“That soul up there which has the greatest pain,”
The Master said, “is Judas Iscariot;
With head inside, he plies his head without.
Of the two other, who head downward are,
The one who hangs from the black jowl is Brutus;
See how he writhes himself, and speaks no word.
And the other, who so stalwart seems, is Cassius.”
“Thou still imaginest
Thou art beyond the centre, where I grasped
The hair of the fell worm, who mines the world.
That side thou wast, so long as I descended;
When round I turned me, thou didst pass the point
To which things heavy draw from every side…”
The guide and I into that hidden road
Now entered, to return to the bright world;
And without care of having any rest
We mounted up, he first and I the second.
Till I beheld through a round aperture
Some of those beauteous things which heaven doth bear;
Thence we came forth to rebehold the stars.