Canto XVIX
The Eighth Circle:
Fraud
Bolgia III: Simoniacs
Scene
1
It
took some time before Dante expressed his pain.
“I
had loved Beatrice when I was still young. I stole my first kiss on her, and we
exchanged no more than a dozen before she told me of her arranged wedding to
the Emperor.” Dante almost in tears had explained it all to Virgil. “We wanted
to elope, but my faith held me back. She offered herself towards me, and I
declined. Was I stupid?”
Virgil
was to reply but he bit his lips. He was no better; two marriages that failed
for his lover were his creations and not his life partners. The last was his
associate and with that, he failed to appreciate the consummation of love. He
had no children to carry on his legacy and felt no lonely thoughts on his
selfish life.
“I
told Beatrice where and when she feels she needed me, she was to call on me. It
was when you told me of Beatrice's request, I had not hesitated.” Dante
continued. “Love was to be eternal and not be spoken by the lips and ignored by
the heart.”
“And
mind,” Virgil added on. He knew his failure was his mind. He had loved his
wives but there was so much he needed to do in his works. He sacrificed one for
the other.
“When
you asked me of the --- casual releases ---” It took Virgil a second to
comprehend it and then he nodded to Dante’s explanation. “I wanted to the
moments offered or could be offered, but I held back. I buried my pain in my
read and work my recitals to correct the others. I guess my efforts were
without any --- The sins of prostitution was in the Book although it was there
in the trade long before and after the Book, I guess we cannot ignore or
banished it but let the sinners be done when judgment day awaits them.”
“Poet,
hold your judgment. We are here to traverse Hell but not add judgment on the
souls here. They had theirs decided by someone higher than us. Shed our
emotions, and let us proceed with our task that is to locate Beatrice. Hold
that task and we will be --- home soon.” Virgil was more fisted on his task and
adamant that we are the servant and not all that we seek will be made known.
“You
are right. Let us move on. Where are we?” Dante smiled, and then he approached
what was a wide hole. He saw some words etched on the tomb there. It read as
below.
“O Simon Magus, O forlorn disciples, ye
who the things of God, which ought to be. The brides of holiness, rapaciously for
silver and for gold do prostitute, now it behoves for you the trumpet sound.”
“I make not what it meant but it looked
to me like another bolgia I think reserved for the sins of the Simonists. His
name is etched there. Simon the Magus, who was a sorcerer who tried to but
spiritual powers from Apostle Peter.”
Once before a man named Simon had
practiced sorcery in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. He
boasted that he was someone great, and all the people, both high and low,
gave him their attention and exclaimed, “This man is rightly called the Great
Power of God.” They followed him because he had
amazed them for a long time with his sorcery. But when they believed
Philip as he proclaimed the good news of the kingdom of God and the name
of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. Simon
himself believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere,
astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw.
When the apostles in Jerusalem heard
that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and
John to Samaria. When they arrived, they prayed for the new believers
there that they might receive the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit had
not yet come on any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of
the Lord Jesus. Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and
they received the Holy Spirit.
When Simon saw that the Spirit was
given at the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money and
said, “Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may
receive the Holy Spirit.”
Peter answered: “May your money perish
with you because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! You have
no part or share in this ministry because your heart is not
right before God. Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord
in the hope that he may forgive you for having such a thought in your
heart. For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin.”
Then Simon answered, “Pray to the Lord
for me so that nothing you have said may happen to me.” (https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?)search=Acts%208%3A9-24&version=NIV)
“Simony is
the sin of attempting to buy or sell an office of the Church or a sacrament,”
Dante explained the sin that was there. (https://www.catholic.com/qa/what-is-the-sin-of-simony-and-does-it-have-anything-to-do-with-simon-peter)
Dante looked beyond the tomb. He saw
upon the sides and on the bottom of the hole, the livid stone with perforations
filled, all of one size, and every one were round. He recognized the stone
item.
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