In Dante's Divine Comedy, the very first soul that we meet are outside Hell; in the vestibule that leads to Hell itself. These souls are not dammed. at least not dammed in the way in which we traditionally think of souls in Hell.These souls are not wanted by Hell, but neither do they qualify for Heaven. See, these are the souls of those who did not choose a side, they did not stand for anything. They neither believed in or stood against God; they neither sinned or not sinned. they simply did not stand for anything. therefore, they are not evil enough for Hell, but neither are they good enough for Heaven. Their punishment is to eternally chase a fast-moving banner that never stops. in life, they refused to take a stand. now they must chase a stand that they can never catch for all eternity.
To me, I find this interesting. these souls have no place, they are not wanted by Heaven or Hell; they are neither rewarded nor punished.It leads me to wonder what would worse: to be dammed in Hell for eternity...or to know that you are between Hell and Heaven; nowhere. the first instinctive answer is: nowhere. i would rather be nowhere than be dammed in Hell. but let's think about it a little more shall we?
I think, though I have no real research or anything to back me up, that it is part of our nature as humans to want to belong somewhere. We are always seeking out a place to call our own, whether it be friends, family, a job that suits us, the right city or house to live in, etc. so to have to spend eternity belong nowhere, having to chase a stand, a banner that you know you will never catch yet you cannot stop chasing it...to have to look up and see the closed gates of Heaven and then look down and see the closed gates of Hell...knowing that you do not belong in either place...your soul forever caught in between. They say that not all who wander are lost, but this is a wandering of souls who have no place to go.
Yet would it be better to be in Hell? to be in a place with no light, only darkness where pain and suffering make their home and know yourself to belong there?
I have no real answer, I do not know where I would prefer to be, or what would be worse. It's a little like that quote: better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all. it is a nice and beautiful quote yet sometimes I would rather not have loved at all than feeling the pain of losing love. maybe it would be better to be between Heaven and Hell than feel the fires of Hell. yet the idea of belonging nowhere...for all eternity....
No comments:
Post a Comment