Talk:Dis (Divine Comedy)

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Muslims/Jews

I've modified the language of this article somewhat but it could still be much improved. Previously it seemed to imply that all Muslims and Jews were automatically confined to lower Hell, and that the Giudecca was for Jews in particular; all of this is simply wrong, actually. Muhammad is encountered in lower Hell, in canto 28, but as a "schismatic," not a "heretic," which for Dante is especially bad because it involves misleading other people through fraud. There are in fact Jews and Muslims through many different places in Dante's afterlife, not by any means exclusively in lower hell (Saladin for example is placed among the Virtuous Pagans in Circle 1 of the Inferno, and there are many Jews encountered in Paradiso and elsewhere). "Giudecca" meanwhile or the "Circle of Judas" has nothing to do with Jewishness, it takes its name from Judas the betrayer of Christ, and in it are placed the most egregious sinners - for Dante, those who betrayed their benefactors - such as Judas but also Brutus and Cassius, betrayers of Julius Caesar, and of course Satan/Lucifer. The implication that Jews were automatically sent to Giudecca is very misleading, and is not supported by the lines quoted from Canto 9, in which Virgilio describes being sent down previously to the Giudecca by the witch Erictho, which derives from an episode in the Pharsalia and has nothing to do with Judaism. At the city of Dis Dante does compare its buildings to mosques though.

Di poco era di me la carne nuda, 25 'I had not long been naked of my flesh

ch'ella mi fece intrar dentr' a quel muro, 26 when she compelled me to go inside this wall

per trarne un spirto del cerchio di Giuda. 27 to fetch a spirit from the circle of Judas.

Quell' è 'l più basso loco e 'l più oscuro, 28 'That is the lowest place, the darkest,

e 'l più lontan dal ciel che tutto gira: 29 and farthest from the heaven that encircles all.

ben so 'l cammin; però ti fa sicuro. 30 Well do I know the way -- so have no fear.

(128.59.154.252 (talk))

Dite in Italian, not Dis

The article currently begins by giving the Italian form as la città il cui nome è Dis, and citing the text of Canto VIII itself. The footnote says that the citation comes from Storey's book, but implies that the exact wording is from Divine Comedy.

But that is not what the text says. You can look it up lots of places; the wording is la città c'ha nome Dite.

I am puzzling over the right way to fix this.

I could literally substitute la città c'ha nome Dite, but that is not modern Italian. For that matter, it's probably not the "unmarked" way to say it even in 14th-century Italian; it's a poetic elaboration to fit the rhyme and meter. It does have the advantage that I know exactly where to source it, namely to the original text.
I could substitute la città di Dite, which is probably the way it is referred to in modern Italian commentary, but of course I'd need a cite.
Or maybe just Dite, with the "city of" part being understood.

But in any case it is definitely Dite and not Dis. Suggestions for the right fix are solicited. --Trovatore (talk) 02:46, 8 September 2017 (UTC)[reply]

I decided to just render it as Dite, and on reflection I don't think it needs a cite. Source-language translations in the opening sentence are usually not cited. --Trovatore (talk) 03:26, 8 September 2017 (UTC)[reply]