In class we mentioned that it was interesting how the pilgrim Dante still shows a lot of respect for his mentor, even though his mentor is in hell. I personally don't know if I could act as normally as Dante did, and if I could still sing the praises of a person that I knew had done something very terrible. Maybe that is the problem though. It is like seeing the stick in someone's eye while I have a log in my own eye. Perhaps Dante is the better person because he can see past the bad things that his mentor did and still dare so much about him. I don't think that it is only because he is trying to hold onto the past. I think he still just really cares about his mentor and wants to make sure that everyone else knows that even though this man is in hell, he is still a good person.
P.S. I commented on Emerson's blog
I'm not sure what I personally would do in a situation like that. I mean, depending on who the person was, I may or may not sing the praises of this person in spite of their iniquities. Unfortunately, though, it is just my own human nature, and I'm sure Dante would do the same. It must depend on the impact of the life that the relevant individual had on that person.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting too to think that Dante the author was recognizind that this man he loved was probably already in hell but he still loved him. Dante purposefully put him in the book, probably to explain his love for a fallen person. I think you'd probably do the same. If you love someone it's very hard to see them suffer, despite their sins.
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