In our last study, we saw Virgil and Dante in the eighth circle of Hell which punishes Fraudsters. This circle is called Malebolge and it has ten bolgias (ditches, pouches, ravines, moats) that punish different kinds of Fraud. They were at the 5th bolgia where Barrators and Grafters are punished in boiling pitch. Demons make sure the sinners stay below the surface of the tar by using grappling hooks and pitchforks. A squad of demons, the Malebranche, were assigned to take Virgil and Dante to a safe crossing when they got into a mess and Virgil and Dante took advantage of their occupation to sneak away.
The demons had been instructed verbally by their leader to take Virgil and Dante to a safe crossing because the bridge had been destroyed when Jesus Christ was crucified, buried and resurrected in the Harrowing of Hell. But the intent was to lull them into a false sense of security and the demons knew their leader wanted them to take advantage of them. In the last canto, they had skewered Ciampolo out of the tar and allowed Dante and Virgil to question him. But Ciampolo tricked the demons and was able to dive back into the pitch. The infuriated demons chased after him, started fighting amongst themselves and two of them even fell into the boiling pitch and had to be rescued. Dante and Virgil tried to sneak away during all this. The humiliated, wounded and angered demons would not be happy at losing even more prey.
Silent, alone, sans escort, with one behind
And one before, as Friars Minor use,
We journeyed. The present fracas turned my mind
To Aesop’s fable of the frog and mouse:
Now and this moment are not more similar
Than did the tale resemble the newer case,
If one is conscientious to compare
Their ends and their beginnings. Then, as one thought
Springs from the one before it, this now bore
Italian
Taciti, soli, sanza compagnia
n’andavam l’un dinanzi e l’altro dopo,
come frati minor vanno per via.
Vòlt’ era in su la favola d’Isopo
lo mio pensier per la presente rissa,
dov’ el parlò de la rana e del topo;
ché più non si pareggia “mo” e “issa”
che l’un con l’altro fa, se ben s’accoppia
principio e fine con la mente fissa.
As they walk silently, alone and in single file like Franciscan friars, Dante’s unease grows.
Aesop’s Fables, or the Aesopica, is a collection of fables credited to Aesop, a slave and storyteller believed to have lived in ancient Greece between 620 and 564 BC. The fables originally belonged to the oral tradition and were not collected for some three centuries after Aesop’s death. By that time a variety of other stories, jokes and proverbs were being ascribed to him. Initially the fables were addressed to adults and covered religious, social and political themes. They were also put to use as ethical guides and from the Renaissance onwards were particularly used for the education of children. – Wikipedia
The Frog and the Mouse (The treacherous are destroyed by their own actions.)
A young Mouse in search of adventure was running along the bank of a pond where lived a Frog. When the Frog saw the Mouse, he swam to the bank and croaked:
“Won’t you pay me a visit? I can promise you a good time if you do.”
The Mouse did not need much coaxing, for he was very anxious to see the world and everything in it. But though he could swim a little, he did not dare risk going into the pond without some help.
The Frog had a plan. He tied the Mouse’s leg to his own with a tough reed. Then into the pond he jumped, dragging his foolish companion with him. The Mouse soon had enough of it and wanted to return to shore; but the treacherous Frog had other plans. He pulled the Mouse down under the water and drowned him. But before he could untie the reed that bound him to the dead Mouse, a Hawk (or Kite) came sailing over the pond. Seeing the body of the Mouse floating on the water, the Hawk (or Kite) swooped down, seized the Mouse and carried it off, with the Frog dangling from its leg. Thus at one swoop he had caught both meat and fish for his dinner.
Those who seek to harm others often come to harm themselves through their own deceit.
“Dante complicates matters right off the bat by comparing the Fable not only to the events that have been unfolding in ‘real time’ in the fifth bolgia but also to two little signifiers: the two little words ‘mo‘ and ‘issa‘ , which both mean ‘now’. He declares that the events that have occurred in the fifth bolgia are as similar to the events recounted in Aesop’s Fable about a mouse who asks a frog for help in crossing a river as mo is similar to issa : ‘ché più si pareggia “mo” and “issa“/that one with the other does’ (for “mo” and “issa” are not more alike than the one with the other [ Inf. 23.7-8])…
“If we analyze the analogy between Aesop’s Fable and the events of Inferno 21 and 22, as I do in The Undivine Comedy, we see that it leads to a multiplicity of possible meanings:
“The most common interpretation of this passage views Alichino as the mouse, Calcabrina as the frog who should have come to his aid, and the pitch as the kite who triumphs over both. More recently, scholars have begun to focus on a second level of meaning, suggesting a proleptic analogy between the fable and the pursuit that is about to occur, whereby Dante is the mouse, Virgilio is an unwitting frog leading the mouse into danger, and the Malebranche are the kite.
“What interests me here, however, is not the correct interpretation of the passage, but the fact that its interpretation has traditionally proved so arduous. Establishing the equivalences between the two sets of signs – indeed, three sets, if we add the story of Dante, Virgilio, and the devils – has resulted in as many interpretations as there are ways of combining the variables Dante has given us.
Thus, in addition to the most popular reading mentioned above, the exegetical record includes the following combinations: Ciampolo as mouse, Alichino as frog, Calcabrina as kite; Alichino as frog, Calcabrina as kite; Ciampolo as frog, devils as mouse; Alichino as mouse, Calcabrina as frog, Barbariccia as kite; Dante and Virgilio as mouse, devils as frog, with the sometime addition of Ciampolo as kite; Ciampolo as frog at beginning, Calcabrina as frog at end; Alichino and Dante as mouse, Calcabrina and Virgilio as frog, devils twice as kite; Ciampolo and Dante as mouse, Alichino and Virgilio as frog, Calcabrina and devils as kite.
“Undoubtedly, some of these equivalences are more plausible than others; nonetheless, it is significant that Dante has planted a semiotic terrain fertile enough for all of them – even the most farfetched – to spring up. In other words, the historical lack of critical consensus regarding the application of the fable to the events of the poem is part of Dante’s point, which is the ambiguity – the Geryonesque fraudulence – of all signs, all representation. Applying one set of signs (the text of the fable) to another (the text of the poem) results not in clarity but in confusion. And, in fact, the two signs – ‘mo‘ and ‘issa‘ – whose likeness is declared the basis of the comparison between the larger sets of signs, are themselves irreducibly different.”
(The Undivine Comedy , pp. 83-84) – DigitalDante.columbia.edu
Literally, both mo and issa mean “now.”
Then, as one thought
Springs from the one before it, this now bore
Another which redoubled my terror: that –
Having been fooled because of us, with wounds
And mockery to make them the more irate,
With anger added to their malice – the fiends,
More fiercely than a dog attacks a hare,
Would soon come after us. I felt the ends
Of my hair bristling already from the fear.
Intent on what was behind us on the road,
“Master,” I said, “unless you can obscure
Both you and me from sight, and soon, I dread
The Malebranche, already after us –
And I imagine them so clearly, indeed
I hear them now.” “Were I of lead-backed glass,
I would not take your outward countenance in
Quicker than I do your inward one in this,”
He said; “This moment, your thoughts entered mine –
In aspect and in action so alike
I have made both their counsels into one:
If the right bank is sloped so as to make
A way to reach the next fosse, then we can
Escape the chase we both imagine.”
Although the reader knows Dante and Virgil will make it out of this bolgia, Dante, the poet, manages to create tension and suspense with his verse. We can feel Dante’s fear, “I felt the ends of my hair bristling already from the fear. Intent on what was behind us on the road”. Dante urgently reveals his thoughts to Virgil and says, “Unless you can make us both invisible, I’m afraid we’re done for. I can hear them coming!” Virgil says he thinks the same thing. “Lead backed glass” is a mirror. Virgil’s thoughts mirror Dante’s. “LET’S GET THE HECK OUTTA HERE!”
He spoke
With barely time to tell me of his plan
Before I saw them coming – wings spread wide,
Eager to seize us, not far and closing in.
My leader took me up at once, and did
As would a mother awakened by a noise
Who sees the flames around her, and takes her child,
Concerned for him more than herself, and flies
Not staying even to put on a shift:
Supine he gave himself to the rocky place
Where the hard bank slopes downward to the cleft.
Forming one side of the adjacent pouch.
No water coursing a sluice was ever as swift
To turn a landmill’s wheel on its approach
Toward the vanes, as my master when he passed
On down that bank that slanted to the ditch.
Hurtling along with me upon his breast
Not like his mere companion, but like his child.
Just as his feet hit bottom, on the crest
Above us they appeared – but now they held
Nothing to fear, for that High Providence
That made them keepers of the fifth ditch willed
That they should have no power to leave its bounds.
The demons are not able to follow them out of their 5th bolgia. They are imprisoned there just like the sinners. God has them well under control. They are ultimately impotent.
Dante, the poet, again uses some earthy comparisons. Virgil grabs Dante, the pilgrim, up like a mother would a child endangered by a fire. He holds him to him and jumps off the edge and slides down as fast as water slides on a sluice. I can just see Virgil holding Dante as they fly down a waterslide. That would be our modern equivalent.
Virgil and Dante have made it safely to the sixth bolgia in the eighth circle. In the 6th bolgia (ditch, moat, ravine, pouch) the Hypocrites are punished.
Down at the bottom, we discovered a set
Of painted people, who slowly trod their rounds
Weeping, with looks of weariness and defeat.
Their cloaks, cowls covering the eyes and face,
Resembled those of Cluny’s monks in cut.
These cloaks were gilded on the side that shows
So that the eye is dazzled – but all of lead
On the inside: so heavy, compared to these
The capes inflicted by Frederick were made
Of woven straw, O heavy mantle to bear
Through eternity.
Cluny Abbey is a former Benedictine monastery in Cluny, Saône-et-Loire, France. It was dedicated to St Peter. The Benedictine Abbey of Cluny on a modest scale, as the motherhouse of the Congregation of Cluny, was founded by Duke William I of Aquitaine. The deed of gift included vineyards, fields, meadows, woods, waters, mills, serfs, and lands both cultivated and uncultivated. Hospitality was to be given to the poor, strangers, and pilgrims. William placed Cluny under the protection of saints Peter and Paul, with a curse on anyone who should violate the charter. In donating his hunting preserve in the forests of Burgundy, William released Cluny Abbey from all future obligation to him and his family other than prayer. He nominated Berno as the first abbot of Cluny, subject only to Pope Sergius III. The abbey was notable for its stricter adherence to the Rule of St. Benedict, whereby Cluny became acknowledged as the leader of western monasticism. The establishment of the Benedictine Order was a keystone to the stability of European society that was achieved in the 11th century. The Abbots of Cluny became leaders on the international stage and the monastery of Cluny was considered the grandest, most prestigious and best-endowed monastic institution in Europe. The height of Cluniac influence was from the second half of the 10th century through the early 12th. In 1790 during the French Revolution, the abbey was sacked and mostly destroyed, with only a small part surviving. Later, it was sold and used as a quarry until 1823. Today, little more than one of the original eight towers remains of the whole monastery. As perhaps the wealthiest monastic house of the Western world, Cluny hired managers and workers to do the traditional labour of monks. The Cluniac monks devoted themselves to almost constant prayer, thus elevating their position into a profession. Despite the monastic ideal of a frugal life, Cluny Abbey commissioned candelabras of solid silver and gold chalices made with precious gems for use at the abbey Masses. Instead of being limited to the traditional fare of broth and porridge, the monks ate very well, enjoying roasted chickens (a luxury in France then), wines from their vineyards and cheeses made by their employees. The monks wore the finest linen religious habits and silk vestments at Mass. Artifacts exemplifying the wealth of Cluny Abbey are today on display at the Musée de Cluny in Paris.
“The story runs that the monks of the Abbey of Cologne’ in their pride’ petitioned the Pope for liberty ‘to wear scarlet robes, with silver girdles and spurs’. The Pope, considering their pride and presumption, ordered instead that they should wear extremely common robes, fashioned like an ashen-grey hair shirt, very long, and so ample that they dragged along on the ground behind them’ [Vernon’s Readings, ii. 239 n.].” – John S. Carroll
Emperor Frederick II was said to have punished traitors by wrapping them in lead, exposing them to a heated furnace until the lead melted. This gruesome torture for Lese Majeste (scorning king) was to cover them with a lead shell and melt it around them. Dante means that for weight, Frederick’s mantles were but straw in comparison.
The hypocrites wear makeup and dazzling capes that have a hood to cover the upper part of the face. They “were gilded on the side that shows so that the eye was dazzled”. Just like in life, the hypocrite makes a good show but their masks and capes hide the hideous sins inside that weigh them down. They are merely masquerading and showing off. But the inside of the capes are lead lined. A common, base metal that is very heavy, malleable, soft. From the outside they looked grand, but the inside, their heart, is heavy with sin, dulled with sin, soft to sin. These faux friars walk slowly, weeping like holy men, but it is a show like it was in their life. They are “whited sepulchres filled with dead men’s bones.”
The Phantom of the Opera
by Andrew Lloyd Webber
Masquerade/Why So Silent?
Masquerade!
Paper faces on parade
Masquerade!
Hide your face, so the world will never find you!
Masquerade!
Every face a different shade
Masquerade!
Look around—there’s another mask behind you!
Flash of mauve…
Splash of puce…
Fool and king…
Ghoul and goose…
Green and black…
Queen and priest…
Trace of rouge…
Face of beast…
Faces…
Take your turn, take a ride
On the merry-go-round in an inhuman race
Thigh of blue…
True is false…
Who is who…?
Curl of lip…
Swirl of gown…
Ace of hearts…
Face of clown…
Faces…
Drink it in, drink it up
Till you’ve drowned
In the light, in the sound…
[RAOUL/CHRISTINE]
But who can name the face?
[ENSEMBLE]
Masquerade!
Grinning yellows
Spinning reds…
Masquerade!
Take your fill—let the spectacle astound you!
Masquerade!
Burning glances
Turning heads…
Masquerade!
Stop and stare at the sea of smiles around you!
Masquerade!
Seething shadows, breathing lies…
Masquerade!
You can fool any friend who ever knew you!
Masquerade!
Leering satyrs, peering eyes…
Masquerade!
Run and hide—but a face will still pursue you!
“Dante’s meaning is that when a man spends a lifetime in keeping up a fair outward show of piety and virtue, he cannot cast it off at will; it grows into the ‘habit’ of his soul, its garment of eternity.” – John S. Carroll
Virgil and Dante join the slowly moving sinners and Dante wants to talk to some. One overhears his Tuscan speech and offers to talk to them. They wait for the speaker who is moving slowly in the crowd. Finally two of them stop to talk. At first they keep their heads down but stare at Dante from a side glance. They determine he is still alive, not a shade as they are. They ask Dante who he is and Dante says he is from Arno and is still alive. Then he asks them, “but who are you, who bear upon your cheeks these distillates of woe? What is your punishment that glitters so bright?”
“The orange cloaks are lead”, said one of the two,
“So thick, that we their scales creak at the weight.
We both were Jovial Friars, and Bolognese:
As for names, I was Catalano, and that
Was Loderingo, and we were your city’s choice –
The way they usually choose one man –
To keep the peace: and what we were still shows
In the Guardingo district.” Then I began:
“O Friars, your evil – ” but that was all I said,
For as I spoke my eye was caught by one
Upon the ground, where he was crucified
By three stakes. When he saw me there he squirmed
All over, and puffing in his beard, he sighed;
Fra Catalano, observing this, explained:
“The one impaled there you are looking at
Is he who counseled the Pharisees to bend
The expedient way, by letting one man be put
To torture for the people. You see him stretch
Naked across the path to feel the weight
Of everyone who passes; and in this ditch,
Trussed the same way, are racked his father-in-law
And others of that council which was such
A seed of evil for the Jews.” I saw
Virgil, who had been marveling over the man
Doomed to be stretched out vilely crosswise so
In the eternal exile.
The Jovial Friars was a nickname for the lay Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary. They were two natives of Bologna, Catalano de’ Catalani and Loderingo degli Andalò, both Friars of the Order of the Knights of Our Lady. This Order was sanctioned by Urban IV in 1261. It was part of their rule to bear arms only in the service of the Church, and to ‘hold no public office except for the purpose of promoting peace and union at such times as war and civil discord prevailed.’ Loderingo was one of the principal founders and a companion monk with Catalano. They were jointly mayors of Florence because they were supposed to be impartial and not show favoritism, Catalano being a Guelph, and Loderingo a Ghibelline. But their hypocrisy was to show favoritism towards the Guelphs which resulted in the destruction of the Ghibelline Uberti homes in the Gardingo section of Florence. They certainly aren’t jovial now! They walk slowly and weep like the sad sacks they are. – DigitalDante.columbia.edu and DanteLab.dartmouth.edu
These hypocrites were play acting so long in their life that it has become a part of their life. They cannot be separated from their hypocritical coverings. Although they know each other to be hypocrites, they cannot remove their cloaks and makeup. They have to continue to act their part for eternity even though they are tired of having to carry on playacting. They can’t be themselves. They will continue to live in lead shells of unreality, never being able to cast it off. They will live with their denials, their justifications, excuses and blame covering their reality. Never do they face reality and repent. Just as Dante starts to denounce the Jovial Friars for their evil, he catches sight of a man crucified on the ground.
This man is Caiaphas, the High Priest, when Jesus was crucified. Let’s look at Caiaphas’ story.
Caiaphas was the surname of Joseph. Caiaphas was High priest of the Jews from 27 to 36 AD. He was a Sadducee, and a bitter enemy of Christ. At his palace the priests, etc., met after the resurrection of Lazarus, to plot the death of the Savior. He was High Priest in the reign of Tiberius (Luke 3:2), and also at the time of Christ’s condemnation and crucifixion (Matthew 26:3,57; John 11:49;18:13,14). He held this office during the whole of Pilate’s administration. His wife was the daughter of Annas, who had formerly been high priest, and was probably the vicar or deputy (Hebrews sagan) of Caiaphas. His father-in-law, Annas, was part of the Jewish Sandhedrin. He was first appointed to High Priest by Cyrenius, or Quirinus, proconsul of Syria, about 7 or 8 AD, but was afterwards deprived of it. He lived to old age, having five sons and a son-in-law who were High Priests. He had a lot of influence and power and was virtually co-High Priest. By the Mosaic law the high-priesthood was held for life (Numbers 3:10); and although Annas had been deposed by the Roman procurator, the Jews may still have regarded him as legally the high priest. Soon after the degradation of Pilate, Caiaphas also was deposed from office by the Roman proconsul Vitellius.
Luke 3:1-2 (BSB) 1 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, while Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, 2 during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness.
John 11: (BSB, After Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead) 45 Therefore many of the Jews who had come to Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, believed in Him. 46 But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done.
47 Then the chief priests and Pharisees convened the Sanhedrin and said, “What are we to do? This man is performing many signs. 48 If we let Him go on like this, everyone will believe in Him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.”
49 But one of them, named Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all! 50 You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.”
51 Caiaphas did not say this on his own. Instead, as high priest that year, he was prophesying that Jesus would die for the nation, 52 and not only for the nation, but also for the scattered children of God, to gather them together into one.
53 So from that day on they plotted to kill Him. 54 As a result, Jesus no longer went about publicly among the Jews, but He withdrew to a town called Ephraim in an area near the wilderness. And He stayed there with the disciples.
Luke 3:1-2 (BSB) 1 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, while Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, 2 during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. John 11: (BSB, After Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead) 45 Therefore many of the Jews who had come to Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, believed in Him. 46 But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done.
Caiaphas was the surname of Joseph. Caiaphas was High priest of the Jews from 27 to 36 AD. He was a Sadducee, and a bitter enemy of Christ. At his palace the priests, etc., met after the resurrection of Lazarus, to plot the death of the Savior. He was High Priest in the reign of Tiberius (Luke 3:2), and also at the time of Christ’s condemnation and crucifixion (Matthew 26:3,57; John 11:49;18:13,14). He held this office during the whole of Pilate’s administration. His wife was the daughter of Annas, who had formerly been high priest, and was probably the vicar or deputy (Hebrews sagan) of Caiaphas. His father-in-law, Annas, was part of the Jewish Sandhedrin. He was first appointed to High Priest by Cyrenius, or Quirinus, proconsul of Syria, about 7 or 8 AD, but was afterwards deprived of it. He lived to old age, having five sons and a son-in-law who were high priests. He had a lot of influence and power and was virtually co-High Priest. By the Mosaic law the high-priesthood was held for life (Numbers 3:10); and although Annas had been deposed by the Roman procurator, the Jews may still have regarded him as legally the high priest. Soon after the degradation of Pilate, Caiaphas also was deposed from office by the Roman proconsul Vitellius.
Luke 3:1-2 (BSB) 1 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, while Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, 2 during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness.
John 11: (BSB, After Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead) 45 Therefore many of the Jews who had come to Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, believed in Him. 46 But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done.
47 Then the chief priests and Pharisees convened the Sanhedrin and said, “What are we to do? This man is performing many signs. 48 If we let Him go on like this, everyone will believe in Him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.”
49 But one of them, named Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all! 50 You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.”
51 Caiaphas did not say this on his own. Instead, as high priest that year, he was prophesying that Jesus would die for the nation, 52 and not only for the nation, but also for the scattered children of God, to gather them together into one.
53 So from that day on they plotted to kill Him. 54 As a result, Jesus no longer went about publicly among the Jews, but He withdrew to a town called Ephraim in an area near the wilderness. And He stayed there with the disciples.
Matthew 26:3-5 (BSB) 3 At that time the chief priests and elders of the people assembled in the courtyard of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas, 4 and they conspired to arrest Jesus covertly and kill Him. 5 “But not during the feast,” they said, “or there may be a riot among the people.”
Matthew 26:14-16 (BSB) 14 Then one of the Twelve, the one called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests 15 and asked, “What are you willing to give me if I hand Him over to you?” And they set out for him thirty pieces of silver. 16 So from then on Judas looked for an opportunity to betray Jesus.
John 18:12-14 (BSB, after arresting Jesus) 12 Then the band of soldiers, with its commander and the officers of the Jews, arrested Jesus and bound Him. 13 They brought Him first to Annas, who was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest that year. 14 Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jews that it would be better if one man died for the people.
John 18:19-24 (BSB, Jesus questioned by Annas) 19 Meanwhile, the high priest questioned Jesus about His disciples and His teaching.
20 “I have spoken openly to the world,” Jesus answered. “I always taught in the synagogues and at the temple, where all the Jews come together. I said nothing in secret. 21 Why are you asking Me? Ask those who heard My message. Surely they know what I said.”
22 When Jesus had said this, one of the officers standing nearby slapped Him in the face and said, “Is this how You answer the high priest?”
23 Jesus replied, “If I said something wrong, testify as to what was wrong. But if I spoke correctly, why did you strike Me?”
24 Then Annas sent Him, still bound, to Caiaphas the high priest.
Matthew 26:57-67 (BSB) 57 Those who had arrested Jesus led Him away to the house of Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and elders had gathered. 58 But Peter followed Him at a distance, right up to the courtyard of the high priest. And he went in and sat down with the guards to see the outcome.
59 Now the chief priests and the whole Sanhedrini were seeking false testimony against Jesus in order to put Him to death. 60 But they did not find any, though many false witnesses came forward.
Finally two came forward 61 and declared, “This man said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and rebuild it in three days.’ ”
Matthew 26:62-68 (BSB) 62 So the high priest stood up and asked Him, “Have You no answer? What are these men testifying against You?”
63 But Jesus remained silent.
Then the high priest said to Him, “I charge You under oath by the living God: Tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God.”
64 “You have said it yourself,” Jesus answered. “But I say to all of you, from now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.”
65 At this, the high priest tore his clothes and declared, “He has blasphemed! Why do we need any more witnesses? Look, now you have heard the blasphemy. 66 What do you think?”
“He deserves to die,” they answered.
67 Then they spit in His face and struck Him. Others slapped Him 68 and said, “Prophesy to us, Christ! Who hit You?”
Matthew 27:15-25 (BSB) 15 Now it was the governor’s custom at the feast to release to the crowd a prisoner of their choosing. 16 At that time they were holding a notorious prisoner named Barabbas. 17 So when the crowd had assembled, Pilate asked them, “Which one do you want me to release to you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?” 18 For he knew it was out of envy that they had handed Jesus over to him.
19 While Pilate was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent him this message: “Have nothing to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered terribly in a dream today because of Him.”
20 But the chief priests and elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus put to death.
21 “Which of the two do you want me to release to you?” asked the governor.
“Barabbas,” they replied.
22 “What then should I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” Pilate asked.
They all answered, “Crucify Him!”
23 “Why?” asked Pilate. “What evil has He done?”
But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify Him!”24 When Pilate saw that he was accomplishing nothing, but that instead a riot was breaking out, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd. “I am innocent of this man’s blood,” he said. “You bear the responsibility.”
25 All the people answered, “His blood be on us and on our children!”
Matthew 27:41-43 (BSB, while Christ was on the cross) 41 In the same way, the chief priests, scribes, and elders mocked Him, saying, 42 “He saved others, but He cannot save Himself. He is the King of Israel! Let Him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in Him. 43 He trusts in God. Let God deliver Him now if He wants Him. For He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’”
Matthew 27:62-66 (BSB, after Jesus was buried in the tomb) 62 The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and Pharisees assembled before Pilate. 63 “Sir,” they said, “we remember that while He was alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ 64 So give the order that the tomb be secured until the third day. Otherwise, His disciples may come and steal Him away and tell the people He has risen from the dead. And this last deception would be worse than the first.”
65 “You have a guard,” Pilate said. “Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how.” 66 So they went and secured the tomb by sealing the stone and posting the guard.
Matthew 28:2-4 (BSB, Jesus’ resurrection) 2 Suddenly there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, rolled away the stone, and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. 4 The guards trembled in fear of him and became like dead men.
Matthew 28:11-15 (BSB) 11 While the women were on their way, some of the guards went into the city and reported to the chief priests all that had happened. 12 And after the chief priests had met with the elders and formed a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money 13 and instructed them: “You are to say, ‘His disciples came by night and stole Him away while we were asleep.’ 14 If this report reaches the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.”
15 So the guards took the money and did as they were instructed. And this account has been circulated among the Jews to this very day.
Acts 4 (BSB, after Christ’s ascension to Heaven and sending the Holy Spirit to empower the Apostles to bring the Gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ) 1 While Peter and John were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to them, 2 greatly disturbed that they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. 3 They seized Peter and John, and because it was evening, they put them in custody until the next day. 4 But many who heard the message believed, and the number of men grew to about five thousand.
5 The next day the rulers, elders, and scribes assembled in Jerusalem, 6 along with Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and many others from the high priest’s family. 7 They had Peter and John brought in and began to question them: “By what power or what name did you do this?”
8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers and elders of the people! 9 If we are being examined today about a kind service to a man who was lame, to determine how he was healed, 10 then let this be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. 11 This Jesus is
‘the stone you builders rejected,
which has become the cornerstone.’
12 Salvation exists in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”
13 When they saw the boldness of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they marveled and took note that these men had been with Jesus. 14 And seeing the man who had been healed standing there with them, they had nothing to say in response. 15 So they ordered them to leave the Sanhedrin and then conferred together.
16 “What shall we do with these men?” they asked. “It is clear to everyone living in Jerusalem that a remarkable miracle has occurred through them, and we cannot deny it. 17 But to keep this message from spreading any further among the people, we must warn them not to speak to anyone in this name.”
18 Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John replied, “Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to listen to you rather than God. 20 For we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.”
21 After further threats they let them go. They could not find a way to punish them, because all the people were glorifying God for what had happened. 22 For the man who was miraculously healed was over forty years old.
Now Caiaphas and his father-in-law, Annas, are paid back in this bolgia. They wanted Jesus Christ removed and done in as humiliating a way as possible. So they took him to Pilate. It was the custom to release a criminal to the people at this time of year. Pilate offered to release Jesus Christ but the people chose a criminal named Barabbas and shouted to crucify Jesus and they unwittingly prophesied, “His blood be on us and on our children!” It is the blood of Jesus that cleanses us if we accept it or it condemns us if we reject Him. One way or the other, “His blood be on us and on our children”.
The High Priests colluded with Judas Iscariot, had Jesus arrested, arranged false witnesses against Jesus, manipulated Pilate and pushes to have Jesus crucified. So now they are the ones crucified, staked on the ground.
John 12:31-33 (KJV, Jesus prophesying how He would die) 31 Now judgment is upon this world; now the prince of this world will be cast out. 32 And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself.” 33 He said this to indicate the kind of death He was going to die.
Caiaphas and Annas are crucified laying down versus Jesus Christ who was crucified and lifted up as a sacrifice. These men are humiliated as they tried to humiliate Jesus Christ. They stripped Christ naked and had him tortured and crucified. Now they lay stripped naked and the other hypocrites walk on them. They lied like a rug and now they are literally a rug under the feet of hypocrites. The lowest of the low. What they did to Jesus, now they suffer for eternity. Hypocrites since Caiaphas and Annas, have trampled on Jesus, just like they now trample on Caiaphas and Annas. They are the same. They pretend to be religious while trampling on Jesus just as Caiaphas and Annas did.
He spoke words then,
Directed to the friar: “Be it allowed,
And if it pleases you, could you explain
What passage there may be on the right-hand side
By which we two can journey away from here,
Without requiring those black angels’ aid
To come and take us from this valley floor?”
And he replied, “Nearer than you may hope
Is a rock ridge that starts from the circular
Great wall surrounding us, and spans the top
Of all the savage valleys except for this –
Where it is broken and fallen down the slope
Rather than arching over: and at that place
You can mount up by climbing the debris
Of rock along the slopes of the crevasse
And piled up at the bottom.” Silently
my leader stood a moment bowing his head,
Then, “He who hooks the sinners back that way,
Supplied a bad account of this,” he said.
The friar: “In Bologna the saying goes,
As I have heard, that the Devil is endowed
With many vices – among them, that he lies
And is the father of lies, I have also heard.”
And then my guide moved onward, setting the pace
With mighty strides, and with his features stirred
To some disturbance by his anger yet;
And leaving those burdened souls I too went forward,
Following in the tracks of his dear feet.
Virgil turns back to the Jovial Friars and asks them if they can direct them how to move on. They tell him and he realizes the demons had lied to him. One of the friars rubs Virgil’s nose in it by saying, back when he lived on earth, there was a saying, “the Devil is endowed with many vices – among them, that he lies and is the father of lies.”
Matthew 23:1-36 (BSB, Jesus speaking) 1 Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples: 2 “The scribes and Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. 3 So practice and observe everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. 4 They tie up heavy, burdensome loads and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.
5 All their deeds are done for men to see. They broaden their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels. 6 They love the places of honor at banquets, the chief seats in the synagogues, 7 the greetings in the marketplaces, and the title of ‘Rabbi’ by which they are addressed.
8 But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers. 9 And do not call anyone on earth your father, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. 10 Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one Instructor, the Christ. 11 The greatest among you shall be your servant. 12 For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
13 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let in those who wish to enter.
15 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You traverse land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are.
16 Woe to you, blind guides! You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’ 17 You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes it sacred? 18 And you say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gift on it, he is bound by his oath.’ 19 You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes it sacred? 20 So then, he who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. 21 And he who swears by the temple swears by it and by the One who dwells in it. 22 And he who swears by heaven swears by God’s throne and by the One who sits on it.
23 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You pay tithes of mint, dill, and cumin. But you have disregarded the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. 24 You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.
25 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, so that the outside may become clean as well.
27 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside, but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and every kind of impurity. 28 In the same way, on the outside you appear to be righteous, but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.
29 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous. 30 And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ 31 So you testify against yourselves that you are the sons of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Fill up, then, the measure of the sin of your fathers. 33 You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape the sentence of hell?
34 Because of this, I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify, and others you will flog in your synagogues and persecute in town after town. 35 And so upon you will come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. 36 Truly I tell you, all these things will come upon this generation.
Excerpts of Dante’s Inferno is a new translation by Robert Pinsky.
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