Salvador Dali

Simoniacs

“Each hand in counter-dance with the tortured hand, this side and that, sought ever without rest to fend off the fresh burning ere it should land”
. . . . .
Dante and Virgil are on the rim of the third pit, ditch, or trench of Circle VIII for those guilty of Simony. These sinners used their positions in the church for personal monetary gain. The Simonists are upside-down in round holes the size of baptismal fonts. The two themes of religion and divine retribution collide in this chasm where the Simonists reside. Simonists, named after Simon the Magus, are souls who sold ecclesiastic favors and offices for their own personal wealth. Dante clearly finds these sinners despicable enough to pause in the narrative for a moment and rebuke them harshly. This act does not happen often in Inferno, and it is significant because it illustrates Dante's abhorrence of the corruption of the church that he held so dear. Dante also takes a moment out of the narrative to answer the charge of sacrilege from a number of years earlier when he saved a boy from drowning in a baptismal font by smashing it. Throughout Inferno, Dante learns to rebuke and despise sin. In this canto, he feels absolutely no pity for this sinner, as he did with many sinners at the beginning of his journey, and in fact, damns him further. Virgil, as a spiritual guide and symbol for wisdom, is very pleased with Dante's actions. Dante grows more and more ready for the next legs of his journey — Purgatory and Paradise. He must purge himself of sin before he enters those places. Dante's sin is why he was turned away from the Mount of Joy in the opening canto; he must experience Hell and its dangers before he can experience the opposite.