This morning we’ve just finished making Episode 26 on the Podcast – out next Wednesday July the 22nd- which is a deep dive into Dante’s own psyche and his relationship to his own work and writings!
At the deep of Valley 8 in the Circle of Fraud, the Pilgrim sees little “shining flames” at the bottom which represent the souls of the Deceivers, and Dante the Writer comments on how he is being drawn to this deep, and how he must “restrain himself” so his talents are not leading him onto the wrong tracks.
The classic Greek tale of Icarus flying too high!
He’s also drawing parallels between a fictional fate of Ulysses/Odysseus, reaching too high for knowledge and excellence, and the state of Florence having in many ways fallen to the same Hubris and Pride, in his view. Thus adding how close he himself is and has been to the same, which is a repeated theme in the whole Comedy!
Just adding some afterthoughts – how chapter 26 is also one of the great examples of how Dante is imitating the sin or topic in the canto itself! Main topics are deceit and hubris/arrogance – which Dante the Writer is showing by taking the hero of Homer’s great Epic work and making up a whole new story which is about the Death of Ulysses/Odysseus. Thereby in some ways committing the sin he says he is so drawn to in the beginning of the chapter!