he Siren-a loathsome, cross-eyed, maimed beast-seem in any way desirable. However, "this repulsive figure is idealized by the imagination of one who gazes long upon it, so that its defects pass out of sight, and it exercises a powerful attraction upon him. Similarly, the pleasures of the world and of sense dazzle the man who falls under their influence, so that their true nature is concealed from him" (Tozer 306). The traveler Dante, however, proves unable to overcome temptation at this point. The reader finds that at this point in the Commedia, the traveler Dante still demonstrates strong signs of moral weakness. Though he has passed through Inferno and has witnessed the wages of sin, he has not yet rid himself of the tendencies to committing those same sins. Indeed, he falls almost immediately into sloth, leading him dangerously close to the sins of inordinate desire previously described. Here the image of the Siren is further developed. Just as the traveler is on the brink of seduction:there appeared a saintly lady standing at [his] side, ready to foil the Siren's stratagem."Virgil, O Virgil, who is this?" she cried with indignation. Virgil moved toward her, keeping his gaze fixed on that noble one.He seized the other, ripped her garment off, exposing her as far down as the paunch! The stench pouring from her woke [him] from sleep. (Purgatorio 19.25-33)The traveler Dante surely is no heathen or great sinner-he has been chosen to embark on a journey culminating in the Beatific Vision-yet he is unable to overcome the great temptation manifested in the Siren without heavenly aid. Even Virgil, a pagan who has no belief in God, realizes that the power of the Siren has the potential to overcome him, and he therefore fixes his gaze on the power that, though he knows nothing more of it, he knows to be good. He relies on this heavenly lady in example for Dante to follow, as he tells the traveler, "'You sawt...
