Divina Commedia di Dante: Inferno — Résumé 🇺🇸 English
Virgil silences the monstrous Pluto with a reference to divine vengeance upon pride as Dante and his guide descend into the fourth circle of hell. Here, they witness a vast throng of souls engaged in eternal torment, divided into two distinct groups pushing heavy weights with their chests. When these opposing factions collide, they turn back and shout accusations at each other regarding hoarding and reckless spending.
Dante asks his guide to identify these tormented figures and learns they are the avaricious and the prodigal, including many clerics, popes, and cardinals whose minds were blinded by greed in their mortal lives. Because their unrecognized sins have rendered them indistinguishable, their identities are lost to darkness, though they will rise from their tombs on judgment day with closed fists and cropped hair. Virgil explains that all the gold beneath the moon cannot grant rest to these weary souls.
When Dante inquires about Fortune and her control over worldly wealth, Virgil offers a philosophical explanation of her role as a heavenly minister appointed by God to distribute worldly goods and shift them among nations beyond human intellect. Although humanity often blames Fortune unjustly, she remains blissfully indifferent to human praise or criticism as she joyfully pursues her divine rotation.
Leaving the fourth circle, the poets descend to the edge of the fifth circle, encountering a dark stream that feeds the murky swamp of Styx. In this foul mire, the wrathful souls attack one another violently in the mud while the sullen victims trapped beneath the black water bubble sighs that break the surface. Skirting the edge of the filthy marsh, Dante and Virgil finally reach the base of a tower.