Audi, Vide, Tace. Hear, See, Be Silent

 Pt. 3 of Dante's "The Inferno" book review     

(Originally posted) Dec 14, 2021 at 1:03 AM

CANTO X, The Heretics

     We left off from the previous blog post in Dis, where the metropolis slabs and foundations of Hell are dark, beaten from fire and soaked in piss. It's understandable that Dante and Virgil are keen to pass through this part with haste. But as our poets trip further towards the end of "town" Dante hears the lament of a swooning and blackened shade. 

     Subsequently, he recognizes the ghost as a great Tuscan war-chief.

     "I may say that if I have a soul, I have lost it in the cause of heresy," he rambles and chokes out regretfully. 

     Dante writes in The Inferno that those who are damned within the walls of Dis anticipate their unchaining at the time of Judgement; able to see the future but have no knowledge of the present. Remembering bible passages about the time of Judgement, Dante boldly attempts a quick dialogue with the shade.

`Sanders` Lines 97-104 "If I get this right, [Dante] all you guys down here can see the future, right? But why can't you see things happening right now?" 

[War-chief] "When things happen closer in the moment, our minds are empty."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

     For a small moment, I feel the need to include a distinction between The Divine Comedy vs The Divine Plan. The former is an imaginative work envisioning the afterlife, while the latter is a concept for God's desire for humanity. Confusing? That's why I whipped up this nifty infographic for better visual clarity.

     In John Ciardi's translation of The Inferno, he notes a Greek philosopher, Epicurus, who wrote a belief that the achievement of happiness is the absence of pain. Assuming that the resources of human genius are all that are necessary for such an achievement, I blog to ask, "Yet, for men of religion is other aid needed? Could Zen or Nirvana be understood as a contrasted similarity?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

     It appears that the flaming walls of Dis head towards a path leading away from town aimed at a valley beyond, guiding Virgil and Dante to Circle 6.

• `Ciardi` Line 134 - And we passed deeper yet into the city of pain, along a track that plunged down like a scar into a sink which sickened us already with its stink.
• `Sanders` Line 135 - Even though we were high up, the putrid smell from below made us gag.

                                            Deposit 1 Soul

 

CANTO XI, CIRCLE 6

     The sixth circle is geographically described as a great jumble of rocks that had once been a cliff but fell into rubble as a result of an earthquake that shook Hell when Christ died. So fetid is the air rising from under these rocks that the poets are forced to take a small respite against some cooler granite stones until they can adjust to the stench. During this brief pause the pair study a circle of broken boulders that form somewhat of a lid over an open sore-like crevasse... leading underground... to Hell and the foulness of its sins.

 

Withdrawal denied

• `Ciardi` Line 30 - [Virgil] Below are three descending rounds of crueler torments. 
• `Sanders` Line 15 - There are three more circles all similar to the ones we just came through. 

     Their surroundings remain barren and blazing and smaller in circumference than were the Circles of Upper Hell.

•      `Ciardi` Line 115 - ...and there beyond us runs the road we go, down the dark scarp into the depths below.

******************************************************************************

     Classifications of Sin in Lower Hell

1. Circle 7 - Violence
2. Circle 8 - Fraud
3. Circle 9 - Malice

     Supposedly, it's a continuous conflict between and within the last three circles of Lower Hell. In Dante's geography, the bottom of Hell is the center of the Earth, where the stars are not visible, nor are they remembered by the deceased, who tend to degrade harshly within the tortures of this reality. 

     The descriptions and terms Dante refers to as a place in the middle of Earth's core are beyond weird; they're intriguingly gory and it is this part of The Inferno where IT, GETS... GOOD! 

Circle VI (The Violent) 

     This community features suicides and destroyers of self, Seducers, Hypocrites and Alchemists.

Circle VIII (Fraud and the Fraudulent)

     Pagans, Flatterers, Thieves, and Treachery against country, i.e., a variety of experimental sins against God.

Circle IX (Malice)

     Inhabited by sinners described as Perverts, Fortune Tellers, Sowers of Discord and those who identified with unnatural sex practices.

     

     The residents of these lower circles suffer worse and increasingly grotesque mutilations to their physical/spiritual bodies and mental capabilities; rendering many insane and horrified in a state of permanent terror. Dante reports how oddly these particular Sinners standout.

     Naturally, my interest began to rise up as a reader when I arrived at the back end of The Inferno. Coincidently, it was nearly a month later after finishing this book when a movie titled "Errementari" appeared in my Netflix suggestions. 

     Translated as "The Devil and The Blacksmith", I took it as a personal clue from the Universe to put the literature aside to chew on this foreign horror film.

 

     The makeup effects are stunning with frighteningly impressive demon CGI's and scenes located in a Circle or two. A handful of recaps about this Spanish horror film exist on YouTube. 

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     At this time, you may well feel free to email me at AmberleeCoyote@gmail.com

     Share, or like Pt. 1 / Pt. 2 of Upper Hell.

     Enjoy my other content right here.                       LinkedIn

     

     I recommend visiting my blogspot platform, if only to indulge the quirky topics I've relentlessly enjoyed questioning and opinionating about.

     

Experientia Docet. Concilio et Labore. Experience teaches. By wisdom and effort.

 A book review of "The Inferno" by Dante Alighieri and "Dante's Inferno" by Marcus Sanders     Originally posted: Oct 21, 2021 at 9:38 PM

 The above incantation could serve as a springboard for a potential leveling up of my blog. You might believe the quality will be determined solely by a little introspection. But you'd be wrong.

CANTO I

     Let's start here: Dante's 35 in the year 1300 AD, a good friend and fellow poet Virgil is asked to be a guide into Hell and the conversations and journey that follow turn toward the blog you've just started. 

• Line 125 `Ciardi` lead me to Peter's gate and be my guide through the sad halls of Hell."
• Line 124 `Sanders` For God's sake just lead me the fuck out of this depressing darkness.

CANTO II

     In this Canto, Dante tentatively questions whether he could go through with this journey or not. 

•  Line 37 `Ciardi` As one who unwills [what he wants] will stay behind, with feeble second thoughts until he spells his first zeal away -

     I'm sure he wants nothing more than to understand why someone like him - a poet in the time of religious Italian politics - would be chosen to turn towards the guts of Earth to document the torments of Hell. I wonder if he felt some level of guilt about being "a flaky burnout Deadhead who changes his mind every two seconds," {Line 37 & 38 `Sanders`}. His reasoning is reflected against Virgil's soothing rationale, pardoning Dante's craving curiosity as not his fault. The reasoning presents itself as more than logical; its biological. Actually, it's pathological, chronic and irrational to descend to many of Hell for posterity's sake. Though curiosity is resilient in Dante, it is so we direct ourselves towards the next Canto. 

CANTO III CIRCLE 1

     Understanding why Dante documents Hell isn't just a thought experiment. It has practical implications. We can actively recognize that no one else in history has faced the obstacles and categorization of damnation either in fiction or "real life" comparatively. The differences in both books that I'm quoting from render clearer messages for each time period written. But also, more important, Dante's Hell is the law of symbolic retribution - as they sinned so are they punished. 

     As Virgil leads Dante into starless air, sucking whirlwinds and a black haze, (think of a magician throwing a smoke bomb at one's feet) Dante hears [A confusion of tongues and monstrous accents toiled in pain and anger.] {Line 24 `Ciardi`}

• Line 24 `Sanders` - There were babbling voices, rantings in different languages, sharp cries of pain and a ceaseless, relentless pounding like drums. 

    It's here that Virgil and Dante begin their trek against the headwinds of soulless sentiment, which in turn encourages relevant determination. 

* NOTES* 

     You might be wondering why, emotional continuity aside, Virgil takes Dante on an empathetical trip, peering into human instincts of nostalgia, spinning long-ago memories of people Dante had known in life in further Cantos? Dante has a stronger drive to celebrate the milestones of these ghosts in effort to keep their bond ironically alive. 

CANTO IV

     For one, public reminiscing translates only if most people agree that something matters. Dante finds himself at the brink of a valley called the Dolorous Abyss.

• Line 22 in `Ciardi` "Now let us go, for a long road awaits us." This is pretty much the First Circle of Hell.
• Line 84 in `Sanders` It was spooky. 

     More often than not more critical thinking about what drives Dante's interests coming play the further down into each passing circle he and Virgil go; I suppose he wants to build a strong and lasting impression for unbaptized sinners as much as possible; who might have actually been descent people during their lives. 

CANTO V CIRCLE 2

     This is the Canto where it starts to get really interesting for me. Dante becomes confused and heartbroken in the stinking winds of Hell's second circle. 

• Line 57 `Ciardi` and lust and law were one.
• Line 72 `Ciardi` and I was swept by pity and confusion.
• Line 84 `Ciardi` borne by the sweet desire that fills each breast - 

{Line 90-93 in `Sanders` "We eventually ended up in bed when we shouldn't have. Now, we're here together in Hell just as we were united by our sin on Earth. Our love for each other led to our deaths and to our torments here," Francesca}

     It reminds me so much of a Xena: Warrior Princess episode in season 5, "Fallen Angel". After her distressful and fatal crus fiction by Romans in the season 5 opener, Xena becomes both an archangel and a demon in order to save Gabrielle from the burning fires of Hell, who also becomes both demon and archangel in her own right. 

• Line 100-103 in `Ciardi` [Love, which permits no loved one not to love, took me so strongly with delight in him that we are one in Hell, as we were above.]
• Line 101 & 102 `Sanders` How can they deserve this kind of punishment just for being in love with each other?

     In Ciardi's own Notes of line 102 he is mindful of souls fastened so blindly into their own guilt that it's difficult for them to find any pleasure in the presence of another. It is so that they add to the other's anguish as mutual reminders of their sin and shade within the body which once felt such great passion. 

     Some version of that exchange has played out millions of times - in vehicles and pubs and cafes, among people of all ages and genders, in every year of human existence. 

     There are several more Cantos and Circles left in Hell to dissect so I will wrap up this first part of my book review here. If you'd like to read some of my past posts on Coyote Conscious, please check them out HERE

     If you happen to know me on the social medias, please feel free to share this blog post on your platforms as well!

     Also, here's a link to another useful resource if you wish to further understand "The Inferno" 

I'm always open to questions or comments on either this blog platform, or my website.

 "Your Teacher and Guide knows the truth of this."
~The ghost Francesca, in the second of Hell's circles. Line 102, Canto V  

De Profundis Audeamus. From the Depths let us dare.

 Part 2 of The Inferno book review. Originally posted Oct 26, 2021 at 10:28 PM

     I hold emphasis on, rather urge, you to read the blog post previous to this. 

Hold your breath and onto your butts, we're marking off Cantos III - IX as Dante conquers the upper levels of Hell and Damnation itself! 

CANTO VI Circle 3, The Gluttons

     Here, the weather is a sleet type mixture, making for really nasty and foul-smelling mud. The three-headed dog, Cerberus lives here, forever weighing which sinner to devote his gnashing jaws and energies. Dante wasn't supposed to necessarily conversate with the wraiths he observed here. Yet he seemed to catch the attention of one anyway who called from the slush underfoot.  He tells the soul: "Perhaps the pain you suffer here distorts your image from my recollection. I do not know you as you now appear." `Lines 43-45 in Ciardi.`

     As the poet struggles to recall some cryptic remarks from the sinner's spewed attempts, it instead gives Dante a hard, deadpan look and falls face first back into the mud. In Ciardi's notes he explains that {save for the souls in the lowest depths of Hell whose sins are so shameful that they only wish to be forgotten, all of the damned are eager to be remembered.} In view of that fact, there's a possibility the sinner had meant to give account of who he was when alive?

CANTO VII, Circle 4, The Hoarders.

     Here, sinners are forced to carry weights with limited sight. They never knew how to apply meaning to their lives and sought only the decision of mankind while obsessing of monetary wealth and gain. 

• Line 53 `Ciardi` In their sordid lives they labored to be blind, and now their souls have dimmed past recognition.

     Naked and carrying their weights through a slimy bog line 121 in Ciardi, `Sullen we were in the air made sweet by the Sun; line 124, `sullen we lie forever in this ditch.` Moreover, in Sanders' translative view, these souls are furious and rabid, throwing punches and their weights at one another, kicking or pulling out their own hair or of anyone's within reach.

CANTO VIII, Circle 5, the Upper Level of Hell. 

     The Charybdis, a famous whirlpool in the straits of Sicily, marks the backside of where Dante and Virgil had found themselves at the swamp. The former poet is appalled by the polluted black spring boiling out of some subterranean passage. As his wisdom grows about Hell, his heart grows hardened as well. The lower into Damnation he descends there's noticeable development with the many themes he carries and builds upon.  Even beyond the descriptive and gory details, Dante's power is structural: everything relates to everything else. 

"We have to get disturbed for change to happen." - Annalynne McCord, actress, podcaster, Unzipped

     The first major "geological" division separating a third of Hell from the lower levels is the river Styx. The poets duo wait at the shoreline for Phlegyas, the ferryman, who takes the dead down into the darker spirit realms. Reluctantly, he gives them passage. 

• Line 32 `Sanders` [Phlegyas] "Who the fuck do you think you are that you can come down here while you're still living?"
• Line 34 `Sanders`, and Virgil said, "Don't worry, we're not staying long in this pit."
• Dante in lines 35 & 36 `Ciardi`, "But you, who are you, so fallen and so foul?" And he: "I am one who weeps: I lost hope of returning to the world."
• Further in line 114, {his pain showed in his face.}

     The end of this Canto finds Dante and Virgil at the underworld of Dis, the metropolis of Satan. 

CANTO IX, Dis

     Within the city walls of Satan's architecture lies all the Lower Hell; it's here that fire is used for the first time as a torment and punishment. The city is made of iron and heated red hot by great fires within. Dante starts to experience some anxiety again, in line 1 `Ciardi`, "My face had paled to a mask of cowardice."  

     I imagine his inner dialogue would be similar to this.

     Virgil reassures him with generalizations of faith, reinforces the limits of Human Reason. 

• Line 25 `Sanders`, "I know the way from here - don't fret, dear pilgrim."
• Line 28 `Sanders`, "When we go in there, prepare yourself for the worst."

• Line 116, `Sanders` Calmly, he turned to the right, and I stumbled along after him between the flaming pits and the walls of Dis.

     That completes Part 2 of my The Inferno, book review. Stay tuned for Part 3 in a few days as we'll explore Cantos 10-15, the middle regions of Hell, you don't wanna miss it!

To leave questions, comments or to read my other works, dig it. Thank you! =+)

A Very Tough Decision, but I HAD to do it.

     When I read Dante's "Inferno" I felt the need to do a book review of the Cantos I'd somehow fallen in love with. I really appreciated a certain type of platform that I could showcase my skills on around the time I shelved this particular blog. Going back after a couple of months to finish a thus far Four-Part blog series of my "Inferno" book review, I lament to say that the platform had undergone a website update that somewhat left my previous work something left to be desired. I think a recharging facelift is in order! Afterall, I didn't drain a year's worth of work into a masterpiece for nuthin'!

    While I must thank my readers here and now for sticking with this book review of mine for over a year, I had no hesitation to scrape together what I could salvage and repost it here on Coyote Conscious.

The following posted will be somewhat edited though not by much; it is mostly some YouTube links and certain Lines from book comparisons I've researched that went missing from my original posts. 

    I feel I can maximize my final entry of Part Five on this platform in a more easily accessible way for my readers to experience what Dante recorded during his visit into Hell. 

                                           BUT FOR ALL YOU LOYAL FOLKS, KEEP READING!

    One morning last week, I logged into this blog account to discover that a number of readers had viewed and shared posts from 2019/2020. 

    I thought to myself, "Welcome to fall, ya'll!" As I write this on a cool autumn day in a Halloween decorated Reno, Nevada, I can only imagine the anticipation that I feel for those reading a Hell inspired book review in one fun size bite. I will be pleasantly relived on the day when Part Five is published in the near future. I've even lit an acorn-scented candle to set the mood and mentally move forward into the blog content transition from one platform to another. But wait, there's more!

    There's a bonus aspect! The rest of the year gets better from here! 

    I was able to escape the sweltering muck of nearby forest fires and the heavy dense haze of smoke for a short vacation to the Gold Coast of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia last month. I dipped my toes in the inner-city lagoon of Streets Beach and cruised through outdoor malls and breweries almost completely on foot. Although I didn't spot any marsupial werewolves, I was content with the possibility that I could write about my experiences and brush with greatness by finishing my "Inferno" book review masterpiece. While there, I stayed in a relatively large high-rise one-bedroom apartment building. It was there and then that I realized, I am seriously in love with traveling and writing about it. 

    Sharing my work through content creation and writing about travel experiences are what I want.

    

Hang tight for weekly posts all month long!

“E lascia pur grattar dov’e la rogna!” “And let them go ahead and scratch where it itches!”

 

 

    In this digital age of sharing and self-promotion across the annals of the internet and social media accounts, a person could feel daunted, even cursed with the honest drive to achieve personal or career goals. Delving into the past is like playing in the mud – it’s like getting to know your fears. It stops you from rising. 

GRAPPLE YOUR CURRENT REALITY                     Because if you don’t…

·         Being particularly reckless leads to delusional thinking and compromises the sacred space of awareness.

·         Playing in the mud can lead to spinning out and returning to old coping mechanisms.

·         Getting to the root of things, however, will uncover the inspiration one seeks; so, don’t settle for half-solutions. 

Struggling with emotional concerns is not a curse.

It’s a gift that won’t come wrapped in a bow.

Check out this downloadable app for understanding coping mechanisms.

        

            Keep in mind, the questions people ask reveal more about themselves than the answers they find… or dance around… or would shallowly admit to. 

    

There aren’t any safer paths to take that will let you avoid the obstacles that you must face. 

 

“No matter what your current ability is, effort is what ignites that ability and turns it into accomplishment.” – Carol S. Dweck

 You must face the gifts that could and often do come from within our own darkness – even more so when its troubling to accept any type of gift, including compliments and criticism.

Hell, even acknowledging our own darkness feels like a punishment. The trouble is that we’re conditioned to believe that gifts come in colorful moments - not as tissue paper tucked away underneath the lounge of shadows. 

(Here’s the thing, as humans, we’re possessed of just enough wit, humor, courage and a side order of understanding to want to know ourselves, to accept our faults.)        

What this means is that, while we constantly complain about the riddles of our real lives, we’re also perfectly willing to spend our precious brain cells and shaky emotional well-being on pretend make-believe problems. I’m not going to wrestle the human theme of perfectionism currently, but instead use this blog post as a Segway warm-up for dissecting, “The Inferno”; in a read at your own risk book review I have on the horizon. 

Let me say this another way – after Dante Aligheri wrote “The Divine Comedy” of which “The Inferno” was part, folks of the early 1300s were faced with what the fears of Hell might be and look like as a physical realm.

With the encouragement of friends and notes I’ve taken from “The Inferno” translated by John Ciardi from Signet Classics publishing and “Dante’s Inferno” with text adapted by Marcus Sanders, I’m excited to face my dissection one of Italy’s greatest poets as an opportunity to bond with my readers.

On Furthering the Power of Self Determination

     Cultivating insight from joy ain't easy. 

     Because most folks are pretty much spiritual in some sense of self perception, I'm confident that these lamentations will be well received.
     I've noticed how happiness seems solid while joy feels characteristically fluid.

 ^^^^^^

The above sentences were drafted in Feb '20. I've done the unthinkable in an age of social media distraction and self-promotion. I've looked for every single Exit sign instead of warranting the Entrance door.  

Hello, September 2021 readers - I owe you an apology. I'm sorry for letting you down. When I first began this blog I was finally in a decent day time job and adjusting to life without my Mom in it. Knowing that I wanted a broader view of the world and completing paperwork for a passport in early March of 2020, my focus was on bringing passion, true purpose and career into one thing: Connection. 

Unfortunately, the globe became used to new phrases like social distancing,  pandemic and essential worker. Where I was working at the time was considered by society as an essential place of business - and business was good.

Almost too good. 

With increased hours, repeated temperature checks and little to no improvement as far as management or worker compassion was concerned, beating the keyboard became less important. 

In August of 2020, my grandpa passed away. He was a stern and proud man. My sister and I were tasked to handle his affairs another state away during the peak of the virus's first summer and left even less time for the powerful energies sweeping through me, desperate to scribble out anything meaningful through either blog or journal. 

These extremely intense times have changed us all in strange ways in all the ways. So with this I wanted to relay a very important message for the next few crucial weeks and months ahead: 

I own this absence with raw honesty. 

Having the unique opportunity to quit my job and focus on putting my BFA to work, I feel a heartfelt vulnerability to give this blog a revival and continue with what it is that I'm meant to do. Write. 

Who do I write for? 

I write for the inquisitive minds like my own who are posed with questions in their every day existence. I write answers understood by both sides of the brain. Articulate.

In over a year and a half I've decided to get back in for the long ride. During this year and a half, I polished up my website and took a couple free writing courses on LinkedIn and enjoying tips found on the craft of writing to help ensure reader satisfaction in future endeavors. 

That's the inside story. Staying inspired takes time to cultivate. 

Trust that the content I'm motivated to put out involves a book review of The Inferno on a separate blog I carefully plan to expand on.

I mean, barriers are placed for a reason, right? There apt to be unexpected changes. 

As well as setting the scene for putting readers' needs first, I want to heal this relationship between writing and readers by offering a link to a free teaching in hopes of some feedback from people to show I've got their back. 

There's a superb potential to deepen the meaningful and open-ended questions that're in need of answering; not only in this real-time pandemic life but in all the ages in remembered consciousness. 

There's no guarantee that I'll win back any readers' affections or stunned adoration with the revival of my aspiring projects including flash fiction submissions and updates on any short story publications. 

All I can personally do is manifest clear writing results. Content, as the pros call it. 

Why do I feel like I'm even better now?

Because of the weird ass experiences I've had since actively blogging - first time in Vegas this year in April, taking my sister to the Black Rock Desert for the Fourth of Juplaya, driving across two states into Montana to visit a dear friend are all possible blog posts recognizably feels like an awakening. Writing about the struggle of tenderness is going to be tentative to furthering my personal connection to a cold, digital world. And in it, I've become quite the digital nomad. 

In fact, as clichéd as it reads, it's often frustration that teaches the biggest lessons and foreshadows the most compelling periods of adjustment and improvement. 

Career coach Alice Stapleton is clear in her assessment of what it means to hold yourself back through self-defeat. "You'll never try anything new or move forward without failure," she said. As Master Shan-Dao said, "a person's achievement depends on the conditions he or she encounters." Thus, encountering the right conditions is crucial in determining whether we attain results in our cultivation. 

                    Believe in yourself.