Dante, Purgatorio
The Angelic Pilot of Purgatory
Virgil recognises the approaching brightness as an angel and asks Dante to bow. The guide says the pilot requires neither an oar nor a sail other than his wings. More than a hundred spirits sing together in the boat. The pilot blesses them with the sign of the cross, they disembark, and he departs as swiftly as he came.
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In the sources
The encounter
LiteraryVirgil recognises the approaching brightness as an angel and asks Dante to bow. The guide says the pilot requires neither an oar nor a sail other than his wings.
Further detail
LiteraryMore than a hundred spirits sing together in the boat. The pilot blesses them with the sign of the cross, they disembark, and he departs as swiftly as he came.
Context & interpretation
This entry follows the supplied Thompson & Thomas edition of H. F. Cary’s translation. It describes Dante’s literary vision, distinguishing its assignments and reported claims from historical biography, other classical traditions and independently established accounts of an afterlife.
Original passages
Source 1
Purgatory and Paradise: The Vision of Dante
nor oar he needs, nor other sail Except his wings, between such distant shores. Lo I how straight up to heaven he holds them rear'd, WinnowingOpen this page in the book
Passage & edition details
Location recorded at citation review: Purgatory and Paradise, Cary translation; active reader leaf 16
Passage read in the exact edition’s extracted canto text; whitespace-normalised anchor and original-leaf mapping checked. Associated plates separately inspected.
- Edition
- IMJ-0119-E001
- Reader page
- IMJ-0119-E001-P0016
- Original scan leaf
- 17
- Recorded leaf number
- 17
- Current Reader position
- 13
- Reader verification
- Source-preserving update confirmed
Source 2
Purgatory and Paradise: The Vision of Dante
He bless'd them, they at once leap'd out on land : He, swiftly as he came, return'd. The crew, There left, appear'd astounded with the place,Open this page in the book
Passage & edition details
Location recorded at citation review: Purgatory and Paradise, Cary translation; active reader leaf 16
Passage read in the exact edition’s extracted canto text; whitespace-normalised anchor and original-leaf mapping checked. Associated plates separately inspected.
- Edition
- IMJ-0119-E001
- Reader page
- IMJ-0119-E001-P0016
- Original scan leaf
- 17
- Recorded leaf number
- 17
- Current Reader position
- 13
- Reader verification
- Source-preserving update confirmed
