Note 922 — Chapter VIII · THE FESTIVALS.
S. G. C. (Samuel George Chetwynd) Middlemore translation
E.g. when he found pictures on metaphors. At the gate of Purgatory the central broken step signifies contrition of heart (Purg. ix. 97), though the slab through being broken loses its value as a step. And again (Purg. xviii. 94), the idle in this world have to show their penitence by running in the other, though running could be a symbol of flight.