Reflection

Dante's Inferno

I've always been told that all sin is the same in God's eyes, and suppose that if you really think about it, that makes sense (except blasphemy I guess). Sin does all have the same terrible and inevitable end result--the ability to separate us from God. In Dante's Inferno, the author, Dante Alighieri, attempts to rate and categorize  each sin in a very curious manner, an occurrence not very surprising  from a man who decided to put so much time and effort into imagining, in vivid detail I might add, the goings on of Hell and the suffering that takes place there. Like many, I would assume that violent crimes, such as murder, would be placed in the lower circles of Hell, but it seems Dante had different ideas. He has reserved such a special place for those of his choosing, particularly those who have committed fraud or betrayal.

For each category, as well as each subcategory, Dante has a assigned a specific punishments, some of  which seem generic and bland, like burning for eternity (a description that's  been used no less than a hundreds of times before when describing Hell). Among his most creative punishments, though, are those for cantos 4, 7,  20,and 23. Canto 4 is where he has put philosophers and their punishment is to be in darkness. I believe this is truly fitting because they are people who believed in art and thrived in the light (knowledge), but are now forced to exist in total darkness. Those found in Canto 7 are guilty of avarice, or the greed of material things and the waste of money on frivolous items. For this they must continually push rocks against each other, getting nowhere, much like they did in life. I agree, this seems like a very fitting punishment. All who reside in Canto 20 are guilty of a different kind of fraud, Sorcery, evident by  the presence of  fortune tellers  and sorcerers among those in this Hell. These unlucky people have their heads placed on backwards, so that they may only see see the past, whereas they always tried to see too far in life. Finally, in Canto 23, are the hypocrites, guilty of prevaricating their religious views. One of the most fitting punishments of all is the one they are forced to endure. In this canto, the guilty must to wear large, elegant cloak lined with lead, destined to walk a single, narrow path for eternity. This is perfect for their sin, because their garb looks beautiful on the outside, but is truly, quite awful when one cares to look deeper.

Dante Alighieri