Purgatorio- Canto 14

Summary

The canto opens with two envious souls continuing their gossip about Dante and wonder aloud who this soul who can see and is alive is. One urges the other to ask the man himself. Dante watches the souls argue whilst slightly amused before the two souls break away and one of them finally turns to Dante to ask him about his place of birth and who he is. Dante answers in a mysterious way saying that he's from the Tuscan land which holds a great river that's "Born in Falterona" but refuses to give his name and tells the souls that he is not famous enough for the dead souls to have heard of him- "my name has not yet gained much fame".

The first soul to speak identify and describes Dante's mysterious river as the Arno in the Arno valley, which includes Florence, as a place where wickedness flourishes. The first soul's friend asks why Dante hid the name of the river from them as if it were a taboo topic. The other soul responds that he does not know and that they should not speak of that place because there, "Virtue is seen as serpent, and all flee from it". It was so bad that its name has changed. The first soul then starts tracing the geography of the river and he describes the residents of each valley in the city via a colourful animal-themed insults appropriate to their specific vices. Dante then asks the first soul for his name and the first soul points out that Dante has asked for something that he himself refused to give but reveals his identity anyway as Guido del Duca. He confesses that he was so envious in his lifetime and that he saw his neighbours happy, he grew livid with jealousy. 

The soul then introduces his friend as Rinieri da Calboli who he describes as a worthy man before talking more about the moral decline of Tuscany. Dante soon takes his leave to continue his trek around the terrace of the envious, he hears thunderous voices recounting stories of punished envy. Virgil scolds Dante for not recognising good, but fearing it.

Key Quotes

"The heavens wheel around and summon you, ... Yet your gaze fixes merely on the ground"