INFERNO, Episode 79: The Old Man Of Crete PART TWO--Sewing The Canto Back Together: Inferno, Canto XIV, Lines 94 - 120

Canto XIV of Dante's INFERNO is often seen as a misstep. Or at least an uneasy two-parter. First, there's Capaneus on the burning sands. Then there's this strange statue in a mountain in Crete--and an exploration of the hydraulics of hell.

But maybe Canto XIV isn't the twofer we imagine. Maybe this is an intentional bit of artistic brilliance that shows us two sides of the same coin. Or better yet, that makes an elegant answer to the problems found in Canto VII.

Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as I explore the way the Old Man of Crete fits into the larger structure of Canto XIV--and the seventh circle of hell as a whole. Dante is always two steps ahead of us. We shouldn't doubt him!

Here are the segments of this episode of WALKING WITH DANTE:

[01:11]            My English translation of this passage.

[02:56] There are two giants in one canto. THAT can't be a mistake. How can anyone think that Canto XIV breaks into halves? And what's more, look at how XIV compares to Canto VII. (And VII x 2 = XIV!)

[07:12] How can we sew Canto XIV back together after so many commentators have torn it into halves? By talking about the uneasy alliance of classical and Christian thematics, imagery, and iconography in the canto.

[09:03] The Old Man statue is in Crete! Which ties us back to Canto XII and the Minotaur, showing us that Dante has been thinking about the overall structure of the seventh circle of hell since we first came down that scree-filled slope. We've been in the labyrinth all along!

[11:02] An overview of the structure of Canto XIV. Let's look at its narrative movement--particularly, at the problem of starting with Florence and ending at Cocytus, the lowest bit of hell.

[14:26] The Old Man of Crete is our first instance in Dante's COMEDY of a narrative of human degeneracy. Strange, because we'd expect a lot of this kind of talk in a poem about hell. Maybe there's a clue in the poet's stance early on in the canto. Maybe we're moving into territory in which the poet is becoming more than a poet. Maybe he's becoming a prophet.

Here is my English translation of Inferno, Canto XIV, lines 94 - 120:

“In the middle of the sea there’s a wasted land.”

He set in saying, “It’s called Crete.

Under its king the world once was chaste.

“There’s a mountain in that land.

That mountain was well irrigated and leafy. It’s called Ida.

Now it’s a desolation, like something worn out.

“Rhea chose it to be the trustworthy cradle

For her son. To better conceal him,

Whenever he cried out, she made her followers raise a racket.

“A gigantic statue of an old man stands inside the mountain.

He gives the cold shoulder to Damietta

And turns his gaze toward Rome, as if it were a mirror.

“His head is crafted out of the best gold;

His arms and chest, pure silver;

Down to his crotch, all bronze;

“On down from there he’s all smelted iron,

Except for his right foot. It’s terra cotta.

He stands on this foot more than the other one.

“A fracture runs through the whole thing except for the golden bits.

What’s more, this break drips tears

Which collect and make their passage through that cavern.

“Their course goes on down until it gets here,

Creating Acheron, Styx, and Phlegethon.

After that, they go on through these straits,

“Down to the place from which there is no more down.

There they make Cocytus. What that pool is like,

You’ll see for yourself, so I don’t need to say anything else.”