Poetic and dramatic literature: Dante (inferno, canto XXVIII)

I have - in paper format, potentially to be scanned - the introductory comments by Umberto Bosco (Le Monnier, 1988) and what is commented upon in the 'Guida alla Divina Commedia' by the good Angelo Marchese (SEI, 1987), and that slightly more lighthearted one by Sermonti (Rizzoli, 1988). You can also find this last one here:

http://www.mediafire.com/?a8mx8525ye27a

Less popular/educational and more recent, I see there is a contribution in Studi Danteschi vol, LXV year 2000.

http://www.lelettere.it/site/d_page.asp?IDPagina=151&Section=

Unfortunately, Studi Danteschi is a bit pricey (one volume in 2009 was 85 euros), but a national library should have them available for consultation, even if I don't seem to see it in the catalog of the Braidense in Milan

Kappa wrote:

It seems very topical to me

In what sense?

Marzapane wrote:

In what sense?

I try to imagine, in my opinion you can also find an answer by reading this wiki article

http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inferno_-_Canto_ventottesimo

Marzapane wrote:

In what sense?

... perhaps

http://www.blitzquotidiano.it/foto-notizie/dante-era-charlie-hebdo-mise-maometto-inferno-tra-i-seminatori-di-discordia-2069937/

GianBurrasca wrote:

... perhaps

http://www.blitzquotidiano.it/foto-notizie/dante-era-charlie-hebdo-mise-maometto-inferno-tra-i-seminatori-di-discordia-2069937/

@ Kappa

Come! reveal your thought to us, in what sense is If XXVIII "very topical"? . . . It doesn't seem so to me. But I might change my mind.

LucaCavaliere wrote:

@ Kappa

Come! reveal your thoughts to us, in what sense is "very topical" If XXVIII ?

I had read an article similar to the one proposed by Gianburrasca; I am not saying it is topical due to a possible connection to recent events in Paris... but rather Dante's current vision on the theme he treats in the canto, which can be applied to scenarios that we are currently experiencing.

I don't know if I explained myself well ... oh well...

Aiho !!

Ok. In Canto XXVIII of Inferno, it deals with the sowers of discord (and of scandals and schisms).

Perhaps one could take the theme literally > modernize it > understand who the sowers of discord are today.

Obviously by moving beyond Dante's perspective in which Christianity is the only valid religion and the only valid way of life (non-believers are in hell just like those with different beliefs).

Obviously also leaving behind his distorted vision of Islam as a "schism" compared to Christendom. In fact, contrary to what he and many others with him believed, Muhammad was not an envious bishop because he failed to become pope, and he did not subtract populations by converting them to Islam.

The fact remains that sowing discord - in itself - is a very bad thing. And therefore: throwing away all the distorted historical facts in which Dante believed, and throwing away certain ideas mentioned above of which history has already cleaned up, this - sowing discord - seems to me the only thing that remains relevant about this Canto XXVIII. Or is there something else?

Luca is right, the usual useless articles written to instigate the masses (ignorant ones).

LucaCavaliere wrote:

The fact remains that sowing discord - in itself - is a very bad thing. And therefore: throwing away all the distorted historical facts in which Dante believed, and throwing away certain ideas mentioned above of which history has already cleaned up, this - sowing discord - seems to me the only thing that remains relevant about this Canto XXVIII. Or is there something else?

... and, agreeing completely with you on all the reasoning you have done, it would be appropriate to ask ourselves who the sowers of discord are today.

I mean: on one hand we have fanatic assassins of the worst kind who, in this case, entrench themselves behind a religion but who in the past would have entrenched themselves behind ideologies or other religions.

On the other hand, we have our democracies born from the French Revolution, from the Enlightenment, etc.

Today, the sowers of discord must be sought within these latter: among those within them who blow on the fire of the image of a clash of civilizations, who invoke the return of the death penalty, and who do not want to recognize in those who, coming from other nations and other cultures, and now living in our nations, the same duties and the same rights as ours, beginning precisely with the right to have their regular places of worship.

There will never be any salvation until we truly understand that the only way to defeat fanaticism, extremism, and integralism, of every color or religion, is to create a more just world where no differences of any kind exist among all human beings.

I don't know Daniele, but a friend of mine, joking (but not even that much), always says... let's give them the money and they'll be afraid to blow themselves up.

I imagine he means that if they have something to lose... they'll think twice.