“My forbears’ feats set my proud blood on fire”
. . . . .
The prideful penitents pray the Our Father, or the Lord’s Prayer. As they conclude the prayer, the sinners observe that they pray not for themselves, for they don’t need it anymore; rather, they pray for those remaining on earth Dante recognizes another soul as the artist Oderisi, who explains that he’d once striven for excellence alone, failing to recognize how swiftly earthly fame passes from one man to another. Each group of penitents is assigned a specific prayer that is meant to shape the will to desire God—in this case, the prideful souls pray the Lord’s Prayer, which emphasizes submission to God rather than to one’s own will. The prideful especially benefit from praying for the sake of others, as during their earthly lives, they were mostly inclined to think about themselves.