The Divine Comedy. - Dante. Inferno V1/V11 CANTO V11 Pape Satan, pape Satan aleppe! Plutus began, in his raucous voice;That wise and gentle man,who knew everything,Replied,to comfort me,Do not let fear deflect you now;for,have what power he may,He will not stop you climbing down the rock. Then he swung around towards the swollen face And said:Be silent,you accursed wolf:Consume yourself inwardly with your rage. There is a reason for this downward journey:For it is willed where the archangel Micheal Took revenge for that arrogant violation. As sails,when they are stretched out by the wind,Wrap themselves in a heap when the mast breaks,So that cruel animal fell to the ground. So we went down the bank of the foul ditch,Going a little further into the pit Which is stuffed with all the evil of the universe. Justice of God!Who except you could gather As many pains and punishments as i saw?And why is it our faults must so devour us? Just as the water does above Charybdis,Breaking upon the current that it meets,So did these people in the circle of their dance. Here the biggest crowd had come together,With great howls,from one side and the other,And rolling heavy weights forward against their chests. So they struck one another as they met;And the turned round,and,rolling back again,Some shoutedWhy hold on?someWhy let go? So they flowed back around the dark circle,From each side of us,to meet on the other side,Where once again they shouted their shameful chant: When the two troops had met,they both turned round,Went back the semicircle,and met again.And i,who felt as if my heart were punctured, Said:My master,if you will,please indicate What people these are,and whether they were all clergymen,These tonsured ghosts on the left-hand side. He answered:The whole lot of them were crossed eyed,So to speak,in their minds,in their first life,And did not know how to spend moderately. You may know their voices,they make outcry enough,When they arrive at the two points of the circle Where their contray faults set them at odds. Those were the clergy,who have nothing on top In the way of hair,and popes and cardinals;They are the ones in whom avarice does its best I said:Master,among those who were like that,I certainly ought to recognise one or two Who were befouled with evils of that kind. He answered:You are wasting your time to think of it:They saw nothing in life,they wallowed in muck,And now they are so brown you cannot recognise them. To all eternity they will run against each other:The one lot will arise out of their graves With fists clenched,the other with their hair cut off. Ill giving and ill keeping have taken from them The lovely World,and put them in this scrum:What it is like,cannot be decently told. Now you can see,my son,how short a life Have the gifts which are distributed by Fortune,And for which people get rough with one another: So that all the gold there is beneath the moon And all there ever was,could never give A moments rest to one of these tired souls. Master,I said to him,now tell me also:This Fortune,that you spoke about just now,What is she,that has the worlds good in her clutches? He answered:How foolish people are!How great is the Ignorance which strikes them down!Now listen to me and take in what i say. He whose wise dispositions transcend everything,Made the heavens,and gave intelligences to guide them,So tat each part shines on the other parts, Distributing the light with equalness: So it is with the splendours of the world;He put in place an agent and director Who at the proper time could change around Vain possessions from one people to another,Or between families,and no one could do a thing; So that one race should rule,another languish,According to the judgement of that female,Who is as invisible as a snake in the grass. Your Science cannot take account of her:She controls,takes decisions,executes them In her kingdom,as other gods in theirs. Her permutations go on without truce;Necessity ensures that she is rapid;So you no sooner have a thing than you lose it. And this is she who is so crucified,Even by those who ought to praise her most:They blame her,but it is nothing but defamation: But she is blessed and does not hear;With the other primal creatures,she is happy;She rules her kingdom and enjoys her blessedness. Now let us go down where there is more cause for pity;Already the stars are sinking,which were rising When i set out,and dawdling is forbidden.
Posted on: Fri, 28 Mar 2014 11:41:55 +0000
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