viii



	CANTO SUMMARIES

					Canto VIII

The tower at the edge of the swamp signals the garrison in Dis that the poets are coming. Phlegyas ferries them across Styx. A grimy shade asks who Dante is, and why he's there. Dante recognizes the shade, who then tries to attack him. Many who strut like kings...shall wallow hog-like in the mud. The man was Filippo Argenti. Virgil points out the City of Dis. They encounter fallen angels, who scream at them. They tell Virgil he should leave Dante to find his own path, but V soothes him--he won't abandon him. He leaves Dante outside and tries to enter, but is denied. There are mosques in the city, signifying the Circle of Heretics within.

				Canto IX

			Furies appear and threaten to free Medusa. Thunder announces the appearance of a messenger from Heaven, who chastises the demons and opens the gate. Furies are covered in blood and surrounded by hydras, and have asps and adders for hair. They are Alecto, Megaera, and Tisiphone, who serve as the handmaidens of Pluto's mythological bride, Persephone.

					Canto X

		Dante is hailed by one of the heretics--Farinata. Their conversation is interrupted by Cavalcante de Cavalcanti, who asks about his son. Farinata reveals that souls in Hell know nothing of the present, only the past and a dim view of the future. Epicureans are in the tombs because they believed in the death of the soul with the body. Farinata is of the opposing party in the Florence feud. Accidentally, Dante implies that Cavalcante's son is dead by referring to him in the past tense--though his friend is alive and well. Farinata regrets the butchery of the feud. He helped to prevent the destruction of Florence by Ghibellines. Others in the tombs: Frederick II, the Cardinal, and many more. The fumes from the path ahead rise to meet Virgil and Dante.

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