He bore me unto Minos, who entwined Eight times his tail about his stubborn back, And after he had bitten it in great rage, Said: āOf the thievish fire a culprit thisā; Wherefore, here where thou seest, am I lost, And vested thus in going I bemoan me.ā When it had thus completed its recital, The flame departed uttering lamentations, Writhing and flapping its sharp-pointed horn. Onward we passed, both I and my Conductor, Up oāer the crag above another arch, Which the moat covers, where is paid the fee By those who, sowing discord, win their burden.
The Ninth Bolgia: schismaticsā āMahomet and Aliā āPier da Medicina, Curio, Mosca, and Bertrand de Born.