The sodomites, politicians and captains: Iacopo Rusticucci, Guido Guerra, Tegghiaio Aldobrandi
Circle VII, Ring III. The "violent against nature" are condemned to be burnt by a firestorm
"If the misery of this soft place
Bring in disdain ourselves and our entreaties,
and our aspect black and blistered,
Let the renown of us thy mind incline
To tell us who thou art, who thus securely
Thy living feet dost move along through Hell.
He in whose footprints thou dost see me treading,
Naked and skinless though he now may go,
Was of a greater rank than thou dost think;
He was the grandson of the good Gualdrada;
His name was Guidoguerra, and in life
Much did he with his wisdom and his sword.
The other, who close by me treads the sand,
Tegghiaio Aldobrandi is, whose fame
Above there in the world should welcome be.
And I, who with them on the cross am placed,
Jacopo Rusticucci was; and truly
My savage wife, more than aught else, doth harm me."
Inferno, XVI, 28-45; 67-72
transl. by H.W. Longfellow
