Inferno
The Fourth Circle: The Avaricious and the Prodigal. Plutus. Fortune and her Wheel. The Fifth Circle: The Wrathful and the Sullen. The Styx.
"Pape Satan, Pape Satan, Aleppe!"
So Plutus began with his harsh, clucking voice.
And my wise guide, who understood all things,
spoke to encourage me: "Don't let
"Do not let fear harm you; whatever power he possesses
cannot prevent you from descending this rocky slope."
Then he turned toward that swollen, bloated face
and said: "Be silent, you cursed wolf!
Let your own rage consume you from within.
This journey to the abyss is not without cause—
it is willed from on high, where Michael
brought vengeance upon the proud rebellion."
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PLUTO AND VIRGIL
“and said: "Be silent, you cursed wolf! / Let your own rage consume you from within.”
Like sails swollen by wind
that collapse together when the mast snaps,
so the cruel monster fell to earth.
Thus we descended into the fourth circle,
moving further along that sorrowful shore
which holds all the world's suffering.
Oh Justice of God! Who heaps up
so many fresh torments and punishments as I witnessed?
And why does our sin destroy us so completely?
Like waves crashing against Charybdis,
breaking themselves on what they strike,
here the souls must dance their eternal round.
I saw more people here than anywhere else,
on both sides, howling with tremendous cries,
using their chests to roll great weights forward.
They crashed together, and at that point
each turned backward, rolling in reverse,
shouting "Why do you hoard?" and "Why do you waste?"
So they moved along the dark circle
on either side to the opposite point,
screaming their shameful refrain forever.
When each arrived there, he wheeled around
through his half-circle to clash again.
And I, my heart pierced with sorrow,
cried out: "My master, explain to me—
who are these people? Were all those
with shaven heads on our left clergy?"
He answered: "All of them were so twisted
in mind during their first life
that they spent without any measure.
Their voices bark this truth clearly enough
when they reach the two points of the circle
where opposite sins divide them.
Those without hair covering their heads
were clergy—popes and cardinals
in whom greed practiced its worst excess."
"Master," I said, "among people like these
I should surely recognize some
who were infected with these diseases."
"You entertain a useless thought," he replied.
"The unthinking life that made them filthy
now makes them beyond all recognition.
Forever they will come to these collisions—
these will rise from their graves with fists clenched,
those others with their hair shorn off.
Poor giving and poor keeping have stolen
the beautiful world from them
and set them in this brawl—
I won't waste pretty words describing it.
Now you can see, my son, the fleeting comedy
of goods entrusted to Fortune,
for which humanity battles one another.
All the gold that lies beneath the moon,
or ever existed, could not give
a moment's rest to even one of these weary souls."
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THE AVARICIOUS AND PRODIGAL
“for which humanity battles one another. / All the gold that lies beneath the moon, / or ever existed, could not give”
"Master," I said, "now tell me also—
what is this Fortune you speak of
that holds the world's wealth so tightly in its grip?"
"Oh foolish creatures," he answered,
"what ignorance surrounds you!
Now let me teach you my understanding of her.
He whose wisdom transcends all things
created the heavens and gave them guides
so every part might shine upon every other part,
distributing light equally.
In the same way, for worldly splendors
he appointed a general minister and guide
to transfer empty treasures from time to time
from people to people, from one bloodline to another,
beyond all human wisdom's resistance.
Therefore one nation triumphs while another
languishes, following her judgment
which remains hidden like a snake in grass.
Your knowledge cannot stand against her—
she provides, judges, and pursues
her rule as the other gods pursue theirs.
Her changes know no rest;
necessity makes her swift—
so often comes whoever's turn arrives.
This is she who is so crucified
even by those who should praise her,
wrongly blaming her with evil reputation.
But she is blessed and does not hear it;
among the other primal creatures, joyful,
she turns her sphere and rejoices in her blessedness.
Let us now descend to greater woe—
already every star that was rising when I departed
is setting, and we must not linger."
We crossed the circle to the other shore,
near a spring that boils and pours itself
along a channel flowing out from it.
The water was far darker than deep purple,
and we, accompanying the murky waves,
entered downward by a strange path.
This melancholy stream forms a marsh
called Styx when it has descended
to the foot of the evil gray shores.
Standing there, intent on watching,
I saw people covered in mud in that lagoon,
all naked and with furious expressions.
They struck each other not just with hands
but with heads and chests and feet,
tearing each other apart with their teeth.
The good master said: "Son, now you see
the souls of those whom anger conquered.
And I want you to know for certain
that beneath the water are people who sigh
and make this water bubble at the surface,
as your eye can see wherever it looks.
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THE STYX—THE IRASCIBLE
“tearing each other apart with their teeth. / The good master said: "Son, now you see”
Stuck in the slime they say: 'We were sullen
in the sweet air gladdened by the sun,
carrying within ourselves a sluggish smoke;
now we are sullen in this black mire.'
This hymn they keep gurgling in their throats
because they cannot speak it in clear words."
So we walked in a great arc around the filthy swamp
between the dry bank and the bog,
our eyes turned toward those who swallow mud,
until we came at last to the foot of a tower.