Examples Of The First Circle Of Hell In Dante s Inferno
In Dante s Inferno, Dante proposes an intriguing order for his nine circles of hell. Ignoring Limbo,
Dante, intending to list the circles from the least grievous sin to the most grievous sin, orders the
circles starting from lust, going to gluttony, greed, then wrath. Dante provides a thought provoking
experience for the reader causing one to redefine his understanding of sin and God s judgement.
After limbo, Dante presents the first circle of hell as the punishment for the lustful. While many, if
given the choice, would not place lust as the least of all the sins, Dante does for good reason. In
Appendix C, Aquinas expounds on Dante s argument that sins committed in passion are not as grave
as premeditated sin. First, as sin consists chiefly in an act of the will, it follows that, other things being
equal, a sin is all the more ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
While this punishment does not seem as severe as the other circles, it is symbolic of the greedy s
fruitless pursuit of earthly riches. Dante places this in an even lower circle of hell because in regards
to the sin of miserliness or squandering money, the abusers are even more aware of their sin.
Furthermore, sin s underlying principle is even more visible here. According to Aquinas reasoning of
sin in Dante s Inferno, pride is at the root of all sin. Whereas pride regards sin as turning away from
God, to Whose commandment man refuses to be subject, for which reason it is called the beginning,
because the beginning of evil consists in turning away from God (Aquinas, 385). Aquinas articulates
that pride is the basis for all sin, because pride takes place when we refuse to be subject to the will of
God, and the beginning of all sin is when we first turn away from God. Those who are greedy and
miserly refuse to obey God s command of taking care of the poor and rather horde as much money as
they can to no
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