Quote 4
[Virgil]: "Of every malice that earns hate in Heaven,
injustice is the end; and each such end
by force or fraud brings harm to other men.
However, fraud is man’s peculiar vice;
God finds it more displeasing – and therefore,
the fraudulent are lower, suffering more." (Inf. XI, 22-27)
Here, Virgil declares fraud – the deceptive use of language or action – the worst of the three types of sin (incontinence, violence, and fraud). Sadly, it is also the sin man is most susceptible to by virtue of his capacity for language. With their false or insincere words, fraudulent men "bring harm to other men." This particular quality of fraud, with its ability to spread (as rumor or truth), can effectively mislead whole communities of otherwise moral people into sin. To Dante, condemning innocent others to sin through one’s deceitful words is the worst possible act.
Quote 5
[Virgil]: … "Look at that mighty one who comes
and does not seem to shed a tear of pain:
how he still keeps the image of a king!
That shade is Jason, who with heart and head
deprived the men of Colchis of their ram…
With polished words and love signs he took in
Hypsipyle, the girl whose own deception
had earlier deceived the other women.
And he abandoned her, alone and pregnant;
such guilt condemns him to such punishment;
and for Medea, too, revenge is taken." (Inf. XVIII, 83-96)
Jason, the mythical leader of the Argonauts, shows that Virgil’s "persuasive word" can be turned to evil uses. Although the Italian phrase used to describe Virgil’s speech, "parole ornate," remains the same, Mandelbaum chooses to translate Jason’s speech as "polished words" instead of "persuasive." This highlights Jason’s flashy image and professed gallantry, which woo women to him, while allowing his vile nature to lurk underneath. Here, in the first ring of fraud, readers begin to doubt the goodness of the "persuasive word," or elaborate language, when they see that it can persuade people with false hopes and lead to tragic consequences.
Quote 6
[Virgil]: "Wedged in the slime, they say: ‘We had been sullen
in the sweet air that’s gladdened by the sun;
we bore the mist of sluggishness in us:
now we are bitter in the blackened mud.’
This hymn they have to gurgle in their gullets,
because they cannot speak it in full words." (Inf. VII, 121-126)
In life, the sullen refused to engage in life’s joys, appreciating neither the "sweet air" nor the light of the sun. Dante also plays on the idea of the sullen resentfully refusing to speak. As punishment, then, they are immersed in "blackened mud" – away from the "sweet air that’s gladdened by the sun" – which inhibits their ability to speak and forces them to gurgle out their words.