Dante compares the souls of the condemned boarding charon's boat as follows: “as in the autumn the leaves peel away, / one following another, until the bough / sees all its treasures spread upon the ground.” this simile suggests that the souls of the dead 1) will be reborn in "spring" 2) have no will of their own, moving like leaves in the mercy of the wind 3) are patient and orderly 4) appreciate the beauty of each other once gathered like "treasures"