Dante Book II Canto XXIII Scene II

 Scene II

 

“Who are they?” Dante asked himself when he saw the file of souls took leave of the building before him. Dante looked at the building; solitary yet huge and imposing to one who may first see it. He saw to the right of the building was a hill with ruins on it. He then saw the file walked with two in a row to the left side of the building, and the file was a long line. They were not dressed but around their shoulders was the cloak that glittered in the shade. and hood held the same shade, but the souls having it on were hunched as if the cloak and hood weighed heavy on them.

Virgil looked at the file of souls. They all looked the same to him, heavily cloaked and hunched with the hoods covering their head.

“I do not know any,” Virgil replied. “Although I been here.”

“You told me you were before the bolgia when you came here to seek another. How much more lies you have not told me?” Dante asked and without waiting for the reply, he stepped up to the file of souls.

“I am Dante from ----.”

“Who speaks with the ascent of our city?” A soul in the file stopped and then stepped out. He was soon accompanied by another and they approached Dante.

“It's rare we heard of one from Tuscan. Are yo9u of the city of Florence?” The one who spoke earlier spoke but the face was hidden by the hood.

“I am Dante Alighieri of Florence.” Dante replied.

“His throat moves. He is not of us.” The other who stepped out of the file motioned to Dante’s throat. “He may be a living one.”

“Impossible. We are all dead souls here ----more like condemned souls.” The one who spoke to Dante then looked at him. “Who are you, and what sins have you done? All of us are the sinners of hypocrisy.”

“Hypocrisy? I am not of one. I believed in what I speak. I am Dante Alighieri, once a poet and then now, a volunteer on a task to seek my Empress.”  Dante introduced himself. “I am ---very much the living soul but sent here on that task.”

“I don’t believe him.” The second soul spoke up. “Like us here, we are all hypocrites. What we mouth out, may come different at our butt end.”

“Or into your butt end, Marco Luiz. I know you well.” It was Virgil who stepped up to confront the two there. “Marco Luiz, a man of the law-abiding citizen, you once professed that the same gender relationship deserved to be burnt at the stakes and yet you fornicate with the exchange of money for it.”

“Who accuses me?” The soul named Marco took a step forward. “I ---”

“A fake you were. Get back on the file for you are a sinner of the sort.” Virgil snapped out. “It pukes me to be seen with you.”

“Hold the words, companion.” Dante held back Virgil’s name. “We are not here to accuse. They are already accused as it was with Ser Latini.”

“I am here to know of your sin, fellow Florentina.” Dante looked to the one who spoke first.

“I am no better. I was assigned to lead the Army to battle. I was a leader of men but inside me, I was a follower of my own. I side with the ones that were divided for generations. I took the liberty with my own.”

“Guelph? I heard of one named who was a General in the Army. He conflicted with another who was a Ghibelline. The conflicts of the kind divided the Army and the nation suffered.” Dante gave out his thoughts. “Were you---”

“I admit I was. While I spoke of a common enemy, but I held my own in the ranks and sacrifice the other. I was challenged and battle tactics were ignored. We argued and plot against each other, and soon we were on the losing end.”

“And the Volunteers were called on, recruited some by devious means. I have my anger at you and you deserved the punishment.” Dante hit back. “You are blessed that no boiling pit or flames at your heels await you.”

“This one you see is not treasuring house but a sanatorium for us the hypocrites. We are sick in the mind and here is where we belong. This is not the madness of Man but the sinners. What you may judge on the outside, the inner walls reflect a stay worse than what we did a lifetime. In there, there are rooms and in each one, tormentors await and the punishment varies from physical to the pain inside our souls.”

“Have you seen your souls torn apart and then stitched back so that when we take the walk outside, we are seen as complete?” The second one spoke to Dante. “I have smiled at the servitude of my paid dues, but I was not one to know what it was to endure until I am here.”

“Speak no more of the foul acts here. You are sinners and deserving all of you.” Virgil cut in. he saw another group approached them.

“Who are they? Your goons to do us in to silence us.” Virgil asked out loud while he alerted Dante.

“They are of the robes. Once the appointed faithful of the Empress then became her adversary. They are called the ---” The ex-General soul spoke and it angered Virgil then.

“I know them. They called themselves the Jovial Team. Jovial was their trade, mockery was their real act. They plotted against the Empress to further their influence. Their leader, the one named Caiaphas was once the Empress confidante. She shared her thoughts and he used them against her. They reported her to the Council of Unity for her low belief in the nation will perish before the war can be won. They spoke of her sacrifice to overcome the war outcome. She was summoned and quizzed there like a traitor.”

“How did you know so much?” Dante asked.

“I was brought into her confidence after it. She told me to let me believe in men of science and logic than that of the words of the mouth. She had them banished and sent to the front lines to sample the real truth of war. I heard they died there but I met none of them when I was here last.”

Dante was surprised by Virgil’s reply. It is seen that Virgil was not what he said he was. He came with many surprises and like the onion layers, he revealed more when each layer was removed.

“Caiaphas? He lies inside before the doors, spread-eagled and shackled to the floor to be trampled by all when they filed out.” The ex-General spoke. “His sins much foul than mine. Caiaphas with the influence of the Empress or the Council had condemned many good souls.”

“Does the sins of Man could never be stopped?” Dante was upset. “Lies awaits us when we least expected it.”

That last line was directed at Virgil but Dante was not stopping there.

“The ones whom we placed our faith to be strengthened, they thus false our beliefs and when its due, banished us to the pits alike here.” Dante furious then wanted to lash out at the ex-General but the latter spoke of his repentance.

“We are who in the file here is willing to repent but the trail to repentance lies far for now. We are given the cloak of burden; glittered seen by others but in it are heavy burdens that hunched our spine to tell us that being humble we should be in our living journey. Remember as we walk here in the file, we are not alone in our sins, as well we are not alone  to overcome our sins.”

“Repent, son while you could. Repentance may still you see ahead to Heaven. Beyond there are the ruins and from there the gateway to leave here.” The ex-General with the other then took leave of Dante.

“Repent? I think we all would for at some stage of our journey, we had sinned.” Virgil spoke then.

“I hope you will, for there is more in you than some sinners I had seen.” Dante took his walk towards the ruins.

“I am a sinner? I -----” Virgil paused in his words. “He is into one of his moods again If only I have a mirror, then he may see his own. Dante may be obsessed with his view.”

True words, but many of us could not make out how we looked to others but we see only others in our view. There is a tale to it.

(A man sees a lady when he was younger, he may lust after her. And she may of him for he was young too. When that man is older, he will see another lady of young age and still lusts after her but she may not for him for he looked old. He does not see that for his sight is before him and not on himself as seen by the others. If sarcasm could be applied here, judge not a book for its cover, then the response here may be inversed to my thoughts. What we termed as lust may be seen differently by others. So, be it. Take the view for the worse it can do was we had a glimpse of what it could have been.)