XXXVI.
AGAINST HYPOCRITES.
Gli affetti di Pluton.
Deep in their hearts they hide the lusts of Hell:
Christ's name is written on their brow, that those
Who only view the husk, may not suppose
What guile and malice harbour in the shell.
O God! O Wisdom! Holy Fervour! Well
Of strength invincible to strike Thy foes!
Give me the force—my spirit burns and glows—
To strip those idols and to break their spell!
The zeal I bear unto Thy name benign,
The love I feel for truth sincere and pure,
When such men triumph, make me rend my hair.
How long shall folk this infamy endure—
That he should be held sacred, he divine,
Who strips e'en corpses in the graveyard bare?