Brunetto Latini vs. Capaneus
...s is found among the violent against God, whose blasphemies Dante and Virgil hear as they pass by. This is one of the characters in The Inferno that Dante only talks about and never actually tries to communicate with. Much of The Inferno is dialogue, not only between Dante and Virgil, but with the sinners themselves. By a rough count, there are thirty-one speaking roles for the sinners in this book. However, Capaneus is not one of them because of the disdain and disgust Dante feels towards Capaneus and those around him. Humanism pervades the themes and descriptions in this book. Dante isolates the character of Capaneus because of Capaneus obvious disrespect for God and those who worship God. Capaneus is a symbol of hubris. He was one of the seven kings who attacked Thebes. Capaneus challenged Jove and was killed by a thunderbolt. [CANTO VIV, lines 46-57] Now, for eternity, he rages uncontrollably and pretends not to be bothered by the fire, a picture of furious, arrogant impotence. This is the kind of man that a Christian like Dante is disgusted by. So, he and Virgil turn away from Capaneus without a second look to the blasphemer: “Now follow me; and mind for your own good you do not step upon the burning sand but keep well back along the edge of the wood.” (CANTO VIV, lines 70-73) The setting then changes a bit. There is an overwhelming feeling of judgment and unfriendly glares: “When a company of shades came into sight, Walking beside the bank. They stared at us As men at evening by the new moon’s light Stare at one another when they pass by, On a dark road, pointing their eyebrows toward us As an old tailor squints at his needle's eye.” (CANTO XV, line 16-21)) While passing through the seventh circle of hell, he comes across a roving band of sodomites of which Brunetto Latini is a member. When he recognizes his teacher, through baked features from running in fiery rain, Dante shows great reverence and pity for Brunetto, who was a mentor to Dante, and so Brunetto receives respect and affection from Dante even now as he suffers for his earthly sins. Dante actually stops to speak with Brunetto. Dante suddenly cares enough to stop and associate with someone. Brunetto asks Dante how he happened to be there and tells him that, if he had not died so soon, he would have helped Dante achieve his fame. He also has a bad prophecy for Dante: "For your good works will be your enemy." (CANTO XV, line 64) Instead of brushing off the prophecy, he actually seems to take it to heart. Dante tells Brunetto that his fatherly image and his teachings remain with him still. Then Brunetto has to return to the perpetual running to which he is condemned. It is interesting to notice how judiciously Dante walks the thin line between loving the sinner and hating the sin in this canto. It obviously pains him to walk this line. Every human is a sinner. In order to obtain forgiveness and salvat...