Canto 23 Dante and Virgil proceed along their course but are soon pursued by the demons that were tricked into falling into the 5th ditch. Virgil holds Dante to himself like a mother holds a child, and slides down into the 6th ditch. The demons follow up to the rim, but are not allowed to … Continue reading »
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Dante’s Divine Comedy, Inferno: Cantos 20-22, Circle 8, Ditches 4-5 – Diviners, Grafters , and Demons
Canto 20 “Now I must sing of new griefs . . .” Dante and Virgil now cross over the 4th ditch which contains the fortune tellers and diviners of the future. They walk backwards for all eternity with their heads twisted around to their back. Because they spent their life trying to look forward into … Continue reading »
Dante’s Dante’s Divine Comedy, Inferno: Canto 19, Circle 8, Ditch 3 – Black Hole Stone
Canto 19 Simon the Magician (“Simon Magus”) was the person in Acts who tried to purchase the gifting of the Holy Spirit for gain (Acts 8:9-24). Since then, persons who try to buy/sell ecclesiastical favors/positions are known as simoniacs. In ditch three, the simoniacs are placed upside down in holes which Dante says are the … Continue reading »
Dante’s Divine Comedy, Inferno: Cantos 17-18, Circle 8, Ditches 1-2 – Pockets of Filth
Canto 17 – The Blessed Hell Ride Geryon, a massive man / lizard / scorpion rises out of the chasm to greet the travelers. His upper torso looks like a man at peace, but he is really a spotted (like a leopard!) reptile with a deadly tail. Geryon is named after a Spanish king who … Continue reading »
Dante’s Divine Comedy, Inferno: Cantos 13-16, Circle 7, Rings 2-3 – Forest and Desert
Circle 7, Ring 2 – The Self-Violent Close to the river of blood is the forest of the suicides. Rather than being a forest with suicidal shades, however, Dante discovers that the forest is the sinners. Here those who destroyed their own bodies are given “bodies” of trees – trees that bleed when broken, and … Continue reading »
