Book Title: Dante's Inferno; Translated by the Rev. Henry Francis Cary, M.A. from the original of Dante Alighieri, and illustrated with the designs of M. Gustave Doré.

Author: Dante Alighieri, 1265-1321

Image Title: The Panther

Scripture Reference:

• Jeremiah 5 (further images / scripture text)

Description: Doré centers Dante and his feline adversary in the landscape described in the previous lines. Dante, ‘as a man…forespent with toiling, escaped from sea to shore, turns to the perilous wide waste’ between himself and the mountainous path leading to his salvation. Although bent with fatigue he cautiously lifts his right leg to begin the ascent, even as a panther appears to block his path. This panther, along with the other two beasts that hinder him, is often considered to be emblematic of the moral hindrances which block his path to virtue. Henry Francis Cary suggests that the panther represents pleasure and luxury, specifically relating it to Jeremiah 5:6 along with the other two beasts. The engraver, Antoine Alphée Piaud (1813-1867), has placed his signature at the bottom right, while the artist Gustave Doré (1832-1888) has placed his signature at the bottom left.

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