Dante Alighieri in his illustrious book “The Inferno” has classified sins at nine different levels in the form of circles. Dante has mentioned nine circles of hell as; first circle as Limbo, second circle as Lust, third circle as Gluttony, fourth circle as Avarice, fifth circle as Anger, sixth circle as Heresy, seventh circle as Violence, eighth circle as Fraud and ninth circle as Treachery. Dante has also mentioned about the provisions of punishments for these crimes according to their gravity.
Dante describe the journey of people in hell and elaborated that how people who have done sins in their life pass through hell. He begins the journey of hell by entering into hell. People who have done neither good nor bad things in their life worm and insects suck their blood. Dante than moved to first circle where great personalities like Virgil, Plato Julius Caesar etc who never believed in good were living in scarce heaven. In second circle people get spin in horrible storm. In third circle people lie in sludge and waste. In fourth circle greedy and reckless people get punished by big rocks and stones. In fifth circle people stay in swampy river filled with waste and struggling with each other. In sixth circle people get trapped in burning tombs. In seventh circle people get dumped in to boiling blood and burning sand. In eighth circle people get punished by burning their feet, lie in human faces river. In ninth circle people get punished in frozen lakes.
There are many scholars who believe that the relevance of the description of sins and punishments by Dante is not as important as it was in earlier times. He has provisioned severe punishment for the violent people of the society. However in the changed scenario, fraudsters and other economic offenders are more dangerous and detrimental for the society.
Machiavelli, in his book “The Prince” has addressed the duke Lorenzo de Medici and enlightened him about the policies and politics by which a state is run. Machiavelli has advised the prince about the methods and the diplomacy that should be used while reining a province. The prince was the biggest creation of Machiavelli which was dedicated to duke of Lorenzo by him and he thought to get some mileage in duke’s eyes.
Machiavelli suggested the prince to use even violence if any one tries to destabilize the state and creates any danger or uncomfortable situation for the king. Machiavelli was a well wisher of the prince and was expecting that the duke of Lorenzo will bring Italy’s glory back. The duke Lorenzo was a very competent man and Machiavelli had a full trust in his caliber and bravery. Machiavelli has suggested the duke to use his strength, skill and power to control the state and advised him to use diplomatic tactics to expand his territories and the power.
If we analyze the thoughts of Machiavelli and the 9 circles that are mentioned in “The Inferno” by Dante, it becomes clear that the Machiavelli’s aggressive and violent behavior falls in the category of seventh circle. Machiavelli has not only advocated the violent behavior but he also advised his prince duke Lorenzo to be violent and use it against his opponents. Thus Machiavelli is the guilty of violent behavior as mentioned by the Dante.
Machiavelli is sometimes criticized by several scholars and thinkers for his thoughts but if the background and incidents is looked at, Machiavelli is not the guilty but he is the child of his ages. It was the circumstances that induced him to think so and persuaded his prince also to act according to his thoughts that were mainly based on violence and shrewdness. Machiavelli was a patriot and after seeing the condition of his country, he was just willing to see once again the glory of his country. Machiavelli saw a hero in duke of Lorenzo and advised him some tips to work according to the circumstances.
Works Cited
Dante Alighieri and Stanley Lombardo. Inferno. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, Inc., 2009.
Machiavelli, Niccolo. The prince. London: University of Chicago Press, 1998.
