Canto 24 John Caruthers 5-3-09

Dante is discouraged by seeing Virgil so upset, but Virgil recovers as soon as they reach the place where they have to climb, and turns to Dante "with that sweet look that I first saw at the foot of the mountain" (lines 20-21), back in the Dark Wood. He picks Dante up and lifts him high enough that he can climb on his own. It's the hardest climb they've had yet, and Dante sits down exhausted at the top, but Virgil urges him on. Sloth won't win him fame. Dante pulls himself together and goes on.They go over the next bridge, but can only see the souls down in the ditch, the Seventh Bolgia. There they see shades tormented by serpents. As they watch, one soul is bitten by a serpent, dissolves into ash, and then re-forms. It turns out to be a thief named Vanni Fucci, who is so ashamed to have Dante see him he foretells the coming victory of the Blacks in Florence, just to wound Dante. When he has finished speaking, the thief lifts up both his hands in the obscene gesture called the fig (the fingers in a fist, the thumb thrust through between the index and second finger), defying God. Two serpents choke him and bind his hands, and he goes off. A centaur named Cacus, known for his thievery, pursues him. Three more spirits come in sight, and Dante and Virgil watch as they change shapes with each other, one becoming a serpent.

Characters that appear: A thief named Vanni Fucci A Centaur named Cacus

Thieves being tortured by serpents

Vanni Fucci Cursing God

Representation of the 8th Circle