in canto 21 Dante and Virgil arrive at the fifth bolgia, as Dante tries to figure what is happening in the dark tar-like substance Virgil shouts at him to look out as they spot a black devil carrying a sinner towards their punishment. As the devil continues to torture the sinners Dante and Virgil that he is not alone, there were more devils in hiding, to get past this place they must confront the group of devils. At this moment a rare thing happens, Virgil tells Dante to hide “So it may not appear that you are here, squat down behind a projecting rock to hide;”(58-60). Throughout the cantos Dante was very rarely in danger and was mostly there standing beside Virgil as he confront the challenges that bar them from moving forward. This showed Virgil’s confidence in himself and his task as he never believed that they would face any serious danger, that changed at the gate of Dis. Virgil’s failure at Dis hurt his confidence and even more importantly his faith in the task of guiding Dante through hell. Though he gets most of it back we can see that there are still cracks remaining in this canto. Here we see Virgil contradict himself, he advises Dante to hide but reassures him that everything is going to be alright “and no matter what harm they offer me, do not be afraid, for i have foreseen everything” (61-63). If Virgil was as confident as he says why doesn’t he just bring Dante along like he did when he was confronting the previous obstacles, it shows that he might not be as sure as he says “and as he reached the sixth bank, he needed to have a confident brow.” this line makes it out as if Virgil is trying to psyche himself up, to put on a mask of confidence as he himself seems to believe that he does not have enough of it.

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