Well, it turns out that I went on vacation too. Just to show that I'm not entirely crazy, I want to let you know that this posting will be open for comments until 6:30 AM Tuesday morning.
I've been thinking during the break about why so many of us resent Dante for his Inferno. It is pretty arrogant, when you think about it, to create a Hell and then assign people to it. Although you all have one a similar thing with your previous post. You stated your values by articulating what you think might be considered a "sin" in the future.
I think we need to look at Inferno in a different light. Let's look at what Dante considers to be BAD, and conclude from that what Dante considers to be GOOD. For instance:
Dante condemns the Carnal NOT for their sexual behavior, but for the fact that they let their sexuality rule their behavior. The Carnal aren't punished for having sex. They are punished for letting sex take over their reason, decision making, and responsibility.
THEREFORE: We can conclude that Dante sees DISCIPLINE as virtuous. He has no problem with sex. After all it was given to us by God. Rather, he sees how we can damage ourselves and others if we do not exercise some discipline over our sexual appetite.
There you have it. Dante sees DISCIPLINE as virtuous. (The same case can be made with the Gluttons).
Your job is to scan what you have read so far, look through your journals, and come up with 5 VIRTUES that you can derive from your reading. In other words, examine the sins and tell me what Dante considers to be virtuous.
You must support each virtue with a brief analysis of a Canto. YOU MAY NOT USE THE SAME CANTO MORE THAN ONCE.
ALSO, YOU MAY NOT USE THE CARNAL. NOR MAY YOU USE THE GLUTTONS. I HAVE ALREADY GIVEN YOU DISCIPLINE. YOU MUST FIND 5 DIFFERENT ONES.
Go forth an be brilliant (before 6:30 Tuesday morning)!
