Dante, Inferno
The Three Beasts of the Ascent
The first canto presents three successive obstacles: a spotted animal called a panther in Cary’s translation, a lion with raised head, and a lean she-wolf associated with unsatisfied wants. Their arrival turns the traveller back toward the lower ground. Virgil explains that the ravenous beast will not permit this route and tells Dante to take another way. The source supports the sequence and its effect; it does not settle every later allegorical identification of the animals.
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In the sources
The encounter
LiteraryThe first canto presents three successive obstacles: a spotted animal called a panther in Cary’s translation, a lion with raised head, and a lean she-wolf associated with unsatisfied wants. Their arrival turns the traveller back toward the lower ground.
Further detail
LiteraryVirgil explains that the ravenous beast will not permit this route and tells Dante to take another way. The source supports the sequence and its effect; it does not settle every later allegorical identification of the animals.
Context & interpretation
This entry follows the exact supplied Thompson & Thomas edition of H. F. Cary’s translation. Figures, places and events belong to Dante’s literary vision; their assigned roles are distinguished from historical biography, other classical traditions and independently established descriptions of an afterlife.
Original passages
Source 1
Dante's Inferno
nimble, light, And cover'd with a speckled skin, appear'd ; Nor, when it saw me, vanish'd ; rather strove To check my onward going ; thatOpen this page in the book
Passage & edition details
Location recorded at citation review: Dante’s Inferno, Cary translation; active reader leaf 9
Passage read against the exact edition’s extracted canto text; whitespace normalised and original-leaf mapping checked. Plate art separately visually inspected.
- Edition
- IMJ-0082-E001
- Reader page
- IMJ-0082-E001-P0009
- Original scan leaf
- 16
- Recorded leaf number
- 16
- Current Reader position
- 9
- Reader verification
- Source-preserving update confirmed
Source 2
Dante's Inferno
This beast, At whom thou criest, her way will suffer none To pass, and no less hindrance makes than death: So bad and so accursed inOpen this page in the book
Passage & edition details
Location recorded at citation review: Dante’s Inferno, Cary translation; active reader leaf 12
Passage read against the exact edition’s extracted canto text; whitespace normalised and original-leaf mapping checked. Plate art separately visually inspected.
- Edition
- IMJ-0082-E001
- Reader page
- IMJ-0082-E001-P0012
- Original scan leaf
- 19
- Recorded leaf number
- 19
- Current Reader position
- 12
- Reader verification
- Source-preserving update confirmed
