Tag: Inferno

March 22, 2024 – The Divine Comedy, Inferno, Conclusion

March 22, 2024 /

Let’s take a moment to breath. It hasn’t been too many pages but the ones that are there are rough ones. There is a lot of innuendo and recent history to Dante as well as mythology and biblical references that we had to wade through. It was many a night that it took me two hours to get through 30 pages.

I should go back to the very beginning. I first read this book in AP English, in high school. My version was a straight translation and I really had no idea what was going on. It wasn’t until the classroom discussion that I had any clue that there was more to the book than the story. We didn’t have the internet so any sort of analysis had to come from sources like Cliff Notes that you had to find and buy if you were so inclined.

I really didn’t appreciate what we read in that class. From the titles that I remember, it was Canterbury Tales, Gulliver’s Travels and Moby Dick to name a few. None of them I cared for. Thirty years post, I thought that maybe I could give Dante another shot. From what I remember of his work, I thought that I could find some common ground between what I do and what he did.

I am here to say that my memory failed me. What I thought I knew was wrong. I was thinking that Dante took more of a biblical approach rather than a mythological and personal one. Were I to do it all over again, I would probably have skipped this one and left it in the memory hole because I am more than sure that I don’t agree with Dante’s view of the afterworld.

We are going to go on to Purgatory because I said so. That being said, I am not holding out any hope that this will work out any more favorably than it has so far. I won’t say that I hated the book, I didn’t. It is disappointing that it is not what I thought I was doing. That is hard to come back from.

The monsters, creatures and tortures were fun. I give Dante credit for what he did and then adding a personal vendetta to the whole thing. I have come to understand that Dante had some monastic training and this played strongly into the whole story. But to the accuracy and the theological logic was pretty shaky in my opinion.

In general, I think society’s mores have changed a lot since the 1300s. I suspect that disconnect makes me not empathize nearly as strongly with the crimes and punishments. According to common law (English middle ages in origin), we rank crimes against people over crimes against property. Then we still also have some Puritan in us so we have crimes against ourselves or so called victimless crimes. If I read things right, Dante puts hypocrisy (regardless of the victim) over murder and graft; something that we don’t give a second thought about.

It does remain to be seen that sin and crime are not synonymous. In a world created by god, in his image for us to spend eternity with him, it is hard to appreciate heresy being smaller sin than hypocrisy. Adam was created to be a friend of God, how is it possible that God’s betrayal be worse than man’s? I mean that the whole hierarchy made little to no sense to me other than gross categories.

Moving forward, as a protestant I don’t jive with Purgatory. It is not something that I believe nor have I invested much energy into learning about it. From what I have ascertained so far, Purgatory is a place to atone for sins before you can ascend to Heaven. It also appears that some of the same sins in Hell are also found in Purgatory. Next week it will be the first nine Cantos in Purgatory.

End Your Programming Routine: I don’t mean to be down on Dante, we just don’t believe the same things. We also come from different times and cultures. If you haven’t read the Inferno, it is a must read to round you out as a person, not to give you insight into the afterlife. This is fiction and entertainment just like “The Good Place“. Just keep that in perspective.

March 15, 2024 – The Divine Comedy, Inferno, Canto XXXII – XXXIV

March 15, 2024 /

Finally, we made it to the bottom and it is only uphill from here. Interestingly enough, hell is frozen rather than flame filled. I suppose to me, it is fitting. I find cold to be worse than heat any day. Especially when we are talking true pain, cold is much more painful. Heat makes me lethargic and maybe even moody, but not painful like cold.

Deadliest catch is on right now. They talk about -30 degrees with the wind blowing and all wet. I honestly don’t think I can do that. I remember taking shifts at the Christmas tree lot. I was bundled up and sitting in front of a space heater to have my feet numb from the cold. I guess that is why I work in front of a computer all day.

It turns out that the worst level of hell is the compound fraudsters. To be one hundred percent honest I didn’t see a lot of difference between what happened on other levels and this one. Dante talks about several occurrences of a character that lures a group of individuals to dinner and then kills them all.

I guess to me, luring them to death and killing them isn’t any different than stabbing them in the back when they aren’t looking. I guess you had to be there. In the three levels of circle nine, each of the characters were a bit more frozen. In level one, the characters are frozen up to the neck. In the second level, their heads are frozen face down. I the third level, they are completely encased into the ice.

On the second level, there was a long story about a man and his sons who were imprisoned and ultimately starved to death. The father and the captor were frozen close enough whereby the father could bite the captor, a nod to his starvation. I am not sure the sins of the father to be honest but for some reason this situation drew a lot of condemnation from Dante.

Satan is where you would expect, at the very bottom. Here is out look at him. Satan is frozen solid. He has three faces, Judas, Brutus and Cassius (more on that in a minute). He has wings and is hairy.

I find the three faces of Satan very interesting. Judas’ face is flanked on either side by Cassius and Brutus. These were two senators involved in the plot to assassinate Julius Caesar. As an Italian, I suppose Dante’s Roman history was in his blood so to speak. That being said, In this era of city states I wonder about Dante’s affinity for Rome. It would be like us Americans reminiscing about King George III or something.

I think that I have to take issue with Judas. First of all, I understand that Judas betrayed Jesus. That being said, without the crucifixion of Jesus, we would not have redemption. I would say his actions were fundamental to Christianity. Second, Jesus know he was going to be betrayed by Judas, it was all part of the plan.

Allegedly, the devil was a fallen angel that fell into disfavor with god. As a matter of fact, the original serpent from Genesis was the devil. Therefore, I say Satan predates the beginning of man and earth. So, I guess that I am going to disagree with Dante on the theology of the devil.

In order to leave hell, Dante and Virgil have to crawl over and down the Devil. Apparently, there is a hole underneath him that straddles Hell and Purgatory. When they cross over, it is described as going from night to day. The hole apparently goes through the center of the earth hence the difference in daylight.

End Your Programming Routine: I am happy to to be moving on. It is depressing to spend life in Hell. I appreciate the ice setting and the gruesome torture. I have no idea what to expect in purgatory. I am definitely going to have words to say when I wrap up next week. So, I will save it for then.

March 8, 2024 – The Divine Comedy, Inferno, Canto XVIII – XXXI

March 8, 2024 /

We did it! This week was a slog. I had hours and hours into reading and re-reading to try and keep up with the continuity and understand what was happening. Thank goodness for the summary before each Canto started because in some cases, I wouldn’t know what was happening.

Sometimes I read the text and then I go back to the summary and wonder, how in the world did the author come to that conclusion based on what I read? Lost in translation I guess. In this section in particular, there were numerous notes saying ‘this isn’t exactly how it was written and here is the exact translation. This didn’t make sense, so I translated it as such…’.

I appreciate that actually. While maybe not the version of the text that we would want to use for research, I appreciate someone taking the initiative of this is more in the spirit of what is going on. As long as it is noted in places that were modified, we are free to form our own opinion by reading middle age Italian :).

This section is over 100 pages in my book, so I am not going to be able to go too deep into all the sins. What was noted by the translator and I have come to enjoy is the punishment is related to the crime. For instance the grafters were perpetually submerged in boiling pitch. The pitch represents the sticky hands in the living world. The thieves morph back and forth between reptilian figures because people who steal are snakes.

I think when I look at this section in the light of modern terms, I have to think that there is too many divisions of sin in hell. We have the Simoniacs (which I had to look up the definition) who are people that used their position to sell influence. As you would expect, this was largely church administrators and politicians. Then you have the Hypocrites who do one thing and say another. But the worse of them all is the Falsifiers. Honestly, I have a hard time distinguishing one sin from the other, they all seem intertwined to me.

Speaking of Falsifiers, there were three distinct categories with the worst of the worse being the Alchemist. Maybe as a scientist I don’t see a big deal. I theorize that alchemy was a crime against nature and therefore a crime against god. I also suppose that maybe they were considered cheats which clearly holds more wrath than crimes of passion in Dante’s time. But really, alchemy is one of the worst crimes known to man?

This section more than any has a lot of obscure references. To date there has been a lot of Greek and Roman mythology that I have struggled with. The characters are slightly familiar but their back story is basically a blank to me. Many of the previous levels are heavily referenced in those common stories. In this level, there are so many interactions with contemporaries that it makes it really hard to follow. It paints a picture that as Dante’s wrath goes, so do the characters that he perceived wronged him get more detailed and deeper in hell.

I can understand that, I fact I think that it is brilliant. I am going to write a comedy making fun of my enemies. The more angry I am at them, the worse their situation is going to be in the story. All the while, I am not committing any actual sin because it is art, fiction, its entertainment. The only problem is that if you are 700 years removed from Florence, it is hard to get the jokes.

Next week, I will be finishing The Inferno. We are about to find out who is going to be at the same scale as the devil. The following week, I am going to an analysis of the Inferno and then we will be into Purgatory and ascending toward Heaven for the remainder of the book. So, after this very heavy week of reading, things are going to get a lot easier and then a break.

End Your Programming Routine: What I take away from this week is that this is clearly a story of Dante using a heavenly setting, not a heavenly story with contemporary characters. The latter reason was why I started down this journey in the first place, but I am committed now so we are going to find out who Dante holds next to the Devil and who is next to God. It definitely will effect my final opinion and recommendation of the Devine Comedy, but it is nice to know.

March 1, 2024 – The Divine Comedy, Inferno, Canto XII – XVII

March 1, 2024 /

On to level seven. It took me around two hours to read this section despite the fact that it was around twenty pages. I read, then I read the footnotes, then I read again and wonder if I am getting anything out of this. This finally seems like we are going the right direction. But still when I look ahead, I wonder if this is actually put in the right order. Let’s talk about what is here.

The seventh level contains three different types of ‘violence’. In my translation it is said the first one is violence against neighbors. That is violence as we would expect; people killing people. These were souls stuck in a river of boiling blood presumably at the depth to the level of their quantity of violence. Here we see Alexander the Great and Attila the Hun as examples.

The second area was violence against self. These were people that committed suicide. Their spirits were implanted into thorny trees that ravaged daily by furies who rip off branches causing more pain. In essence, they never escape the self torture in death that was suffered in life.

The third area had two different categories. One was violence against nature which translates more colloquially as homosexuality and bestiality. The second area was violence against art which I don’t totally get. It is said to be usury or predatory lending. The first part were souls stuck on a burning sand desert that also rained flaming ashes. The second was perched on a ledge on the way down to level eight.

There were several things that I found puzzling. The first is using a modern lens, the payday lender is bigger sinner than a mass murderer? I would imagine that we would see Adolf Hitler in the river with Atilla the Hun. Usury is a subjective evaluation in my opinion. What one person thinks is a rip-off may be fine for another. We of course have laws about the maximum amount of interest that is permissible but I find those rates to be usury myself. But, from the information I have seen, those are voluntary and satisfactory interactions.

We don’t really see usury in this society. I imagine that institutions like the mafia or gangs may fit the bill since they play in that arena. I really don’t know many details about what is common. But then again, there are probably other sins that they are also committing. Maybe you had to be there?

The second thing that I found challenging was that after level after level of surface level interactions Dante found a lot of comrades on the sand. In this epic about sin and Dante having his day, there is little evidence that these people were out in the open. Apparently Dante had several deep, admirable relationships with the specters he met here and it makes you wonder if this was really the condemnation that we are led to believe. In some interactions, there is clear animosity over perceived wrongs. So maybe Dante is a criminal against nature?

Finally, the notes in the book on individuals on suicide did not actually indicate suicide. Maybe more like reckless behavior. There were people that were killed in battle and there were mythology figures that were killed by poison as examples. But the text clearly references that it was suicidal thoughts and behaviors regardless of whether the history proves it correct.

I think that it is worth noting that we are talking about something that was written in the early 14th century. They didn’t have the internet to instantly fact check information and maybe they didn’t even have written records to reference. I think that it is somewhat forgivable to have some of the facts mixed up. But it is difficult to fully understand intent when the facts and the story don’t quite line up.

Reading this section is like reading the “Dungeon Master’s Guide”. If you ever saw the first printings of this, it was mostly an encyclopedia of monsters. I don’t have a copy anymore but I am pretty sure everything that we are running across in this story was catalogued in there.

To do another serious reading of this story, it would be worth boning up on Greek, Roman and Egyptian mythology. The back story of the characters that Dante sees and interacts with plays a significant role in the innuendo of the story. I am getting some of it from the footnotes as I read along, but I am certainly struggling to swim in the name stew of mythological characters. I am a lot better with the monsters.

Be warned, next week is a long one. Cantos 18-31 comprise level eight. As I look at the story, this will be the longest stretch in the entire book analysis. To me, this indicates the significance to Dante. Of course, more on all of that next week.

End Your Programming Routine: Maybe it was finally getting to some identifiable sins or maybe it was getting into more than one or two Cantos that I liked this section. Despite the fact that I struggle with his categorization, the penalties and creatures were captivating. The notes indicate that Dante may have been in the Franciscan order at one point, but I am really impressed at how much he knows about mythology. Before the age of enlightenment, Dante is an impressive character.

February 23, 2024 – The Divine Comedy, Inferno, Canto IX – XI

February 23, 2024 /

This week we are at Circle six. In this level, which is the first of the three inner hell circles and we will see the heretics. I could certainly see why they made it to hell, I almost wonder why it is only level six rather than nine. Is there a bigger sin than actually denouncing god? I guess not, according to Dante.

In Canto IX, Dante and Virgil wait at the gates of Dis to go deeper into hell. The gates are guarded by furies who summon Medusa to attempt to turn them into stone. Virgil responds with a prayer whereby an angel comes and thwarts Medusa and the furies, letting them in.

Canto X takes place once inside the walls. This is a rolling landscape packed full of tombs. Some of them are ‘active’ or open. Out pops someone named Farinata who was a political enemy instrumental in kicking Dante out of Florence. There were several interactions in this Canto. The last Canto wraps up their walk through circle six and a peak into circle seven.

Despite the fact that this was three times the length as we have typically looked at so far, there is about the same amount of information coming out. One or two surface level conversations with an enemy of Dante or someone that he holds in low regard. A chance to put his digs in and make fun of these people.

Is there a difference between heretic and agnostic and atheist? I have to say that Dante thinks so and I agree as well. The term atheist was not around in the 1300s and so they didn’t make it but let’s take a look a the terms themselves. An atheist is someone that does not agree that there is a god. An agnostic differs slightly in that they are potentially open to god but have not seen proof. Whereas a heretic is someone that believes in god but against the doctrine of religion.

This all could be a little confusing but let us just say a heretic would attend church but also believe in ritual sacrifice of Judaism as an example. The new covenant, as the belief in Jesus and resurrection says that there is no longer an intermediary between the believer and god, it was the priest who was sustained by these sacrifices. The priest was the only person allowed behind the veil (or curtain). Going behind the veil was the only permitted way to communicate with god. So, in those days the proxy of god was the priest. This would be practicing contrary to accepted Christian beliefs.

Agnostic and atheist are more subtle in difference. The two terms are sometimes confused by people that don’t have command of the vocabulary. You have to wonder if level one (the pre-Christians) also contains the agnostics? And do the atheists live with the heretics in level 6 or are both in here? I suspect that in those days, it was not safe to proclaim that a person didn’t possess faith.

Again, this is a work of fiction and there has been a lot of water under the bridge since the 1300s. And so, my interpretation and standards I feel differ significantly from the days of Dante. I think about things like the witch trials, I suppose that was a crime of heresy. Interestingly enough that (at least so far) there has been zero interaction with unknown culture. Think about all of the Chinese people that have existed and none of them have been seen in hell to date. I am starting to develop an opinion on The Inferno, which I will share in the wrap-up in about a month.

One thing that kind of puzzles me still is why the tomb sharing? What is the relationship of the tomb to the spirits that reside in them? It was probably convenience of the story more than anything but it is still a mystery to me. I also wonder if Dante is just lucky or do these spirits seek him out? I seems pretty serendipitous that everywhere he goes, he runs into familiar specters.

End Your Programming Routine: I found it interesting that a pre-Christian condemned to hell could pray and summon an angel. That seems spiritually inconsistent. That is what this story is turning out to be. When I read this in high school, I got none of the subtle nuance nor the in depth background of the story. This is a whole new perspective on the Inferno for me. Next week, Canto XII – XVII.

February 16, 2024 – The Divine Comedy, Inferno, Canto VIII

February 16, 2024 /

This canto also covers some of two circles. Once again I am going to focus on the one of them, circle five the wrathful and sullen. Circle six will cover several cantos so we can cover that adequately next week. Don’t forget that this circle officially began last canto, but don’t worry I will cover it here.

It wasn’t just my imagination but reading the notes for this canto said that the last chapter was a change in philosophy. It is speculated that Dante took a break at Canto VII and that it was intended to be one circle per canto. But that break brought out a re-imagination about how the story was going to go. As a consequence, I am rolling with it. Next week will be three cantos for the first time.

There isn’t too much going on from this level. The setting is the river Styx. The condemned seem to be under the black and stinky water. Once again there was only one encounter, a fella by the name of Fillipo Argenti. He was apparently an argent enemy of Dante’s.

If you ask me, it seems like Dante was the wrathful in the story. Dante is using his writing as the vengeance that he seeks. Very little is said other than sharply condemns his enemy. So, I guess we will have to look at the crime (or end it here).

I think we all generally know what wrathful means. So let us look at sullen. The definition that I see for for the word means gloomily or resentfully silent or repressed. I rhetorically ask, is this really worthy of the fifth circle of hell? To date, the crimes have all been pretty petty to get into hell.

Apparently, level six is a transition from what is considered outer to inner hell. To get into inner hell, it is all contained in iron wall like a prison called the city of Dis. Another thing that I kind of find interesting is that most of these so called sins to date would not be considered crimes in our society. No assault or rape or murder, maybe those will be in the inner circle but even theft or larceny? Once again, the wrathful one seems like Dante.

I am not totally sure where to really go with this today other than it is very clear that this story is personal to Dante. So I am giving you an early weekend this week. The pace is going to pickup next week and go into hyperdrive for the following week. Get ready.

End Your Programming Routine: Like a good Christian, I believe in redemption. So, it would be a good idea for my soul not to get involved in too much wrathfulness or sullenness or gluttony or any of the other sins. That being said, if we do slip into any of those things, I can’t help but be thankful that something is out there to help out eternity.

February 9, 2024 – The Divine Comedy, Inferno, Canto VII

February 9, 2024 /

Today we are on the fourth circle of hell. Interestingly enough, this Canto contains the fourth circle and some of the fifth. I considered covering both but then in Canto VIII it covers the fifth and sixth circles. So, we will cover the fifth next week since the sixth overlaps multiple Cantos thereafter.

When I think about it, I understand that this story is written in a formula. Each Canto is approximately the same number of lines composed of equally divided stanzas. Each layer of the the afterworld contains nearly the same number of Cantos. Since this book seems largely a social commentary, I surmise that this fourth level of hell Dante didn’t have that much to say about it and hence he combined the levels so that the story would work with the formula.

The fourth circle is interesting from the fact that it is two opposite factions pitted against one another. If you think about it, the opposite of hoarding is wasting and vice versa. It would seem as though extremes in either direction warrant an afterlife in the fourth circle according to Dante. He describes the situation that they are like two gangs, pitted against each other like they are going to brawl. Being that this is a political commentary, I find it interesting that the only constituents mentioned were clergy and church officials in this realm. I will focus in on this a little bit for now.

In today’s vernacular, it seems like hoarders are also wasters. They can’t seem to move beyond all of their possessions including garbage. And so things that have value get lost or spoil in the trash. This definition is not the strict definition of hoarding however. Hoarding is taking what you can, because you can. Just like wasting is letting something degrade because you can.

Both of this positions seem to have a personal initiative component. The term waster has a clear visible effect whereas hoarder is more subjective. A lot of people like to equate people that prepare as hoarders when I believe nothing is farther from the truth. These are people that use the time of plenty to prepare for the time without. In a season of surplus, anyone with the means can purchase, make, etc. If you look at the perspective that way, anyone that preserves a garden or purchases a whole beef would be a hoarder. They are not going to eat it all in a couple days time, but it is necessary to take advantage of when it available.

As history gets exposed, it is becoming more clear that the clergy was a home for a lot of deviants and sociopaths. If you think about the middle ages where this story was written, the church was one of the few outlets to leave of peasantry. I imagine that upward mobility combined with sociopathy lead to a lot of hoarding and wasting. It is literally the holier than thou syndrome.

End Your Programming Routine: By no means is this intended to disrespect the clergy. But, the fact remains that a some people in that profession were not living to their core values. By all accounts, Dante was middle class and it also seems like he was on the losing side of a political conflict. It seems pretty likely that he might have an ax to grind with those who were probably doing wrong.

February 2, 2024 – The Divine Comedy, Inferno, Canto VI

February 2, 2024 /

From pagans to the lustful and now gluttons, Dante has descended to the third level of hell. This canto seems surprisingly thin. There is only one name mentioned, a contemporary of Dante and a person of seemingly insignificance by the judgement of history. I will delve in the best I can without a ton of context to carry me through.

There were three things that stuck out to me in this Canto. The first is the description of the level. Fetid, putrid, stinking and rotting were adjectives that were used. The first thought that came to mind was that it smelled like vomit here. Seems kind of fitting considering the crime.

The second and more cerebral notion that I noticed was with Dante’s conversation with Ciacco. My book has almost as many footnotes and explanations as it does actual text. The translator’s note on this was that because Ciacco was condemned, he had no further hope. Therefore, he was very interested that the current living world still remembered him and he had a legacy there. It was his only chance of living on.

Finally, there was mention of a second judgement. All beings would be returned to flesh and have a second evaluation. I am assuming that this is the famous rapture predicted in Revelations. My church and Christian understanding was limited to judgement in the living world by the second coming of Christ. The represents a new perspective for me but I maybe I should go back and re-evaluate what I thought I knew. I don’t see why not but by the same token, I am not sure if the outcome would be any different.

To peel the next layer of the onion, I want to look at the premise a little harder. What exactly is gluttony? The Webster’s definition is excessive eating or drinking. That is exactly what I thought before I looked it up. I have always considered it a temporal activity so what does it take to get to the third level of Hell with the sin of gluttony?

We could probably agree that drinking yourself to death would be gluttony. But, if the ultimate cause of death is liver failure or diabetes and yet the user stopped six months beforehand is this still gluttony? The Christian track would say that if you asked for forgiveness in the last six months, probably not.

Alcohol poisoning or overdose I wouldn’t always think apply either. Even though they are death by excess, they may not contain the chronic aspect of substance abuse. We were all young once and if you are reading this, fortunately we survived potentially risky behavior. Some unfortunately do not, is ignorance a sin as well?

What about drugs? They are not food nor drink yet I feel like they probably fit into this category in many cases. But does gluttony have to be consensual? I find it hard to believe that someone is addicted to Cheetos but then again, it is not the particular brand but possibly the chemical composition that causes the problem.

From what I have read and heard, the body becomes addicted to carbohydrates. This bio-chemical mechanism was a survival adaptation from long ago. When plants were offering fruits, the human body would consume it to the point of adding fat. That fat would help weather the leaner times. In this time of always in season, Cheetos are no longer seasonal nor do we have the wax and wain of what is possible.

The epidemic of diabetes in this country is nothing short of gargantuan. Between solicitous marketing and government/industry collusion (that is fascism by the way), they have created it. I consider myself pretty well educated and even I don’t know the whole truth. In my opinion, it is best to error on the side of whole foods and ignore all the other advice. But, there are sure a lot of people that don’t know (or won’t) to get out of their own way so to expect them to make a good and proper change is nearly impossible.

I am not holier than thou. I eat junk food sometimes, I even eat fast food sometimes. I try not to stock it in the pantry and I try to partake in moderation. I am overweight and I know that is largely from too many calories and not enough physical exertion. So, am I a glutton? I guess we will see if this is what leads to my death.

Gluttony in Dante’s time is probably different than now. First of all, there wasn’t a lot of food for many people to get fat or have chronic health conditions of excess. They were more likely to go the other way, malnutrition from lack of food. Fairness, while subjective is born into our psyche. If the rich are taking and getting fat while everyone else is barely getting by, I can see the class warfare gearing up. Also, Christianity teaches sharing and caring for the less fortunate.

End Your Programming Routine: I do think there is something here, I just am not convinced that it is as simple as eating or drinking too much. I do think that there is a chronic component, there is also probably doing it at the expense of others as well. Based on the side text, this level of hell is likely as political as it is a sin. I think that this is probably why it is titled, ‘The Divine Comedy’.

January 26, 2024 – The Divine Comedy, Inferno, Canto V

January 26, 2024 /

The second circle of hell. We have made it past the pagans and into the real torture, I guess. According to the summary that I read, the second circle is the result of carnal sin. Since carnal sin is love, albeit misguided it barely qualifies the worst of things a person could do according to Dante.

I suppose the thing that I don’t totally understand is what exactly is ‘carnal sin’. Before I went looking for a definition, I would understand it to be wanton infidelity. Or, I could have speculated that it was a premarital or an extramarital sexual relationship. All I could really find was the definition of carnal being passion, of the body and that kind of stuff. What I am saying is that I really don’t understand what you have to do to get to the second level of hell.

Interestingly enough there were a few recognizable names here. The first and biggest was Cleopatra. As far as I have heard, she was a was a woman of ‘passion’. That being said, I didn’t know her to be a woman of ill repute. One of the other people that was there was a person named Dido. She was apparently married but fell in love with someone else. She killed herself when he was sentenced to death (actually suicide is a much more severe sin, not sure why she got level 2).

Even if it is simply lust as on another analysis I read, it is not our place question. Do you remember “Thou shalt not covet another man’s wife”? In the most basest of interpretations, coveting another’s wife is a synonym for lusting after another person in the sexual sense, wife or not. But then again, there are lots of things that we consider crimes based on morality. For instance, drugs. However, taking/using drugs had no consideration from Moses in the Ten Commandments.

What I am getting at is that I get it at face value. Carnal sin is worthy of damnation by our morality standards. By the same token, Carnal sin is very subjectively and ambiguously defined. For that reason, I think we should obey the commandments but we should also follow our heart. After all, I don’t believe that God wants us to be miserable. We just have to do it the right way.

I was imagining in this series that I would take a level of hell and relate it to a current event and persons in the public eye. We all know people that fit the definition and maybe we will see them in level 2 of the hell. Bill Clinton comes to mind but probably not Jeffrey Epstein here, maybe Ghislaine Maxwell? I have been doing some thinking though. If a relationship was consenting, is this really a sin? After all there were plenty of polygamist in the Old Testament. I did some quick research on the subject and you find the usual subjects.

The puritanical approach says that polygamy was a means to an end. It was accepted until the new covenant (the coming of Jesus). Just like at the other ritualistic trappings of Judaism, the veil and sacrifice and such, none of that means anything at this point according to Christianity. Arguments are made that the transition from many to one in Judaism is now one on one in Christianity. Therefore the other related bible versus two becoming one or Adam and Eve for instance are pointing to the justification that only one committed relationship is the way to go.

The more that I study psychology and human behavior, I side with the data that supports that the richest, healthiest and most rewarding relationships are one on one. This also conforms with my moral beliefs. However, I cannot succinctly say that what I (and Dante) believe are actually defined as sin. This of course excludes non-consenting adultery as mentioned in the Ten Commandments.

End Your Programming Routine: Truthfully, I didn’t think that I would end up here before I started writing this. I suppose that this puts me more on a philosophical plane rather than a Christian one. If an action hurts another, it is probably worthy of evaluation. But, these are complicated matters that are hard to solve in a single page. Was it consenting and now it is not? What if your heart changes, should two people be bound to a reciprocal, loveless marriage? I am pretty sure that this level is not for the deviant crowd but the consenting one. I am not sure I can get behind that.

January 19, 2024 – The Divine Comedy, Inferno, Canto III – IV

January 19, 2024 /

Had I known what I was doing, I would included Canto III last week. It is not considered a level but the crossing into the afterworld. I would call that introductory information but I was relying on another reference to help me get started. Oh well, We get the vestibule or entrance, the crossing and the first level of hell this week.

The vestibule is an interesting concept. According to Dante is is filled with fallen angels that the translator calls Opportunists. These are entities that didn’t pick a side (that is God or the Devil) and therefore were into the game for themselves. Consequently, they are denied entry into the afterworld neither heaven nor hell. They are chased endlessly by bugs as the spirits wish for a place to go.

Level one is also interesting. Last week I mistakenly said Virgil did not have a place. Actually, he is in the first level because He lived before Christ. All pagans are in this level because they were not blessed to have the opportunity to be Christian. It seems like this level isn’t too bad relatively speaking. It is the moaning of restlessness. Apparently there is nothing to do and the realization that this is the best it will ever get.

It is not completely apparent to me, but the translator indicates that this work is not just religious work but also a social and political commentary. Some of the notes related to the verse indicate contemporary figures in hell as well. There is reference to Boniface VII who became pope by manipulation. I would have never understood that without the note from the translator.

This week I am going to talk specifically about the pagans as they are described. Within the text is says that when Christ was crucified most of the previous population was in level one. That being said certain people were removed from hell and went with Christ. These would be people like Moses, Noah, Daniel, etc, the heroes of the old testament.

When I was really young, I was told that animals would never go to Heaven because they didn’t have a soul. Later, I decided that that was not possible because I didn’t want it to be true I really loved my dog, how could I be denied my dog in heaven? Since then, I have come to modify that belief a little. I am not sure if we will see our pets in the afterworld for our sake. But, they really have no free will so how could they possibly have an afterlife? Maybe reincarnation is a better explanation of animals?

Now that is settled, we as Christians have to look at the Bible in its entirety. Supposedly, Christ is the new covenant of our relationship with God. He has been described as a vengeful god in the Old Testament. That is why he drowned the world in Noah’s time. Aside from particular instances, surely not every single individual besides those mentioned in the old testament lacked the complete requirements for heaven. How is it possible that Moses was in hell until Christ arrived?

I am going to try and not hold that against Dante because I just cannot believe that and be consistent with my beliefs. Supposing that I am somewhat right, there has to be a plan for the people that existed before Christ or out of the earshot of Judaism. What about Asia or the American Natives? Surely we are all God’s people? I can’t believe that they would be condemned to hell by their existence being away from the proximity of the middle east and the ability to communicate across vast distances.

End Your Programming Routine: Next week is Canto V, the second level of hell described as carnal. According to Dante, I suppose it is fortunate that I am a Christian. Otherwise, I would have no chance at heaven. I am not here to take down Dante per se but to analyze and provide commentary on The Divine Comedy. I am sure that we are going to not just be entertained, but also learn something useful for our eventual eternity. I am more than sure we are going to find lots of behaviors to agree on before we are done.