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So, I finished reading Dante's Inferno the other day. I enjoyed it very much (definitely heading out to look for Purgatorio tomorrow), but my edition isn't very heavily annotated, so I felt like I was missing a lot of context, and wondered if any of you could give me your thoughts.
As you likely know, the very deepest pit of Hell at the bottom of the ninth circle (traitors) is home to Lucifer. He has three heads, and each mouth is chewing a traitor: Judas, Cassius, and Brutus.
( the relevant verses )
Dante doesn't go into very much detail here about the sinners or their torment, which I imagine is because it isn't necessary -- we know what they did, and we can guess at the severity of the punishment by extrapolating from what we know of the fates of lesser sinners. The brevity lends the scene a certain horrific solemnity.
Would it have been Plutarch's version of the assassination story that Dante was familiar with? If so, it seems that a point is being made that intent has no bearing on the guilt of the soul; Plutarch is very clear that Brutus thought he was doing right.
But doesn't that point contradict what Dante tells us earlier on about Limbo? If a worthy soul born before Christianity is spared punishment (in large part), what is that but a reward for having good intentions?
It's actually the point about Limbo that strikes me as the more puzzling; credit for good intent seems to be a more modern invention. Shakespeare makes Brutus a sympathetic figure, of course... and for that matter, "Jesus Christ Superstar" makes Judas a sympathetic figure, postulating that his motive was not greed, but fear for his people. I can't imagine Dante appreciating either of those portrayals, or understanding how they'd make any difference in ultimate punishment, or our perception of it. Maybe I'm just not getting what I'm supposed to get out of the Limbo episode.
Also, is Cocytus considered part of Judecca (traitors to benefactors)? I ask because whether or not Caesar was a benefactor to Cassius is somewhat debatable.
On another point, I was intrigued by the description of Lucifer: "He wept out of six eyes; and down three chins, / tears gushed together with a bloody froth." So Lucifer takes no pleasure in the torture he inflicts; he's suffering himself. Is the implication that his punishment is even greater than that of Judas? Judas betrayed the son, and Lucifer betrayed the father?
As you likely know, the very deepest pit of Hell at the bottom of the ninth circle (traitors) is home to Lucifer. He has three heads, and each mouth is chewing a traitor: Judas, Cassius, and Brutus.
( the relevant verses )
Dante doesn't go into very much detail here about the sinners or their torment, which I imagine is because it isn't necessary -- we know what they did, and we can guess at the severity of the punishment by extrapolating from what we know of the fates of lesser sinners. The brevity lends the scene a certain horrific solemnity.
Would it have been Plutarch's version of the assassination story that Dante was familiar with? If so, it seems that a point is being made that intent has no bearing on the guilt of the soul; Plutarch is very clear that Brutus thought he was doing right.
But doesn't that point contradict what Dante tells us earlier on about Limbo? If a worthy soul born before Christianity is spared punishment (in large part), what is that but a reward for having good intentions?
It's actually the point about Limbo that strikes me as the more puzzling; credit for good intent seems to be a more modern invention. Shakespeare makes Brutus a sympathetic figure, of course... and for that matter, "Jesus Christ Superstar" makes Judas a sympathetic figure, postulating that his motive was not greed, but fear for his people. I can't imagine Dante appreciating either of those portrayals, or understanding how they'd make any difference in ultimate punishment, or our perception of it. Maybe I'm just not getting what I'm supposed to get out of the Limbo episode.
Also, is Cocytus considered part of Judecca (traitors to benefactors)? I ask because whether or not Caesar was a benefactor to Cassius is somewhat debatable.
On another point, I was intrigued by the description of Lucifer: "He wept out of six eyes; and down three chins, / tears gushed together with a bloody froth." So Lucifer takes no pleasure in the torture he inflicts; he's suffering himself. Is the implication that his punishment is even greater than that of Judas? Judas betrayed the son, and Lucifer betrayed the father?
