Midway on our life's journey, I found myself
        In dark woods, the right road lost.
           -Canto I, 1-2

    Therefore I judge it best that you should choose
        To follow me, and I will be your guide
        Away from here and through an eternal place

    To hear the cries of despair, and to behold
        Ancient tormented spirits as they lament
        In chorus the second death they must abide.
           -Canto I, 88-93 (Virgil to Dante)

    THROUGH ME YOU ENTER INTO THE CITY OF WOES,
        THROUGH ME YOU ENTER INTO ETERNAL PAIN,
        THROUGH ME YOU ENTER THE POPULATION OF LOSS

    JUSTICE MOVED MY HIGH MAKER, IN POWER DIVINE,
        WISDOM SUPREME, LOVE PRIMAL.  NO THINGS WERE
        BEFORE ME NOT ETERNAL; ETERNAL I REMAIN

    ABANDON HOPE, YOU WHO ENTER HERE.
        -Canto III, 1-7 (written above the Gates of Hell)

    ...we came forth, and once more saw the stars.
        -Canto XXXIV, 140 (final line)
 

There is a certain, rather delicate, aspect of the modern liberal sensibility that rebels against Dante's Inferno.  In his account of returning to Columbia to restudy Western Civilization, David Denby is surprised not to like Dante much :

    I could not rid myself of the notion that Dante had entered into complicity with torture. In some
    way, he believed in torture; he justified it. . . . My reading of Dante was a failure, and of the most
    direct sort: I didn't enjoy it

And in his introduction to this translation by Robert Pinsky, John Freccero says that :

    In spite of Dante's reputation as the greatest of Christian poets, there is no sign of Christian
    forgiveness in the Inferno.  The dominant theme is not mercy but justice, dispensed with the
    severity of the ancient law of retribution.

    ...

    Justice in Hell is meant to be objective, measured out by a bureaucratic monster in proportion to the
    specific gravity of the sin.  Such a mechanical administration of punishment leaves no room for
    judicial error or caprice.

    Few of Dante's readers have derived much satisfaction from the triumph of this somewhat
    anonymous justice.

These sentiments, with which I could not disagree more strongly, reflect the curious point we've reached in Western history.  On the one hand, the intelligentsia find torture, capital punishment, virtually any civil rights imposition, to be unacceptable when it comes to actual evil doers, but blithely advocates abortion, euthanasia, and the like, for genuine innocents.  Human beings in this world view are judged by their physical condition, rather than by their moral standing.  And yet, it is Dante who is adjudged to be brutal.

Personally, I find something comforting in the idea that, in a world where so much evil exists, those who are evil might face eternal perdition.  Particularly satisfying is the presence of the great romantic lovers in Hell--Tristan and Iseult, Helen of Troy, Cleopatra, etc..  I've always found disturbing the literature  which celebrates love which must perforce be so shallow as these great affairs--it's nice to think of them getting their comeuppance.

As a rule though, it seems likely that readers' reactions to the rather severe treatment of the souls in Hell will track their own political leanings.  If you are someone who wishes that justice were objective, you're unlikely to be offended.  If you tend to wring your hands in agony at the prospect of someone being held accountable for their actions, you won't feel comfortable with the fate Dante forecasts.  In either case, the poem itself is truly great and in Robert Pinsky's translation, it's reasonably easy to follow.  You will want to refer to the notes frequently and a study guide of some kind can't hurt.  I also recommend the recorded version : hearing it read aloud adds to the experience greatly.

(Reviewed:09-May-01)

Grade: (A+) Orrin C. Judd

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