The Mystery of Time: When Dante's Famous Journey Began
Dante dated his journey to the afterlife to the year 1300. This is evidenced by several clues left by the poet in the text. Let's start with the obvious: the first line of the Divine Comedy - "Crossing the border of mature years ..." - means that the author is 35 years old.
Dante believed that a human life lasts only 70 years, as it is written in the 89th psalm ("The days of our years are seventy years, and with a large fortress - eighty years"), and it was important for the poet to indicate that he had passed half of his life path . And since he was born in 1265, it is easy to calculate the year of travel to Hell.
The exact month of this campaign is suggested to researchers by astronomical data scattered throughout the poem. So, already in the first song we learn about "constellations with uneven meek light." This is the constellation "Aries", in which the sun is in the spring. Further clarifications give every reason to assert that the lyrical hero falls into the "dark forest" on the night from Good Thursday to Friday (from April 7 to 8) in 1300. On the evening of Good Friday, he descends into Hell.
Mystery of the Popadants: Pagan Gods, Heroes and Monsters in Christian Hell
In the underworld, Dante often meets mythological creatures: in Limbo, Charon is the mediator and carrier, the guardian of the second circle is the legendary King Minos, gluttons in the third circle are guarded by Cerberus, the miserly are Plutos, and the angry and desponding are Phlegius, the son of Ares. Elektra, Hector and Aeneas, Helen the Beautiful, Achilles and Paris are tormented in different circles of Dante's Hell. Among the pimps and seducers, Dante sees Jason, and among the ranks of crafty advisers - Ulysses.
Why does the poet need all of them? The simplest explanation is that in Christian culture, the former gods turned into demons, which means their place is in Hell. The tradition of associating paganism with evil spirits has taken root not only in Italy. The Catholic Church had to convince the people of the failure of the old religion, and the preachers of all countries actively convinced people that all ancient gods and heroes were adherents of Lucifer.
However, there is also a more complex subtext. In the seventh circle of Hell, where rapists endure torment, Dante meets the Minotaur, harpies and centaurs. The dual nature of these creatures is an allegory of sin, for which the inhabitants of the seventh circle suffer, the animal nature in their character. Associations with animals in The Divine Comedy very rarely carry a positive connotation.
Encrypted biography: what can you learn about the poet by reading "Hell"?
Actually, quite a lot. Despite the monumentality of the work, on the pages of which famous historical figures, Christian saints and legendary heroes appear, Dante did not forget about himself. For starters, he fulfilled a promise he made in his first book, A New Life, where he promised to say about Beatrice "things that have not yet been said about any." By creating the "Divine Comedy", he really made his beloved a symbol of love and light.
Something about the poet is said by the presence in the text of St. Lucia, the patroness of people suffering from eye disease. Early experiencing problems with vision, Dante prayed to Lucia, this explains the appearance of the saint along with the Virgin Mary and Beatrice. By the way, note that the name of Mary is not mentioned in "Hell", it appears only in "Purgatory".
There are in the poem and indications of individual episodes from the life of its author. In the fifth song, the lyrical hero meets a certain Chacko - a glutton who is in a stinking swamp. The poet sympathizes with the unfortunate man, for which he opens the future for him and talks about exile. Dante began working on The Divine Comedy in 1307, after the Black Guelphs came to power and were expelled from their native Florence. In fairness, we note that Chacko tells not only about the misfortunes that await him personally, but also about the entire political fate of the city-republic.
A very little-known episode is mentioned in the nineteenth canto, when the author speaks of a broken jug:
Everywhere, and along the channel, and along the slopes,
I saw an innumerable number
Rounded wells in grayish stone.
<...>
I, saving the lad from suffering,
Broke one of them last year...
Perhaps, with this retreat, Dante wanted to explain his actions, which, perhaps, led to a scandal, because the vessel he broke was filled with holy water!
Biographical facts include the fact that Dante placed his personal enemies in Hell, even though some of them were still alive in 1300. So, among the sinners, was Venedico dei Cacchanemici - the famous politician, leader of the Bolognese Guelphs. Dante neglected chronology only in order to take revenge on his enemy at least in a poem.
Among the sinners clinging to Phlegius's boat is Filippo Argenti, a wealthy Florentine who also belongs to the Black Guelph family, an arrogant and wasteful person. In addition to the Divine Comedy, Argenti is also mentioned in the Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio.
The poet did not spare the father of his best friend Guido - Cavalcante dei Cavalcanti, an epicurean and atheist. For his beliefs, he was sent to the sixth circle.
The riddle of numbers: the structure of the poem as a reflection of the medieval worldview
If we ignore the text and look at the structure of the entire Divine Comedy, then we will see that much in its structure is connected with the number “three”: three chapters are “kantiki”, thirty-three songs in each of them (added to “Hell” still a prologue), the whole poem is written in three-line stanzas - tertsina. Such a strict composition is due to the doctrine of the Holy Trinity and the special meaning of this number in Christian culture.
Halfway through life, I - Dante - got lost in a dense forest. It's scary, wild animals are all around - allegories of vices; nowhere to go. And then a ghost appears, which turned out to be the shadow of my favorite ancient Roman poet Virgil. I ask him for help. He promises to take me from here to the afterlife so that I can see Hell, Purgatory and Paradise. I am ready to follow him.
Yes, but am I capable of such a journey? I hesitated and hesitated. Virgil reproached me, telling me that Beatrice herself (my late beloved) descended to him from Paradise to Hell and asked him to be my guide in wandering through the afterlife. If so, then we must not hesitate, we need determination. Lead me, my teacher and mentor!
Above the entrance to Hell is an inscription that takes away all hope from those who enter. We entered. Here, right behind the entrance, the pitiful souls of those who did not create either good or evil during their lifetime groan. Next is the Acheron River. Through it, the ferocious Charon transports the dead on a boat. We are with them. "But you're not dead!" Charon shouts angrily at me. Virgil subdued him. We swam. From a distance a roar is heard, the wind blows, a flame flashed. I lost my senses...
The first circle of Hell is Limbo. Here the souls of unbaptized babies and glorious pagans languish - warriors, sages, poets (including Virgil). They do not suffer, but only grieve that they, as non-Christians, have no place in Paradise. Virgil and I joined the great poets of antiquity, the first of which was Homer. Gradually walked and talked about the unearthly.
At the descent into the second circle of the underworld, the demon Minos determines which sinner to which place in Hell should be cast down. He reacted to me in the same way as Charon, and Virgil pacified him in the same way. We saw the souls of voluptuaries (Cleopatra, Elena the Beautiful, etc.) carried away by the infernal whirlwind. Francesca is among them, and here she is inseparable from her lover. Immeasurable mutual passion led them to a tragic death. Deeply sympathizing with them, I again fainted.
In the third circle, the bestial dog Cerberus rages. He barked at us, but Virgil subdued him too. Here, lying in the mud, under a heavy downpour, are the souls of those who have sinned with gluttony. Among them is my countryman, the Florentine Chacko. We talked about the fate of our native city. Chacko asked me to remind living people of him when I return to earth.
The demon guarding the fourth circle, where spendthrifts and misers are executed (among the latter there are many clerics - popes, cardinals), is Plutos. Virgil also had to besiege him to get rid of. From the fourth they descended into the fifth circle, where the angry and lazy are tormented, mired in the swamps of the Stygian lowland. We approached a tower.
This is a whole fortress, around it is a vast reservoir, in the canoe - a rower, the demon Phlegius. After another squabble, we sat down to him, we swim. Some sinner tried to cling to the side, I scolded him, and Virgil pushed him away. Before us is the hellish city of Dit. Any dead evil spirits prevents us from entering it. Virgil, leaving me (oh, it's scary to be alone!), went to find out what was the matter, returned worried, but reassured.
And then the hellish furies appeared before us, threatening. A heavenly messenger suddenly appeared and curbed their anger. We entered Dit. Everywhere are tombs engulfed in flames, from which the groans of heretics are heard. On a narrow road we make our way between the tombs.
From one of the tombs, a mighty figure suddenly emerged. This is Farinata, my ancestors were his political opponents. In me, having heard my conversation with Virgil, he guessed from the dialect of the countryman. Proud, he seemed to despise the whole abyss of Hell. We argued with him, and then another head popped out from a nearby tomb: yes, this is the father of my friend Guido! It seemed to him that I was a dead man and that his son had also died, and he fell on his face in despair. Farinata, calm him down; Guido lives!
Near the descent from the sixth circle to the seventh, over the grave of the heretic pope Anastasius, Virgil explained to me the structure of the remaining three circles of Hell, tapering downwards (towards the center of the earth), and what sins are punished in which zone of which circle.
The seventh circle is compressed by mountains and guarded by the half-bull demon Minotaur, who roared menacingly at us. Virgil yelled at him, and we hurried to move away. We saw a blood-boiling stream in which tyrants and robbers boil, and from the shore centaurs shoot at them with bows. Centaur Ness became our guide, told about the executed rapists and helped to ford the boiling river.
Around thorny thickets without greenery. I broke some branch, and black blood flowed from it, and the trunk groaned. It turns out that these bushes are the souls of suicides (rapists over their own flesh). They are pecked by the infernal birds of the Harpy, trampled by the running dead, causing them unbearable pain. One trampled bush asked me to collect the broken branches and return them to him. It turned out that the unfortunate man was my countryman. I complied with his request and we moved on. We see - sand, flakes of fire fly down on it, scorching the sinners, who scream and groan - all except one: he lies silently. Who is this? The king of Kapanei, a proud and gloomy atheist, slain by the gods for his obstinacy. Even now he is true to himself: either he is silent, or he loudly curses the gods. "You are your own torturer!" Virgil yelled at him...
But towards us, tormented by fire, the souls of new sinners are moving. Among them, I hardly recognized my highly esteemed teacher Brunetto Latini. He is among those who are guilty of a tendency to same-sex love. We started talking. Brunetto predicted that glory awaits me in the world of the living, but there will also be many hardships that must be resisted. The teacher bequeathed to me to take care of his main work, in which he lives, - "Treasure".
And three more sinners (sin - the same) are dancing in the fire. All Florentines, former respected citizens. I talked to them about the misfortunes of our hometown. They asked me to tell the living countrymen that I saw them. Then Virgil led me to a deep pit in the eighth circle. An infernal beast will bring us down there. He is already climbing to us from there.
This is a motley tailed Geryon. While he prepares for his descent, there is still time to look at the last martyrs of the seventh circle - usurers, toiling in a whirlwind of flaming dust. Hanging from their necks are multi-colored purses with different coats of arms. I didn't talk to them. Let's hit the road! We sit down with Virgil astride Geryon and - oh horror! - we are smoothly flying into failure, to new torments. Went down. Gerion immediately flew away.
The eighth circle is divided into ten ditches, called Angry Sinuses. Pimps and seducers of women are executed in the first ditch, and flatterers are executed in the second. Procurers are brutally scourged by horned demons, flatterers sit in a liquid mass of stinking feces - the stench is unbearable. By the way, one whore is punished here not because she fornicated, but because she flattered her lover, saying that she was fine with him.
The next ditch (the third bosom) is lined with stone, full of round holes, from which stick out the burning legs of high-ranking clerics who traded in church positions. Their heads and torsos are clamped by holes in the stone wall. Their successors, when they die, will also jerk their flaming legs in their place, completely squeezing their predecessors into stone. This is how Papa Orsini explained it to me, at first mistaking me for his successor.
Soothsayers, astrologers, sorceresses suffer in the fourth sinus. Their necks are twisted in such a way that, when weeping, they irrigate their backs with tears, not their chests. I myself wept when I saw such a mockery of people, and Virgil shamed me; it's a sin to pity sinners! But he also told me with sympathy about his fellow countrywoman, the soothsayer Manto, whose name was given to Mantua - the birthplace of my glorious mentor.
The fifth ditch is filled with boiling tar, into which the evil-handed devils, black, winged, throw bribe-takers and make sure that they do not stick out, otherwise they will hook the sinner with hooks and finish him off in the most cruel way. The devils have nicknames: Evil-tail, Cross-winged, etc. We will have to go part of the further path in their terrible company. They grimacing, showing tongues, their boss made a deafening obscene sound from behind. I have never heard of this before! We walk with them along the ditch, the sinners dive into the tar - they hide, and one hesitated, and they immediately pulled him out with hooks, intending to torment him, but first they allowed us to talk with him. The poor cunning lulled the vigilance of the Zlokhvatov and dived back - they did not have time to catch him. Irritated devils fought among themselves, two fell into the tar. In the confusion, we hurried to leave, but no such luck! They fly after us. Virgil, picking me up, barely managed to run across to the sixth bosom, where they are not masters. Here hypocrites languish under the weight of leaden gilded robes. And here is the crucified (nailed to the ground with stakes) Jewish high priest, who insisted on the execution of Christ. He is trampled underfoot by lead-heavy hypocrites.
The transition was difficult: by a rocky path - into the seventh bosom. Thieves live here, bitten by monstrous poisonous snakes. From these bites, they crumble to dust, but are immediately restored to their appearance. Among them is Vanni Fucci, who robbed the sacristy and blamed someone else. A rude and blasphemous man: He sent God away, lifting up two figs. Immediately snakes attacked him (I love them for this). Then I watched as a certain serpent merged with one of the thieves, after which it took on its form and stood up, and the thief crawled away, becoming a reptile reptile. Miracles! You will not find such metamorphoses in Ovid either.
Rejoice, Florence: these thieves are your offspring! It's a shame ... And in the eighth ditch live insidious advisers. Among them is Ulysses (Odysseus), his soul imprisoned in a flame that can speak! So, we heard the story of Ulysses about his death: thirsty to know the unknown, he sailed with a handful of daredevils to the other side of the world, suffered a shipwreck and, together with his friends, drowned away from the world inhabited by people.
Another talking flame, in which the soul of a crafty adviser who did not name himself, was hidden, told me about his sin: this adviser helped the Pope in one unrighteous deed - counting on the fact that the pope would forgive him his sin. Heaven is more tolerant of the simple-hearted sinner than of those who hope to be saved by repentance. We crossed into the ninth ditch, where the sowers of unrest are executed.
Here they are, the instigators of bloody strife and religious unrest. The devil will maim them with a heavy sword, cut off their noses and ears, crush their skulls. Here is Mohammed, and Curio, who encouraged Caesar to civil war, and the beheaded troubadour warrior Bertrand de Born (he carries his head in his hand like a lantern, and she exclaims: “Woe!”).
Next, I met my relative, angry with me because his violent death remained unavenged. Then we moved on to the tenth ditch, where the alchemists suffer from an eternal itch. One of them was burned because he jokingly boasted that he could fly - he became a victim of a denunciation. He ended up in Hell not for this, but as an alchemist. Here, those who pretended to be other people, counterfeiters and liars in general are executed. Two of them fought among themselves and then quarreled for a long time (master Adam, who mixed copper into gold coins, and the ancient Greek Sinon, who deceived the Trojans). Virgil rebuked me for the curiosity with which I listened to them.
Our journey through the Spitefuls is coming to an end. We came to the well leading from the eighth circle of Hell to the ninth. There are ancient giants, titans. Among them are Nimrod, who angrily shouted something to us in an incomprehensible language, and Antaeus, who, at the request of Virgil, lowered us to the bottom of the well on his huge palm, and he immediately straightened up.
So, we are at the bottom of the universe, near the center of the globe. Before us is an icy lake, those who betrayed their relatives froze into it. I accidentally kicked one of them on the head, he yelled, but refused to name himself. Then I grabbed his hair, and then someone called his name. Scoundrel, now I know who you are, and I will tell people about you! And he: “Lie whatever you want, about me and about others!” And here is the ice pit, in which one dead man gnaws the skull of another. I ask: for what? Looking up from his victim, he answered me. He, Count Ugolino, takes revenge on his former associate, Archbishop Ruggieri, who betrayed him, who starved him and his children, imprisoning them in the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Their suffering was unbearable, the children were dying in front of their father, he was the last to die. Shame on Pisa! Let's go further. And who is in front of us? Alberigo? But he, as far as I know, did not die, so how did he end up in Hell? It also happens: the body of the villain still lives, but the soul is already in the underworld.
In the center of the earth, the ruler of Hell, Lucifer, frozen into ice, cast down from heaven and hollowed out the abyss of hell in his fall, disfigured, three-faced. From his first mouth Judas sticks out, from the second Brutus, from the third Cassius, He chews them and torments them with claws. Worst of all is the most vile traitor - Judas. A well stretches from Lucifer, leading to the surface of the opposite earth hemisphere. We squeezed into it, rose to the surface and saw the stars.
Purgatory
May the Muses help me to sing the second kingdom! His guard Elder Cato met us unfriendly: who are they? how dare you come here? Virgil explained and, wishing to propitiate Cato, spoke warmly about his wife Marcia. Why is Marcia here? Go to the seashore, you need to wash! We are going. Here it is, the sea distance. And in coastal grasses - plentiful dew. With it Virgil washed away the soot of abandoned Hell from my face.
A boat controlled by an angel is sailing towards us from the distance of the sea. It contains the souls of the dead, who were lucky enough not to go to Hell. They moored, went ashore, and the angel swam away. The shadows of the arrivals crowded around us, and in one I recognized my friend, the singer Cosella. I wanted to hug him, but the shadow is incorporeal - I hugged myself. Cosella, at my request, sang about love, everyone listened, but then Cato appeared, shouted at everyone (they didn’t do business!), And we hurried to the Mount of Purgatory.
Virgil was dissatisfied with himself: he gave a reason to shout at himself ... Now we need to scout the upcoming road. Let's see where the arriving shadows go. And they themselves have just noticed that I am not a shadow: I do not let light pass through me. Surprised. Virgil explained everything to them. "Come with us," they invited.
So, we hasten to the foot of the purgatory mountain. But is everyone in a hurry, is everyone really impatient? There, near a large stone, there is a group of people who are not in a hurry to climb up: they say, they will have time; climb the one who itchs. Among these sloths I recognized my friend Belacqua. It is pleasant to see that he, and in life the enemy of any haste, is true to himself.
In the foothills of Purgatory, I had the opportunity to communicate with the shadows of the victims of violent death. Many of them were fair sinners, but, saying goodbye to life, they managed to sincerely repent and therefore did not go to Hell. Such a vexation for the devil, who has lost his prey! However, he found how to win back: not having gained power over the soul of a repentant dead sinner, he outraged his murdered body.
Not far from all this, we saw the regal and majestic shadow of Sordello. He and Virgil, recognizing each other as fellow countryman poets (Mantuans), embraced brotherly. Here is an example for you, Italy, a dirty brothel, where the bonds of brotherhood are completely broken! Especially you, my Florence, are good, you won’t say anything ... Wake up, look at yourself ...
Sordello agrees to be our guide to Purgatory. It is a great honor for him to help the highly esteemed Virgil. Conversing sedately, we approached a flowering fragrant valley, where, preparing for an overnight stay, the shadows of high-ranking persons - European sovereigns - settled down. We watched them from afar, listening to their consonant singing.
The evening hour has come, when desires draw those who have sailed back to their loved ones, and you remember the bitter moment of farewell; when sadness dominates the pilgrim and he hears how a distant chime cries bitterly about the day of irretrievable... An insidious serpent of temptation crawled into the valley of rest of earthly rulers, but the angels who arrived expelled it.
I lay down on the grass, fell asleep, and in my dream I was transferred to the gates of Purgatory. The angel guarding them inscribed the same letter on my forehead seven times - the first in the word "sin" (seven deadly sins; these letters will be erased from my forehead one by one as we ascend the mountain of purgatory). We entered the second realm of the afterlife, the gates closed behind us.
The ascent has begun. We are in the first circle of Purgatory, where the proud atone for their sin. To shame pride, statues were erected here, embodying the idea of a high feat - humility. And here are the shadows of the arrogant being cleansed: unbending during life, here, as a punishment for their sin, they bend under the weight of the stone blocks heaped on them.
"Our Father ..." - this prayer was sung by bent proud people. Among them is the miniaturist Oderiz, who during his lifetime boasted of his loud fame. Now, he says, he realized that there is nothing to boast about: everyone is equal in the face of death - both the decrepit old man and the baby murmuring “yum-yum”, and glory comes and goes. The sooner you understand this and find the strength in yourself to curb your pride, to humble yourself, the better.
Under our feet we have bas-reliefs depicting scenes of punished pride: Lucifer and Briares cast down from heaven, King Saul, Holofernes and others. Our stay in the first round is coming to an end. The angel who appeared wiped one of the seven letters from my forehead - as a sign that I had overcome the sin of pride. Virgil smiled at me.
We went up to the second round. There are envious people here, they are temporarily blinded, their former "envious" eyes do not see anything. Here is a woman who, out of envy, wished harm to her countrymen and rejoiced in their failures ... In this circle, after death, I will not be cleansed for long, because I rarely and few people envied. But in the past circle of proud people - probably for a long time.
Here they are, blinded sinners whose blood once burned with envy. In the silence, the words of the first envious person, Cain, sounded thunderous: “The one who meets me will kill me!” In fear, I clung to Virgil, and the wise leader told me bitter words that the highest eternal light is inaccessible to envious people who are carried away by earthly lures.
Passed the second round. Again an angel appeared to us, and now only five letters remained on my forehead, which I have to get rid of in the future. We are in the third round. A cruel vision of human fury flashed before our eyes (the crowd stoned a meek youth with stones). In this circle, those possessed by anger are purified.
Even in the darkness of Hell there was no such black haze as in this circle, where the fury of the angry is subdued. One of them, the Lombard Marco, talked to me and expressed the idea that everything that happens in the world cannot be understood as a consequence of the activity of higher heavenly powers: this would mean denying the freedom of human will and removing from a person responsibility for what he has done.
Reader, have you ever wandered in the mountains on a foggy evening, when the sun is almost invisible? That's how we are... I felt the touch of an angel's wing on my forehead - another letter was erased. We climbed to the fourth circle, illuminated by the last ray of sunset. Here the lazy ones are cleansed, whose love for the good was slow.
Sloths here must run swiftly, not allowing any indulgence in their lifetime sin. Let them be inspired by the examples of the Blessed Virgin Mary, who, as you know, had to hurry, or Caesar with his amazing quickness. They ran past us and disappeared. I want to sleep. I sleep and dream...
I dreamed of a disgusting woman, who turned into a beauty before my eyes, who was immediately put to shame and turned into an even worse ugly woman (here she is, the imaginary attractiveness of vice!). Another letter disappeared from my forehead: I, therefore, defeated such a vice as laziness. We rise to the fifth circle - to the misers and spenders.
Avarice, greed, greed for gold are disgusting vices. Molten gold was once poured down the throat of one obsessed with greed: drink to your health! I don't feel comfortable being surrounded by misers, and then there was an earthquake. From what? Due to my ignorance, I don't know...
It turned out that the shaking of the mountain was caused by jubilation over the fact that one of the souls was cleansed and ready for ascent: this is the Roman poet Statius, an admirer of Virgil, who was delighted that from now on he will accompany us on the path to the purgatory peak.
Another letter, denoting the sin of avarice, was erased from my forehead. By the way, was Statius, languishing in the fifth round, stingy? On the contrary, it is wasteful, but these two extremes are punished jointly. Now we are in the sixth circle, where gluttons are cleansed. Here it would not be bad to remember that gluttony was not characteristic of Christian ascetics.
Former gluttons are destined to the pangs of hunger: emaciated, skin and bones. Among them I found my late friend and countryman Forese. They talked about their own, scolded Florence, Forese condemningly spoke about the dissolute ladies of this city. I told my friend about Virgil and my hopes of seeing my beloved Beatrice in the afterlife.
With one of the gluttons, a former poet of the old school, I had a conversation about literature. He acknowledged that my associates, supporters of the "new sweet style", achieved much more in love poetry than he himself and the masters close to him. Meanwhile, the penultimate letter has been erased from my forehead, and the path to the highest, seventh circle of Purgatory is open to me.
And I still remember the thin, hungry gluttons: how did they become so emaciated? After all, these are shadows, not bodies, and they would not have to starve. Virgil explained that the shadows, although incorporeal, exactly repeat the outlines of the implied bodies (which would lose weight without food). Here, in the seventh circle, the voluptuaries scorched by fire are purified. They burn, sing and praise examples of temperance and chastity.
The voluptuaries engulfed in flames were divided into two groups: those who indulged in same-sex love and those who did not know the limits in bisexual intercourse. Among the latter are the poets Guido Guinicelli and the Provençal Arnald, who greeted us exquisitely in his own dialect.
And now we ourselves have to go through the wall of fire. I was scared, but my mentor said that this is the path to Beatrice (to the Earthly Paradise, located on the top of the mountain of purgatory). And so the three of us (Statius with us) go, scorched by the flames. We passed, we move on, it is getting dark, we stopped to rest, I slept; and when I woke up, Virgil turned to me with the last word of parting words and approval, Everything, from now on he will be silent ...
We are in the Earthly Paradise, in a blooming grove resounding with the chirping of birds. I saw a beautiful donna singing and picking flowers. She said that there was a golden age here, innocence shone, but then, among these flowers and fruits, the happiness of the first people was destroyed in sin. When I heard this, I looked at Virgil and Statius: they were both smiling blissfully.
Oh Eve! It was so good here, you ruined everything with your daring! Live fires float past us, righteous elders in snow-white robes, crowned with roses and lilies, march under them, wonderful beauties dance. I couldn't get enough of this amazing picture. And suddenly I saw her - the one I love. Shocked, I made an involuntary movement, as if trying to cling to Virgil. But he disappeared, my father and savior! I sobbed. “Dante, Virgil is not coming back. But you don't have to cry for him. Look at me, it's me, Beatrice! And how did you get here? she asked angrily. Then a voice asked her why she was so strict with me. She replied that I, seduced by the lure of pleasures, had been unfaithful to her after her death. Do I plead guilty? Oh yes, tears of shame and remorse choke me, I lowered my head. "Raise your beard!" - She said sharply, not ordering to take her eyes off her. I lost my senses, and woke up immersed in Oblivion - a river that bestows oblivion of committed sins. Beatrice, now look at the one who is so devoted to you and so eager for you. After a ten-year separation, I looked into her eyes, and my vision was temporarily dimmed by their dazzling brilliance. Having regained my sight, I saw a lot of beauty in the Earthly Paradise, but suddenly all this was replaced by cruel visions: monsters, desecration of the shrine, debauchery.
Beatrice grieved deeply, realizing how much evil lies in these visions revealed to us, but she expressed her confidence that the forces of good will ultimately defeat evil. We approached the river Evnoe, drinking from which you strengthen the memory of the good you have done. Statius and I bathed in this river. A sip of her sweetest water poured new strength into me. Now I am pure and worthy to climb the stars.
Paradise
From the Earthly Paradise, Beatrice and I will fly together to the Heavenly, to heights inaccessible to the comprehension of mortals. I did not notice how they took off, looking at the sun. Am I, staying alive, capable of this? However, Beatrice was not surprised by this: a purified person is spiritual, and a spirit not burdened with sins is lighter than ether.
Friends, let's part here - do not read further: you will be lost in the vastness of the incomprehensible! But if you are insatiably hungry for spiritual food - then go ahead, follow me! We are in the first sky of Paradise - in the sky of the Moon, which Beatrice called the first star; plunged into its bowels, although it is difficult to imagine a force capable of containing one closed body (which I am) into another closed body (the Moon).
In the bowels of the moon, we met the souls of nuns kidnapped from monasteries and forcibly married. Through no fault of their own, they did not keep the vow of virginity given during the tonsure, and therefore the higher heavens are inaccessible to them. Do they regret it? Oh no! To regret would mean not to agree with the highest righteous will.
And yet I wonder: why are they to blame, submitting to violence? Why can't they rise above the sphere of the Moon? Blame the rapist, not the victim! But Beatrice explained that the victim also bears a certain responsibility for the violence committed against her, if, in resisting, she did not show heroic fortitude.
Failure to fulfill a vow, Beatrice argues, is almost irreparable by good deeds (there is too much to do to atone for guilt). We flew to the second heaven of Paradise - to Mercury. The souls of the ambitious righteous dwell here. These are no longer shadows, unlike the previous inhabitants of the afterlife, but lights: they shine and radiate. One of them flared up especially brightly, rejoicing in communication with me. It turned out that this was the Roman emperor, legislator Justinian. He is aware that being in the sphere of Mercury (and not higher) is the limit for him, for the ambitious, doing good deeds for the sake of their own glory (that is, loving themselves first of all), missed the ray of true love for the deity.
The light of Justinian merged with a round dance of lights - other righteous souls. I thought, and the course of my thoughts led me to the question: why did God the Father sacrifice his son? It was possible just like that, by the supreme will, to forgive people the sin of Adam! Beatrice explained: the highest justice demanded that humanity itself atone for its guilt. It is incapable of this, and it was necessary to impregnate an earthly woman so that the son (Christ), combining the human with the divine, could do this.
We flew to the third heaven - to Venus, where the souls of the loving ones bliss, shining in the fiery depths of this star. One of these spirit-lights is the Hungarian king Karl Martell, who, speaking to me, expressed the idea that a person can realize his abilities only by acting in a field that meets the needs of his nature: it’s bad if a born warrior becomes a priest ...
Sweet is the radiance of other loving souls. How much blessed light, heavenly laughter is here! And below (in Hell) the shadows thickened gloomily and gloomily ... One of the lights spoke to me (troubadour Folco) - he condemned the church authorities, self-serving popes and cardinals. Florence is the city of the devil. But nothing, he believes, it will get better soon.
The fourth star is the Sun, the abode of the sages. Here shines the spirit of the great theologian Thomas Aquinas. He joyfully greeted me, showed me other sages. Their consonant singing reminded me of church evangelism.
Thomas told me about Francis of Assisi - the second (after Christ) wife of Poverty. Following his example, the monks, including his closest students, began to walk barefoot. He lived a holy life and died - a naked man on bare earth - in the bosom of Poverty.
Not only I, but also the lights - the spirits of the sages - listened to the speech of Thomas, stopping singing and dancing. Then the Franciscan Bonaventure took the floor. In response to the praise given to his teacher by the Dominican Thomas, he glorified Thomas' teacher, Dominic, a farmer and servant of Christ. Who now continued his work? There are none worthy.
And again Thomas took the floor. He talks about the great virtues of King Solomon: he asked God for wisdom, wisdom - not to solve theological issues, but to reasonably rule the people, that is, royal wisdom, which was granted to him. People, do not judge each other hastily! This one is busy with a good deed, that one with an evil one, but what if the first one falls, and the second one rises?
What will happen to the inhabitants of the Sun on the Day of Judgment, when the spirits become flesh? They are so bright and spiritual that it is difficult to imagine them materialized. Our stay here is over, we flew to the fifth heaven - to Mars, where the sparkling spirits of warriors for the faith settled down in the shape of a cross and a sweet hymn sounds.
One of the lights that form this marvelous cross, without going beyond its limits, moved downwards, closer to me. This is the spirit of my valiant great-great-grandfather, the warrior Kachchagvida. He greeted me and praised the glorious time in which he lived on earth and which - alas! - passed, replaced by the worst time.
I am proud of my ancestor, my origin (it turns out that one can experience such a feeling not only on a vain earth, but also in Paradise!). Cacchagvida told me about himself and about his ancestors, born in Florence, whose coat of arms - a white lily - is now stained with blood.
I want to learn from him, a clairvoyant, about my future fate. What lies ahead for me? He replied that I would be expelled from Florence, that in my joyless wanderings I would know the bitterness of someone else's bread and the steepness of someone else's stairs. To my credit, I will not associate with impure political factions, but I will become my own party. In the end, my opponents will be put to shame, and a triumph awaits me.
Cacchagvida and Beatrice encouraged me. Ended up on Mars. Now - from the fifth heaven to the sixth, from the red Mars to the white Jupiter, where the souls of the righteous hover. Their lights are formed into letters, into letters - first into a call for justice, and then into the figure of an eagle, a symbol of the just imperial power, unknown, sinful, suffering earth, but affirmed in heaven.
This majestic eagle entered into a conversation with me. He calls himself “I”, but I hear “we” (just power is collegial!). He understands what I myself cannot understand: why is Paradise open only to Christians? What is wrong with a virtuous Hindu who does not know Christ at all? So I don't understand. And even that is true, - admits the eagle, - that a bad Christian is worse than a glorious Persian or Ethiopian.
The eagle personifies the idea of justice, and its main thing is not claws or a beak, but an all-seeing eye, made up of the most worthy light-spirits. The pupil is the soul of the king and the psalmist David, the souls of the pre-Christian righteous shine in the eyelashes (and I just blunderedly talked about Paradise “only for Christians”? That's how to give vent to doubts!).
We ascended to the seventh heaven - to Saturn. This is the abode of contemplators. Beatrice has become even more beautiful and brighter. She did not smile at me - otherwise she would have completely incinerated me and blinded me. The blessed spirits of the contemplators were silent, did not sing - otherwise they would have deafened me. The sacred light, the theologian Pietro Damiano, told me about this.
The spirit of Benedict, after whom one of the monastic orders is named, angrily condemned the modern self-serving monks. After listening to him, we rushed to the eighth heaven, to the constellation of Gemini, under which I was born, saw the sun for the first time and breathed in the air of Tuscany. From its height, I looked down, and my gaze, passing through the seven heavenly spheres we visited, fell on a ridiculously small earthly ball, this handful of dust with all its rivers and mountain steeps.
Thousands of lights are burning in the eighth sky - these are the triumphant spirits of the great righteous. Intoxicated by them, my vision has increased, and now even Beatrice's smile will not blind me. She smiled wonderfully at me and again prompted me to turn my eyes to the radiant spirits who sang a hymn to the queen of heaven - the holy virgin Mary.
Beatrice asked the apostles to talk to me. To what extent have I penetrated the mysteries of sacred truths? The Apostle Peter asked me about the essence of faith. My answer: faith is an argument in favor of the invisible; mortals cannot see with their own eyes what is revealed here in Paradise - but let them believe in a miracle, having no visual evidence of its truth. Peter was satisfied with my answer.
Will I, the author of the sacred poem, see my homeland? Will I be crowned with laurels where I was baptized? The apostle James asked me about the essence of hope. My answer is: hope is the expectation of a future well-deserved and God-given glory. Delighted, Jacob lit up.
Next up is the question of love. The apostle John gave it to me. Answering, I did not forget to say that love turns us to God, to the word of truth. Everyone rejoiced. The exam (what is Faith, Hope, Love?) was successfully completed. I saw the radiant soul of our forefather Adam, who lived for a short time in the Earthly Paradise, expelled from there to earth; after the death of long languishing in Limbo; then moved here.
Four lights blaze before me: the three apostles and Adam. Suddenly Peter turned purple and exclaimed: “My earthly throne has been seized, my throne, my throne!” Peter hates his successor - the pope. And it is time for us to part with the eighth heaven and ascend to the ninth, supreme and crystal. With unearthly joy, laughing, Beatrice threw me into a rapidly spinning sphere and ascended herself.
The first thing I saw in the sphere of the ninth heaven was a dazzling dot, the symbol of a deity. Lights revolve around her - nine concentric angelic circles. The closest to the deity and therefore smaller are the seraphim and cherubim, the most distant and extensive are the archangels and just angels. People on earth are accustomed to think that the great is greater than the small, but here, as you can see, the opposite is true.
Angels, Beatrice told me, are the same age as the universe. Their rapid rotation is the source of all the movement that takes place in the Universe. Those who hurried to fall away from their host were cast down to Hell, and those who remained are still rapturously circling in Paradise, and they do not need to think, want, remember: they are completely satisfied!
Ascension to the Empyrean - the highest region of the Universe - is the last. I again looked at her, whose beauty, growing in Paradise, raised me from heights to heights. We are surrounded by pure light. Everywhere sparks and flowers are angels and blissful souls. They merge into a kind of radiant river, and then take the form of a huge heavenly rose.
Contemplating the rose and comprehending the general plan of Paradise, I wanted to ask Beatrice something, but I saw not her, but a clear-eyed old man in white. He pointed up. I look - it glows in an inaccessible height, and I called out to her: “Oh donna, who left a mark in Hell, granting me help! In everything I see, I recognize your good. I followed you from slavery to freedom. Keep me in the future, so that my spirit worthy of you is freed from the flesh! She looked at me with a smile and turned to the eternal shrine. All.
The old man in white is Saint Bernard. From now on, he is my mentor. We continue to contemplate the Empyrean rose with him. The souls of immaculate babies also shine in it. This is understandable, but why were the souls of babies in some places in Hell - they can't be vicious, unlike these? God knows better what potentials - good or bad - are laid in what infant soul. So Bernard explained and began to pray.
Bernard prayed to the Virgin Mary for me - to help me. Then he gave me a sign to look up. Looking up, I see the supreme and brightest light. At the same time, he was not blind, but gained the highest truth. I contemplate the deity in his radiant trinity. And love draws me to him, which moves both the sun and the stars.
The Divine Comedy is the greatest work of the Middle Ages on the threshold of the Renaissance. Dante created a guide to the afterlife in such detail (especially in the first part) that his contemporaries were afraid of the poet: they were sure that he really was in the next world. Exactly one hundred chapters tell about an unusual journey to God. The work contains many references to antiquity, so it will not be easy to read this book without basic knowledge of myths. We suggest that you familiarize yourself with a brief retelling of the Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri, and we also recommend that you read it in order to understand and comprehend everything for sure.
The story is told in the first person. Dante Alighieri lost his way in the forest halfway through his life. The poet is in danger from predatory animals personifying vices: she-wolves, lions and lynxes (in some translations, panthers). He is saved by the ghost of the ancient Roman poet Virgil, whom Dante reveres as his teacher. Virgil suggests going on a journey through Hell, Purgatory and Paradise. Dante is afraid, but the ancient poet says that he is doing this at the request of Beatrice, Alighieri's deceased lover, in order to save his soul. They are on their way. Above the doors of Hell, words are inscribed that if a soul gets here, then hope will no longer help it, since there is no way out of Hell. The souls of the “insignificant” languish here, who have done neither good nor evil in their lives. They cannot go to Hell or Heaven. The mythical guardian Charon transports the heroes across the Acheron River. Dante loses consciousness, as after each transition to the next circle.
- Hell is presented in the poem as a funnel leading to the center of the Earth, under Jerusalem. In the first round Hell, called "Limb", Dante meets the souls of the righteous who died before the birth of Christ. These people were pagans and cannot be saved. Also in Limbo are the souls of unborn babies. Here, in the darkness, similar to the kingdom of Hades, lies the soul of Virgil. Dante talks with Homer, Sophocles, Euripides and other ancient poets.
- Second round represents a place of judgment over sinners at the head of the demon Minos. Like Charon, Minos is outraged that there is a living person in Hell, but Virgil explains everything to him. In the second circle, driven by the hellish wind of passions, the souls mired in the sin of voluptuousness (Cleopatra, Helen of Troy, Achilles and others) are tormented.
- Sin of the third circle- gluttony. The giant three-headed dog Cerberus tears sinners wallowing in the mud many times. Among them is the hero of one of the short stories of the Decameron, the glutton Chacko. He asks Dante to tell about himself alive.
- Guardian fourth round- demon Plutos (in mythology - the god of wealth). The misers and squanderers roll stones at each other and scold. Among the first, Dante notices many priests.
- Fifth circle- The Stygian swamp into which the Acheron flows. The angry drown in it. Through it, the poets are ferried by Phlegius, the son of Ares, who destroyed the Delphic temple. The boat sails up to the tower of the city of Deet. It suffers sinners who have committed sins not out of weakness, but of their own free will. Poets are kept from demons for a long time, Virgil's exhortations do not help.
- The gate is opened by a heavenly messenger who came to the aid of the heroes on the water. Sixth circle Ada is a graveyard with burning graves, around which furies and hydras fly. Heretics lie in the fire, among which Dante notices the tombs of popes who have departed from the Catholic Church. He also recognizes the political enemy of his ancestors. The dead do not know the present, but they can see the future.
- seventh circle dedicated to violence, it is guarded by the demon Minotaur. Poets see the ruins formed by the earthquake at the time of the death of Jesus Christ. This place is divided into 3 ditches: violence against neighbor, against self and against God. In the first, a bloody river flows, in which sinners drown, and centaurs hunt everyone who tries to get out. Chiron, whose blood killed Hercules, melts down the heroes further. The second belt is filled with trees in which the souls of suicides live. Harpies are circling around, constantly attacking plants. When Dante breaks off a branch, a groan is heard and blood flows instead of resin. The souls of suicides abandoned their own bodies and will not return to them after the Last Judgment. In the third moat, Dante and Virgil pass through a deserted field, on which, under a fiery rain, relaxed God-haters lie. Virgil explains to Dante that the rivers Acheron and Styx, which flow into Lake Cocytus, are the tears of a humanity mired in vices. To descend to the eighth circle, the heroes sit on the flying monster of Gerion, personifying deceit.
- Eighth circle deceivers and thieves burns in flames. Rivers of feces flow, some sinners are deprived of limbs, one of them moves, holding his head instead of a lantern, the other changes bodies with a snake in terrible agony. The demons frighten the poets and (in order to lure them into a trap) show them the wrong path, but Virgil manages to save Dante. Ulysses, the soothsayer Tiresias, as well as Dante's contemporaries are tormented here. The heroes get to the well of the giants - Nimrod, Ephialtes and Antaeus, who carry the poets to the ninth circle.
- Last Circle of Hell is an ice cave in which traitors are tormented, frozen to the throat in ice. Among them is Cain, who killed his brother. They are angry at their fate, not ashamed to blame God for everything. In the center of the earth, the three-headed monster Lucifer is seen from the ice. In three mouths, he endlessly chews Brutus and Cassius (traitors to Caesar), as well as Judas. The poets crawl down Lucifer's fur, but soon Dante is surprised that they are moving up, since this is already the opposite hemisphere. Poets get out to the surface of the Earth to the island on which Purgatory is located - a high mountain with a truncated top.
Purgatory
The angel transports the souls awarded Paradise to the shore. At the foot of the crowd are negligent, that is, those who repented, but at the same time were too lazy to do it. Dante and Virgil pass through the valley of earthly rulers to the gates of Purgatory, to which three steps lead: mirror, rough and fiery red. The angel imprints 7 letters "P" (sins) on Alighieri's forehead. You can climb the mountain only during the day, you can’t turn around.
The first ledge of Purgatory is occupied by the proud, carrying heavy stones on their backs. Underfoot, Dante sees images with examples of humility (for example, the Annunciation of the Virgin) and punished pride (the fall of the rebellious angels). Each ledge is guarded by angels. During the ascent to the second ledge, the first "P" disappears, and the rest become less clear.
The poets rise above. Here, along the cliff, envious people are sitting, deprived of sight. After each ascent to the next ledge, Dante sees dreams that personify his search and spiritual uplift.
The third ledge is inhabited by the wrathful. Souls wander in the fog that shrouded the mountain in this part: that is how anger clouded their eyes in life. This is not the first time Dante hears the solemn cries of angels.
The first three ledges were dedicated to the sins associated with the love of evil. The fourth is with insufficient love for God. The rest - with love for false goods. The fourth ledge is filled with dull ones, who are forced to endlessly run around the mountain.
On the fifth ledge lie relaxed merchants and spendthrifts. Dante kneels before the soul of the pope, but she asks not to interfere with her prayers. Everyone begins to praise God when they feel an earthquake: this happens when the soul is healed. This time the poet Statius is saved. He joins Dante and Virgil.
On the sixth ledge, emaciated from hunger, gluttons crowd around a tree with appetizing-looking fruits that are impossible to reach. It is a descendant of the tree of knowledge. Dante recognizes his friend Forese and communicates with him.
The last ledge is filled with fire, through which crowds of Sodomites and those who experienced bestial love run. Dante and Virgil go through the flames. The last letter "R" disappears. Dante loses consciousness again and has a dream about how one girl collects flowers for another.
The poet wakes up in the Earthly Paradise, the place where Adam and Eve lived. Lethe (the river of forgetfulness of sin) and Evnoia (the river of good memory) flow here. Dante senses strong winds: The Prime Mover sets the heavens in motion. The poet becomes a witness to the procession going to the repentant sinner. Among them are unprecedented animals, people personifying virtues, as well as a griffin - a half-lion-half-eagle, a symbol of Christ. With the appearance of Beatrice, accompanied by a hundred angels, Virgil disappears. Dante repents of his beloved's infidelity, after which the girl Matelda dips him into oblivion. In the eyes of Beatrice, Dante sees the reflection of a griffin, constantly changing its appearance. The griffin binds the cross from the branches of the tree of knowledge, and it is covered with fruits. Dante watches visions symbolizing the fate of the Catholic Church: an eagle flies on the chariot, a fox sneaks up to it, a dragon crawls out of the ground, after which the chariot turns into a monster. Dante plunges into Evnoia.
Paradise
Dante and Beatrice rise into the sky through a sphere of fire. She looks up, he looks up at her. They reach the first sky - the Moon, penetrating inside the Earth's satellite. Here are the souls of those who break vows, which the poet takes for reflections.
Heroes rise to Mercury, where ambitious figures live. A lot of luminous souls fly out to meet them, one of them - Emperor Justinian - reflects on the history of Rome. An explanation of the need for crucifixion follows.
On Venus, in the third heaven, live the loving ones, solemnly circling in the air along with the angels.
The sun, like all the planets in the poem, revolves around the earth. The brightest star is inhabited by sages. Dances of souls sing that their light will remain after the Resurrection, but will shine inside the body. Among them, Dante notices Thomas Aquinas.
The fifth heaven is Mars, the habitat of warriors for the faith. Inside the planet, a cross is assembled from the rays, along which souls fly and sing. If Dante's father walks among the proud in Purgatory, then his great-great-grandfather deserved to be here on Mars. The soul of the ancestor predicts Dante's exile.
Dante and Beatrice ascend to Jupiter, where just rulers are blissful. Souls, among which are David, Constantine and other rulers, line up in instructive phrases, and then into a huge eagle. Those of them who lived before Christ still expected him and have the right to go to heaven.
In the seventh heaven - Saturn - dwell contemplatives, that is, monks and theologians. Beatrice asks Dante to take his mind off her, and the poet notices a staircase down which angels and luminous souls, like fires, are descending towards him.
From the starry sky, where triumphant souls live, Dante sees the Earth. From the bright light, he faints, feeling that his vision is dimming. The heroes are met by the Archangel Gabriel. The Apostle Peter asks Alighieri about faith, the Apostle James about hope, and the Apostle John about love. Dante answers everyone in the affirmative: he believes, hopes and loves. Beatrice dusts Dante's eyes. Alighieri talks to Adam, after which he sees how Peter turns purple: this is a sign that the current pope is unworthy of his title.
Dante and Beatrice reach the Prime Mover, a small point of light from which one can see how the angels set the heavens in motion. This place seems to be the smallest sky, whereas with the ascension of heroes, each sky must be larger than the previous one. Dante learns that the main task of the angels is the movement of heaven.
Finally, Dante enters the Empyrean or Windrose and sees a river of light flowing into a lake inside a giant rose that turns into an amphitheatre. Saint Bernard of Claire becomes Dante's third guide as Beatrice sits on the throne. The souls of the righteous sit on the crowded steps. On the female half - Maria, Lucia, Eve, Rachel and Beatrice. Opposite them, headed by John the Baptist, sit men. Bernard of Claire points upward, and Dante, gradually losing consciousness from a strong light, sees God: three multi-colored circles reflecting each other, in one of which the poet begins to distinguish a human face. Dante Alighieri stops seeing and wakes up.
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8TH GRADE
ALIGIERI DANTE
THE DIVINE COMEDY
Hell
The protagonist of the poem, the poet Dante himself, finds himself in a forest where he meets a leopard, a lion and a she-wolf (allegories of human vices). Beatrice sends him the Roman poet Virgil as a guide.
Songs two and three
On the gate, the hero sees the inscription:
“Through me they go to the city of the heaviest torments,
Through me go to torment and chains,
Through me go between the generations of the inveterate.
The right court led the creator of my buildings:
Powers brought me together that will give birth to everything,
The Highest Wisdom and Persholubov.
Only after me the world began to reduce the gates.
Nothing lasts forever, but I am forever.
Abandon hope, ye who enter here.”
The poets entered and saw the rejoicing souls of those who lived only for themselves. Charon, the carrier of the souls of the dead, did not want to take Dante, but Virgil agreed.
Songs four - six
In the first circle of Hell (Limbo) they saw unbaptized babies and virtuous non-Christians (Homer, Horace, Ovid).
In the second circle, Minos with his tail indicates the amount of torment for violators of marital fidelity (Cleopatra, Helen, Semiramis). Then Dante hears the story of Francesca's love for Paolo, who kissed only in the garden while reading books about love. Dante sympathizes with Francesca's soul.
The entrance to the third circle is guarded by the three-headed dog Cerberus. Here the souls of gluttons are punished.
<...>I am gluttony,
That Chvakalo was teased by all the acquaintances, -
And here I am, drenched in the rain, poor fellow.<...>
Songs seven - nine
In the fourth round, Pluto blocked the entrance to the misers and burners.
In the sixth circle were heretics, rapists, liars and atheists.
Songs ten - twelfth
The entrance to the seventh circle was blocked by three centaurs, who did not allow souls to leave the river filled with boiling blood.
Songs thirteenth - sixteenth
The seventh circle was divided into three belts: tyrants, suicides, robbers.
Songs seventeenth - thirtieth
The eighth circle is described, where the tailed Geryon helped the poets to get through. Seducers, flatterers, holy merchants, soothsayers, bribe-takers, hypocrites, thieves, crafty advisers, instigators of discord and counterfeiters of metals, people, money and words were kept here in ten ditches.
They were beaten with whips, kept in "kali", bitten by snakes, punished with a heavy sword.
Songs thirty-one - thirty-four
In the well that connected the eighth circle with the last, ninth circle of Hell, the giants suffered. In the first zone of the ninth circle were traitors to relatives (Cain), in the second zone traitors to the motherland (Antenora), in the third - traitors to friends (Tolomei), and in the fourth - traitors to benefactors (Giudecca). These souls were in the three mouths of Lucifer (Judas, Brutus and Cassius).
Thus, the travelers ended up in the center of the universe and ascended to the southern ball.
Purgatory
Songs One - Nine
Purgatory was in the middle of the ocean, on top of which was the Earthly Paradise.
The pre-purgatory is described, where the souls of those who are irreconcilable with the church (King of Sicily Manfred), negligent and who did not die by their own death fall. Before the first circle of Purgatory, Dante has a dream: an eagle in the sky wants to take his soul. Then Lucie appears behind him and shows the entrance to Purgatory.
Songs ten - twenty seven
The seven circles of Purgatory are described.
The first circle is pompous (Niobe laughed with Latona that she had only two children. For this, seven daughters and seven sons of Niobe were killed).
The second circle is envious, who were given examples of generosity.
The third circle - the angry (Marco) are cleansed by the example of meekness.
The fourth circle is lazy.
Fifth circle - stingy. The poets heard the tremors of the mountain when some soul is taken to heaven.
The sixth circle - greedy people receive examples of restraint, and in the seventh circle - lustful people receive examples of purity (Virgin Mary).
Before entering the earthly Paradise, Virgil says goodbye and advises to take the crown and miter on the forehead as signs of power.
Songs twenty-eight - thirty-three
Describes the Earthly Paradise. Dante passes through the Divine Forest, two rivers: Lethe takes away the mention of sins, and Evnoye gives memories of good deeds. Biblical images passed before him. Beatrice appeared, noting that "he succumbed to the vanity of the earth." She instructed him to convey what he saw to people, for their path is moving away from God.
Paradise
Songs One - Nine
Dante entered Paradise and first came to Mіsyatsev heaven, where there were spirits that broke the vow (blueberries, who were forcibly married).
The third heaven - Venus - the spirits of the loving.
Songs ten - twentieth
The sun sky is assigned to the spirits of scientists (Thomas Aquinas, Albert the Great).
<...>Everything that I die or does not become dead Is just a reflection of the thought that the Lord in His love gives her the birth.<...>
The Mars sky shone with a cross from the spirits of the military.
The sixth heaven - Jupiter - the heavenly eagle speaks of the need for faith for salvation.
Song twenty-one - thirty-three
The seventh heaven - Saturn - the spirits of contemplators solve the problem of the destiny of fate in advance, the decline of monasteries.
The eighth heaven - Starry - gave Dante a picture of the triumph of Christ. The poet gave answers to the apostles Peter and James about faith and hope, to the apostle John - about love. All the love of the priests is directed to God.
In the ninth, Crystalline sky, the author observed heavenly beauty and earthly ugliness, the harmony of the heavenly hierarchy.
Beatrice continues talking about the decline of the church, false preachers.
The tenth, blazing sky is the light of God's grace in the form of a rose with petals of blissful souls.
Beatrice returns "to the third bench in the highest circle."
Dante, in ecstasy, prays.
The poem ends with the praises of the all-conquering heavenly love.
In the two greatest works of Dante Alighieri - "New Life" and in "The Divine Comedy" (see its summary) - the same idea is carried out. Both of them are connected by the idea that pure love ennobles the nature of a person, and the knowledge of the frailty of sensual bliss brings a person closer to God. But the "New Life" is only a series of lyrical poems, while the "Divine Comedy" is a whole poem in three parts, containing up to one hundred songs, each of which contains about one hundred and forty verses.
In early youth, Dante experienced a passionate love for Beatrice, daughter of Fulk Portinari. He kept her until the last days of his life, although he never managed to connect with Beatrice. Dante's love was tragic: Beatrice died at a young age, and after her death, the great poet saw in her a transformed angel.
Dante Alighieri. Drawing by Giotto, 14th century
In his mature years, love for Beatrice began to gradually lose its sensual connotation for Dante, turning into a purely spiritual dimension. Healing from sensual passion was a spiritual baptism for the poet. The Divine Comedy reflects this spiritual healing of Dante, his view of the present and the past, his life and the lives of his friends, art, science, poetry, Guelphs and Ghibellines, on the political parties of "black" and "white". In The Divine Comedy, Dante expressed how he views all this comparatively and relatively to the eternal moral principle of things. In "Hell" and "Purgatory" (he often calls the second "Mountain of propitiation") Dante considers all phenomena only from the side of their external manifestation, from the point of view of state wisdom, personified by him in his "guide" - Virgil, i.e. point of view of law, order and law. In "Paradise" all the phenomena of heaven and earth are presented in the spirit of the contemplation of a deity or the gradual transformation of the soul, by which the finite spirit merges with the infinite nature of things. The transfigured Beatrice, a symbol of divine love, eternal mercy and true knowledge of God, leads him from one sphere to another and leads him to God, where there is no more limited space.
Such poetry might have seemed like a purely theological treatise if Dante had not littered his journey through the world of ideas with living images. The meaning of the "Divine Comedy", where the world and all its phenomena are described and depicted, and the allegory carried out is only slightly indicated, was very often reinterpreted when analyzing the poem. Under clearly allegorical images, they understood either the struggle of the Guelphs and Ghibellines, or politics, the vices of the Roman church, or, in general, the events of modern history. This best proves how far Dante was from the empty play of fantasy and how he was wary of drowning out poetry under allegory. It is desirable that his commentators should be as circumspect in their analysis of the Divine Comedy as he was.
Statue of Dante in Piazza Santa Croce in Florence
Dante's Inferno - analysis
"I think it's for your good that you should follow me. I will show the way and lead you through the countries of eternity, where you will hear the cries of despair, you will see the mournful shadows that lived on earth before you, calling for the death of the soul after the death of the body. Then you will also see others rejoicing in the midst of the purifying flame, because they hope to gain access to the habitation of the blessed through suffering. If you wish to ascend to this dwelling, then a soul worthier than mine will lead you there. She will stay with you when I leave. By the will of the supreme lord, I, who never knew his laws, was not allowed to show the way to his city. The whole universe obeys him, according to his kingdom there. There is his chosen city (sua città), there stands his throne above the clouds. Oh, blessed are those who are sought by him!”
According to Virgil, Dante will have to know in "Hell", not in words, but in deeds, all the disaster of a person who has fallen away from God, and see all the vanity of earthly greatness and ambition. To do this, the poet depicts the underworld in the Divine Comedy, where he combines everything that he knows from mythology, history and his own experience about a person’s violation of the moral law. Dante inhabits this realm with people who have never sought to achieve pure and spiritual existence through labor and struggle, and divides them into circles, showing, by their relative distance from each other, the various degrees of sins. These circles of Hell, as he himself says in the eleventh song, personify the moral teaching (ethics) of Aristotle about man's deviation from divine law.
