At various times throughout the text Dante is so overcome by the souls that he faints. Elsewhere, he heaps scorn on figures such as Filippo Argenti.

At various times throughout the text Dante is so overcome by the souls that he faints. Elsewhere, he heaps scorn on figures such as Filippo Argenti. He seems to vacillate between these two positions. Why the different reactions, and what is the right attitude of the elect towards the damned? Why are the damned concerned with their memory, like Ciacco, or with posterity, like Farinata and others?