CANTO X.

CANTO X.And now advance we by a narrow trackBetween the torments and the ramparts high,My Master first, and I behind his back.‘O mighty Virtue,[352]at whose will am IWheeled through these impious circles,’ then I said,‘Speak, and in full my longing satisfy.The people who within the tombs are laid,May they be seen? The coverings are all thrownOpen, nor is there[353]any guard displayed.’And he to me: ‘All shall be fastened down10When hither from Jehoshaphat[354]they comeAgain in bodies which were once their own.All here with Epicurus[355]find their tombWho are his followers, and by whom ’tis heldThat the soul shares the body’s mortal doom.Things here discovered then shall answer yield,And quickly, to thy question asked of me;As well as[356]to the wish thou hast concealed.’And I: ‘Good Leader, if I hide from theeMy heart, it is that I may little say;20Nor only now[357]learned I thus dumb to be.’‘O Tuscan, who, still living, mak’st thy way,Modest of speech, through the abode of flame,Be pleased[358]a little in this place to stay.The accents of thy language thee proclaimTo be a native of that state renownedWhich I, perchance, wronged somewhat.’ Sudden cameThese words from out a tomb which there was found’Mongst others; whereon I, compelled by fright,A little toward my Leader shifted ground.30And he: ‘Turn round, what ails thee? Lo! uprightBeginneth Farinata[359]to arise;All of him ’bove the girdle comes in sight.’On him already had I fixed mine eyes.Towering erect with lifted front and chest,He seemed Inferno greatly to despise.And toward him I among the tombs was pressedBy my Guide’s nimble and courageous hand,While he, ‘Choose well thy language,’ gave behest.Beneath his tomb when I had ta’en my stand40Regarding me a moment, ‘Of what houseArt thou?’ as if in scorn, he made demand.To show myself obedient, anxious,I nothing hid, but told my ancestors;And, listening, he gently raised his brows.[360]‘Fiercely to me they proved themselves adverse,And to my sires and party,’ then he said;‘Because of which I did them twice disperse.’[361]I answered him: ‘And what although they fled!Twice from all quarters they returned with might,50An art not mastered yet by these you[362]led.’Beside him then there issued into sightAnother shade, uncovered to the chin,Propped on his knees, if I surmised aright.He peered around as if he fain would winKnowledge if any other was with me;And then, his hope all spent, did thus begin,Weeping: ‘By dint of genius if it beThou visit’st this dark prison, where my son?And wherefore not found in thy company?’60And I to him: ‘I come not here alone:He waiting yonder guides me: but disdainOf him perchance was by your Guido[363]shown.’The words he used, and manner of his pain,Revealed his name to me beyond surmise;Hence was I able thus to answer plain.Then cried he, and at once upright did rise,‘How saidst thou—was? Breathes he not then the air?The pleasant light no longer smites his eyes?’When he of hesitation was aware70Displayed by me in forming my reply,He fell supine, no more to reappear.But the magnanimous, at whose bidding IHad halted there, the same expression wore,Nor budged a jot, nor turned his neck awry.‘And if’—resumed he where he paused before—‘They be indeed but slow that art to learn,Than this my bed, to hear it pains me more.But ere the fiftieth time anew shall burnThe lady’s[364]face who reigneth here below,80Of that sore art thou shalt experience earn.And as to the sweet world again thou’dst go,Tell me, why is that people so withoutRuth for my race,[365]as all their statutes show?’And I to him: ‘The slaughter and the routWhich made the Arbia[366]to run with red,Cause in our fane[367]such prayers to be poured out.’Whereon he heaved a sigh and shook his head:‘There I was not alone, nor to embraceThat cause was I, without good reason, led.90But there I was alone, when from her placeAll granted Florence should be swept away.’Twas I[368]defended her with open face.’‘So may your seed find peace some better day,’I urged him, ‘as this knot you shall untieIn which my judgment doth entangled stay.If I hear rightly, ye, it seems, descryBeforehand what time brings, and yet ye seem’Neath other laws[369]as touching what is nigh.’‘Like those who see best what is far from them,100We see things,’ said he, ‘which afar remain;Thus much enlightened by the Guide Supreme.To know them present or approaching, vainAre all our powers; and save what they relateWho hither come, of earth no news we gain.Hence mayst thou gather in how dead a stateShall all our knowledge from that time be thrownWhen of the future shall be closed the gate.’Then, for my fault as if repentant grown,I said: ‘Report to him who fell supine,110That still among the living breathes his son.And if I, dumb, seemed answer to decline,Tell him it was that I upon the knotWas pondering then, you helped me to untwine.’Me now my Master called, whence I besoughtWith more than former sharpness of the shade,To tell me what companions he had got.He answered me: ‘Some thousand here are laidWith me; ’mong these the Second Frederick,[370]The Cardinal[371]too; of others nought be said.’120Then was he hid; and towards the Bard antiqueI turned my steps, revolving in my brainThe ominous words[372]which I had heard him speak.He moved, and as we onward went againDemanded of me: ‘Wherefore thus amazed?’And to his question I made answer plain.‘Within thy mind let there be surely placed,’The Sage bade, ‘what ’gainst thee thou heardest say.Now mark me well’ (his finger here he raised),‘When thou shalt stand within her gentle ray130Whose beauteous eye sees all, she will make knownThe stages[373]of thy journey on life’s way.’Turning his feet, he to the left moved on;Leaving the wall, we to the middle[374]wentUpon a path that to a vale strikes down,Which even to us above its foulness sent.FOOTNOTES:[352]Virtue: Virgil is here addressed by a new title, which, with the words of deep respect that follow, marks the full restoration of Dante’s confidence in him as his guide.[353]Nor is there, etc.: The gate was found to be strictly guarded, but not so are the tombs.[354]Jehoshaphat: ‘I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat’ (Joel iii. 2).[355]Epicurus: The unbelief in a future life, or rather the indifference to everything but the calls of ambition and worldly pleasure, common among the nobles of Dante’s age and that preceding it, went by the name of Epicureanism. It is the most radical of heresies, because adverse to the first principles of all religions. Dante, in his treatment of heresy, dwells more on what affects conduct as does the denial of the Divine government—than on intellectual divergence from orthodox belief.[356]As well as, etc.: The question is: ‘May they be seen?’ The wish is a desire to speak with them.[357]Nor only now, etc.: Virgil has on previous occasions imposed silence on Dante, as, for instance, atInf.iii. 51.[358]Be pleased, etc.: From one of the sepulchres, to be imagined as a huge sarcophagus, come words similar to theSiste Viator!common on Roman tombs.[359]Farinata: Of the great Florentine family of the Uberti, and, in the generation before Dante, leader of the Ghibeline or Imperialist party in Florence. His memory long survived among his fellow-townsmen as that of the typical noble, rough-mannered, unscrupulous, and arrogant; but yet, for one good action that he did, he at the same time ranked in the popular estimation as a patriot and a hero. Boccaccio, misled perhaps by the mention of Epicurus, says that he loved rich and delicate fare. It is because all his thoughts were worldly that he is condemned to the city of unbelief. Dante has already (Inf.vi. 79) inquired regarding his fate. He died in 1264.[360]His brows: When Dante tells he is of the Alighieri, a Guelf family, Farinata shows some slight displeasure. Or, as a modern Florentine critic interprets the gesture, he has to think a moment before he can remember on which side the Alighieri ranged themselves—they being of the small gentry, while he was a great noble, But this gloss requires Dante to have been more free from pride of family than he really was.[361]Twice disperse: The Alighieri shared in the exile of the Guelfs in 1248 and 1260.[362]You: See also line 95. Dante never uses the plural form to a single person except when desirous of showing social as distinguished from, or over and above, moral respect.[363]Guido: Farinata’s companion in the tomb is Cavalcante Cavalcanti, who, although a Guelf, was tainted with the more specially Ghibeline error of Epicureanism. When in order to allay party rancour some of the Guelf and Ghibeline families were forced to intermarry, his son Guido took a daughter of Farinata’s to wife. This was in 1267, so that Guido was much older than Dante. Yet they were very intimate, and, intellectually, had much in common. With him Dante exchanged poems of occasion, and he terms him more than once in theVita Nuovahis chief friend. The disdain of Virgil need not mean more than is on the surface. Guido died in 1301. He is the hero of theDecameron, vi. 9.[364]The Lady: Proserpine;i.e.the moon. Ere fifty months from March 1300 were past, Dante was to see the failure of more than one attempt made by the exiles, of whom he was one, to gain entrance to Florence. The great attempt was in the beginning of 1304.[365]Ruth for my race: When the Ghibeline power was finally broken in Florence the Uberti were always specially excluded from any amnesty. There is mention of the political execution of at least one descendant of Farinata’s. His son when being led to the scaffold said, ‘So we pay our fathers’ debts!’—It has been so long common to describe Dante as a Ghibeline, though no careful writer does it now, that it may be worth while here to remark that Ghibelinism, as Farinata understood it, was practically extinct in Florence ere Dante entered political life.[366]The Arbia: At Montaperti, on the Arbia, a few miles from Siena, was fought in 1260 a great battle between the Guelf Florence and her allies on the one hand, and on the other the Ghibelines of Florence, then in exile, under Farinata; the Sienese and Tuscan Ghibelines in general; and some hundreds of men-at-arms lent by Manfred. Notwithstanding the gallant behaviour of the Florentine burghers, the Guelf defeat was overwhelming, and not only did the Arbia run red with Florentine blood—in a figure—but the battle of Montaperti ruined for a time the cause of popular liberty and general improvement in Florence.[367]Our fane: The Parliament of the people used to meet in Santa Reparata, the cathedral; and it is possible that the maintenance of the Uberti disabilities was there more than once confirmed by the general body of the citizens. The use of the word is in any case accounted for by the frequency of political conferences in churches. And the temple having been introduced, edicts are converted into ‘prayers.’[368]’Twas I, etc.: Some little time after the victory of Montaperti there was a great Ghibeline gathering from various cities at Empoli, when it was proposed, with general approval, to level Florence with the ground in revenge for the obstinate Guelfism of the population. Farinata roughly declared that as long as he lived and had a sword he would defend his native place, and in the face of this protest the resolution was departed from. It is difficult to understand how of all the Florentine nobles, whose wealth consisted largely in house property, Farinata should have stood alone in protesting against the ruin of the city. But so it seems to have been; and in this great passage Farinata is repaid for his service, in despite of Inferno.[369]Other laws: Ciacco, in Canto vi., prophesied what was to happen in Florence, and Farinata has just told him that four years later than now he will have failed in an attempt to return from exile: yet Farinata does not know if his family is still being persecuted, and Cavalcanti fears that his son Guido is already numbered with the dead. Farinata replies that like the longsighted the shades can only see what is some distance off, and are ignorant of what is going on, or about to happen; which seems to imply that they forget what they once foresaw. Guido was to die within a few months, and the event was too close at hand to come within the range of his father’s vision.[370]The Second Frederick: The Emperor of that name who reigned from 1220 to 1250, and waged a life-long war with the Popes for supremacy in Italy. It is not however for his enmity with Rome that he is placed in the Sixth Circle, but for his Epicureanism—as Dante understood it. From his Sicilian court a spirit of free inquiry spread through the Peninsula. With men of the stamp of Farinata it would be converted into a crude materialism.[371]The Cardinal: Ottaviano, of the powerful Tuscan family of the Ubaldini, a man of great political activity, and known in Tuscany as ‘The Cardinal.’ His sympathies were not with the Roman Court. The news of Montaperti filled him with delight, and later, when the Tuscan Ghibelines refused him money he had asked for, he burst out with ‘And yet I have lost my soul for the Ghibelines—if I have a soul.’ He died not earlier than 1273. After these illustrious names Farinata scorns to mention meaner ones.[372]Ominous words: Those in which Farinata foretold Dante’s exile.[373]The stages, etc.: It is Cacciaguida, his ancestor, who in Paradise instructs Dante in what his future life is to be—one of poverty and exile (Parad.xvii.). This is, however, done at the request of Beatrice.[374]To the middle: Turning to the left they cut across the circle till they reach the inner boundary of the city of tombs. Here there is no wall.

And now advance we by a narrow trackBetween the torments and the ramparts high,My Master first, and I behind his back.‘O mighty Virtue,[352]at whose will am IWheeled through these impious circles,’ then I said,‘Speak, and in full my longing satisfy.The people who within the tombs are laid,May they be seen? The coverings are all thrownOpen, nor is there[353]any guard displayed.’And he to me: ‘All shall be fastened down10When hither from Jehoshaphat[354]they comeAgain in bodies which were once their own.All here with Epicurus[355]find their tombWho are his followers, and by whom ’tis heldThat the soul shares the body’s mortal doom.Things here discovered then shall answer yield,And quickly, to thy question asked of me;As well as[356]to the wish thou hast concealed.’And I: ‘Good Leader, if I hide from theeMy heart, it is that I may little say;20Nor only now[357]learned I thus dumb to be.’‘O Tuscan, who, still living, mak’st thy way,Modest of speech, through the abode of flame,Be pleased[358]a little in this place to stay.The accents of thy language thee proclaimTo be a native of that state renownedWhich I, perchance, wronged somewhat.’ Sudden cameThese words from out a tomb which there was found’Mongst others; whereon I, compelled by fright,A little toward my Leader shifted ground.30And he: ‘Turn round, what ails thee? Lo! uprightBeginneth Farinata[359]to arise;All of him ’bove the girdle comes in sight.’On him already had I fixed mine eyes.Towering erect with lifted front and chest,He seemed Inferno greatly to despise.And toward him I among the tombs was pressedBy my Guide’s nimble and courageous hand,While he, ‘Choose well thy language,’ gave behest.Beneath his tomb when I had ta’en my stand40Regarding me a moment, ‘Of what houseArt thou?’ as if in scorn, he made demand.To show myself obedient, anxious,I nothing hid, but told my ancestors;And, listening, he gently raised his brows.[360]‘Fiercely to me they proved themselves adverse,And to my sires and party,’ then he said;‘Because of which I did them twice disperse.’[361]I answered him: ‘And what although they fled!Twice from all quarters they returned with might,50An art not mastered yet by these you[362]led.’Beside him then there issued into sightAnother shade, uncovered to the chin,Propped on his knees, if I surmised aright.He peered around as if he fain would winKnowledge if any other was with me;And then, his hope all spent, did thus begin,Weeping: ‘By dint of genius if it beThou visit’st this dark prison, where my son?And wherefore not found in thy company?’60And I to him: ‘I come not here alone:He waiting yonder guides me: but disdainOf him perchance was by your Guido[363]shown.’The words he used, and manner of his pain,Revealed his name to me beyond surmise;Hence was I able thus to answer plain.Then cried he, and at once upright did rise,‘How saidst thou—was? Breathes he not then the air?The pleasant light no longer smites his eyes?’When he of hesitation was aware70Displayed by me in forming my reply,He fell supine, no more to reappear.But the magnanimous, at whose bidding IHad halted there, the same expression wore,Nor budged a jot, nor turned his neck awry.‘And if’—resumed he where he paused before—‘They be indeed but slow that art to learn,Than this my bed, to hear it pains me more.But ere the fiftieth time anew shall burnThe lady’s[364]face who reigneth here below,80Of that sore art thou shalt experience earn.And as to the sweet world again thou’dst go,Tell me, why is that people so withoutRuth for my race,[365]as all their statutes show?’And I to him: ‘The slaughter and the routWhich made the Arbia[366]to run with red,Cause in our fane[367]such prayers to be poured out.’Whereon he heaved a sigh and shook his head:‘There I was not alone, nor to embraceThat cause was I, without good reason, led.90But there I was alone, when from her placeAll granted Florence should be swept away.’Twas I[368]defended her with open face.’‘So may your seed find peace some better day,’I urged him, ‘as this knot you shall untieIn which my judgment doth entangled stay.If I hear rightly, ye, it seems, descryBeforehand what time brings, and yet ye seem’Neath other laws[369]as touching what is nigh.’‘Like those who see best what is far from them,100We see things,’ said he, ‘which afar remain;Thus much enlightened by the Guide Supreme.To know them present or approaching, vainAre all our powers; and save what they relateWho hither come, of earth no news we gain.Hence mayst thou gather in how dead a stateShall all our knowledge from that time be thrownWhen of the future shall be closed the gate.’Then, for my fault as if repentant grown,I said: ‘Report to him who fell supine,110That still among the living breathes his son.And if I, dumb, seemed answer to decline,Tell him it was that I upon the knotWas pondering then, you helped me to untwine.’Me now my Master called, whence I besoughtWith more than former sharpness of the shade,To tell me what companions he had got.He answered me: ‘Some thousand here are laidWith me; ’mong these the Second Frederick,[370]The Cardinal[371]too; of others nought be said.’120Then was he hid; and towards the Bard antiqueI turned my steps, revolving in my brainThe ominous words[372]which I had heard him speak.He moved, and as we onward went againDemanded of me: ‘Wherefore thus amazed?’And to his question I made answer plain.‘Within thy mind let there be surely placed,’The Sage bade, ‘what ’gainst thee thou heardest say.Now mark me well’ (his finger here he raised),‘When thou shalt stand within her gentle ray130Whose beauteous eye sees all, she will make knownThe stages[373]of thy journey on life’s way.’Turning his feet, he to the left moved on;Leaving the wall, we to the middle[374]wentUpon a path that to a vale strikes down,Which even to us above its foulness sent.

FOOTNOTES:[352]Virtue: Virgil is here addressed by a new title, which, with the words of deep respect that follow, marks the full restoration of Dante’s confidence in him as his guide.[353]Nor is there, etc.: The gate was found to be strictly guarded, but not so are the tombs.[354]Jehoshaphat: ‘I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat’ (Joel iii. 2).[355]Epicurus: The unbelief in a future life, or rather the indifference to everything but the calls of ambition and worldly pleasure, common among the nobles of Dante’s age and that preceding it, went by the name of Epicureanism. It is the most radical of heresies, because adverse to the first principles of all religions. Dante, in his treatment of heresy, dwells more on what affects conduct as does the denial of the Divine government—than on intellectual divergence from orthodox belief.[356]As well as, etc.: The question is: ‘May they be seen?’ The wish is a desire to speak with them.[357]Nor only now, etc.: Virgil has on previous occasions imposed silence on Dante, as, for instance, atInf.iii. 51.[358]Be pleased, etc.: From one of the sepulchres, to be imagined as a huge sarcophagus, come words similar to theSiste Viator!common on Roman tombs.[359]Farinata: Of the great Florentine family of the Uberti, and, in the generation before Dante, leader of the Ghibeline or Imperialist party in Florence. His memory long survived among his fellow-townsmen as that of the typical noble, rough-mannered, unscrupulous, and arrogant; but yet, for one good action that he did, he at the same time ranked in the popular estimation as a patriot and a hero. Boccaccio, misled perhaps by the mention of Epicurus, says that he loved rich and delicate fare. It is because all his thoughts were worldly that he is condemned to the city of unbelief. Dante has already (Inf.vi. 79) inquired regarding his fate. He died in 1264.[360]His brows: When Dante tells he is of the Alighieri, a Guelf family, Farinata shows some slight displeasure. Or, as a modern Florentine critic interprets the gesture, he has to think a moment before he can remember on which side the Alighieri ranged themselves—they being of the small gentry, while he was a great noble, But this gloss requires Dante to have been more free from pride of family than he really was.[361]Twice disperse: The Alighieri shared in the exile of the Guelfs in 1248 and 1260.[362]You: See also line 95. Dante never uses the plural form to a single person except when desirous of showing social as distinguished from, or over and above, moral respect.[363]Guido: Farinata’s companion in the tomb is Cavalcante Cavalcanti, who, although a Guelf, was tainted with the more specially Ghibeline error of Epicureanism. When in order to allay party rancour some of the Guelf and Ghibeline families were forced to intermarry, his son Guido took a daughter of Farinata’s to wife. This was in 1267, so that Guido was much older than Dante. Yet they were very intimate, and, intellectually, had much in common. With him Dante exchanged poems of occasion, and he terms him more than once in theVita Nuovahis chief friend. The disdain of Virgil need not mean more than is on the surface. Guido died in 1301. He is the hero of theDecameron, vi. 9.[364]The Lady: Proserpine;i.e.the moon. Ere fifty months from March 1300 were past, Dante was to see the failure of more than one attempt made by the exiles, of whom he was one, to gain entrance to Florence. The great attempt was in the beginning of 1304.[365]Ruth for my race: When the Ghibeline power was finally broken in Florence the Uberti were always specially excluded from any amnesty. There is mention of the political execution of at least one descendant of Farinata’s. His son when being led to the scaffold said, ‘So we pay our fathers’ debts!’—It has been so long common to describe Dante as a Ghibeline, though no careful writer does it now, that it may be worth while here to remark that Ghibelinism, as Farinata understood it, was practically extinct in Florence ere Dante entered political life.[366]The Arbia: At Montaperti, on the Arbia, a few miles from Siena, was fought in 1260 a great battle between the Guelf Florence and her allies on the one hand, and on the other the Ghibelines of Florence, then in exile, under Farinata; the Sienese and Tuscan Ghibelines in general; and some hundreds of men-at-arms lent by Manfred. Notwithstanding the gallant behaviour of the Florentine burghers, the Guelf defeat was overwhelming, and not only did the Arbia run red with Florentine blood—in a figure—but the battle of Montaperti ruined for a time the cause of popular liberty and general improvement in Florence.[367]Our fane: The Parliament of the people used to meet in Santa Reparata, the cathedral; and it is possible that the maintenance of the Uberti disabilities was there more than once confirmed by the general body of the citizens. The use of the word is in any case accounted for by the frequency of political conferences in churches. And the temple having been introduced, edicts are converted into ‘prayers.’[368]’Twas I, etc.: Some little time after the victory of Montaperti there was a great Ghibeline gathering from various cities at Empoli, when it was proposed, with general approval, to level Florence with the ground in revenge for the obstinate Guelfism of the population. Farinata roughly declared that as long as he lived and had a sword he would defend his native place, and in the face of this protest the resolution was departed from. It is difficult to understand how of all the Florentine nobles, whose wealth consisted largely in house property, Farinata should have stood alone in protesting against the ruin of the city. But so it seems to have been; and in this great passage Farinata is repaid for his service, in despite of Inferno.[369]Other laws: Ciacco, in Canto vi., prophesied what was to happen in Florence, and Farinata has just told him that four years later than now he will have failed in an attempt to return from exile: yet Farinata does not know if his family is still being persecuted, and Cavalcanti fears that his son Guido is already numbered with the dead. Farinata replies that like the longsighted the shades can only see what is some distance off, and are ignorant of what is going on, or about to happen; which seems to imply that they forget what they once foresaw. Guido was to die within a few months, and the event was too close at hand to come within the range of his father’s vision.[370]The Second Frederick: The Emperor of that name who reigned from 1220 to 1250, and waged a life-long war with the Popes for supremacy in Italy. It is not however for his enmity with Rome that he is placed in the Sixth Circle, but for his Epicureanism—as Dante understood it. From his Sicilian court a spirit of free inquiry spread through the Peninsula. With men of the stamp of Farinata it would be converted into a crude materialism.[371]The Cardinal: Ottaviano, of the powerful Tuscan family of the Ubaldini, a man of great political activity, and known in Tuscany as ‘The Cardinal.’ His sympathies were not with the Roman Court. The news of Montaperti filled him with delight, and later, when the Tuscan Ghibelines refused him money he had asked for, he burst out with ‘And yet I have lost my soul for the Ghibelines—if I have a soul.’ He died not earlier than 1273. After these illustrious names Farinata scorns to mention meaner ones.[372]Ominous words: Those in which Farinata foretold Dante’s exile.[373]The stages, etc.: It is Cacciaguida, his ancestor, who in Paradise instructs Dante in what his future life is to be—one of poverty and exile (Parad.xvii.). This is, however, done at the request of Beatrice.[374]To the middle: Turning to the left they cut across the circle till they reach the inner boundary of the city of tombs. Here there is no wall.

[352]Virtue: Virgil is here addressed by a new title, which, with the words of deep respect that follow, marks the full restoration of Dante’s confidence in him as his guide.

[353]Nor is there, etc.: The gate was found to be strictly guarded, but not so are the tombs.

[354]Jehoshaphat: ‘I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat’ (Joel iii. 2).

[355]Epicurus: The unbelief in a future life, or rather the indifference to everything but the calls of ambition and worldly pleasure, common among the nobles of Dante’s age and that preceding it, went by the name of Epicureanism. It is the most radical of heresies, because adverse to the first principles of all religions. Dante, in his treatment of heresy, dwells more on what affects conduct as does the denial of the Divine government—than on intellectual divergence from orthodox belief.

[356]As well as, etc.: The question is: ‘May they be seen?’ The wish is a desire to speak with them.

[357]Nor only now, etc.: Virgil has on previous occasions imposed silence on Dante, as, for instance, atInf.iii. 51.

[358]Be pleased, etc.: From one of the sepulchres, to be imagined as a huge sarcophagus, come words similar to theSiste Viator!common on Roman tombs.

[359]Farinata: Of the great Florentine family of the Uberti, and, in the generation before Dante, leader of the Ghibeline or Imperialist party in Florence. His memory long survived among his fellow-townsmen as that of the typical noble, rough-mannered, unscrupulous, and arrogant; but yet, for one good action that he did, he at the same time ranked in the popular estimation as a patriot and a hero. Boccaccio, misled perhaps by the mention of Epicurus, says that he loved rich and delicate fare. It is because all his thoughts were worldly that he is condemned to the city of unbelief. Dante has already (Inf.vi. 79) inquired regarding his fate. He died in 1264.

[360]His brows: When Dante tells he is of the Alighieri, a Guelf family, Farinata shows some slight displeasure. Or, as a modern Florentine critic interprets the gesture, he has to think a moment before he can remember on which side the Alighieri ranged themselves—they being of the small gentry, while he was a great noble, But this gloss requires Dante to have been more free from pride of family than he really was.

[361]Twice disperse: The Alighieri shared in the exile of the Guelfs in 1248 and 1260.

[362]You: See also line 95. Dante never uses the plural form to a single person except when desirous of showing social as distinguished from, or over and above, moral respect.

[363]Guido: Farinata’s companion in the tomb is Cavalcante Cavalcanti, who, although a Guelf, was tainted with the more specially Ghibeline error of Epicureanism. When in order to allay party rancour some of the Guelf and Ghibeline families were forced to intermarry, his son Guido took a daughter of Farinata’s to wife. This was in 1267, so that Guido was much older than Dante. Yet they were very intimate, and, intellectually, had much in common. With him Dante exchanged poems of occasion, and he terms him more than once in theVita Nuovahis chief friend. The disdain of Virgil need not mean more than is on the surface. Guido died in 1301. He is the hero of theDecameron, vi. 9.

[364]The Lady: Proserpine;i.e.the moon. Ere fifty months from March 1300 were past, Dante was to see the failure of more than one attempt made by the exiles, of whom he was one, to gain entrance to Florence. The great attempt was in the beginning of 1304.

[365]Ruth for my race: When the Ghibeline power was finally broken in Florence the Uberti were always specially excluded from any amnesty. There is mention of the political execution of at least one descendant of Farinata’s. His son when being led to the scaffold said, ‘So we pay our fathers’ debts!’—It has been so long common to describe Dante as a Ghibeline, though no careful writer does it now, that it may be worth while here to remark that Ghibelinism, as Farinata understood it, was practically extinct in Florence ere Dante entered political life.

[366]The Arbia: At Montaperti, on the Arbia, a few miles from Siena, was fought in 1260 a great battle between the Guelf Florence and her allies on the one hand, and on the other the Ghibelines of Florence, then in exile, under Farinata; the Sienese and Tuscan Ghibelines in general; and some hundreds of men-at-arms lent by Manfred. Notwithstanding the gallant behaviour of the Florentine burghers, the Guelf defeat was overwhelming, and not only did the Arbia run red with Florentine blood—in a figure—but the battle of Montaperti ruined for a time the cause of popular liberty and general improvement in Florence.

[367]Our fane: The Parliament of the people used to meet in Santa Reparata, the cathedral; and it is possible that the maintenance of the Uberti disabilities was there more than once confirmed by the general body of the citizens. The use of the word is in any case accounted for by the frequency of political conferences in churches. And the temple having been introduced, edicts are converted into ‘prayers.’

[368]’Twas I, etc.: Some little time after the victory of Montaperti there was a great Ghibeline gathering from various cities at Empoli, when it was proposed, with general approval, to level Florence with the ground in revenge for the obstinate Guelfism of the population. Farinata roughly declared that as long as he lived and had a sword he would defend his native place, and in the face of this protest the resolution was departed from. It is difficult to understand how of all the Florentine nobles, whose wealth consisted largely in house property, Farinata should have stood alone in protesting against the ruin of the city. But so it seems to have been; and in this great passage Farinata is repaid for his service, in despite of Inferno.

[369]Other laws: Ciacco, in Canto vi., prophesied what was to happen in Florence, and Farinata has just told him that four years later than now he will have failed in an attempt to return from exile: yet Farinata does not know if his family is still being persecuted, and Cavalcanti fears that his son Guido is already numbered with the dead. Farinata replies that like the longsighted the shades can only see what is some distance off, and are ignorant of what is going on, or about to happen; which seems to imply that they forget what they once foresaw. Guido was to die within a few months, and the event was too close at hand to come within the range of his father’s vision.

[370]The Second Frederick: The Emperor of that name who reigned from 1220 to 1250, and waged a life-long war with the Popes for supremacy in Italy. It is not however for his enmity with Rome that he is placed in the Sixth Circle, but for his Epicureanism—as Dante understood it. From his Sicilian court a spirit of free inquiry spread through the Peninsula. With men of the stamp of Farinata it would be converted into a crude materialism.

[371]The Cardinal: Ottaviano, of the powerful Tuscan family of the Ubaldini, a man of great political activity, and known in Tuscany as ‘The Cardinal.’ His sympathies were not with the Roman Court. The news of Montaperti filled him with delight, and later, when the Tuscan Ghibelines refused him money he had asked for, he burst out with ‘And yet I have lost my soul for the Ghibelines—if I have a soul.’ He died not earlier than 1273. After these illustrious names Farinata scorns to mention meaner ones.

[372]Ominous words: Those in which Farinata foretold Dante’s exile.

[373]The stages, etc.: It is Cacciaguida, his ancestor, who in Paradise instructs Dante in what his future life is to be—one of poverty and exile (Parad.xvii.). This is, however, done at the request of Beatrice.

[374]To the middle: Turning to the left they cut across the circle till they reach the inner boundary of the city of tombs. Here there is no wall.

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