If you thirst for further instruction, await the coming of
Beatrice."

As they attained the next height, Dante, rapt in vision,
saw the sweet Mother questioning her Son in the Temple,
saw Pisistratus, his queen, and the martyred Stephen blessing
his enemies in death. As he awoke, they passed on, to
become involved in a thick cloud of smoke, through which
it was impossible to distinguish any object, and whose pur-



THE STORY OF THE DIVINE COMEDY. 275

pose was to purge away anger, the sin-cloud that veils the
mortal eye.
As they passed from the thick smoke into the sunset,
Dante fell into a trance, and saw Itys, Haman, and other
notable examples of unbridled anger, and as the visions
faded away, was blinded by the splendor of the angel guide
who directed them to the fourth terrace. As they waited
for the dawn, Vergil answered Dante's eager questions.
