In connection with the preceding references to the Judgment in Canto XXX and with the image of the sharp words that are shortly to issue from Beatrice’s mouth, my colleague John Fleming has reminded me that the image of Christ with a sword issuing from His mouth (with which He will smite the wicked on the Day of Judgment) is a prominent feature of the Apocalypse. In the Apostle John’s description of the climactic vision of the "man" whose name is "Verbum Dei " and who sits on the white horse (Rev. 19:11-13) we read the following: "de ore ipsius procedit gladius acutus ut in ipso percutiat gentes" (Rev. 19:15). This scene is prepared for by two earlier references to the coming (dies irae) that portray Christ similarly: "de ore eius gladius utraque parte acutus exiebat" (Rev. 1:16) and "pugnabo cum illis in gladio oris mei" (Rev. 2:16).