Canto V The Second Circle - the lustful
Dante and Virgil descend for the First Circle to the Second (the first of the Circles of Incontinence). On the threshold sits Minos, the judge of Hell, assigning the souls to their appropriate places of torment. His opposition is overcome by Virgil's word of power, and the poets enter the Circle, where the souls of the Lustful are tossed for ever upon a howling wind. After Virgil has pointed out a number of famous lovers, Dante speaks the shade of Francesca da Rimini, who tells him her story.
Canto VI The Third Circle - the gluttonous
Dante now finds himself in the Third Circle, where the Gluttonous lie wallowing in the mire, drenched by perpetual rain and mauled by the three-headed dog Cerberus. After Virgil has quieted Cerberus by throwing earth into his jaws, Dante talks to the shade of Ciacco, a Florentine, who prophesies some of the disasters which are about to befall Florence, and tells him where he will find certain other of their fellow-citizens. Virgil tells Dante what the condition of the spirits will be, after the Last Judgment.
I have to start making midweek posts again. I have two options I can do, either featuring stories or art which cover the sins depicted in the various parts of the poem or else featuring various depictions of Hell. I am up for suggestions along either line.
Anyway, thanks for sticking with this, guys. I hope you're finding the book fascinating. For this one, of course, a modern reader also needs an extensive set of footnotes.
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