This chapter lays the groundwork for the book’s central argument by examining Dante’s treatment of heresy in Inferno 9–11. Virgil identifies Epicurus and his followers—who “make the soul die with the body” (Inf. 10.15)—as exemplary heretics, yet the text omits other familiar varieties of heretical error. By considering the inquisitorial focus on Epicureanism, the ambiguity surrounding the inclusion of figures such as Anastasius II and Photinus of Thessalonica, and the reputations of Frederick II and Cardinal Ottaviano, the chapter shows that Dante’s concern lies less with cataloging the “chiefs of heresies with their followers, of every sect” (Inf. 9.127–128) than with dramatizing the denial of individual immortality specifically. This denial—viewed as an entrenched refusal to orient oneself toward the possibility of resurrection—functions as a metaphor for intellectual myopia: heresy, in this sense, is recast as ethical failure. This reframing establishes the conceptual basis for Chap. 3 ’s case study of Farinata and Cavalcante.