Canto XVIII
The Eighth Circle:
Fraud
Bolgia I & II:
Panderers and Seducers & Flatterers
Scene
1
The mechanical orb described its stay when it was
missing from its creator with clarity but it did not express any emotional
expressions towards its creator. It was all explanations of the sort but short
of mentioning, that it almost killed; rather the manner of speech then.
“You could not die again, creator. You are dead.”
The orb said to its creator. “I had calculated the probability and in
assumptions, you will continue.”
“I can’t die as I am dead, but the poet could.”
Virgil challenged the creation of his.
“It was assumed then but the probability---” Virgil
interrupted the orb then.
“This is not a game of deductive assumptions but
you did well. We are here.” Virgil looked to Dante. “I am lost to what logical
path the orb had taken in its assumption.”
“Well, what was seen was what was envisage by its
creator. And from you to your creator. Proverbs 16:9, The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.” Dante replied. “That was observed.”
“Oh----Thank you. I feel blessed.” Virgil smiled
and the orb resided inside the soul of its creator.
“Why does the orb not expressed any gratitude to be
united with you when you said it possesses the means to think like us?” Dante
asked.
“It does its gratitude in its manner, as some of us
displayed our gratitude other than a smile, or bow. The orb had reunited with
us, and it lured the beast to take us here so that we can continue our task.” Virgil
replied in the same cold logic as his creation.
“Where are we?” Dante changed the subject.
“I think we are coming to the end of the Circle. I
have not been this far on my last journey. I saw some pits there.” Virgil
motioned to the series of what appeared to be the rim of volcanoes like the
opening of the geysers. There were signs of smoke but not of flame. The duo
took their walk to it.
“I know of this place. It was my version of Hell.”
Dante voiced out. What he saw before he was the huge cavern divided into ten concentric circular trenches or ditches.
“We used to call those trenches ‘bolgia’. It was
also named Malebolge. It meant the "evil ditches". Malebolge is a large,
funnel-shaped cavern, itself divided into ten concentric circular trenches or
ditches. Each trench is called a bolgia (Italian for
"pouch" or "ditch"). Long causeway bridges run from the
outer circumference of Malebolge to its center, pictured as spokes on a wheel.
At the center of Malebolge is the ninth and final circle of hell. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malebolge#:~:text=Roughly%20translated%20from%20Italian%2C%20Malebolge,%22%20or%20%22ditch%22).&text=At%20the%20center%20of%20Malebolge,and%20final%20circle%20of%20hell.)
“It’s guarded by the Malebranche led by their leader,
Malacoda; the evil and the ones who were it were, Scarmiglione ("ruffle-haired"), Barbariccia ("curly
beard"), Alichino (derived from Arlecchino, the harlequin), Calcabrina ("one who walks on the frost"), Cagnazzo
("bad dog"), Libicocco ("love notch"), Draghignazzo (maybe
from drago, "dragon", and sghignazzo,
"guffaw"), Ciriatto (possibly "little pork"), Graffiacane
("scratch dog"), Farfarello ("butterfly"), Rubicante
(possibly "red" or "rabid"), and a thirteenth Malebranche
who was never named in the text.” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malebolge)
“It’s shaped like that of a ten-spoke wheel.” Virgil likened
the place in his scientific mind.
“Yes, they are as I had read. There are ten bolgia. The ten ditches of the Malebolge, in
descending order, are listed thus: Bolgia One: Panderers and seducers are
punished here. They are forced to march, single file around the circumference
of their circle, constantly lashed by horned demons.”
“Bolgia
Two: Sinners guilty of excessive flattery are punished in this bolgia, immersed
forever in a river of human excrement, similar to what their flatteries were.”
“In Bolgia
Three: Simoniacs are punished here. We had seen them earlier. They
are turned upside down in large baptismal fonts cut into the rock, with their
feet set ablaze by oily fires. The heat of the flames burns according to the
guilt of the sinner.”
“Bolgia
Four: Astrologers, seers, sorcerers, and others who attempted to
pervert God’s laws to divine the future are punished here. Their heads
have been twisted around to face backward, and thus they are forced to walk
backward around the circumference of their circle for all eternity. They also
are blinded by their tears; they cannot walk in straight paths.”
“Bolgia
Five: Grafters alike to speculators, extortionists, blackmailers and
unscrupulous businessmen: sinners who used their positions in life to gain
personal wealth or other advantages for themselves) are punished by being
thrown into a river of boiling pitch and tar. In addition, should any of
the grafters try to escape the pitch, a horde of demons armed
with grappling hooks and barbs stands guard over them, ready to tear
them to pieces.”
“Could
it the one we covered beneath the roots was one?” Virgil referred to the
dismembered soul in the forest. Dante ignored him and continued his
explanation.
“Bolgia
Six: Hypocrites are punished in this circle. They are forced to wear
heavy lead robes as they walk around the circumference of their circle. The
robes are golden and resemble a monk’s cowl but are lined with heavy lead,
symbolically representing hypocrisy. There was the Bolgia Seven”
“This bolgia houses the
souls of thieves. The bolgia is also filled
with serpents, dragons, and other vengeful reptiles that torture the
thieves endlessly. The bites of some of the snakes cause the thieves to
spontaneously combust, only to regenerate their bodies for further torment in a
few moments. They are pursued by the monstrous fiery Cacus. Other thieves
are denied human forms and appear as reptiles themselves, and can only assume
their true shape if they steal a human shape from another sinner; this involves
a very painful transformation for both souls involved.”
“Bolgia Eight: In this
trench, the souls of deceivers who gave false or corrupted advice to others for
personal benefit are punished. They are constantly ablaze, appearing as nothing
so much as living, speaking tongues of flame.”
“Bolgia Nine: Sinners who,
in life, promoted scandals, schism, and discord are punished here;
particularly those who caused a schism within the church or politics. They are
forced to walk around the circumference of the circle bearing horrible,
disfiguring wounds inflicted on them by a great demon with a sword. The nature
of the wound mirrors the sins of the particular soul; while some only have
gashes, or fingers and toes cut off, others are decapitated, cut in half (as
schismatics), or are completely disemboweled.” It was here Dante offered a word
of prayer to the souls there.
“Bolgia Ten: Falsifiers,
those who attempted to alter things through lies or alchemy, or those who
tried to pass off false things as real things, such
as counterfeiters of coins, are punished here. This bolgia has four
subdivisions where specific classes of falsifiers (alchemists, impostors,
counterfeiters, and liars) endure different degrees of punishment based on
horrible, consumptive diseases such as rashes, dropsy, leprosy, and consumption.”
“There
is the lower edge of Malebolge; the final level which was never revealed is
guarded by a ring of titans and earth giants, many of whom are chained in place
as punishment for their rebellion against God. Beyond and below the giants lies
Cocytus, hell's final depth. That is eternal death.”
Dante heard then the sounds of the wailing of the tormented
souls and laying of the whips upon them.
“Are we not to avoid listening to that even so far deep in
Hell?” Dante sighed. He had grown tired of seeing Man’s sufferings.
“Hold halt to your emotions, Poet. We are almost through and
do not falter but think of Beatrice. She may be ahead of us and nearer than we
thought.” Virgil offered words of encouragement.
“Thanks to you, Virgil when you are to tell me that my
Beatrice resides here,” Dante replied with an angry tone. He then walked on
ahead of Virgil who was trying to find the words to comfort the other. His mind
leaned towards logic and hardly he felt ‘humanely reasoning’ was called on.
No comments:
Post a Comment