Following Dante into Hell

 

Then said my courteous master: "See, my son,
All those that die beneath God's righteous ire
From every country come here every one.

They press to pass the river, for the fire
Of heavenly justice stings and spurs them so
That all their fear is changed into desire;

And by this passage, good souls never go:
Therefore, if Charon chide thee, do thou look
What this may mean - 'tis not so hard to know."

- Canto III, The Divine Comedy: Hell

A Medieval text can reach our souls today? How do we understand it? Can it teach us things we never considered? Well, you know that my response is always, yes, absolutely. There is so much to learn from the wisdom that came before us. And the creativity is amazing. I have much to glean and I rejoice in that.

I suspect that most people avoid glancing at old literature because they think it entirely unapproachable,  difficult in language, or out of date in what it is saying. Did you know Dante's Divine Comedy is actually quite political?  This was a way of him poking at that fire a bit as he sat in exile. He places certain political, religious, and well-known people in the various circles of Hell that he meets as he journeys through. He definitely ruffled some feathers when he wrote this from 1308 and completed it in 1320.

Sin is a choice, and therefore being in Hell is a choice as well. Dante portrays this idea in the allegory of his Inferno. Reading this for the second time, in my new book, the translation by Dorothy L. Sayers, it is fresh and lively. I will gladly read everything that DLS has written. She journeyed deep into her study of Dante and The Divine Comedy. She corresponded with Charles Williams (an Inkling who was in his own right quite an expert in Dante) frequently. Their writings have helped open up this work to see the hidden/deeper meaning behind all the symbols that pop up with every step of Dante's journey with his mentor (he calls master) Virgil through the circles of Hell.

When you read this, you cannot help but laugh at the irony of the figure of Satan himself, a giant at the very bottom of Hell, when they finally reach it after crossing through all the terrible circles. Especially in the description of him being encased in ice from the waist. With three faces, each mouth devouring a sinner. Once Dante and Virgil cross through the center of Hell to the other side of the ice sheet, comically they see the hairy legs of Satan just sticking up. 

There are more encounters of humour, irony, and interesting meetings along the way. Dante has the feelings we could easily commiserate with in our own days. Struggling through a darkness in life, going through the pain and suffering, and coming out the other side with a little bit of wisdom shining on our faces.