Plutus, mythological god of wealth and riches, guards the Hoarders and Wasters, (misers and spendthrifts). Plutus' words are untranslatable, though some believe that they are a kind of incantation to Satan. Again and again the monsters of Hell challenge the poets, and yet Virgil again upholds the holy decree that allows Dante to continue his pilgrimage.
Keeping with Dante's theme, the sinners in this circle, like the sinners in other circles, live eternally in a punishment that fits their sin. The Hoarders and the Wasters are housed together, constantly fighting against their opposite, never to win, just as they couldn't win on Earth. Retribution also holds true for the Wrathful, who spend eternity suffering in their own and other's wrath, and the Sullen, who spend eternity alone and joyless, just as they did in life.
The question immediately arises as to why Dante places hoarders and spendthrifts in a circle lower than the Gluttons. That is, why is hoarding and spending more horrible than mere gluttony? The Gluttons misused the natural products of the world, which, for Dante, was not as bad as the misers and spendthrifts who hoarded and had no respect for the manmade objects (that is, money and property) of Earth. The distinction, however, is not vitally important. What is poetically significant, however, is that these two types of people were opposites in life, thus the punishment for them in Hell is mutual antagonism after death.
Virgil's discussion of Dame Fortune explains why these sinners are placed below the Gluttons. Dame Fortune is one of God's chosen ministers, who doles out luck and misfortune in a preordained manner. The Hoarders and Wasters, however, believed that they could outrun her; thus they believed that they could outrun God.
