Vertical Readings in Dante's Comedy Canto 23
Fraud: Pimping and Seducing (18), Flattery (18), Simony (19), Sorcery (xx), Political Corruption (21-2), Hypocrisy (23)
The offenses of circles 8 and nine--the lowest 2 circles of hell--all fall nether the rubric of fraud, a form of malice--as Virgil explains in Inferno 11.22-7--unique to human beings and therefore more displeasing to God than sins of concupiscence and violence. While all versions of fraud involve the malicious use of reason, circles eight and ix are distinguished from one some other co-ordinate to the offender's relationship to his or her victim: those who victimize someone with whom they share a special bond of trust (relatives, political / civic comrades, guests, benefactors) are punished in the lowest circle; if at that place exists no bail besides the "natural" i mutual to all humanity, the guilty soul suffers in i of the ten concentric ditches that constitute circumvolve 8. Physically connected past bridges, the ditches of circle viii contain fraudulent shades whose detail vices and actions similarly serve to interconnect the cantos and their themes in this part of the poem. Thus the pimps and seducers, whipped by horned demons in the beginning ditch, chronicle to the flatterers--disgustingly dipped in the excrement of the second ditch--through the sexualized figure of Thais, a prostitute from the classical tradition who falsely praises her "lover" (Inf. 18.127-35). These first 2 ditches are presented in a single canto (eighteen). Images of degraded sexuality are fifty-fifty more prominent in the next canto (xix). Here Dante presents simony--the abuse of power within the church building--equally a course of spiritual prostitution, fornication, and rape (Inf. 19.1-four; 55-7; 106-11), a perversion of the holy wedlock conventionally posited between Christ (groom) and the church (bride). Simon Magus, the human for whom simony is named (Inf. 19.1), was himself a magician or wizard, the profession of those punished in the 4th ditch (canto 20). Simony and Sorcery are further linked through biographical declarations--by Dante and Virgil, respectively--aimed at separating truth from falsehood: Dante sets the record directly when he announces that he shattered a marble baptismal basin to prevent someone from drowning in it (Inf. 19.19-21); and Virgil is equally emphatic that his native city, Mantua, was named after the prophetess Manto with no recourse to such dubious rituals as casting lots or interpreting signs (Inf. 20.91-iii; 97-9). Political abuse (fifth ditch), the law-breaking for which Dante himself was falsely charged when he was forced into exile, links back to similar abuses within the church building (simony) and points alee to the sin of hypocrisy. The longest unmarried episode of the Inferno, launched when Virgil confidently believes the promise of the devils guarding the 5th ditch, concludes when the travelers make a narrow escape into the sixth ditch and Virgil learns from a hypocrite that he has been duped (Inf. 23.133-48). Dante adorns the hypocrites in religious garb--hooded cloaks similar to the elegant ones worn by the Benedictine monks at Cluny (in France)--in accordance with the biblical condemnation of false piety: just every bit Jesus compares hypocritical scribes and Pharisees to tombs that appear clean and beautiful on the outside while containing bones of the dead (Matthew 23:27), so the bright golden cloaks of Dante's hypocrites muffle heavy lead on the inside (Inf. 23.64-half-dozen). back to tiptop
Jason (18)
Jason, leader of the Argonauts (named for the Argos, the first send) in their quest for the golden fleece of Colchis, stands out in the first ditch amid the seducers--joined in the pit by the pimps and panderers moving in the contrary management--equally a large, imperial effigy enduring the torments of hell with no outward sign of suffering (Inf. 18.83-5). Jason earned his place in this location through his habit of loving and leaving women: first Hypsipyle of Lemnos, whom Jason seduced and impregnated before abandoning; then Medea (daughter of the King of Colchis), whose magic enabled Jason to obtain the fleece past yoking fire-breathing oxen to a plough and putting to sleep the dragon guarding the fleece (91-6). Jason later left Medea (whom he had married) to wednesday Creusa. Medea brutally avenged Jason'southward disaffection by murdering their two children and poisoning Jason'southward new wife. Dante'due south principal sources are Ovid (Met. 7.1-158) and Statius (Thebaid 5.403-85). back to top
Pope Nicholas Three (19)
Nicholas is the simonist pope who, considering he is upside down in a pigsty, mistakenly believes Dante to be Pope Boniface Viii, somehow present in the third pit several years earlier his time (Inf. 19.52-7). When the confusion is cleared upwards, Nicholas informs Dante that he foresees the damnation (for simony) of not only Boniface VIII but Pope Clement Five as well. Born into the powerful Orsini family unit of Rome, Giovanni Gaetano was appointed caput of the Inquisition (1262) before being elected pope--taking the name Nicholas--in 1277. Nicholas expanded papal political control past calculation parts of Romagna, equally far north as Bologna and Ferrara, and he forged a compromise in the Franciscan movement betwixt the moderates and the radical spiritualists. He was known, on the one hand, for his loftier moral standards and intendance for the poor, and on the other for his shameless nepotism (derived from the Italian word--nipote--for nephew, niece, and grandchild): Nicholas himself states that he was guilty of favoring the "cubs" in his family (Orsini, the family name, translates to "picayune bears"; Inf. 19.70-2)--he in fact filled positions for iii new cardinals with relatives and appointed other relatives to high posts in the papal state. Nicholas died in 1280 and was buried in St. Peter's in Rome. back to top
Malebranche (21-ii)
Dante invents this proper noun--"Evil Claws"--for the devils of the 5th ditch who bring to hell and torment the shades of corrupt political officials and employees (Inf. 21.29-42). Like the velociraptors of Jurassic Park, these demonic creatures are agile, smart, and tearing. Armed with long hooks, the Malebranche keep the shades nether the surface of the black pitch, similar to how cooks utilize sharp implements to push chunks of meat downwardly into cauldrons (21.55-7). Consistent with the political theme of the episode, it is probable that Dante mischievously combines history and fantasy in coining names for individual demons-- "Bad Canis familiaris", "Sneering Dragon", "Curly Beard", and then on--based on actual family names of civic leaders in Florence and surrounding towns. Every bit the narrator says, "with saints in church, with guzzlers in the tavern!" (Inf. 22.xiv-15). Malacoda, the leader of the demons, may not be based on whatsoever particular person but his name--"Evil Tail"--strongly suggests that it is he (and non Barbariccia, as the Mandelbaum translation supposes) who sends off his troops by making "a bugle of his ass" (21.139). dorsum to elevation
Ciampolo (22)
Ciampolo (an Italianized version of Jean-Paul), according to the early commentators, is the proper name of the Navarrese who is tortured by the Malebranche in the fifth pit (political abuse) before a clever escape: he promises to summon his peers to the surface simply and then jumps back into the black pitch as shortly every bit the Malebranche dorsum off (Inf. 22.31-123). Nothing else is known of this grapheme across what Dante provides in the poem. Navarre was a small kingdom in the s of France (in the Pyrenees), and the "skilful King Thibault" in whose service Ciampolo took bribes (Inf. 22.52-iv) was probably Thibault Two (Rex of Navarre from 1255-70). back to acme
Caiaphas (23)
Caiaphas is the high priest of Jerusalem who, according to Christian scripture, advises a council of primary priests and Pharisees that it is expedient that "ane homo should die for the people" so that "the whole nation perish not" (John eleven:50). Considering this proclaimed interest in the welfare of his people to be false and self-serving, Dante places Caiaphas amid the hypocrites in the 6th pit, with an added contrapasso: because Caiaphas and other members of the council (including Caiaphas' father-in-police force, Annas) supposedly called on the Romans to excruciate Jesus (John 18:12-twoscore; 19:1-18), they are now themselves crucified to the floor of the pit (Inf. 23.109-20). Hither Dante endorses the repugnant view of Jesus' crucifixion as justification for the persecution of Jews (Inf. 23.121-iii). dorsum to peak
Malebolge (eighteen)
This is the name Dante gives to circumvolve eight, which consists of ten concentric ravines or ditches: male person means "evil" and bolgia is a Tuscan dialect word for "purse" or "pouch." Malebolge therefore translates to "Evil Pouches." Dante describes the overall structure of circumvolve eight--like to moats (with connecting bridges) effectually a castle--in Inferno 18.1-eighteen, even before the travelers pass through the region. Dante probable saw the layout of the entire Malebolge when he descended aboard Geryon from circumvolve 7 to circle 8 (Inf. 17.115-26). back to acme
Simon Magus (19)
Simon Magus, the original simonist (Inf. 19.1), is described in the Bible as a man from Samaria famous for his magical powers (magus ways wizard or wizard). Recently converted and baptized, Simon is so impressed with the ability of the apostles Peter and John to confer the Holy Spirit (through the laying on of hands) that he offers them money to obtain and exercise this power himself; Peter angrily denounces Simon for even thinking this gift could be bought (Acts 8:9-24). An apocryphal book, Acts of Peter, tells of a magic contest between the apostle and Simon, now the sorcerer of the emperor Nero in Rome. When Simon--with the aid of a demon--proceeds to wing, Peter crosses himself and Simon crashes to the footing. back to top
Pope Boniface Eight
Boniface, for Dante, is personal and public enemy number one. Benedetto Caetani, a talented and ambitious scholar of canon law, rose quickly through the ranks of the church and was elected pope, every bit Boniface Eight, soon after the abdication of Pope Celestine V in 1294. (There were rumors that Boniface had intimidated Celestine into abdicating so he could become pope himself.) Boniface'south pontificate was marked by a consolidation and expansion of church building power, based on the view--expressed in a papal bull (Unam sanctam)--that the pope was not but the spiritual head of Christendom but too superior to the emperor in the secular, temporal realm. Dante, by dissimilarity, firmly held that the pope and emperor should exist co-equals with a residual of power betwixt the pope's spiritual authority and the emperor'southward secular dominance. Boniface'southward political ambitions straight affected Dante when the pope--under the false pretense of peace-making--sent Charles of Valois, a French prince, to Florence; Charles' intervention allowed the blackness guelphs to overthrow the ruling white guelphs, whose leaders--including Dante, in Rome at the time to argue Florence'southward instance before Boniface--were sentenced to exile. Dante now settles his score with Boniface in the Divine Comedy past damning the pope even earlier his death in 1303 (the journey takes place in 1300): in the pit of the simonists, Pope Nicholas III, who tin can see the future (like all the damned), mistakenly assumes that Dante is Boniface come earlier his time (Inf. nineteen.49-63). back to tiptop
Pope Cloudless 5 (nineteen)
Pope Nicholas Three, the simonist pope who mistakes Dante for Pope Boniface Eight, foresees the inflow of some other simonist--even "uglier in deeds" (Inf. 19.82)--who will stuff Nicholas and Boniface farther downwardly in the pigsty when he takes his place upside down with his legs and feet in view. This "lawless shepherd from the west" (83) is Bertrand de Got, a French archbishop who owed his election to the papacy in 1305, as Pope Cloudless 5, to King Philip 4 of French republic, like to how Jason--a figure in the Bible (2 Maccabees 4:seven-26)--became High Priest past bribing Rex Antiochus (85-7). In render for this back up, Clement moved the Papal Run into from Rome to Avignon (in southern France) in 1309, an action so abhorrent to many (Dante for certain) that it came to be known as the "Babylonian Captivity." This state of affairs lasted until 1377, after which there were sometimes 2 popes (or pope and anti-pope, co-ordinate to i'southward perspective), ane each in Rome and France. The "Great Schism" ended in 1417 with the definitive return of the papacy to Rome. dorsum to superlative
Donation of Constantine (19)
Information technology was believed in the late Middle Ages that Constantine, the first Christian emperor (288-337 C.Due east.), transferred political control of Italy (and other parts of the W) to the church when he moved the majuscule of the empire from Rome to Byzantium--hence "Constantinople"--in the East. Legend held that Constantine gave this gift to Pope Sylvester I, whose baptism of the emperor had cured him of leprosy. Dante, who idea the earth better served with political power in the hands of the emperor, bitterly blamed this event for the dire consequences of a wealthy papacy (Inf. 19.115-7). The document that authorized this transfer of ability--popularly chosen the "Donation of Constantine"--was proved past Lorenzo Valla in the fifteenth century to be a fake, probably written in the papal court or in French republic several centuries afterwards Constantine's expiry. back to peak
Mantua (twenty)
After Virgil identifies the prophetess Manto (daughter of Tiresias) in the pit of the sorcerers and astrologers, he goes to great pains to explain how his native metropolis--Mantua--was in fact named subsequently Manto for the simple reason that she had lived and died in the place before it was inhabited by other people (Inf. xx.52-93). The city was thus named, Virgil tells Dante, with no recourse to chance or magic (drawing lots, auspice, divination, etc.). It may well exist that Dante here allows Virgil, who himself enjoyed a widespread reputation in the Middle Ages for wizard-like powers, an opportunity to disassociate his city--and, by extension, himself--from the sort of activeness punished in the fourth ditch. Virgil'southward association with magic could derive, for example, from his eighth Eclogue, a verse form in which a jealous female person shepherd employs witchcraft to try to win dorsum her lover: "Fetch water and around this altar wind soft wool / And fire the sappy vervain and male frankincense, / For by these magical rituals I hope to plough / My sweetheart'south sanity; only spells are lacking now" (64-7). The woman then creates her own magical incantation past chanting the refrain, "Draw Daphnis dorsum from town, my spells, draw Daphnis abode." However, perjury may be the toll for Virgil's try to exonerate himself from accusations of sorcery. Although Virgil insists that his version of the founding of Mantua in Inferno 20 is the only truthful version--whatever other business relationship would be a falsehood (97-9)--a different version appears in, of all places, the Aeneid: in volume 10 of his epic, Virgil explicitly attributes both the founding and the naming of Mantua to Manto'south son Ocnus, a Tuscan warrior who comes to the aid of Aeneas in the Italian wars: "There, too, another chieftain comes who from / his native coasts has mustered squadrons: Ocnus, / the son of prophesying Manto and / the Tuscan river; Mantua, he gave you / walls and his mother's name--o Mantua . . ." (278-82). While this account past the author of the Aeneid does not contradict the merits by the Virgil of Dante's Inferno that Mantua was named "without recourse to sorcery," it is nonetheless an example of the "city's origin told otherwise." back to height
Harrowing of Hell (21)
Malacoda indirectly alludes to Christ's "harrowing of hell" when he states that the span on which Virgil and Dante are travelling does not span the next ditch (the sixth). This section of the span, according to Malacoda, collapsed during the earthquake that shook the underworld "five hours from this hour yesterday, chiliad two-hundred and 60-six years ago" (Inf. 21.112-fourteen). Assuming (as Dante did) that Jesus died at noon on Good Fri at historic period 30-four, we can date the journey to the twelvemonth 1300. Virgil's own recollection of this earthquake and the subsequent harrowing (Inf. 4.52-63; 12.34-45) may help explain his otherwise questionable judgment in accepting Malacoda's offer of safe passage--with an escort of ten devils--to a bespeak where another bridge is supposedly intact. back to peak
Audio
"se' tu già costì ritto, Bonifazio?" (19.53) "che sù l'avere e qui me misi in borsa" (nineteen.72) "Qui vive la pietà quand' è ben morta" (20.28) "la verità nulla menzogna frodi" (20.99) "Posa, posa, Scarmiglione!" (21.105) "ed elli avea del cul fatto trombetta" (21.139) back to top
Are you lot already continuing there, upright, Boniface?
wealth up above, and myself here, I put in a pouch
Here lives pity when information technology is adept and dead
allow no falsehood cheat the truth
Down, down, Scarmiglione!
and of his donkey he had made a trumpet
Study Questions
Use 18.one-18 to draw an paradigm of Malebolge for yourself. How do you understand the contrapasso for the simonists in canto 19? Why is Dante so upset by the image of the contorted sorcerers and magicians (canto xx)? What are possible implications of Virgil's differing versions of the founding of Mantua in Aeneid 10 and Inferno 20.52-99? Find as many examples as possible of deception--individuals tricking 1 some other--in cantos 21-three. How practise the events of these cantos--the longest unmarried episode of the Inferno and the "comedy" of the Comedy--touch the relationship between Dante and Virgil? back to acme Dorsum to Inferno principal page
Source: https://danteworlds.laits.utexas.edu/circle8a.html
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