Arrived above, the poets have to tread a narrow path between the roaring fires and the abyss.

So narrow is the way, that Virgil bids Dante beware or he will be lost! "Behoved us, one by one, along the side, That border'd on the void, to pass; and I Fear'd on one hand the fire, on the other fear'd Headlong to fall: when thus the instructor warn'd: 'Strict rein must in this place direct the eyes.
A little swerving and the way is lost.'" As all three warily proceed, Dante hears voices in the fiery furnace alternately imploring the mercy of God and quoting examples of chastity, such as Mary and Diana, and couples who proved chaste though married.
_Canto XXVI._ As the poets move along the rim, Dante's shadow, cast upon the roaring flames, causes such wonder to the victims undergoing purification that one of them inquires who he may be.

Just as Dante is about to answer, his attention is attracted by hosts of shadows, who, after exchanging hasty kisses, dash on, mentioning such famous examples of dissoluteness as Pasiphae, and the men who caused the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.

Turning to his interlocutor, Dante then explains how he came hither and expresses a hope he may soon be received in bliss.

The grateful spirit then gives his name, admits he sang too freely of carnal love, and adds that Dante would surely recognize many of his fellow-sufferers were he to point them out.
Then, bespeaking Dante's prayers, he plunges back into the fiery element which is to make him fit for Paradise.
_Canto XXVII._ Just as the sun is about to set, an angel approaches them, chanting "Blessed are the pure in heart," and bids them fearlessly pass through the wall of fire which alone stands between them and Paradise.