“And I saw, issuing from on high, descend two angels with two swords of flame”
. . . . .
The presence of a snake on the lower levels of Purgatory recalls the tempting serpent who led Adam and Eve to sin in the Garden of Eden, suggesting that humans in Purgatory—or at least this level of it—are likewise susceptible to sin and require divine intervention to protect them from it. However, the blunted sword-points suggest that the conflict is nearer to victory than it was in Eden.