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Comparing Aquinas And Dante's Inferno

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St. Thomas Aquinas and Dante gave light to the true qualities of the soul through their texts The Divine Comedy, and Aquinas’s Shorter Summa. Throughout the words of these influential authors we begin to understand the path the soul takes from its formation to its end. Both St. Thomas Aquinas and Dante agree that the soul is a distinct being from the body that carries out a certain fate according to the way one follows God’s teachings. St. Thomas Aquinas and Dante regard to the existence of souls rather than “bodies” throughout most of their texts. Both authors agree that instead of the body itself carrying on to, Hell, or Purgatory, it is the soul that lives on. St. Thomas explains, “Besides, if men once risen were to die, the souls separated …show more content…

176, Par. 155). In this quote St. Thomas states how when our bodies physically die, our souls do not stay within the dead body, rather they move on to one of the three worlds that Dante describes for us. St. Thomas believes that soul will not stay deprived in the dead body as each soul has a deeper fate that it will continue to live on in another life. The life it goes on to live, according to Dante, is based off of how well that soul lived its life in accordance with God’s teachings. In the text Inferno, we learn that individuals who lived their life in sin face an eerie fate in their life after death. Virgil explains to Dante, “This wretched state of being / is the fate of those sad souls who lived a life / but lived it with no blame and no praise” (Dante, The Divine Comedy/ Inferno, P.15, L. 34-36). Virgil is informing Dante about the cries for help that he is hearing as they inch closer to Hell, …show more content…

The reward of the soul that Dante exemplifies in his writing is supported by St. Thomas’s teachings in his novel Aquinas’s Shorter Summa. St. Thomas states, “the reward of virtue is happiness, to be granted to man by God’s goodness” (Aquinas, Shorter Summa, P.198, Par.172). St. Thomas believes that God grants happiness to souls who lived with virtue throughout their life, and punishment to those who neglected it. For God to be gracious to a soul after death, that soul must have lived a virtuous life in accordance with God’s teachings. If the soul had strayed from his teachings, God sends that individual to a lower realm where they can repent their sins. In Dante’s Paradise we see characters who are content with the life they live in Heaven. No matter what circle they reside upon, each individual feels reluctant to be so close to God. Piccarda explains, “Brother, the virtue of our charity / brings quiet to our wills, so we desire / but what we have, and thirst for nothing else” (Dante, Paradise, P.29, L.70-72). In this quote, Piccarda is explaining to Dante why she does not desire to be in a higher circle of Heaven. Piccarda explains that she does not desire anything more than what God has blessed her with already. We see through her words that the virtuous life she lived has allowed God to reward her with an eternal life she is content with. Throughout

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In Dante’s Inferno, the ideas of justice, good and evil, and suffering in hell are implied. The idea of suffering in hell and the idea of justice are closely related. Dante indicates that those suffering in hell have committed crimes that are being punished in a reasonable way and that we should not have pity for them. He uses the setting and his organization of hell to transmit these ideas and his philosophy regarding these ideas. The organization of hell helps us understand that Dante believed it was a person’s poor decisions and not cruel fate that got a person in hell.

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In other words, Dante the Poet rebukes the Church’s greedy and reckless behavior by placing its members in hell.

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Dante's journey is more for self enlightenment in comparison to other great epics, such as Beowulf. Although Dante does not realize it, he is there to improve himself. During this trip, he feels pity for the sinners in the levels of Hell and often faints because of the awful treatment they are being subjected to. He eventually feels compassion for the sinners and realizes that Hell is a place that you would not want to be in. He then goes back to the normal world wanting to tell everyone to change the way they live so they do not end up in Hell, like he experienced on the

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In "What Happens After Death in Catholicism," Elise Cowles delves into the rich history of Catholic theology concerning what happens after death. The article discusses the Catholic perspective on Heaven, Hell, Purgatory, and the final judgment, drawing from sacred scriptures, tradition, and theological reflection. The major points made by the author are the immortality of the soul, judgment, purgatory, Heaven and Hell, prayer for the dead, and the Communion of Saints. The Catholic Church teaches that the soul is immortal and continues to exist after death. This concept is supported by various writings within the church.

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Dante 's depiction of suicides ' punishment, from a modern perspective, seems too harsh for the nature of the crime. The crime seems to neither deserve such a low place in hell nor warrant a harsh punishment. However, after closer examination of the text and context, Dante 's punishment for people who were violent against themselves is justifiable. The Christian ideology of the connection between body and soul, explains this contrapasso of the suicides.

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Throughout the Divine Comedy, Virgil served an essential role in guiding and teaching the Pilgrim. By having Virgil be the pilgrims guide, Dante (the author) illustrates how important Virgil is in providing a pagan perspective to the poem. In spite of Virgil’s pagan view, this is seemingly altered through the course of the poem. At multiple points in the inferno and purgatorio Virgil shows signs of change, through actions like confession to his sins and reflecting on why he was placed in Hell. Comparatively though, through Virgil’s actions in other parts of the poem, he also demonstrated not changing in slightest.

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Throughout time, perspectives on religion and what happens after death have changed. For example, ancient cultures of polytheism of great Olympian gods to modern cultures of monotheism of Jesus Christ. Many religions believe that there is some kind of heaven, hell or reincarnation that comes after death. With different perspectives of afterlife come different punishments and rewards. In Dante Alighieri’s Inferno, Dante captures the perfection of God through the various punishments for the sinners sent to hell.

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In The Comedy, Dante the Pilgrim develops a relationship with his damned idol, Virgil, in order to journey through both Inferno and Purgatory. Even though Virgil was a good man while living, he lacked understanding of certain virtues, like pride, which prevented him from being able to reach higher levels in the afterlife. Dante the Poet’s choice to damn Virgil conveys that obeying a higher order is the way to one’s salvation. The developing relationship between Virgil and Dante the Pilgrim throughout the first two canticles brings light to the opposing separation between the two characters because of the devotion Dante has to Christian virtues in comparison to Virgil’s pagan misunderstanding of virtue. While Dante the Pilgrim experiences many

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Unfortunately, Dante’s journey transitions from the wood into the depths of Hell where he and readers discover the Christian view of sin, repentance, and the need for a savior. The author introduces his readers to Jesus Christ during Virgil and Dante’s conversation about the lost souls in Limbo. In the First Circle of Hell, known as Limbo, the lost souls that did not have an opportunity to meet Jesus Christ dwell in this place. Although they did not sin, they did not have a proper relationship with God through Jesus Christ. However, Virgil testifies about Jesus’ decision into Hell when he says, “ I saw a mighty lord descend to us…

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Jesus has descended into Hell and granted salvation to the souls in Limbo with hope. With the absence of these saved souls, every soul left in Hell has no hope of salvation. The sigh that states “Abandon all hope ye who enter here” acts as a warning for only the souls damned to stay in Hell for all of eternity (I, III, 31). No matter what ring of Hell a soul is punished within, the loss of hope is part of their punishment. Dante is one of the few that enter Hell that retains hope.

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God creates each individual with a unique soul. Since God crafts each soul, there is a connection and after the arrival of the Holy Spirit on Earth after Jesus death, humans are able to feel the connection on a personal level. Not much is known about the soul. St. Augustine describes it as immortal and created.

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The story revolves around metaphors where everything has a double meaning behind what is said. Here what Dante is trying to tell us is that he wakes up in hell because he has strayed from the righteous path that the church and God has set for him. This medieval writing continues throughout the layers of hell sinners are damned to hell and live in a world devoid of any sanitation everything around them is full of suffering and death. Above the gate is a message that tells the beginning of the journey into hell and the suffering that will be caused, “I AM THE WAY INTO THE DOLEFUL CITY, I AM THE WAY INTO ETERNAL GRIEF… ABANDON EVERY HOPE, ALL YOU WHO ENTER” (399, 1). The church brings out these punishments seeing as the medieval era he lived in was during the time that the church dominated a person’s way of living.

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But, as the poem continues to progress, it becomes quite clear the there is a perfect balance within God’s justice as the degree of each sinner’s punishment perfectly reflects upon the gravity of the sin. Furthermore, the inscription on the gates of Hell explicitly states that Hell exists as a result of divine justice; “ll. “ Justice moved my great maker; God eternal / Wrought me: the power and the unsearchably / High wisdom, and the primal love supernal (III.4-6).” Prior to delving into the structure of Hell and how it displays God’s divine justice, one must first familiarize themselves with both the historical context of Dante’s life, along with the beliefs of the medieval church.

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The encounter with each soul shows Dante the pain and torture they face, and Dante feels sympathy when he sees how miserable they are, but then feels pity once he realizes that their punishments are just direct consequences for their sins. This shows the significance of one’s conscious decisions, because the decisions one made essentially determines their eternity. In contrast, however, The Scrovegni Chapel includes many scenes of life leading up to Judgement Day, and shows the ideal life that one should live, so that once it is time for their judgment, they will be deemed worthy for Heaven by Jesus Christ, and not have to suffer an eternity of torture and consequences for their sins in

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He utilizes this idea that free will is a major factor to a souls place in the afterlife With regards to this idea, free will, driven by love, is the prominent force for all the souls in each level throughout the Divine Comedy. God so loved us that he created us to love him. When Dante arrives at the Gates of Hell, there is an inscription warning all those who enter. The Gate says that Hell is just and made by a primal love and justice. Hell being just is understandable but being made out of love is strange.

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