Commentary Inf XXX 97-99

Adam first identifies Potiphar's wife (Genesis 39:6-20), who, having failed to seduce Joseph, accused him before Pharoah of attempting to seduce her. Then he identifies Sinon (as he is known from the second book of the Aeneid), whose misrepresentations led to the destruction of Troy. Both suffer from high fever, seen not as a symptom of other ailments, but as a disease in itself; both worked treacherously against a 'chosen people,' the Hebrews and the Trojans.