The work I share with you today is the Divine Comedy by Dante, the pioneer of the European Renaissance and the greatest poet in Italy.
What is the long poem of the Divine Comedy about? Simply put, it's a travelogue and love poem. Say it is a travelogue, because it details a dream trip of Dante, and the attractions he visited, we must not have been. Where? Hell, Purgatory and Heaven.
Dante opened his eyes in confusion and found himself lying in a dark and oppressive forest. Which one is this? He groped around like a headless fly, trying to get out of this ghostly place. Suddenly, a colorful leopard sprang up in front of him, blocking his way and scaring him half to death. Dante turned around and ran.
Unexpectedly, another lion came behind. The lion held its head high and his eyes glared fiercely, as if to warn Dante: If you dare to take another step, I will bite your throat! Can't afford to provoke, Dante thought, then I moved to the side, right? Not so easy, next to another she-wolf, it looks very thin, with a harrah hanging from its mouth, proving that it has been hungry lately! Under the attack of the three-headed beast, Dante felt that he was dead this time, and this leather bag was going to become the meal of the three-headed beast.
Dante statue
Just when Dante considered himself unlucky, the soul of the ancient Roman poet Virgil suddenly descended. How could he be here? It turned out that it was Beyatlizi, Dante's crush, who sent him to rescue Dante. Then, let him take Dante on a tour of the 3a-class attractions of Hell and the 4a-rated attractions of Purgatory. Then, Beatrizy will take over and personally take Dante on a journey to paradise, a 5A attraction. Only after seeing the three tourist attractions of Hell, Purgatory and Heaven can Dante return to the real world.
Saying that it was too late, Virgil rescued Dante from the mouth of the three-headed beast. Next, they can travel with red dust.
First, Virgil takes Dante to the gates of Hell, a 3A attraction. In front of the gate of this attraction, there are no handsome women playing the piano and drumming and singing folk songs, nor vendors selling handicraft specialty snacks, only a sentence engraved on the door: "Cross this threshold, you will enter the city of pain." ”
Sure enough, as soon as he entered hell, Dante immediately heard all kinds of miserable cries and howls, full of painful cries, angry scoldings, and some nonsense that made people confused, and these voices were low and hoarse, endlessly circling in the dark hell.
What does hell look like? Hell is like a big funnel buried in the ground. This large funnel has nine layers, each of which is a ring, narrower and narrower as it goes down, with the lowest layer at the center of the earth.
Botticelli depicts hell in the Divine Comedy
Virgil took Dante to the first level of Hell, whose name was Limbo. Dear friends, please note that the tour guide Virgil began to explain: This is the place where the trial is awaited, and the people who stay here are some good pagans, who have not committed any crimes, and even have noble character and outstanding achievements, why would such a good person go to hell? I can only blame my parents for giving birth to them too early.
They were born before Christ and were not baptized in Christianity, so they were not believers in God and could not enter heaven. These people have neither salvation nor punishment. They can only wander in the first layer of hell.
Coincidentally, Virgil himself came from this layer. His neighbors were all big names: homer, the great Greek poet Homer, the great philosophers Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle; and some of the great heroes of ancient Greece and Rome, such as Hector, Aeneas, and Caesar.
Come to the second level of hell, where people have committed the sin of lust, such as Helen. Helen was a great beauty of the ancient Greek period, she was once the wife of the Spartan king Menelaus, but eloped with the Trojan prince Paris, causing Sparta and its allies to form a Greek alliance, which eventually led to the decade-long Trojan War.
Continuing down, you will reach the third level of hell, where people who have committed the sin of gluttony like gluttony are imprisoned. A very terrible three-headed dog, watching over these sinners, was ready to swallow them. It has three heads and can eat three ghosts at a time.
This was followed by the fourth layer of hell, where misers and profligants were imprisoned; then the fifth layer of hell was filled with impulsive and irritable people; the sixth layer of hell was held by some pagans who spread heresy, as well as people of the Epicurean school. What kind of gang is the Epicurean school? It is an important philosophical school of the ancient Greek era, which preached that people have no soul after death, advocated the abandonment of extravagant material desires, and enjoyed pure spiritual tranquility and happiness. Their views were completely different from the Christian claim of soul salvation, and as a result they were sent to the infidel hell.
Fellow group members, please keep up and continue down, this is the seventh layer of hell. The seventh layer of hell is divided into three small circles, in which violent people are imprisoned. The first small circle is the one who commits violence against others, so there are murderers and robbers; the second small circle is the person who commits violence against himself, such as the person who commits suicide; the third small circle is the person who commits violence against God, nature, and art, such as the blasphemer who despises God.
Further down is the eighth floor of hell, where there are usurers, seducers of women, and people who buy and sell priesthood.
Finally, let's take a look at the ninth floor of Hell and the last layer of this attraction. The prisoners here are all "two or five boys", that is, traitors. For example, Cain, who was the child of Adam and Eve, killed his brother because he hated his brother Abel, and Judas, who had been a disciple of Jesus, betrayed Jesus for a bribe of 30 silver coins, so that Jesus was arrested and finally crucified.
By the way, I forgot to tell you that in the whole hell, except for the people waiting for judgment in the first layer, everyone else has been punished to varying degrees. For example, some people are punished to keep running, just like the advertising slogan of a brand of sneakers - never stop. Others were kept in coffins burned, smashed by hail, soaked in stinky water, pushed into hot oil pans and fried, and buried in earth pits. In contrast, the ten major tortures of the Manchu Qing Dynasty can only be regarded as tickling.
The first stop is to visit here, and then, we follow in the footsteps of the tour guide Virgil and the group friend Dante to the second tourist attraction - 4a Purgatory.
The difference between purgatory and hell is a word, but the scenery is very different! Hell is a big funnel, but Purgatory is a mountain, also known as the Pure Realm, divided into seven layers. Like the people in hell, the people in purgatory have committed all kinds of sins before they die, but their crimes are not so serious, and they already have repentance, so they just stay in purgatory for a while, waiting for the end of their atonement, and then they can ascend to heaven.
The structure of purgatory in the Divine Comedy
Before entering the Mountain of Purgatory, Dante first walked through the black, white and red triple staircase. These three ladders symbolize the three realms of repentance and atonement, which are to reflect on one's sins from the heart, then express one's repentance in words, and finally to implement one's repentance in action.
At the gate of the Mountain of Purgatory, there was an angelic gatekeeper who, with the sword in his hand, wrote seven letters on Dante's forehead, representing the seven deadly sins of the world, namely pride, greed, lust, gluttony, anger, jealousy, and laziness, which are the sins that need to be purified at every level of the mountain of Purgatory. Whenever Dante went one step further, the letters on his forehead disappeared one. After Dante had gone through the purgatory of the seven deadly sins, the letters on his forehead disappeared completely.
At this time, Dante met his dream goddess Beatrizy. The beautiful Beatrizy came from the gate of heaven, wearing a long fiery red dress, a green cloak on the outside, a crown of flowers made of olive branches on her head, and a white veil covering her face, exuding holiness.
Dante couldn't help but look back and sigh to Virgil, who had been playing with him all the way: "Oh my God, every drop of blood in my body is trembling uncontrollably!" But before he could say this, Virgil disappeared.
Next, Beatrizzi prepares to take Dante on a journey to heaven!
Heaven is not a small bungalow, it has ten floors, the lowest of which is the lunar sky. Here, the first person Dante met was Picarda, an Italian noblewoman. Before she died, she had sworn to God and was willing to maintain her virginity for the rest of her life, but later, for the sake of her family's political interests, she gave up her oath to God and married someone else. She had vows but was not firm enough, so she had to stay at the bottom of heaven.
From the perspective of the group members, the second layer of heaven is mercury sky.
Here, Dante met Justinian the Great, emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire. For the Romans, Justinian the Great was definitely a great emperor, why? Because, by the time Justinian the Great ascended to the throne, Rome had been divided into east and west halves, Western Rome had collapsed, and Eastern Rome was equally precarious. Justinian the Great, with his outstanding political talents, managed the Eastern Roman Empire in an orderly manner.
More importantly, Justinian the Great also played an important role in the Christian church, writing theological books, promoting the spread of Christianity, and rebuilding the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople many times. Unfortunately, Justinian the Great's exploits did not last long, his iron-blooded wrist did bring the Eastern Roman Empire to glory, but his conquests led to more problems, so after his death, the Eastern Roman Empire soon declined.
Then, Beatrizy took Dante to the third level of heaven, Venus.
This layer of heaven is full of indecisive people. Here, Dante meets Charlie Martell. Charles Martell, who had been king of Sicily and Naples, was a deep believer in religion and had little interest in succeeding to the throne, preferring instead to devote himself to religion. But fate tricked him, and he was forced to inherit the throne. He died young and was succeeded by his son, but was soon successfully rebelled by Charlie Martell's brother Robert.
No wonder Charlie Martell lamented to Dante: "A man who was born to carry a sword to make a mark is forced into the void; a believer who wants to preach for God is forced to inherit the throne." Is this justice? ”
The fourth layer of heaven is the sun day. Living here are some wise souls, such as some medieval theologians and great godfathers, such as Aquinas, Augustine, and Ambrosius. Here, Dante paid his respects to these great predecessors.
On the fifth level of heaven, mars, there are people with strong faith, who fight for their faith and even die with their lives. The sixth level is the heaven of Jupiter, inhabited by just and wise people. The seventh level is saturn sky, which is full of contemplative souls. The eighth and ninth layers are the stellar heaven and the original moving heaven (crystal heaven), respectively, and the human soul no longer appears here. Under the leadership of Beatrizy, Dante felt the grace of Christ, the praise of Mary, and the triumph of angels.
Dante and Betty
Finally, Dante reached the very top of heaven, the pure fire day. This is where God dwells, and here Dante feels the love of God, and it is precisely because of God's love, the light of the sun and the stars, that it shines.
Dear friends, today's day trip to hell, purgatory and heaven is coming to an end. There is no mandatory shopping, no sky-high crayfish, and no middlemen to earn the difference.
The goddess guide Beatrizi was leaving, and Dante expressed his gratitude to her: "You have inspired my hopes and convictions. In order to save me, you even left heaven and came to earth to show me the way. Thanks to your guidance, I recognize God's omnipotence and grace. Thanks to your guidance, my soul was also cleansed and made sound. ”
Beatrizzi left, she became far away, but still smiling at Dante, and finally her figure disappeared into heaven.
Edited | Liangshan
Typography | Liangshan
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