Now I could hear the thunderous reverberation
of water cascading into the circle below,
a sound like the deep humming of a thousand beehives,
when three shadows broke away from a group of souls
passing beneath the rain of burning flakes.
5
They ran toward us, and each one cried out:
"Stop there! By your clothing you seem to be
someone from our corrupt city."
The wounds I saw covering their bodies—
both fresh and ancient, seared by flames—
still pain me just to remember.
11
My Teacher stopped, attentive to their cries.
He turned to me and said, "Wait here.
We should show courtesy to these souls.
If not for the fire that defines this place,
I'd say they should be hurrying more than you."
16
The moment we stood still, they resumed
their ancient dance, and when they reached us,
all three formed themselves into a wheel.
Like wrestlers, naked and oiled,
circling to find their grip and advantage
before they grapple and strike,
so each of them wheeled around,
keeping his face turned toward me
while his neck and feet moved in opposite directions.
25
"If the wretchedness of this scorching sand
brings scorn upon us and our pleas,"
one began, "and if our blackened, blistered appearance
repulses you, let our earthly fame
persuade you to tell us who you are—
you who walk so safely through Hell
on living feet.
32
This man whose footsteps I follow,
naked and flayed though he appears,
held higher rank than you might think.
He was the grandson of noble Gualdrada,
his name Guidoguerra, and in life
he accomplished much through wisdom and sword.
38
The other treading the burning sand beside me
is Tegghiaio Aldobrandi, whose reputation
should still be honored in the world above.
And I, crucified here with them,
was Jacopo Rusticucci—and truly
my fierce wife harmed me more than anything else."
44
If I could have been shielded from the fire,
I would have thrown myself down among them,
and I think my Teacher would have allowed it.
But since I would have burned and baked myself,
terror overcame my good intentions,
which had made me eager to embrace them.
50
Then I began: "Not disdain but sorrow
fixed your condition so deeply in my heart
that it will be slow to fade completely—
from the moment my Lord spoke words
that made me understand such men as you
were approaching.
56
I am from your city, and always
I have lovingly repeated and cherished
your deeds and honored names.
I leave behind bitterness to seek the sweet fruit
promised by my truthful Guide,
but first I must descend to Hell's center."
62
"So may your soul long guide those limbs,"
he replied, "and may your fame shine after you—
tell us if valor and courtesy still dwell
in our city as they used to,
or if they have vanished completely.
Guglielmo Borsier, recently arrived
to suffer torment with us,
grieves us deeply with his reports."
70
"New money and sudden wealth
have bred such pride and excess in you, Florence,
that you're already weeping for it!"
I cried out with upturned face.
74
The three souls, taking this as my answer,
looked at each other as people do
when they recognize truth.
77
"If it costs you so little effort other times
to satisfy someone's question," they all replied,
"how fortunate you are to speak so freely!
Therefore, if you escape from these dark places
and return to see the beautiful stars,
when it pleases you to say 'I was there,'
be sure to speak of us to the living."
84
Then they broke their wheel formation,
and in their flight it seemed
their swift legs had become wings.
An "Amen" could not have been spoken
as quickly as they disappeared,
and my Master thought it best to continue.
90
I followed him, and we had gone only a little way
when the sound of water grew so loud
that we could hardly have heard each other speak.
93
Like that river which flows its own course
eastward from Monte Veso,
on the left slope of the Apennines—
called Acquacheta in the heights
before it descends to its lower bed
and loses that name at Forlì—
echoing above San Benedetto dell'Alpe
as it falls in a single tremendous leap
where a thousand streams could fit:
so that dark water thundered down
from a precipitous cliff,
so loud it would soon have hurt our ears.
105
I had a cord wound around my waist,
the same one with which I had once planned
to capture the leopard with the spotted hide.
After I had untied it completely,
as my Guide commanded,
I handed it to him, coiled and gathered.
111
He turned toward the right side
and, at some distance from the edge,
cast it down into the deep abyss.
114
"Something extraordinary must respond
to this strange signal," I thought to myself,
"that my Master follows so intently with his eyes."
117
How careful we must be with those
who see not only what we do
but read our very thoughts with their wisdom!
120
He said to me: "What I'm waiting for
will soon rise up, and what your mind
is puzzling over will reveal itself to your sight."
123
A person should always seal his lips
against truth that seems like falsehood,
since it brings shame through no fault of his own.
But here I cannot stay silent, and Reader,
I swear to you by the verses of this Comedy—
may they find lasting favor—
that through that thick and murky air
I saw a figure swimming upward,
amazing to any steadfast heart,
like a diver who goes down
to free an anchor snagged on reef
or something hidden in the sea,
stretching upward and pulling in his feet.
136