Dante

[Jaltus-bot]

Hi,

Who's read Dante? I have read the Inferno and I hope to read more at some point.

[CDLviking]

I've read Inferno and parts of Purgatario.

[Jaltus-bot]

isn't there another one that follows Purgatario? Paradisio or something?

What did you think of Inferno?

[ClosetOtaku]

The Divine Comedy consists of Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso.

I thought Inferno was a remarkable work of imagination, although a lot of it refers to the politics of Dante's era, so you need a good annotated reference to keep up with all of the (now) obscure people he's talking about.

I found Dante's decision on whom to put in the 9th Circle was a little ridiculous (other than the obvious guy)... certainly there have to be more sinister historical criminals than that...

I scanned over Purgatorio and Paradiso, but felt (on overview) that they wouldn't approach Inferno... guess it is easier to write about bad stuff than endlessly fawn over the good stuff. An interesting comment in itself.

[Jaltus-bot]

I scanned over Purgatorio and Paradiso, but felt (on overview) that they wouldn't approach Inferno... guess it is easier to write about bad stuff than endlessly fawn over the good stuff. An interesting comment in itself.

It kind of reflects the world especially apart from God. There is so much bad stuff in the world that without God and the good that He brings, it can seem so bleakly full of suffering. Without looking deeper and considering God, there is such darkness in the world. I think that's why it's easier to write about what is bad, all the pain and darkness this world would have to offer, especially considering human nature and the way we react to things. When you write something like that, you write about what you know. When bad things happen, an atheist knows something bad happens and a Christian can know that God is there with him, will help get him through it, and can know that God will use it for good even though he might not see it then. As we come to trust in as well as rely on God more and more, we start to see more and more His loving hand in our own lives and His workings around us. This gives us more reason for hope and allows us to see more good. I don’t think we can ever in this life fully comprehend the goodness of God.

Ok, so my mom once said something about how maybe that’s easier for us to understand writing about bad things because this is a fallen world and I am my mother’s daughter.

[Swordguy]

hmm the only thing that i didn't agree withis the differnt serverity with the sinner for all have sinned are seen the same in the eyse of the Lord
James 2:10For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. 11For he who said, "Do not commit adultery," also said, "Do not murder." If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker.

[CDLviking]

I found Dante's decision on whom to put in the 9th Circle was a little ridiculous (other than the obvious guy)... certainly there have to be more sinister historical criminals than that...

The point is not who is more sinister, Dante seperates his circles by the type of sin. Satan betrayed God, and Judas betrayed Jesus, so Dante puts betrayal in the 9th circle, and the other two were the other most infamous betrayers in the medieval world.

hmm the only thing that i didn't agree withis the differnt serverity with the sinner for all have sinned are seen the same in the eyse of the Lord

Again the point is that the punishment of the sin is somehow related to the sin itself. Violent acts are punished with violence, suicide is punished with the loss of the body. Everything is symbolic.

[Jaltus-bot]

I thought that the symbolism in the book was part of what made it interesting, as well as the notes on the obscure references. In one of my reading responses (I read Dante for class) I related some of the circles to the seven deadly sins with the punishment fitting the sin. My professor had said something about the punishment fitting the sin as I recall.

[Ingemar]

You must understand that Dante got his system of ethics from Aquinas, who got his from Averroës, who got his from Aristotle. Naturally, the punishment wouldn't necessarily line up with what we would consider just--that is, by Dante's estimation, a pimp or a con-artist would be deeper into Hell than Hitler.

Also note that the nine circles fit into three larger categories--the Incontinent (2-5), the Violent (6-7) and the Fradulent (8-9).

The Commedia isn't just about the Afterlife, but is essentially Dante's Theory of Everything. In Purgatorio, Dante (through Virgil) theorizes that everyone's actions is motivated by some sort of love. Sin is the result of "bad" love (categorized as Misdirected, Deficient and Excessive) and good deeds are the result of "good" love (love of God and charity). It's been quite a while since I've read it, and I may be wrong about some points. You are right though--the allusions to contemporary Italian politics are very annoying.

[Jaltus-bot]

I forgot about the allusions to contemporary Italian politics. Were there other allusions that the two imfamous betrayers? Would you mind ellaborating ever so briefly on it?
Thank you.

[Kokhiri Sojourn]

I've only read "the Inferno," but I did end up reading it four times before my test, but that was two years ago. One of my friends actually calls me "Dante," because I was him when we read the play the first time.

As far as I remember, Dante was exiled from his country (Italy, if I remember correctly), and part of his way of getting back at some of the people who exiled him was putting them in hell for his story. Many of the punishments seemed to be set up so that the ones that wronged him would have more acute punishments in hell.

I think that the work in and of itself is brilliant, though infinitely fictitious. I have never thought much of hell being levels and respective, continuously exacting punishment in parallel to the sins of those sent to hell. Also, I particularly disliked how some of the people in hell suffered little to nothing because of their power to reason. But then again, this is fiction, and therefore has freedom to be creative and separate from reality.

[AsterlonKnight]

My advice? Read the book Dante by R.W.B. Lewis. It's a biography that reads very well and is anything but dry. It's quite engaging and covers Dante's family and life as well as his obsession with Beatrice and the conditions of Florence and his later exile. It also explains who the people are that he's placed in his Comedy and you'll find that many of them aren't there because they committed that sin (in the case of Inferno). One was a teacher of his whom he loved.

I've read Inferno and loved it. Need to get a copy. The one I read was a really good translation story-telling wise. I tried reading Purgatorio, but got bored. ^_^; The dante book I mentioned will cover the basics of Purgatorio and Paradisio when it gets to the part of his life when he wrote them.