“The latter far outnumbered, it was plain, those who were lying in the torment, though these had their tongues more loosened by the pain”
. . . . .
Violence against God. Here is the beginning of a desolate plain, and Dante looks fearfully about him. Many souls are on this plain, some lying down, some crouching, and some wandering restlessly. Flakes of fire fall on this desert, making it burn and increasing the pain of these spirits who were being punished for their violence against God. The intellectual concept of Capaneus in Canto XIV is one of the great characterizations in the Inferno. The character of Capaneus re-emphasizes one concept of Dante's Hell — the person retains those very qualities which sent him to Hell. In classical times, Capaneus was a figure who thought himself so strong that not even Jove (Zeus, or Jupiter) could destroy him, but he was destroyed by the thunderbolts of Jove. For his blasphemy on Earth, he is condemned to Hell, and his first words to Dante are "Such as I was alive; such am I also in death." This emphasizes that he has not changed. So his punishment will increase with time as his defiance remains.