The Malebolge is divided into ten ditches; we've come to the third, which houses the simoniacs. They're wedged upside-down into holes; new arrivals get stacked upon the old, crushing them into the rock. FYI, simony is the practice of selling posts in the Church. A century later, Chaucer also sounded off against this type of sin, but I'd say he portrayed their corruption as part of the fallen nature of Man. Dante views them as truly wicked holy men who follow “a god of gold and silver”, putting them into a cosmic perspective, not a human one.
No comments:
Post a Comment