of themselves, So saw I coming, uttering lamentations,

  Shadows borne onward by the aforesaid stress. Whereupon said I: “Master, who are those People, whom the black air so castigates?”

  “The first of those, of whom intelligence Thou fain wouldst have,” then said he unto me, “The empress was of many languages.

  To sensual vices she was so abandoned, That lustful she made licit in her law, To remove the blame to which she had been led.

  She is Semiramis,6 of whom we read That she succeeded Ninus, and was his spouse; She held the land which now the Sultan rules.

  The next is she who killed herself for love, And broke faith with the ashes of Sichaeus;7 Then Cleopatra the voluptuous.“8

  Helen I saw, for whom so many ruthless Seasons revolved;9 and saw the great Achilles, Who at the last hour combated with Love.10

  Paris11 I saw, Tristan;12 and more than a thousand Shades did he name and point out with his finger, Whom Love had separated from our life.

  After that I had listened to my Teacher, Naming the dames of eld and cavaliers,ak Pity prevailed, and I was nigh bewildered.

  And I began: “0 Poet, willingly Speak would I to those two,13 who together, And seem upon the wind to be so light.”

  And he to me: “Thou‘lt mark, when they shall be Nearer to us; and then do thou implore them By love which leadeth them, and they will come.”

  Soon as the wind in our direction sways them, My voice uplift I: “0 ye weary souls! Come speak to us, if no one interdicts it.”

  As turtle-doves, called onward by desire, With open and steady wings to the sweet nest Fly through the air by their volition borne,

  So came they from the band where Dido is, Approaching us athwart the air malign, So strong was the affectionate appeal.

  “0 living creature gracious and benignant, Who visiting goest through the purple air Us, who have stained the world incarnadine,al

  If were the King of the Universe our friend, We would pray unto him to give thee peace, Since thou hast pity on our woe perverse.

  Of what it pleases thee to hear and speak, That will we hear, and we will speak to you, While silent is the wind, as it is now.

  Sitteth the city, wherein I was born,am Upon the sea-shore where the Po descends To rest in peace with all his retinue.

  Love, that on gentle heart doth swiftly seize, Seized this man for the person beautiful That was ta‘en from me, and still the mode offends me

  Love, that exempts no one beloved from loving, Seized me with pleasure of this man so strongly, That, as thou seest, it doth not yet desert me;

  Love has conducted us unto one death; Caïna waiteth him who quenched our life!“14 These words were borne along from them to us.

  As soon as I had heard those souls tormented, I bowed my face, and so long held it down Until the Poet said to me: “What thinkest?”

  When I made answer, I began: “Alas! How many pleasant thoughts, how much desires?” Conducted these unto the dolorous pass!“

  Then unto them I turned me, and I spake, And I began: “Thine agonies, Francesca, Sad and compassionate to weeping make me.

  But tell me, at the time of those sweet sighs, By what and in what manner Love conceded, That you should know your dubious desires.“

  And she to me: “There is no greater sorrow Than to be mindful of the happy time In misery, and that thy Teacher knows.

  But, if to recognize the earliest root Of love in us thou hast so great desire, I will do even as he who weeps and speaks.

  One day we reading were for our delight Of Launcelot, how Love did him enthrall. Alone we were and without any fear.

  Full many a time our eyes together drew That reading, and drove the color from our faces; But one point only was it that o‘ercame us.

  When as we read of the much longed-for smile Being by such a noble lover kissed, This man, who ne‘er from me shall be divided,

  Kissed me upon the mouth all palpitating. Galeotto was the book and he who wrote it.15 That day no farther did we read therein.“

  And all the while one spirit uttered this, The other one did weep so, that, for pity, I swooned away as if I had been dying,

  And fell, even as a dead body falls.16

  Canto V: The Souls of Paolo and Francesca

  CANTO VI

  AT the return of consciousness, that closed Before the pity of those two relations, Which utterly with sadness had confused me,

  New torments I behold, and new tormented Around me, whichsoever way I move, And whichsoever way I turn, and gaze.

  In the third circle1 am I of the rain Eternal, maledict, and cold, and heavy; Its law and quality are never new.

  Huge hail, and water sombre-hued, and snow, Athwart the tenebrous air pour down amain;an Noisome the earth is, that receiveth this.

  Cerberus, monster cruel and uncouth, With his three gullets like a dog is barking, Over the people that are there submerged.

  Red eyes he has, and unctuous beard and black, And belly large, and armed with claws his hands; He rends the spirits, flays, and quarters them.

  Howl the rain maketh them like unto dogs; One side they make a shelter for the other; Oft turn themselves the wretched reprobates.

  When Cerberus perceived us, the great worm!2 His mouths he opened, and displayed his tusks; Not a limb had he that was motionless.

  And my Conductor, with his spans extended, Took of the earth, and with his fists well filled, He threw it into those rapacious gullets.3

  Such as that dog is, who by barking craves, And quiet grows soon as his food he gnaws, For to devour it he but thinks and struggles,

  The like became those muzzles filth-begrimed Of Cerberus the demon, who so thunders Over the souls that they would fain be deaf.

  We passed across the shadows,4 which subdues The heavy rain-storm, and we placed our feet Upon their vanity that person seems.

  They all were lying prone upon the earth, Excepting one, who sat upright as soon As he beheld us passing on before him.

  “0 thou that art conducted through this Hell,” He said to me, “recall me, if thou canst; Thyself wast made before I was unmade.”5

  And I to him: “The anguish which thou hast Perhaps doth draw thee out of my remembrance, So that it seems not I have ever seen thee.

  But tell me who thou art, that in so doleful A place art put, and in such punishment, If some are greater, none is so displeasing.“

  And he to me: “Thy city, which is full Of envy so that now the sack runs over, Held me within it in the life serene.

  You citizens were wont to call me Ciacco;6 For the pernicious sin of gluttony I, as thou seest, am battered by this rain.

  And I, sad soul, am not the only one, For all these suffer the like penalty For the like sin“; and word no more spake he.

  I answered him: “Ciacco, thy wretchedness Weighs on me so that it to weep invites me;7 But tell me, if thou knowest, to what shall come

  The citizens of the divided city; If any there be just; and the occasion Tell me why so much discord has assailed it.“

  And he to me: “They, after long contention, Will come to bloodshed; and the rustic party Will drive the other out with mu
ch offence.

  Then afterwards behoves it this one fall Within three suns, and rise again the other By force of him who now is on the coast.

  High will it hold its forehead a long while, Keeping the other under heavy burdens, Howe‘er it weeps thereat and is indignant.

  The just are two, and are not understood there;8 Envy and Arrogance and Avarice Are the three sparks that have all hearts enkindled.“

  Here ended he his tearful utterance; And I to him: “I wish thee still to teach me, And make a gift to me of further speech.

  Farinata and Tegghiaio, once so worthy, Jacopo Rusticucci, Arrigo, and Mosca,9 And others who on good deeds set their thoughts,

  Say where they are, and cause that I may know them; For great desire constraineth me to learn If Heaven doth sweeten them, or Hell envenom.“

  And he: “They are among the blacker souls; A different sin downweighs them to the bottom; If thou so far descendest, thou canst see them.

  But when thou art again in the sweet world, I pray thee to the mind of others bring me;10 No more I tell thee and no more I answer.“

  Then his straightforward eyes he turned askance, Eyed me a little, and then bowed his head; He fell therewith prone like the other blind.

  And the Guide said to me: “He wakes no more This side the sound of the angelic trumpet; When shall approach the hostile Potentate,

  Each one shall find again his dismal tomb, Shall reassume his flesh and his own figure, Shall hear what through eternity re-echoes.“

  So we passed onward o‘er the filthy mixture Of shadows and of rain with footsteps slow, Touching a little on the future life.

  Wherefore I said: “Master, these torments here, Will they increase after the mighty sentence, Or lesser be, or will they be as burning?”

  And he to me: “Return unto thy science,11 Which wills, that as the thing more perfect is, The more it feels of pleasure and of pain.

  Albeit that this people maledict To true perfection never can attain, Hereafter more than now they look to be.“

  Round in a circle by that road we went, Speaking much more, which I do not repeat; We came unto the point where the descent is;