Contrapasso In Dante's Inferno

Through the works of Dante Alighieri, he provided insight as to how he interprets the seven deadly sins; a Christian concept. His use of the contrapasso throughout the Divine Comedy allows us to explore other meanings and causes to the sins. The sin; sloth, has an ironic punishment in Dante’s inferno and purgatorio, with an underlying reasoning of misguided love. While exploring other sources and authors interpretations of “sloth”, I have found that the explanation has changed and has been identified differently throughout the ages. I worked with the history of the seven deadly sins and scholars classifications. Then I researched work that led to the elucidation of the structure of sloth. What does it mean to be slothful and how is it …show more content…
Emperor Theodosius’ wife Placilla died, causing order to be disrupted. Placilla’s duties were to take care of the hospitals and assist the churches. She provided the wants and needs to their citizens while the Emperor ruled. After her death, the author writes that none of the natives could find comfort and security (Rochfort 6). The author proceeds to explain all the ways the emperor was lazy and how his actions affect the kingdom. The author hints at a chain reaction of laziness starting from not feeding the beggars. The beggars are left to steal which means the animals are not being fed and the crops are unable to be prepared. The aggregate effects of disregarding responsibilities are slothful, and unacceptable by God (Rochfort 7). In 1 Timothy 5:8, it is the human responsibility to take care of earthly belongings. Rochfort attributes sloth as a byproduct of fearfulness, which discourages faith in scripture. The treatment for sloth is through devotion and praise of God 's word (Rochfort 5). I think previous religious scholars would agree that is the treatment for any of the seven