at hand when a descendant of mine will be called into Italy, and the spear that Judas jousted with[38] shall transfix the bowels of Florence.  Another of my posterity sells his daughter for a sum of money to a Marquis of Ferrara.  Another seizes the pope in Alagna, and mocks Christ over again in the person of his Vicar.  A fourth rends the veil of the temple, solely to seize its money.  O Lord, how shall I rejoice to see the vengeance which even now thou huggest in delight to thy bosom![39]

“Of loving and liberal things,” continued Capet, “we speak while it is light; such as thou heardest me record, when I addressed myself to the blessed Virgin.  But when night comes, we take another tone.  Then we denounce Pygmalion,[39] the traitor, the robber, and the parricide, each the result of his gluttonous love of gold; and Midas, who obtained his wish, to the laughter of all time; and the thief Achan, who still seems frightened at the wrath of Joshua; and Sapphira and her husband, whom we accuse over again before the Apostles; and Heliodorus, whom we bless the hoofs of the angel’s horse for trampling;[40] and Crassus, on whom we call with shouts of derision to tell us the flavour of his molten gold.  Thus we record our thoughts in the night-time, now high, now low, now at greater or less length, as each man is prompted by his impulses.  And it was thus thou didst hear me recording also by day-time, though I had no respondent near me.”

The pilgrims quitted Hugh Capet, and were eagerly pursuing their journey, when, to the terror of Dante, they felt the whole mountain of Purgatory tremble, as though it were about to fall in.  The island of Delos shook not so awfully when Latona, hiding there, brought forth the twin eyes of Heaven.  A shout then arose on every side, so enormous, that Virgil stood nigher to his companion, and bade him be of good heart.  “Glory be to God in the highest,” cried the shout; but Dante could gather the words only from those who were near him.

It was Purgatory rejoicing for the deliverance of a soul out of its bounds.[41]

The soul overtook the pilgrims as they were journeying in amazement onwards; and it turned out to be that of Statius, who had been converted to Christianity in the reign of Domitian.[42] Mutual astonishment led to inquiries that explained who the other Latin poet was; and Statius fell at his master’s feet.

Statius had expiated his sins in the circle of Avarice, not for that vice, but for the opposite one of Prodigality.

An angel now, as before, took the fifth letter from Dante’s forehead; and the three poets having ascended into the sixth round of the mountain, were journeying on lovingly together, Dante listening with reverence to the talk of the two ancients, when they came up to a sweet-smelling fruit-tree, upon which a clear stream came tumbling from a rock beside it, and diffusing itself through the branches.  The Latin poets went up to the tree, and were met by a voice which said, “Be chary of the fruit.  Mary thought not of herself at Galilee, but of the visitors, when she said, ‘They have no wine.’  The women of oldest Rome drank water.  The beautiful age of gold feasted on acorns.  Its thirst made nectar out of the rivulet.  The Baptist fed on locusts and wild honey, and became great as you see him in the gospel.”