The next ditch contains flames walking around, each covering a damned soul – except for this one where two souls are joined together. One of them, the legendary Ulysses, tells of his unbridled final voyage; after that the flame of a man called The Fox relates how he was outfoxed by a pope. With additional […] The post Evening under Lamplight 351: Tongues of Fire first appeared on ∞ Moments under Lamplight ∞.
Thieves steal not only other people’s goods, but also their very identities. To illustrate this, Dante places them in a confusion of identities among snakes and serpents. [As heard on Cambridge Radio] The post Evening under Lamplight 350: The Snake-Pit of Thieves first appeared on ∞ Moments under Lamplight ∞.
We attend to the ditch of Hypocrisy, gaudy false coverings weighing the souls in a never-ending round, generating lots of further thoughts, and songs. You are invited to attend. (As heard on Cambridge Radio) The post Evening under Lamplight 349: The Drag of Hypocrisy first appeared on ∞ Moments under Lamplight ∞.
We come now to public corruption, a hot, sticky ditch with fierce demons on the watch. It’s the most threatening area Dante will encounter in his whole journey. But overylying the horror is a kind of slapstick comedy. It’s a raucous story, and we add some odd music, too. Come along; you’re invited to attend. […] The post Evening under Lamplight 348: Sticky Fingers and Devilry first appeared on ∞ Moments under Lamplight ∞.
Dante comes across the sorcerers, magicians, fortune-tellers, soothsayers – all who try to side-step the daily cause-and-effect pattern of our world. They look one way, their bodies go a different way. Very odd – and some odd music, too. You are invited to attend. (First heard on Cambridge Radio) The post Evening under Lamplight 347: Looking forward, missing your present step first appeared on ∞ Moments under Lamplight ∞.
Dante and Virgil go down into the ditch of the “simoniacs”, people who trafficked in holy things – specifically, in Dante’s day, many popes. And in our day? Come along and find out. [First heard on Cambridge Radio] The post Evening under Lamplight 346: Unholy Money first appeared on ∞ Moments under Lamplight ∞.
We attend to the first two ditches in the Circle of Fraud in Dante’s Inferno, presenting the naked seducers and pimps, whipped into running around and around (as they were when alive), and the flatterers, immersed in the excrement their own flattery had made of our language. Some songs you’ll know, some you might not […] The post Evening under Lamplight 345: Seducers, Pimps, Flatterers first appeared on ∞ Moments under Lamplight ∞.
Geryon’s appearance gives us the chance to think a little further about the nature of fraud before we encounter the ten categories of fraud in Dante’s Nether Hell. You’re invited to attend, as always. [As heard on Cambridge Radio] The post Evening under Lamplight 344: The Flight down to Fraud first appeared on ∞ Moments under Lamplight ∞.
The sterile, burning sands containing those who were violent to God and to Nature, and to the fruits of Nature. An odd, disturbing assortment of three different groups. Also featuring a new character: Geryon, the representation of Fraud, which is coming up next. [As heard on Cambridge Radio] The post Evening under Lamplight 343: Fruitless Souls first appeared on ∞ Moments under Lamplight ∞.
We come to the region of those who have been violent to themselves, or to their property. A sensitive region, also a very eerie one, but revealing things to say here. You are invited to attend. [As heard on Cambridge 105] The post Evening under Lamplight 342: Violence to Self first appeared on ∞ Moments under Lamplight ∞.
As a break from the shows on Dante’s Inferno, we attend to a selection of songs, some very light, some moving, some perhaps a little weird. You are invited to attend. [As heard on Cambridge Radio] The post Evening under Lamplight 341: Various Songs first appeared on ∞ Moments under Lamplight ∞.
We attend to more in Dante’s Inferno: Those violent towards others are submerged in a river of boiling blood, shot with arrows by centaurs if they try to rise out of the river. Also some songs you might not usually listen to. You are invited to attend. [As heard on Cambridge Radio] The post Evening under Lamplight 340: Crossing the River of Boiling Blood first appeared on ∞ Moments under Lamplight ∞.
The first circle of Hell proper, featuring heretics, people who box themselves into one, personal way of looking at things, never listening to what anyone else has to say – miscommunication and us-them factionalism. The post Evening under Lamplight 339: Boxed in first appeared on ∞ Moments under Lamplight ∞.
At the Gate leading into the City of Hell proper, Dante faces his most frightening moment: refused entry, facing the prospect of making his way back alone, the threat of being turned to stone, and the promised help nowhere in sight. [As heard on Cambridge Radio] The post Evening under Lamplight 338: The Gate of Dis first appeared on ∞ Moments under Lamplight ∞.
Phlegeas, burining with rage, comes to ferry Dante and Virgil across the Stygian marsh, filled with angry souls lashing into each other. Dante thinks he is safe from anger, until — ! The post Evening under Lamplight 337: Moving through Anger first appeared on ∞ Moments under Lamplight ∞.
We attend to Canto 7 of the Inferno, a busy canto, moving from those who identified with money to a discussion of the way our fortune, or luck, is constantly wheeled around to a vision of two different sorts of anger, one ripping things apart, the other silently stewing in submerged rage. You are invited […] The post Evening under Lamplight 336: Avarice, Fortune, Anger first appeared on ∞ Moments under Lamplight ∞.
We attend first to the horrible torment of the glutton Erysichthon in Greek myth, before we follow Dante and Virgil through the region of the glutton in Hell. [First heard on Cambridge Radio] The post Evening under Lamplight 335: Gluttony first appeared on ∞ Moments under Lamplight ∞.
Dante’s sense of Lust is not quite our sense; it’s richer, deeper, more nuanced – and more destructive. Come with us to this next region of the Inferno. [As heard on Cambridge Radio] The post Evening under Lamplight 334: The Circle of Lust first appeared on ∞ Moments under Lamplight ∞.
Dante comes to Limbo, home of the virtuous pagans, a peaceful, cultured place, but without joyful shining light. What’s that all about? Come along and see, and see how we too sometimes spend time here in Limbo. Some odd and some appropriate songs to help us on our way. [As heard on Cambridge Radio] The post Evening under Lamplight 333: Limbo first appeared on ∞ Moments under Lamplight ∞.
One step backwards, then on with Dante through the Gates of Hell, to see first the mindless souls, images of us when we can’t be bothered to make any choices about our lives. [As heard on Cambridge Radio] The post Evening under Lamplight 332: Second Call, then through the Gates of Hell first appeared on ∞ Moments under Lamplight ∞.