Inferno 15

Study Guide Questions for Canto 15

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Virtues/Vices/Great Ideas: (Find them in the Text)

Fate vs. Fortune, Home, Needing a Guide, Gratitude

Grammar Questions: (The Information of the Text)

1. To what did Dante compare the “bulwark” that he and Virgil were now walking beside?

2. How did Dante describe the manner in which the “band of spirits” were looking at them?

3. What did Brunetto say happens to any spirit who “stops for an instant” in that place?

4. What did Brunetto first ask Dante?

5. What warning did Brunetto give to Dante about “those ungrateful people of ill will?”

6. What did Dante say Brunetto “like a father” had taught him?

7. What did Dante intend to do with the various “prophecies” he had received during his time in Hell?

8. “In a word” what kind of people were all those who were with Brunetto in this place?

9. What prevented Brunetto from telling Dante more?

10. What request did Brunetto make of Dante?

Logic Questions: (Interpreting, Comparing/Contrasting, Reasoning)

1. Reread Canto Eleven, lines 46-51 where Virgil explained the three divisions of the seventh circle of Hell which is for all those who committed “force” or violence “against the deity.” Given that Brunetto is in the second division, what must his sin be, though it is not directly mentioned, which led him to Hell?

2. What should be inferred from the fact that Dante was shocked to see his old teacher in Hell and in this place in particular?

3. Dante said, of Virgil, “...by the road through Hell he leads me home.” What lesson, by way of allegory, might we infer from these words?

4. What did Brunetto mean when he said that those who hate Dante for doing goog do so justly, “for among the bitter sorbs the sweet fig should not bloom?”

5. What did Brunetto mean when he told Dante to “let the grass be far from the goat’s tooth?”

6. When Dante inquired to know more about others in this same part of Hell, what did Brunetto mean when he said “To know of some is well; it merits praise to pass the rest in silence?”

7. Why did Brunetto have to turn back and no longer walk with Dante when he did?

8. What did Dante mean when he said that when Brunetto left him “he seemed the one who wins, and not the one who loses?”

Rhetoric Questions: (The Analysis of Ideas in the Text)

1. Brunetto warned Dante that some men “will grow to hate you for your doing good.” What does it mean to be good and to do good? Why might some men hate those who do good? Does the fact that we can be hated for doing good, just as much as for doing evil, mean that there is no real difference between these things? Should we be deterred from doing good if people hate us for doing it? Why or why not?

2. Dante said Brunetto taught him “how man achieves an everlasting name.” Define the concept of fame. What are some examples of people whose fame is short lived versus others whose is long lasting (or perhaps everlasting)? What do you think makes the difference between fleeting fame and enduring fame? Is enduring a thing which we ought to pursue? Why or why not?

3. Even though Dante found his old mentor in Hell he declared that he would have gratitude for him as long as he lived. Ought we to be grateful for the lessons we receive from men who end up in Hell? Or should their fate teach us to eschew (reject) all that they have taught us? Explain your answer thoughtfully.

Theological Analysis: (Sola Scriptura)

1. Read Matthew 15:10-20 and 16:1-12 and compare it to lines 61-69 of this Canto. What similarities do you see?

2. Read Revelation 21:22-27. How does this passage affect you thinking about the question of enduring fame?