THE DIVINE COMEDY BY DANTE ALIGHIERI(VIII)

Directory:THE DIVINE COMEDY

CANTO VIII

ARGUMENT.—A signal having been made from the tower, Phlegyas, the ferryman of the lake, speedily crosses it, and conveys Virgil and Dante to the other side. On their passage, they meet with Filippo Argenti, whose fury and torment are described. They then arrive at the city of Dis, the entrance whereto is denied, and the portals closed against them by many Demons.

MY theme pursuing, I relate, that ere

We reach'd the lofty turret's base, our eyes

Its height ascended, where we mark'd uphung

Two cressets, and another saw from far

Return the signal, so remote, that scarce

The eye could catch its beam. I, turning round

To the deep source of knowledge, thus inquired:

“Say what this means; and what, that other light

In answer set: what agency doth this?”

“There on the filthy waters,” he replied,

“E'en now what next awaits us mayst thou see,

If the marsh-gendered fog conceal it not.”

Never was arrow from the cord dismiss'd,

That ran its way so nimbly through the air,

As a small bark, that through the waves I spied

Toward us coming, under the sole sway

Of one that ferried it, who cried aloud:

“Art thou arrived, fell spirit?”—“Phlegyas, Phlegyas,〖Phlegyas, so incensed against Apollo for having violated his daughter Coronis, that he set fire to the temple of that deity, by whose vengeance he was cast into Tartarus. See Virgil, Æn, 1. vi. 618.〗

This time thou criest in vain,” my lord replied;

“No longer shalt thou have us, but while o'er

The slimy pool we pass.” As one who hears

Of some great wrong he hath sustain'd, whereat

Inly he pines: so Phlegyas inly pined

In his fierce ire. My guide, descending, stepp'd

Into the skiff, and bade me enter next,

Close at his side; nor, till my entrance, seem'd

The vessel freighted. Soon as both embark'd,

Cutting the waves, goes on the ancient prow,

More deeply than with others it is wont.

While we our course o'er the dead channel held,

One drench'd in mire before me came, and said:

“Who art thou, that thus comest ere thine hour?”

I answer'd: “Though I come, I tarry not:

But who art thou, that art become so foul?”

“One, as thou seest, who mourn:” he straight replied.

To which I thus: “In mourning and in woe,

Curst spirit! tarry thou. I know thee well,

E'en thus in filth disguised.” Then stretch'd he forth

Hands to the bark; whereof my teacher sage

Aware, thrusting him back: “Away! down there

To the other dogs!” then, with his arms my neck

Encircling, kiss'd my cheek, and spake: “O soul,

Justly disdainful! blest was she in whom

Thou wast conceived. He in the world was one

For arrogance noted: to his memory

No virtue lends its lustre; even so

Here is his shadow furious. There above,

How many now hold themselves mighty kings,

Who here like swine shall wallow in the mire,

Leaving behind them horrible dispraise.”

I then: “Master! him fain would I behold

Whelm'd in these dregs, before we quit the lake.”

He thus: “Or ever to thy view the shore

Be offer'd, satisfied shall be that wish,

Which well deserves completion.” Scarce his words

Were ended, when I saw the miry tribes

Set on him with such violence, that yet

For that render I thanks to God, and praise.

“To Filippo Argenti!”〖Boccaccio tells us, “he was a man remarkable for the large proportions and extraordinary vigor of his bodily frame, and the extreme waywardness and irascibility of his temper.”—“Decameron,” G. ix. N. 8.〗 cried they all:

And on himself the moody Florentine

Turn'd his avenging fangs. Him here we left,

Nor speak I of him more. But on mine ear

Sudden a sound of lamentation smote,

Whereat mine eye unbarr'd I sent abroad.

And thus the good instructor: “Now, my son

Draws near the city, that of Dis is named,

With its grave denizens, a mighty throng.”

I thus: “The minarets already, Sir!

There, certes, in the valley I descry,

Gleaming vermilion, as if they from fire

Had issued.” He replied: “Eternal fire,

That inward burns, shows them with ruddy flame

Illumed; as in this nether Hell thou seest.”

We came within the fosses deep, that moat

This region comfortless. The walls appear'd

As they were framed of iron. We had made

Wide circuit, ere a place we reach'd, where loud

The mariner cried vehement: “Go forth:

The entrance is here.” Upon the gates I spied

More than a thousand, who of old from Heaven

Were shower'd. With ireful gestures, “Who is this,”

They cried, “that, without death first felt, goes through

The regions of the dead?” My sapient guide

Made sign that he for secret parley wish'd;

Whereat their angry scorn abating, thus

They spake: “Come thou alone; and let him go,

Who hath so hardily enter'd this realm.

Alone return he by his witless way;

If well he knew it, let him prove. For thee,

Here shalt thou tarry, who through clime so dark

Hast been his escort.” Now bethink thee, reader!

What cheer was mine at sound of those curst words.

I did believe I never should return.

“O my loved guide! who more than seven times〖Seven times.” The commentators, says Venturi, perplex themselves with the inquiry what seven perils these were from which Dante had been delivered by Virgil. Reckoning the beasts in the first Canto as one of them, and adding Charon, Minos, Cerberus, Plutus, Phlegyas, and Filippo Argenti, as so many others, we shall have the number; and if this be not satisfactory, we may suppose a determinate to have been put for an indeterminate number.〗

Security hast render'd me, and drawn

From peril deep, whereto I stood exposed,

Desert me not,” I cried, “in this extreme.

And, if our onward going be denied,

Together trace we back our steps with speed.”

My liege, who thither had conducted me,

Replied: “Fear not: for of our passage none

Hath power to disappoint us, by such high

Authority permitted. But do thou

Expect me here; meanwhile, thy wearied spirit

Comfort, and feed with kindly hope, assured

I will not leave thee in this lower world.”

This said, departs the sire benevolent,

And quits me. Hesitating I remain

At war, 'twixt will and will not, in my thoughts.

I could not hear what terms he offer'd them,

But they conferr'd not long, for all at once

Pellmell rush'd back within. Closed were the gates,

By those our adversaries, on the breast

Of my liege lord: excluded, he return'd

To me with tardy steps. Upon the ground

His eyes were bent, and from his brow erased

All confidence, while thus in sighs he spake:

“Who hath denied me these abodes of woe?”

Then thus to me: “That I am anger'd, think

No ground of terror: in this trial I

Shall vanquish, use what arts they may within

For hindrance. This their insolence, not new,〖Virgil assures our poet that these evil spirits had formerly shown the same insolence when our Saviour descended into hell. They attempted to prevent him from entering at the gate, over which Dante had read the fatal inscription. “That gate which,” says the Roman poet, “an angel had just passed, by whose aid we shall overcome this opposition, and gain admittance into the city.”〗

Erewhile at gate less secret they display'd,

Which still is without bolt; upon its arch

Thou saw'st the deadly scroll: and even now,

On this side of its entrance, down the steep,

Passing the circles, unescorted, comes

One whose strong might can open us this land.”

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