Spiritual Absolute Zero

The Emperor of the kingdom dolorous 

 From his mid-breast forth issued from the ice; 

And better with a giant I compare 

 Than do the giants with those arms of his; 

Consider now how great must be that whole, 

 Which unto such a part conforms itself. 

 Were he as fair once, as he now is foul, 

 And lifted up his brow against his Maker, 

 Well may proceed from him all tribulation.

                                 -Canto XXXIV

I'm going a little far in the reading, but I felt that it needed to be mentioned. In Song 34, Dante mentions Satan, who is at the bottom, the ninth circle of Hell, which is home to the betrayers. It is interesting to note that at this level, there is no fire. Instead, it is frozen over, with the betrayers half frozen in ice. Three notable betrayers, Brutus, Cassius, and Judas, are being gnawed at by Satan's three heads. Dr. Brekke mentioned in class today that the ninth circle was a "spiritual absolute zero." This got me thinking.

Absolute zero is a concept in science that implies that there is a temperature that is at the lowest temperature anything in the universe could ever reach. At absolute zero, which is roughly -273.15*C, all entropy is at minimum value. The electrons in atoms stop orbiting the nuclei. Everything condenses to the point of having no mass. At absolute zero, matter ceases to exist.

I have thought about that concept since then, and I realized that the worst possible punishment would be to no longer exist. We had mentioned that the punishment always fit the crime, but for this circle of Hell, I could find no way in which this particular punishment fit the sin. Save that the quintessential human need was love, without which, humans would not only lose their lives, but also their humanity. If there was no love that the servant had for his master whom he betrayed, then there would be no love between the ultimate Master and his children. As a consequence, no love, no humanity, no existence.

~~Cody Martin

PS. I commented here