Inferno, Canto 31 with Dr. Melinda Nielsen

[@bethbilynskyj162]

"For words to communicate something to another person , there has to be a frame of reference beyond simply oneself." Ludwig Wittgenstein would later say there can be no such thing as a private language. This gives me a new appreciation of Jesus Christ as the Word; and if he is the Word, then what is Satan? Thank you, Dr. Nielsen, for this thought-provoking lecture.

[@spennny1000]

How could you explain this in layman's terms???

[@bethbilynskyj162]

@@spennny1000 I'll try. Language implies communication, and communication implies RELATIONSHIP, for example, between a speaker and a listener, or a writer and a reader. There must be an at least potentially SHARABLE vocabulary, or some sort of sharable meanings. So what would a PRIVATE language be? (Philosophy Today) In other words, the notion of a "private language" is an oxymoron. It contradicts itself. Jesus Christ is the Living Word. He is completely sharable, having sacrificed himself for the world. He comes to restore our relationship with the Father. Satan, by contrast, is incurved; he is totally SELF-seeking and SELF-absorbed--diametrically opposed to relationship, and dedicated to the destruction of all relationships. Indeed, Dante will picture him alone and frozen at the very pit of hell. He is the denial of the Way, the Truth and the Life. He is the antithesis of the Word and Pentecost. He is the closest thing to a "private language" that there can be. "For words to communicate something to another person , there has to be a frame of reference beyond simply oneself." Satan is incapable of going beyond himself, but Jesus "emptied himself. " Pentecost reminds us that our relationship with God has been restored, and that our frame of reference is the Spirit of Christ. Thus Paul writes in Phil. 2: "Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. 5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature[a] God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; 7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature[b] of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death- even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." We are blessed to be able to hear His name, and praise Him in response.

[@raelynearnest3176]

Intriguing how Dante wove history, literature, and Scripture into his Commedia. The need for familiarity with all of these subjects as well as Dante’s time period is essential in getting the fullness of this great work. Thank you for the insights in this video regarding pride.

[@elizabethbrink3761]

This is so helpful, thank you Dr. Nielsen! I love the idea of each speech being a little Pentecost that overcomes confusion and brings order.

[@philryan3540]

Her greatest observation to me -- the is no one circle in hell for pride! It pervades many...

[@AS-tz3gv]

I always wondered where pride was in Dante’s inferno; the giants do exemplify it so well. Excellent commentary.

[@treborketorm]

Thank you Dr. Nielsen for an energetic reading of your presentation. You put a lot of effort and information into it. So much so that I had a bit of trouble keeping up.

[@GannWM]

Fantastic. Thank you

[@dustinsavage2832]

Fascinating! Lots to dwell on, especially relating to the curse of Babel and communication (dialogos) between souls.

[@patcamerino5456]

Canto 31: Ashamed because of his reluctance to leave the tenth bolgia’s disputing sinners, Dante proceeds silently through the gloom with Virgil until he sees what he believes are towers of another city ahead of them. Virgil informs him that the perceived structures are actually the upper bodies of giants who stand in the lowest pit of Hell, Cocytus - a frozen lake in the center of which they will find Satan, himself. Among the giants, Virgil identified Nimrod, a king associated with the construction of the Tower of Babel, and Greek titans such as chain-bound Ephialtes, who, nevertheless, greatly frightened Dante, and an accommodating Antaeus, who would lift Dante and Virgil and deposit them on Cocytus. Just as the Fallen Angels had met the two pilgrims when they had entered Hell, Titans, who had been felled by the Olympian gods, were present as they moved into Hell’s final circle. The sinners they were about to meet would not need to contend with flames nor be driven by tormenting demons. Instead, having committed major deceits against those who had every reason to trust them, they would be immovably frozen for eternity. Depending upon their depth in the ice, they would exist in four zones: Caina, for traitors to blood relatives; Antenora, for traitors to their country, Ptolomea, for traitors against hospitality, and Judecca, for traitors to masters and benefactors. The punishment for fraud against those who had every reason to trust the perpetrator was to suffer isolation beyond that of Nimrod’s Tower of Babel and to exist forever in the absolute coldness surrounding Satan instead of in the warmth and unity afforded by the Holy Spirit who had descended at Pentecost, reversing the effects of Babel.

[@6ji4]

your comments are always so helpful - sometimes, i find, even more than the lecture itself! thank you :-)

[@patcamerino5456]

@@6ji4 I'm pleased you're finding my comments to be helpful. I enjoyed reading Dante and summarizing his cantos for my own recollections. I trust you are doing the same, a year later.

[@williamgiovinazzo8523]

Well done.

[@onecommandment]

I appreciate the scholarship shared in this series! But in this and some others (Canto 27, for example) I feel that the digressions and recitations from scripture (and then sermonizing….) distracts from the primary text and Dante’s unique insights expressed in images and more.