The Passage through the Gate of Purgatory

The Passage through the Gate of Purgatory is the decisive ritual threshold of Dante Alighieri's journey, the moment he leaves the ante-purgatory and formally enters the realm of penance. At this gate, an angelic gatekeeper, seated on a diamond-like threshold, inscribes seven P's on Dante's forehead with a sword, opens the door with two keys, and warns that those who look back will not return. The event transforms Dante from a passive observer of suffering into an active penitent, marking the beginning of his ascent through the seven terraces where each P will be erased as he purges the corresponding sin.

The Approach and the Angelic Gatekeeper

Dante and Virgil, having been carried in sleep by Saint Lucia to the entrance, arrive at a portal with three stairs of diverse colours. The first stair is white marble, polished so smooth that Dante sees his own reflection; the second is a dark, calcined stone, cracked lengthwise and across; the third is porphyry, flaming red like blood spurting from a vein. Above them, on the threshold of diamond, sits the Angel of God, his face so radiant that Dante cannot endure its sight. In his hand he holds a naked sword that reflects the sunbeams so brightly that Dante often lifts his eyes in vain. The Angel demands to know their purpose, and Virgil explains that a Lady from Heaven directed them there. The Angel, courteous now, invites them to approach the stairs.

The Ritual of the Seven P's and the Keys

Dante prostrates himself at the Angel's holy feet, beseeching him to open the gate, and strikes his breast three times. The Angel then uses the point of his sword to describe seven P's on Dante's forehead, saying, "Take heed that thou wash these wounds, when thou shalt be within." The Angel's attire is the colour of ashes or dry earth. From beneath it he draws forth two keys: one of gold, the other of silver. He first uses the white (silver) key, then the yellow (gold) key, to ply the door, and Dante is content. The Angel explains that if either key fails to turn rightly in the lock, the entrance does not open. The gold key is more precious, but the silver key requires more art and intellect to unlock, for it is the key that unties the knot. He received both keys from Saint Peter, who bade him err rather in opening than in keeping shut, if people but fall down before his feet.

The Opening of the Gate and the Prohibition

The Angel pushes the portals of the sacred door, exclaiming, "Enter; but I give you warning that forth returns whoever looks behind." The gate, made of metal, massive and sonorous, roars as it turns on its hinges, a sound more terrible than the Tarpeian rock when the good Metellus was taken from it. At the first thunder-peal, Dante hears "Te Deum laudamus" sung in voices mingled with sweet melody, like the sound of people singing with an organ, where the words are heard and then lost. The gate closes behind them, and Dante notes that if he had turned back his eyes upon it, it would have been a fit excuse for his failing.

The Ascent and the Erasure of the P's

After crossing the threshold, Dante and Virgil mount upward through a rifted rock that undulates like a wave, requiring careful navigation. The path is so narrow that the moon's decreasing disk would have regained its bed before they emerge from the "needle's eye." When they finally reach the open, they stand on a plain more desolate than roads across the deserts. The marble embankment is adorned with sculptures of humility, including the Annunciation, King David dancing before the Ark, and Emperor Trajan and the widow. The P's on Dante's forehead begin to fade as he ascends, and Virgil explains that when all the P's are erased, his feet will be so vanquished by good will that climbing will become a delight. Dante checks with his fingers and finds only six letters remaining, at which his Leader smiles.

The Significance of the Threshold

The Gate of Purgatory is the point of no return for the penitent soul. The Angel's keys represent the Church's authority to bind and loose, but the silver key of intellect and art is essential for the penitent's own cooperation. The seven P's are the wounds of sin that must be washed away through the purgatorial process. The prohibition against looking back echoes the biblical story of Lot's wife, emphasizing that the penitent must abandon the past and commit fully to the journey of purification. The gate's roar and the ensuing hymn mark the transition from the realm of waiting to the realm of active penance, where every step is a step toward God.