Inferno, Canto 20SummaryIn the Fourth Bowge of the Eighth Circle Dante sees the Sorcerers, whose heads are twisted so that they can only look behind them, and who are therefore compelled to walk backwards. Virgil tells him about the origin of Mantua. The moon is setting as the Poets leave the bowge.
The Prepatory LectureQuestions for Reflection
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Canto 20, © Jan Hearn
The ImagesThe Sorcerers. The primary image of sorcery here is that of the fortune-tellers, who, having attempted to usurp God's prerogative by prying into the future, are now so twisted that eyes and feet face in opposite directions. More generally, there is an image of the twisted nature of all magical art, which is a deformation of knowledge, and especially of the psychic powers, to an end outside the unity of the creation in God. It is in especial the misuse of knowledge so as to dominate environment (including not only material things but the personalities of others) for the benefit of the ego. Magic to-day takes many forms, ranging from actual Satanism to attempts at “conditioning’ other people by manipulating their psyches; but even when it uses the legitimate techniques of the scientist or the psychiatrist, it is distinguished from true science by the “twisted sight”, which looks to self instead of to God for the source and direction of its power.
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