Use Of Simonism In Dante's Inferno

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In canto 19 of Dante’s Inferno, Dante and Virgil enter the third ditch of Malebolge, and that is where the simonists live. The simonists are people who use the church office for profiteering. In lines 1-18 in Canto 19 on page 191, Dante shows the seriousness of profiting from church offices by means of allusions, characterization, and metaphors. Dante uses many Biblical allusions to show the seriousness of the sins that the popes and other church officials committed. Dante calls them the disciples of Simon Magus. Simon Magus wanted to purchase the gifts of the Holy Spirit from the apostles. Peter responds to Magus in Acts 8:20-21 when he says, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with