Page:Divine Comedy (Longfellow 1867) v1.djvu/187

Rh The city which once made the long resistance,

And of the French a sanguinary heap,

Beneath the Green Paws finds itself again;

Verrucchio's ancient Mastiff and the new,

Who made such bad disposal of Montagna,

Where they are wont make wimbles of their teeth.

The cities of Lamone and Santerno

Governs the Lioncel of the white lair,

Who changes sides 'twixt summer-time and winter;

And that of which the Savio bathes the flank,

Even as it lies between the plain and mountain,

Lives between tyranny and a free state.

Now I entreat thee tell us who thou art;

Be not more stubborn than the rest have been,

So may thy name hold front there in the world."

After the fire a little more had roared

In its own fashion, the sharp point it moved

This way and that, and then gave forth such breath:

"If I believed that my reply were made

To one who to the world would e'er return,

This flame without more flickering would stand still;

But inasmuch as never from this depth

Did any one return, if I hear true,

Without the fear of infamy I answer,