“O imagination, off with power endow’d so to transport us that we heed it not, though round us blare a thousand trumpets loud”
. . . . .
An angel removes the “P” of wrath from Dante’s forehead as he hears the song, “Blessed are the peacemakers.” Virgil explains that the next circle is where the sin of sloth is purged. Every created thing, he explains, possesses “love of mind” and “natural love.” Natural love is instinctual and can’t be blamed for anything. On the other hand, “mind-love” can go wrong in a few different ways—it can be aimed wrongly, it can be too vigorous, or it can lack vigor. Virgil elaborates on the three types of sin being purged in Purgatory. The first three types fall within the category of perverted love—that is, love of other people’s harm. This takes the form of pride, envy, and wrath, as he and Dante have already seen. The next types of sin, Virgil explains, are those which “[run], in broken order, after good.” The first of these, sloth, is too slack in its pursuit of that good. The other types fall short of seeking the greatest good (God). As Dante will soon see, these include sloth, avarice, greed, and lust. Virgil’s discourse here encapsulates Dante’s theory of love and sin. According to Virgil, sin is a matter of the human will gone wrong. What Dante calls “mind love” refers to love that’s rooted in the rational will (as opposed to mere instinct). Love that’s rooted in the mind, or will, can be twisted into sin in a few different ways—but whether it’s a matter of misdirection, too little love, or too much love, each of these sins is ultimately a distortion of that foundational love.