Observations placeholder
Dante - Inferno [arrogance]
Identifier
014657
Type of Spiritual Experience
Background
Pride comes before a fall – or so they say. Arrogance, the opposite of humility. The inability to recognise that you are just one of billions all with their own attributes and faults, all no better and no worse than you, all struggling to achieve something good for themselves and their families – except perhaps the arrogant, who has no wish to help anyone except himself because he is 'better' than them.
Dante consigned him to Hell
QUOTE
Arrogance comes in many forms. Maybe the man thinks he is better because he has passed a few exams. Well that proves nothing, some of the best artists, sculptors, writers, and even scientists in the world passed no exams at all.
Maybe he thinks he is a fantastic writer because he has a best seller. Well time has shown that the 'best seller' is usually forgotten because it relies not on merit but publicity, but the classics of literature were usually not best sellers in their day, some were hardly known outside a few select readers. Perhaps he deludes himself that he is a marvellous actor or a fantastic playwright because 'the industry' have given him awards – an oscar maybe. Then he finds that only a short time later no one can even remember his name let alone any of his films.
Fame is meaningless and can be a curse. All accolades are meaningless. A gift – to paint, to sing, to sculpt, to make people laugh, to invent, to write – is a gift and should be accepted and used with humility.
A description of the experience
Dante – The Divine Comedy INFERNO I
CANTO
In his life he was full of arrogance
And no good act embellishes his memory;
Therefore his shadow here is furious
How many, up there, think themselves great kings
Who here will wallow in the mire like pugs
Leaving behind them nothing but infamous horrors