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“If these are shades… How can they appear to be so malnourished, given their lack of a body?” Though they quickly climbed, Dante could not help but voice the burning question at the back of his mind.
Virgil smiled, and began: “In order to explain I must first provide sufficient context. Let us start at the beginning. When a soul is first formed…”
…Then slowly trailed off, realizing what exactly this explanation would entail. Virgil became a little embarrassed. “Ah... hm.” How could he go about this? Finding himself at a loss for words, all Virgil could do was look helplessly at Statius.
Statius gave him a playfully mischievous grin, knowing the source of his discomfort but still feigning ignorance. “Yes, Virgil?”
Virgil looked at Statius. Statius looked at Virgil. Dante looked at both of them. From the way they locked their eyes he could tell that an unspoken thought passed between them, though what he did not know.
“Maestro?”
Finally, Virgil sighed. “So that you may be satisfied, I call on Statius to explain this to you and provide an answer to your question.”
“Of course,” replied Statius with a smile. “I could not deny such a request.” Continuing to climb, Statius addressed Dante. “Pay attention to my words, for they will shed light on this inquiry of yours. In order to determine why the soul acts in the way it does, we must first ask ourselves how it comes to be. You see, the heart is the seat of the soul. Perfect blood, when it enters the heart, is molded into a substance that has the ability to shape a human body. It has a formative power to it.”
Statius paused, seeing Dante had something to say.
“Semen is stored in the heart.”
“Yes.”
Dante nodded, taking this in. “Please continue.”
“From there, it descends to the place of which it is better to be silent than to speak…”