classics digests, reflections and reviews
Hell vs. Purgatory What is the difference between Hell and Purgatory in Dante’s Divine Comedy? To put the question in a different way, what determines whether a person stays in Hell or Purgatory? According to St. Augustine, it is the grace of God, which restores free will in man and enables him to desire and attain the Good. Firstly, those in the Inferno are confined to their respective circles, and never […]
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Bertrand Russell was quoted to have said, “I would never die for my beliefs because I might be wrong.” A fitting retort was given by Electra (Sophocles), “I admire you for your prudence. For your cowardice I hate you.” In Canto II of Inferno, there is another brilliant example of a woman putting a man to shame for his cowardice. Our narrator Dante was reluctant to embark on the journey […]
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