/ Something I was not expecting (or better said, aware would happen in this part) was the sheer aggression/hostility/antipathy in Dante's words and attitude towards this one guy he had beef with, Filippo Argenti, whom he put in the 5th circle of hell (with the wrathful) because of his deemed violent temper (for totally not biased reasons trust). Not only does Dante feel that this man deserves to be there (and makes sure to voice this opinion directly to him), but he also hopes to see this man drown before he and Virgil reach their destination AND!! to add to that? thanks god for it when it happens.
The beef: For context, the beef between Dante and this man, Filippo Argenti, stems from several points: not only was this man eager to keep Dante exiled and was opposed to his return by any means, but when Dante was exiled, Filippo's brother took a large portion of Dante's possessions. Also, another bit I found funny (in my own 💀way) is that apparently, Filippo once slapped Dante in public, in the middle of the street .🧍♂️ They obviously had opposing political views as well, so all in all, this guy was AHH CHEEKS to him
An interesting point I've read about this canto is how Dante's character mirrors the layer he's at (5th one with the wrathful); it's a matter of,, is he just passing by, or is he participating/mirroring the sin he's traveling through? To this, there's something about a sort of 'righteous anger' ; more specifically speaking, the Aristotelian virtuous anger (and explained in a very shitty way, Aristotle believes we ought to get angry in some circumstances; like when someone is being maliciously insulting towards oneself or those that are important in one's life) this righteous anger works as a midpoint between the melancholics and the wrathful, a place Dante positions himself in and believes he is right on being there.
Now onto his diss lines that brought me to yap about all this; (mind u this is a very wonky and bad translation from my copy, and the lines don't really slap as hard unfortunately)
As we sailed across the rotten pond, one of them, covered in mud (Filippo), asked me; "Who are you, you who arrives before due?" I (Dante) replied: "I come, but I shall not stay And who are you, who so dirty goes?" He replies: "you are seeing it, i am one of them who cries" And i said; "Well, there you stay with your sorrow and your tears, damned/accursed spirit for even though you are filthy, I have recognized you." [ ... ] "teacher/master (to Virgil)" i said "i would like to see him submerged in this concoction before we leave this lake" He replied: "you will see your wish granted before we arrive to the shore: it is just that you see yourself satisfied." Then i saw that the mud-soaked souls turned on that arrogant man, for what i today offer God a thousand praises. All of them shouted "To Filippo Argenti!" And the Florentine and prideful soul bit himself with fierceness we'll leave it there; that's all i'll say.
e disse: "chi se' tu che vieni anzi ora?" E io a lui: "s'i' vegno, non rimango; ma tu chi se', che sí se' fatto brutto?" Rispuose "vedi che son un che piango" E io a lui: "con piangere e con lutto, spirito maladetto, ti rimani; ch'i' ti conosco, ancor sie lordo tutto"
