Omnipotence, and Wisdom. Now in the core of the earth he finds himself mirroring that image of his former self. Now with a furry, frozen body with scales instead of wings, he also has three heads: one red (Hatred), one yellow (Impotence), and black (Ignorance) to contrast the three highest virtues of heaven. In the beginning of the Inferno we see Dante faced by three animals, the leopard, lion, and the she-wolf. These three beasts correspond to the triple division of sins into those of incontinence, of violence, and of fraud. When he enters into Purgatory he sees the rays of four holy stars. These stars are the symbols of the four Cardinal Virtues, Prudence, Temperance, Fortitude, and Justice. While Dante is in hell he gives us such a distinct picture in our imaginations of what the souls are like, in these lines he speaks of the taking of the souls across the first river of hell:Then, bitterly weeping, they drew back all of them together to the evil bank, that waits for every man who fears not God. Charon the demon, with eyes of glowing coal, beckoning them, collects them all; he beats with his oar whoever lingers. In the Purgatorio, however, we see the poets on the shore, the coming of the boat, guided by an angel, bearing the souls to purgatory. We hear songs of glory and praise by Casella and the souls are rushed to make it up the mountain. Moving from the Inferno to the opening of the celestial Purgatory is one of the most dramatic scenes in the whole Comedy. The impact of the passage is joyous with the comfort of light after darkness. In the last stages Dante was only able to see as though in a heavy fog, as is for most of the Inferno. With the coming of dawn in Purgatory, the heavens are aglow with promise. Along with the light being a major difference, time is also an issue. In hell there is no concept of time, so to say, except for eternity. But in Purgatory, time is like that of earthly time, in that ther...
