How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Canto.Line). We used Allen Mandelbaum's translation.
Quote #4
[Virgil]: "How many up above now count themselves
great kings, who’ll wallow here like pigs in slime,
leaving behind foul memories of their crimes!" (Inf. VIII, 49-51)
In the mud of the Fifth Circle, Virgil points out how different the standards of fame are in the afterlife. His message seems to be that those who garner the most fame and prestige in the mortal world do so by wicked means and thus will have no such stature in Hell, but will be reduced to a position of low bestiality, like "pigs in slime."
Quote #5
[Pier della Vigna]: "I swear to you by the peculiar roots
of this thornbush, I never broke my faith
with him who was so worthy – with my lord.
If one of you returns into the world,
then let him help my memory, which still
lies prone beneath the battering of envy." (Inf. XIII, 73-78)
With his florid style of speech, Pier della Vigna’s bid for a commemoration comes across as desperate and petty.
Quote #6
[Brunetto Latini]: "Let my Tesoro, in which I still live,
be precious to you; and I ask no more." (Inf. XV, 119-120)
In alignment with his denial of the immortal soul, Latini desires immortality in the only way he knows how, through the survival of his literary works. Thus, he asks Dante to value his poem and to bring it to the attention of the living.