Post by SteveMR200Papa, potatoes, poultry, prunes, and prism, are all very
good words for the lips: especially prunes and prism.
--Charles Dickens (1812-1870)
_Little Dorrit_ [1857-1858]; Book II, Chapter 5
Langdon switched slides to a close-up of the
Michelino painting, wherein a winged angel sat on
a throne at the foot of Mount Purgatory. At the
angel's feet, a line of penitent sinners awaited
admittance to the upward path. Strangely, the angel
was wielding a long sword, the point of which he
seemed to be stabbing into the face of the first
person in line.
"Who knows," Langdon called out, "what this angel is doing?"
"Stabbing someone in the head?" a voice ventured.
"Nope."
Another voice. "Stabbing someone in the eye?"
Langdon shook his head. "Anyone else?"
A voice way in the back spoke firmly. "Writing on
his forehead."
Langdon smiled. "It appears someone back there
knows his Dante." He motioned again to the painting.
"I realize it looks like the angel is stabbing this
poor fellow in the forehead, but he is not. According
to Dante's text, the angel who guards purgatory uses
the tip of his sword to write something on his
visitors' foreheads before they enter. 'And what
does he write?' you ask."
Langdon paused for effect. "Strangely, he writes a
single letter . . . which is repeated seven times.
Does anyone know what letter the angel writes seven
times on Dante's forehead?"
"P!" shouted a voice in the crowd.
Langdon smiled. "Yes. The letter P. This P
signifies 'peccatum'--the latin word for 'sin.' And
the fact that it is written seven times is symbolic
of the Septem Peccata Mortalia, also known as--"
"The Seven Deadly Sins!" someone else shouted.
"Bingo. And so, only by ascending through each
level of purgatory can you atone for your sins.
With each new level that you ascend, an angel
cleanses one of the Ps from your forehead until you
reach the top, arriving with your brow cleansed of
the seven Ps . . . and your soul purged of all sin."
He winked. "The place is called purgatory for a reason."
--Dan Brown (1964- )
_Inferno_ [2013], Chapter 57
--
Steve