HELL VI

CANTO VI

The third circle; the gluttons; Cerberus; Ciacco

canto summary and diagram

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1     With the return of consciousness,       
           (Shut down by the pitiful plight
       Of the kindred lovers, concussing me with sadness),
                                                             inferno vi
4     New sufferings and sufferers come to light  *
          All around me; they're present wherever I go,
       Wherever I turn, wherever I fix my sight.

7     The third circle offers this grim hello:
          Filled with cold, accursed, unchanging,
       Heavy rain, it forms an eternal status quo
10    Of bleak texture and rhythm.  Plummeting   
           Through the murky air are snow, filthy water
        And huge hailstones; the earth beneath them is stinking.
13    Cerberus, a bizarre and vicious monster     
           With three throats, barks like a dog
        Above those whom the muck is pulling under. * 

16    His eyes are bloody, his belly that of a hog,  
            His beard slobbered black; his clawed hands disembowel,
        Flay and rend the spirits in the bog

19    Into little pieces, leaving them to howl
           In pain, using one side of their bodies to screen
        The other from attack while they yelp and growl.
                                                             inferno vi
22    No sooner had that great worm Cerberus seen
           The two of us than he opened his mouths and drew
        Out his fangs, his twitching body grossly obscene.

25    Stooping, my guide scooped up earth and threw  *
           Fistfuls of it down the three hungry gullets.
        And like a dog given a chance to chew,

28    So that all of its ravenous barking gets
           Channeled into devouring its snack,
        Leaving it quietly gnawing what it covets,
                                                             inferno vi
31    So the gluttonous demon held its faces back
           From their thunderous verbal assault on those
        Who would gladly have gone deaf to avoid the attack. 

34    We walked right across the top of those shadows, 
           Who were beaten down by the heavy rain
        And much emptier than one might suppose.  *

37    All of them were stretched out on the soaked terrain
           Except for one man who sat up when he saw us go by.
        "Oh you being led through Hell," he called, "strain
                                                             inferno vi
40    To remember me, if you will, for my
           Life ended after yours began."
        And I replied to him:  "As hard as I try

43    To recall you, I don't think I can 
           Place your face, perhaps because I know
        Your features as they used to be, rather than

46    As your anguish forces them to grow.
           Who are you, and why are you a resident of
        This sewer, surely more disgusting than any circle below? "
                                                             inferno vi
49    And he to me: "Your city, so devoid of love
           But so full of envy that its sack always spills over,
        Was where I spent my life above. *
 
52    Ciacco was how citizens used to refer  *   
           To me; for the sin of gluttony 
        I'm forced to languish in this filthy water,

55    And as you can see there are many
           Who suffer the same punishment
        For the same lifelong felony."
                                                             inferno vi
58    "Ciacco," I responded, "I sorely lament
           Your suffering, which moves me to tears of pity;
        But tell me, if you can, what future is imminent

61    For the citizens of my divided city?
           Is there anyone there who's just and good?
        And why is it so splintered by animosity? " 

64    And he to me: "The party of the wood,
           After years of contention, will drive
        Its rival out with great loss of blood.
                                                             inferno vi
67    But this party will fall and the other thrive
           Before three suns have passed, through the effort
        Of one who keeps both tiltings alive.

70    For a long time this new party will comport       
           Itself proudly, piling great weight upon the other,
        No matter how the other squirms or plays the spoiled sport.

73    Two men there are just, but unheeded; rather
           Do the sparks of pride, envy, and avarice ignite 
        Mens' hearts into flame all over."  *
                                                             inferno vi
76    Thus ended the discouraging words he chose to recite.
           "I beg you," I said to him, "before I go,
        Speak to me a bit more, for I haven't quite

79    Learned all I wish.  Farinata and Tegghiaio,  *
           Who were so worthy, Jacopo Rusticucci and men of
        Good effort and intent, like Mosca and Arrigo,

82    Tell me where they are now; for I would love
           Passionately to know if they're here,
        Being poisoned in Hell, or there, being sweetened above."
                                                             inferno vi
85    "They are down among the blackest souls, but where
           Each one resides depends upon his sin; if you descend
        Low enough you'll find them all there.

88    Remember me to the living when you ascend   
           Once more to the sweet world, I pray;  *
        But no more, my responses are at an end."

91    Twisting his gaze, he let his squint stay
           On me awhile, then bent his head
        And fell down where his blind companions lay.
                                                             inferno vi
94    And my guide said: "He'll sleep like the dead
           Until the angel's trumpet sounds.
        Indeed each of them will return to his tomb in dread

97    When the fierce judge makes his rounds;  *
           Each will resume his fleshly form and hear
        The judgment which through eternity rebounds."

100   Thus we continued through that unclear
            Mixture of shades and rain, our pace now slower,
         Our talk of the afterlife.  "Should these souls fear
                                                             inferno vi
103   An increase in their torment?" I asked the master,
            "Or will their torment, after judgment, remain
         The same, or perhaps even be lighter?"

106   And he to me: "Doesn't your science explain  *  
            That the more something is perfect
         The more it feels pleasure and pain?

109   Thus, though these accursed sinners can never expect
            To arrive at true perfection,
         They do tend to improve in this respect." 
                                                             inferno vi
112   As we followed the curving road our conversation
            Was much fuller than I can portray.
         At last, where the road began to lose elevation,

115   The arch–enemy Plutus blocked our way.  *



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NOTES
4. Note the first tense, signifying a sudden shift from the breezy lascivious circle Dante has just left in a swoon, to the harsh reality of this filthy circle with its heavy, pounding rain. ^
15. In classical mythology, Cerberus is a three–headed dog who guards the entrance to the underworld. ^
25. In the Aeneid the Sibyl appeases Cerberus by throwing honeyed cakes into his three mouths. ^
36. Although the shades in Hell can be physically tortured, they are somehow without substance, and will regain their tangible bodies at the Day of Judgment. ^
51. "Your city" refers to Florence. ^
52. Ciacco means "pig," or, as an adjective, "filthy" or "swinish." Some commentators identify him as Ciacco dell'Anguillaia, a minor poet of Dante's time. In any case, he was a Florentine contemporary of Dante's, and probably the same Ciacco whom Boccaccio writes of in Decameron IX, 8. ^
64–75. This is the first indication that the souls in Hell can see into the future. Of course Dante wrote the poem after the date at which it is supposed to have taken place, so that he himself knew what was in the "future." The prophecy can be interpreted: The Guelph party had defeated the Ghibellines at Campaldino and Caprona in 1289, but by 1300 the Guelphs themselves had split into the Whites, led by the Cerchi family, and the Blacks, led by the Donati family. "Great loss of blood," refers to the fighting of May 1, 1300, and "...will drive its rival out," to the expulsion of the Blacks by the White faction, called "the party of the wood" because the Cerchi came from a wooded district. In less than three years the Blacks regained control with the aid of Boniface VIII, who usually played both sides. Dante himself may be one of the two men who are just, although this may simply signifiy the moral barrenness of Florence. ^
79–81. All of these will be encountered in lower circles of Hell, except Arrigo, whom research has failed to identify, and who is not mentioned again in the Inferno . Farinata degli Uberti is with the heretics in Canto X; Tegghiaio Aldobrandini and Jacopo Rusticucci are with the sodomites in Canto XVI; Mosca dei Lamberti is with the sowers of scandal and schism in Canto XXVIII. ^
89. In spite of Ciacco's previous bitterness against Florence, he still longs to be remembered above in "the sweet world." ^
97. The "fierce judge" is Christ. ^
106. "Your science" refers to Aristotelian doctrine, as explicated by Aquinas, whereby perfection lies in the union of body and spirit; thus at the Day of Judgment, when the two are again united, the damned will feel more pain, while the blessed will enjoy God's blessings more. ^
115. The medieval tradition did not clearly distinguish between Pluto, mythological god of the underworld, and Plutus, god of wealth. The combination is here appropriate. ^



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