[596] _Beneath the bubbles, etc._: As the barrators took toll of the administration of justice and appointment to offices, something always sticking to their palms, so now they are plunged in the pitch; and as they denied to others what should be the common blessing of justice, now they cannot so much as breathe the air without paying dearly for it to the demons. [597] _Their names_: The names of all the demons. All of them urge Rubicante, the 'mad red devil,' to flay the victim, shining and sleek with the hot pitch, who is held fast by Graffiacane. [598] _In kingdom of Navarre, etc._: The commentators give the name of John Paul to this shade, but all that is known of him is found in the text. [599] _Thiebault_: King of Navarre and second of that name. He accompanied his father-in-law, Saint Louis, to Tunis, and died on his way back, in 1270. [600] _A Latian_: An Italian. [601] _From one, etc._: A Sardinian. The barrator prolongs his answer so as to procure a respite from the fangs of his tormentors. [602] _Gomita of Gallura_: 'Friar Gomita' was high in favour with Nino Visconti (_Purg._ viii. 53), the lord of Gallura, one of the provinces into which Sardinia was divided under the Pisans. At last, after bearing long with him, the 'gentle Judge Nino' hanged Gomita for setting prisoners free for bribes. [603] _Don Michael Zanche_: Enzo, King of Sardinia, married Adelasia, the lady of Logodoro, one of the four Sardinian judgedoms or provinces. Of this province Zanche, seneschal to Enzo, acquired the government during the long imprisonment of his master, or upon his death in 1273. Zanche's daughter was married to Branca d'Oria, by whom Zanche was treacherously slain in 1275 (_Inf._ xxxiii. 137). There seems to be nothing extant to support the accusation implied in the text. [604] _They gossip, etc._: Zanche's experience of Sardinia was of an earlier date than Gomita's. It has been claimed for, or charged against, the Sardinians, that more than other men they delight in gossip touching their native country. These two, if it can be supposed that, plunged among and choked with pitch, they still cared for Sardinian talk, would find material enough in the troubled history of their land. In 1300 it belonged partly to Genoa and partly to Pisa. [605] _The others' counsel_: Alichino, confident in his own powers, is willing to risk an experiment with the sinner. The other devils count a bird in the hand worth two in the bush.