Quote 73
And after this was said, the darkened plain
quaked so tremendously – the memory
of terror then, bathes me in sweat again.
A whirlwind burst out of the tear-drenched earth,
a wind that crackled with a bloodred light,
a light that overcame all of my senses;
and like a man whom sleep has seized, I fell. (Inf. III, 130-136)
In ending a canto with the protagonist fainting away "like a man whom sleep has seized," the author Dante effectively stops the action and freezes time from the reader’s perspective. From the moment the character Dante passes out right up until his awakening, readers are left unaware about whatever action takes place.
Quote 74
[Dante]: "It seems, if I hear right, that you can see
beforehand that which time is carrying,
but you’re denied the sight of present things."
[Farinata]: "We see, even as men who are farsighted,
those things," he said, "that are remote from us;
the Highest Lord allots us that much light.
But when events draw near or are, our minds
are useless; were we not informed by others,
we should know nothing of your human state." (Inf. X, 97-105)
Heretics, for denying the immortality of the soul, are denied a linear, straightforward understanding of time. Having lived their lives only in the present moment (like the Epicureans), heretics are punished by being imprisoned in the future. They can see only in front of them, but not around them; they remain ignorant of their present state and must spend eternity without knowledge of their own time.
Quote 75
[Dante to alchemists]: "So that your memory may never fade
within the first world from the minds of men,
but still live on – and under many suns –
do tell me who you are and from what city,
and do not let your vile and filthy torment
make you afraid to let me know your names." (Inf. XXIX, 103-108)
Deep within the circles of fraud, Dante learns to manipulate the sinners’ desire for fame to his advantage. Here, he lures men into telling their stories by promising to bring word of them back to the living world. Whether or not he is sincere in his promises is another matter.