Virgil, Dante, and the Bible

Virgil, Dante, And the Bible Float Journey as the symbolic path towards self-realization and repentance in "Aeneid" by Virgil, "Inferno" by Dante, and "The Book of Jonah" from the Bible Early works of literature are characterized by their contemplation of the morality of humanity and distinguishing what was considered as morally right or wrong for the individual. This theme of morality as path towards self-realization is evident in the works of "Aeneid," "Inferno," and the "Book of Jonah" by Virgil, Dante, and the Bible, respectively.

In illustrating the path towards self-realization, these works have used journeys as symbolic representations through which each story's protagonist have learned that suffering is inevitable with the presence of evil. Goodness, meanwhile, shall be the foundation in which enlightenment or self-realization will be achieved.

Thus, given these observations, this paper posits that the journeys of Aeneas, Dante, and Jonah are symbols that function as representations of the each character's gradual achievement of enlightenment in life -- that is, belief that evil results to suffering, while goodness acquires wisdom and happiness in life. In Virgil's "Aeneid," the protagonist Aeneas was characterized as a journeying mortal who had witnessed, discovered, and explored the life of mortals in what was identified as the "underworld," or more specifically, life in hell.

Virgil identified different mortals who were suffering in the underworld, and the elements that lead to the cultivation and worsening of suffering in humanity. The underworld is described as a place that is "...open night and day; Smooth the descent, and easy is the way.

But to return, and view the cheerful skies, in this the task and mighty labor lies." In this passage, it is evident that Virgil identified the underworld or hell in terms of its moral consequences -- that is, hell is a place that only exists because people continue to commit evil acts and thoughts, actions that are "smooth and easy" to do, yet hard to get out of once the consequences happen.

Hell or the underworld is therefore a state in which human suffering prevails as a result of human actions. In the same way that heaven is considered as a state of happiness and contentment in life, hell or the underworld is the anti-thesis of goodness and all its benefits. Thus, Aeneas' journey in the underworld is but a manifestation of the state of mind when evil acts dominate one's soul or self, which is full of suffering.

Apart from suffering, Virgil also identified Revenge, Diseases, Want, Fear, Famine, Toils, Death, Sleep, Pleasures, Frauds, Force, Furies, and Strife as other elements that, when committed excessively by the individual, leads ultimately to the descent of the soul in the underworld. A similar scenario was presented in Dante's "Inferno," wherein he portrayed Limbo as a place wherein suffering also prevails.

Indeed, similarities between Virgil and Dante's depiction of the underworld were evident in Canto IX, wherein Dante witnessed suffering in the City of Dis: To the high tower with the flame-tipped top Where at one spot there straightaway stood up Three infernal Furies stained with blood, Their bodies and behavior that of women. Their waists were cinctured with green hydras; For hair they had horned snakes and poison adders With which their savage temples were enwreathed.

This passage reflects Dante's subjective interpretation of what Limbo, or the City of Dis, is like: similar to Virgil, he believed that the underworld is a place where suffering thrives and moral decline the cause of humanity's hardships. Furthermore, the underworld is a state where restlessness and dissatisfaction in life is the norm rather than the exception.

Fury, as reflected in the passage, reigns in the underworld, an emotional state that was the result of a life "rife with distress and wretched punishment." Thus, Dante considered suffering and fury that thrived in the underworld as a result of humanity's moral decline, and hell is the place where people experience the consequences of their evil acts and thoughts during their mortal life.

Retributive justice and the realization that evil acts lead to suffering are the main themes depicted in "Aeneid" and "Inferno." In the book of Jonah in the Bible, suffering is also portrayed but in a different manner. While Dante and Virgil created a place called the underworld to describe the consequence of suffering from one's conduct of evil, the Bible depicted Jonah's journey as suffering.