<P> Dorothy L. Sayers writes that "the surrender to sin which began with mutual indulgence leads by an imperceptible degradation to solitary self - indulgence". The gluttons grovel in the mud by themselves, sightless and heedless of their neighbors, symbolizing the cold, selfish, and empty sensuality of their lives . Just as lust has revealed its true nature in the winds of the previous circle, here the slush reveals the true nature of sensuality--which includes not only overindulgence in food and drink, but also other kinds of addiction . </P> <P> In this circle, Dante converses with a Florentine contemporary identified as Ciacco, which means "hog". A character with the same nickname later appears in The Decameron of Giovanni Boccaccio . Ciacco speaks to Dante regarding strife in Florence between the "White" and "Black" Guelphs, which developed after the Guelph / Ghibelline strife ended with the complete defeat of the Ghibellines . In the first of several political prophecies in the Inferno, Ciacco "predicts" the expulsion of the White Guelphs (Dante's party) from Florence by the Black Guelphs, aided by Pope Boniface VIII, which marked the start of Dante's long exile from the city . These events occurred in 1302, prior to when the poem was written but in the future at Easter time of 1300, the time in which the poem is set . </P> <P> Canto VII The Fourth Circle is guarded by a figure Dante names as Pluto: this is Plutus, the deity of wealth in classical mythology . Although the two are often conflated, he is a distinct figure from Pluto (Dis), the classical ruler of the underworld . At the start of Canto VII, he menaces Virgil and Dante with the cryptic phrase Papé Satàn, papé Satàn aleppe, but Virgil protects Dante from him . </P> <P> Those whose attitude toward material goods deviated from the appropriate mean are punished in the fourth circle . They include the avaricious or miserly (including many "clergymen, and popes and cardinals"), who hoarded possessions, and the prodigal, who squandered them . The hoarders and spendthrifts joust, using as weapons great weights that they push with their chests: </P>

Ye who enter here leave all hope behind