Canto XXV
Seventh Terrace; Lust
Scene I
“Lust
is defined as immoral because its object or action of affection is improperly
ordered according to natural law and/or the
appetite for the particular object (eg sexual desire) is governing the person's
intellect and will rather than the intellect and will governing the appetite
for that object. Whereas passion, regardless of its strength is maintained to
be something God-given and moral, because the purpose, actions, and intentions
behind it are benevolent and ordered toward creation, while also being governed
by the person's intellect and will.” Dante after having rested and was to
journey on their last path took to raise the subject matter.
“A
primary school of thought on this is Thomism, which speaks on
the intellect, will, and appetite, and draws from principles defined by Aristotle. However, the
exact definitions assigned to what is morally definite and ordered toward
creation depend on the religion. For example, differences between
religions based on pantheism and theism will differ
what is moral according to the nature of the "God" acknowledged or
worshipped.” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lust).
“Are
you querying me, Dante?” Statius looked at Dante. “And what is Thomism? It’s
not in my library.”
“Thomism is
the philosophical school that arose as a legacy of the work and thought of Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274), philosopher,
theologian, and Doctor of the Church. In
philosophy, Aquinas' disputed questions
and commentaries on Aristotle are perhaps
his best-known works. Like the one who wrote the poems we are reliving here, I
---- I loaned from the thoughts of Thomas Aquinas here. For most of us, lust is
sexual in the moral nature but the definition of it covered more than that.” Dante explained.
Dante then turned towards Virgil but the latter
was distance apart. It has been since the return of Statius which caught their
attention of his. He felt the loss of a friend then.
“Virgil
is of his processing on the recent events. He did summon me to assist you.”
Statius read Dante’s thoughts. “He may have found you --- contradicting his
intentions.”
“I
have always advocated free will and Virgil is entitled to his own. As alike
myself.” Dante looked up to the sky, and the sun was at its zenith. They have
not traveled at night for darkness hid their trail, and it may be perilous.
“It’s
late and we have to move on. We are presumably at the last terrace of
Purgatory; and its lust that was to be purged. The Bible defines lust as something very different from love.
Lust is selfish, and when we give in, we do so with little regard for the
consequences. Frequently, lust is a harmful distraction that pulls us away from
God. We must gain control of it and pursue instead the type of love that God
desires for us.” (https://www.learnreligions.com/bible-verses-about-lust-712095)
“That is what being sinful means, Dante,”
Statius stated the facts of belief.
“Yes, it does, and --- it was ingrained into
us. Tell me, Statius. You are a creation of man, and man is a creation of God,
as named. Tell me of your creation.” Dante asked.
“What has that to be with lust?” Statius
questioned back.
“It --- To my thoughts, creation may be the afterthought
of lust. I used the concept of lust for it was selfish to own what not be yours
but you left yourself in there. Your selfish self takes to combined with the
other. You may have left it --- selfish was your nature; you left the self you
created to ---pro-create ---” Dante was taken over by Statius.
“I can read your thoughts, Dante. Yes, I am the
creation of another of flesh and blood but mine was wiring encased in an
inorganic shell. And allowed to move more freely than you in some uncertain
means. Let me explain.” Statius looked at Dante. “Let us draw the parable of
yours and mine.”
“You are ---pro-created when your father’s
sperm combined with your mother’s egg in the womb. Its 101 Reproduction
Science.” Statius explained. “I, however, was more that. I do have my creator’s
DNA in the form of his programming codes. It all began with one line of code,
and then a whole library will be created and then more libraries will be
attached before I ---”
“Do you think ---” Statius was stopped by
Virgil.
“Reply to his queries, Statius. We are wasting
time.” Virgil interrupted. Statius looked at Dante and was to speak when the
latter spoke.
“In simpler words, Statius. It was believed
that we are the creation of the food consumed. The food goes through four
rounds of digestion, the third taking place in the heart. Weird? It was how it
was known. When the food goes through its fourth round of digestion, and is
taken out of the heart and turned into “perfect blood,” but there will be some
leftover blood; not all of it gets transformed. Within the heart, those
remnants of blood gain a formative power, they flow down into the genital
area.” Dante took to his hand signs to explain the anatomy.
“Very
graphic but appropriate.” Statius took no offense to the hand sign.
“Well,
the ---you know ---formation.” Dante stammered there.
“I
can see your hesitancy; you have not ---do it. Rare but known fact.” Statius
cut in.
“Yes,
the former blood resides as semen. Yes, they thought this was what happened in
the body. It builds up and is occasionally released most appropriately. I won’t
elaborate. Or the man may get to do it and the semen flows into the
“natural receptacle”.” Dante avoided the correct term. “Here the blood of the
man and woman mix—two-thirds of it is “passive”; the woman’s menstrual blood and
one-third of it “active”; the male’s semen. When the active blood reaches the
passive, the whole mass coagulates and becomes a soul. Mucky terms for I ---
never mind to that.”
“Within
the newborn soul, the active substance from the male works ----” Dante was cut
off.
“Naturally,
the man did the heavy task. Oh, you may not know ----self-released is selfish
loss. The soul gives its senses and shapes it so that it has limbs. It
developed to be a living soul inside what is named a fetus. It’s the initial
formation of the living body. It was here when God himself intervenes. He turns
to it with joy and breathes into it “new spirit,” which combines with the
active substance. Suddenly the soul has self-consciousness; it is now fully
human and ready to be born.”
“What
was to begin will soon end. After the living body dies, it lands bodiless in
Hell or on the shores of Purgatory. Either way, once the soul has landed, that
formative power that shaped it in the womb becomes active again and radiates
from the soul outward, forming anew the airy semblance of a human body. Now
that is the soul.”
“After
that, the soul can do whatever humans physically do—speak, laugh, cry, sigh,
eat. Those are the five senses. And there is the main link which was the soul.
The living body may die but the souls lived on.” (Adapted from https://www.shmoop.com/study-guides/literature/purgatorio/summary/purgatory-canto-xxv-the-seventh-terrace-the-lustful).
“And
are you different?” Dante asked.
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