“The three spirits, who hang from the mouths of his Satan, are Judas, Brutus, and Cassius. The poet’s reason for selecting those names has never yet been satisfactorily accounted for; but we have no hesitation in pronouncing it to have been this⁠—he considered the Pope not only a betrayer and seller of Christ⁠—‘Where gainful merchandise is made of Christ throughout the livelong day,’ (

Parad.