In chapter 9 we’ve reached the Gate of Purgatory, and the threshold to the Terraces in the Purgatory Proper. The Pilgrim has first fallen asleep and had a prophetic dream about an Eagle lifting him up to the consuming Fire, and then learns that St. Lucia carried him up to the Gate in his sleep. Symbolically this chapter is a movement into a deeper and more spiritual part of the Climb, and the slowness of Ante-Purgatory is now left behind us.

Enjoy!

Recommended version for joining this series is Mark Musa’s Penguin Classics Edition here: https://amzn.com/0140444424