Dante is a genius? --- Osten
As we all know hell is the place where the sinners go but can people sin in hell and are they punished for it? In these cantos, I've realized that while people pay for the sin they've done on earth there is a lot of sin happening in hell that isn't and probably never will be paid for. On top of that, there seem to be a fair bit of people that now know that what they did was wrong and have turned from their ways. I could spend all day nitpicking these cantos for inconsistencies and heresies but I don't think that's the point. Dante would know better than to write a book of heresies. In fact what if this book were a sort of reverse psychology in that Dante took the common misconceptions of his time and told a story explaining the insanity of these conceptions in a formative way while also describing his testimony. The reason this story became so popular is that it was more than just common Italians that thought this way but all humans. Looking back it seems that Dante may have done more harm than good as people use him as a credible source for having such an incorrect view of theology.
As per Schuler's advice, I started to pay more attention to Dante's reactions to those in hell and while he is still fearful and sad for them he is nowhere near the cry baby he was at the beginning. Dante does say something that surprises me. When looking for a way further down because the bridge was out Dante seems to either be excited to continue further or in a rush. this made me curious as he had never been so eager to continue before. Perhaps he finally realized that the journey must go on or he simply did not wish to stay in hell any longer or both. Either way, this part of the story is a monumental character change for him.
I commented on Will & Moriah
As per Schuler's advice, I started to pay more attention to Dante's reactions to those in hell and while he is still fearful and sad for them he is nowhere near the cry baby he was at the beginning. Dante does say something that surprises me. When looking for a way further down because the bridge was out Dante seems to either be excited to continue further or in a rush. this made me curious as he had never been so eager to continue before. Perhaps he finally realized that the journey must go on or he simply did not wish to stay in hell any longer or both. Either way, this part of the story is a monumental character change for him.
I commented on Will & Moriah
Is Hell full of sin that will never be paid for? Or is the very condition of continuing those acts for eternity a punishment in and of itself? In the circle of violence, all those murderous souls struggling with each other in the river are doomed to forever experience that unfulfilling rage and nothing more. They have no other emotions that we no of, no means by which they can relax, nothing to ease themselves of their pent-up fury. Sin in itself is unfulfilling. It ultimately doesn't benefit a man's soul, but directly harms it--and living in sin for too long can take its toll on a man spiritually. Imagine being locked in a spiritually draining act with no benefit for all eternity. That would be punishment in and of itself, fire or no fire.
ReplyDeleteRegardless of whether that will be true in Hell, I do believe that everyone among damned will recognize their wrongs and turn from their ways. The Bible says that at the judgment, every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord. Everyone recognizes that they were wholly incorrect and everyone realizes that, compared with Jesus' glory, their filthiness deserves damnation. There will likely be pleas for forgiveness--but it will be too late. There are no atheists in Hell. Everyone knows why they're there and nobody would live their lives the same if given a second chance.
So on these matters, I actually think Dante is spot-on for once.
Your idea that Dante is playing devil's advocate to demonstrate the absurdity of misconceptions is pretty creative. However, I get the feeling that he's just not paying too much attention to getting the theology precise and is instead just providing a visualization of hell to make the concept less abstract to the reader. Remember that the poem wasn't written in Latin but Tuscan, which is now modern Italian. So if he was trying to reach the middle class, then he might have decided that leaning on the side of visuals and entertainment at the expense of rigor might do more good than harm.
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