friend noted for his laziness. On questioning this
spirit, Dante learns that this friend, Belacqua, instead of exerting
himself to climb the mount of Purgatory, is idly waiting in hopes of
being wafted upward by the prayers of some "heart which lives in
grace." Such slothfulness irritates Virgil, who hurries Dante on,
warning him the sun has already reached its meridian and night will
all too soon overtake them.

_Canto V._ Heedless of the whispered comments behind him because he is
opaque and not transparent like the other spirits, Dante follows
Virgil, until they overtake a band of spirits chanting the Miserere.
These too seem surprised at Dante's density, and, when assured he is
alive, eagerly inquire whether he can give them any tidings of friends
and families left on earth. Although all present are sinners who died
violent deaths, as they repented at the last minute they are not
wholly excluded from hope of bliss. Unable to recognize any of these,
Dante nevertheless listens to their descriptions of their violent
ends, and promises to enlighten their friends and kinsmen in regard to
their fate.

_Canto VI._ Because Virgil moves on, Dante feels constrained to
follow, although the spirits continue to pluck at his mantle,
imploring him to hear what they have to say. Touched by the sorrows of
men of his own time or famous in history, Dante wistfully asks his
guide whether prayers can ever change Heaven's decrees, and learns
that true love can work miracles, as he will perceive when he beholds
Beatrice. The hope of meeting his beloved face to face causes Dante to
urge his guide to greater speed and almost gives wings to his feet.
Presently Virgil directs his companion's attention to a spirit
standing apart, in whom Dante recognizes the poet Sordello, who mourns
because Mantua--his native city as well as Virgil's--drifts in these
political upheavals like a pilotless vessel in the midst of a storm.

_Canto VII._ Virgil now informs Sordello that he, Virgil, is debarred
from all hope of heaven through lack of faith. Thereupon Sordello
reverently approaches him, calling him "Glory of Latium," and
inquiring whence he comes. Virgil explains how, led by heavenly
influence, he left the dim limbo of ante-hell, passed through all the
stages of the Inferno, and is now seeking the place "Where Purgatory
its true beginning takes." Sordello rejoins that, while he will gladly
serve as guide, the day is already so far gone that they h