"The less one thinks of another's possessions," replied his guide, "and
the more he speaks of 'our' instead of 'my,' the more of the Infinite Good
flows towards him. 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 purpose 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
angers, 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. "Love," he said, "is
the seed of every virtue, and also of every act for which God punished
man. Natural love is without error; but if it is bent on evil aims, if it
lacks sufficiency, or if it overleaps its bounds and refuses to be
governed by wise laws, it causes those sins that are punished on this
mount. The defective love which manifests itself as slothfulness is
punished on this terrace.
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