But it was still more
astonishing to see how cleverly the Evil One exposed their foul sins, and
how he answered with a home-thrust their false excuses. When these were
about to receive their infernal doom, forty scholars were borne forward
by porpoise-shaped fiends, uglier, if possible, than Lucifer himself.
And when they heard the labourers pleading, they too waxed bold to give
excuses, but what ready answers the old Serpent had for them with all
their knavery and learning! As it happened that I heard similar pleas in
another court of justice I will hereafter recount them together, and now
proceed with what I saw in the meantime.
Lucifer had barely pronounced their sentence--that they should be driven
to the great glacier in the land of eternal ice, a doom that set their
teeth a-gnashing, even before they saw their prison, when suddenly, hell
again most marvellously resounded with the crash of terrible bolts, with
loud-rolling thunder, and with every noise of war. Lucifer loured and
grew pale; in a moment, there flew in a wry-footed imp, panting and
trembling. "What is the matter?" cried Lucifer. "A matter fraught with
the greatest peril for you since hell is hell," said the dwarf, "all the
ends of the kingdom of darkness have risen up against you and against
each other, especially those between whom there was longstanding enmity,
who are already locked together fang to fang, so that it is impossible to
pull them apart.
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