Their fate is that, after spending an initial period in the world of spirits, a time of modesty and morality, since they are in the company of angelic spirits, they are later brought from their outward into their inward state, and so into the desires which ensnared them in the world, in this case their particular desires, so that the degree in which they were is made clear; if it is a lesser degree, so that after being brought into that state, they may be released from it and be ashamed of themselves.

[2] But those who were possessed by this wicked lust, to such an extent that they felt its delight as the supreme pleasure, and boasted about these thefts as if they were the spoils of victory - these do not allow themselves to be withdrawn. They are therefore left free to choose, and then at once they wander about asking for brothels; and when these are pointed out to them they go into them. These brothels are at the edges of hell. But when they find there only prostitutes, they leave and ask where the virgins are. Then they are taken to whores who by imagination can equip themselves with surpassing beauty and the flower of girlish grace, and boast of their virginity; these excite their ardour in the same way as in the world. They therefore come to terms with them, and when they are about to achieve what they had agreed, the imaginary appearance sent from heaven is taken away, and these virgins are then to be seen in all their ugliness, monstrous and swarthy; but these men are obliged to cling to them for a while. These whores are called sirens.

[3] But if such conjuring tricks do not succeed in making them withdraw from this mad lust, they are cast down into a hell which is on the borders of the south and the west, below the hell of the more artful prostitutes. There they join their companions. I was allowed to see them in that hell, and I was told that there are many there of noble and of rather wealthy families. But because of the nature they had in the world, they lose all memory of their birth and rank derived from wealth, and are induced to believe that they were lowly servants so as not to deserve any honour.

[4] Among themselves they may look like human beings, but to others who are allowed to see into their hell like monkeys, with a scowling instead of a smiling face, and a horrid look instead of a jesting one. They walk with their loins contracted, so that their backs are bent and the upper part of their body leans forward, as if they were on the point of falling over; and they smell bad. They loathe the other sex, and turn away from any of them they see, since they have no desire. This is what they look like close to, but at a distance like lap-dogs or pet puppies. Also there is a sound reminiscent of barking to be heard in their tone of voice.