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Description
"Turn round and keep your eyes shut fast, for should
the Gorgon show herself and you behold her,
never again would you return above,"
my master said; and he himself turned me
around and, not content with just my hands,
used his as well to cover up my eyes"

Dante and Virgil. There is some truly gorgeous body language in the Divina Commedia.

Virgil is being protective and vigilant, but I also wonder if (Given that God's preordained plan appears to be for Dante to pass unscathed through all of Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven) this is intended to be an early sign of Virgil's limitations as a guide, given that he belongs to a pre-Christian age. He is much too afraid for Dante, responding too immediately and literally to familiar terrors from classical folklore - yet Dante is not a damned soul, and therefore not destined for any of the torments he beholds at this point. Maybe this fear and lack of trust in the plan is meant to signify his having never fully grasped faith, which damns him to remain with the virtuous unbelievers, never to behold the beatific vision.

Oh he, who walked ahead into the darkness, but carried a lantern over his shoulder to light the path of those who followed...

black pencil, bush-pen and ink, moleskine.

All feedback, comments, and Dante-related speculations are welcome, as always.

Description
"Turn round and keep your eyes shut fast, for should
the Gorgon show herself and you behold her,
never again would you return above,"
my master said; and he himself turned me
around and, not content with just my hands,
used his as well to cover up my eyes"

Dante and Virgil. There is some truly gorgeous body language in the Divina Commedia.

Virgil is being protective and vigilant, but I also wonder if (Given that God's preordained plan appears to be for Dante to pass unscathed through all of Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven) this is intended to be an early sign of Virgil's limitations as a guide, given that he belongs to a pre-Christian age. He is much too afraid for Dante, responding too immediately and literally to familiar terrors from classical folklore - yet Dante is not a damned soul, and therefore not destined for any of the torments he beholds at this point. Maybe this fear and lack of trust in the plan is meant to signify his having never fully grasped faith, which damns him to remain with the virtuous unbelievers, never to behold the beatific vision.

Oh he, who walked ahead into the darkness, but carried a lantern over his shoulder to light the path of those who followed...

black pencil, bush-pen and ink, moleskine.

All feedback, comments, and Dante-related speculations are welcome, as always.