"As one, who hath an ague fit so near,
His nails already are turn'd blue, and he
Quivers all o'er, if he but eye the shade;
Such was my cheer at hearing of his words.
But shame soon interposed her threat, who makes
The servant bold in presence of his lord.
I settled me upon those shoulders huge,
And would have said, but that the words to aid
My purpose came not, 'Look thou clasp me firm.'"

Then, bidding Dante hold fast so as not to fall, Virgil gives the
signal for departure. Wheeling slowly, Geryon flies downward,
moderating his speed so as not to unseat his passengers. Comparing
his sensations to those of Phaeton falling from the sun-chariot, or to
Icarus' horror when he dropped into the sea, Dante describes how, as
they circled down on the beast's back, he caught fleeting glimpses of
fiery pools and was almost deafened by the rising chorus of wails.
With a falcon-like swoop Geryon finally alights on the next level,
and, having deposited his passengers at the foot of a splintered rock,
darts away like an arrow from a taut bow-string.

_Canto XVIII._ The eighth circle, called Malebolge (Evil Pits), is
divided into ten gulfs, between which rocky arches form bridge-like
passages. This whole region is of stone and ice, and from the pit in
the centre continually rise horrid exhalations. Among the unfortunates
incessantly lashed by horned demons in the first gulf, Dante perceives
one who was a notorious pander on earth and who is justly suffering
the penalty of his crimes. Later on, watching a train of culprits
driven by other demons, Dante recognizes among them Jason, who secured
the Golden Fleece, thanks to Medea, but proved faithless toward her in