"There - as elsewhere," Julius Caesar allegedly said to Cleopatra, referring to the other world, "the main thing is not to be afraid." Let's not argue with the point of view of the great commander. But if you are not afraid, then who will be afraid of hell? Hell should probably be at least creepy. But how exactly? There is a rich literature on this subject. Let's take a look at it. After all, some authors tried to answer the question, how is it - on the other side …
Ice and fire
The representations of the ancient Greeks are interesting because they could not come to the afterlife kingdom of the gloomy Hades free of charge. The transporter of the souls of the dead, Charon, demanded a bribe of one obol - such a coin was put under the tongue of the deceased. True, history is silent about what Charon did with the money, and this extortion did not last long. Soon Hades forbade Charon to take money. Obviously, this was the first case of fighting corruption "from above". But we learn little about the afterlife from the Greeks. Some dreary plain and the river of oblivion Summer - that's, in fact, that's all, no colorful details. Therefore, we will not linger in Ancient Greece. Let's direct our time machine to new eras.
In 1621, a book by Professor Antonio Rouski, dedicated to hell and demons, was published in Milan. In this extensive (more than 600 pages) work, equipped for solidity with a preface, introduction and introduction, the professor debunks the pseudoscientific views of many of his predecessors. Just think, they were looking for hell at the North or South Pole, then in comet tails, then on the moon. Sheer nonsense, the professor states authoritatively, nothing like that. Hell is in the center of the Earth, in the region of the eternal flame, and there is no need to cast a shadow over the wattle fence in such a clear question. Doubters can check in person - please, you can get there through the vents of active volcanoes. However, Professor Rouski himself experienced certain difficulties. Thus, he found it difficult to reconcile credible testimonies that sinners in hell suffer not only from unbearable heat,but also from the piercing cold. How so, the worthy scientist asks. Fire cannot generate cold; it will warm the water in the pot, and not cool it down even more. But after breaking his head for a while, the professor finds an elegant way out: "If God can create fire, it is in his power to get frost out of it." You won't find fault. Although in modern refrigerators cold is obtained from heat, there is no longer anything, so the general principle is correct. But you also have to get fire from something.so the general principle is correct. But you also have to get fire from something.so the general principle is correct. But you also have to get fire from something.
This issue was radically resolved by the Anglican priest Swinden from Kent, who thought of placing hell directly on the Sun. Indeed, there will be enough fire.
Around eternity
Promotional video:
But the court infernologist (specialist in hell) - the Bavarian Elector Maximilian - Jeremiah Drexel in 1631 was interested in another problem - about the eternity of hellish torment. Why are they eternal? But what, the expert answers. Judge for yourself: after all, sinners, suffering, blaspheme God and thus commit a new sin, and therefore must be punished constantly. It is logical. If, say, a criminal, while in prison, commits a new crime there, they will add a term to him, right? Why should it be different in hell?
It turned out to be more difficult to figure out what, in fact, eternity is. Drexel offers imaginative solutions. Imagine, he writes, a huge mountain up to the sky, consisting of tiny grains of sand. Every 100 million years one grain of sand is carried away by a sparrow. Eternity lasts until the last grain of sand is carried away. Or a fly drinks the ocean drop by drop … Beautiful, but in this case, according to Drexel, eternity turns out to be, though very long, but still finite. And where do the grains of sand carried away by the sparrow and the water drunk by the fly go? It is a pity that the respected infernologist did not take the next logical step, adding only one line to his reasoning - “And everything starts all over again”. Then he would brilliantly anticipate the look at the essence of time by the astrophysicist of our day, Roger Penrose.
Secrets of Hell's Kitchen
That's all good, but what does hell look like? A detailed picture is given in his book, published in 1670, by the counselor at the Brunswick and Luneburg courts, Eustace Schottel. His hell is systematic and well-regulated. In the center is a huge wheel of fire. The hub indicates that it spins forever. Forgive the adviser for this assumption, because the Paris Academy of Sciences refused to consider projects of perpetual motion machines only in 1775! The wheel makes one revolution in a million years. On its needles it is written what specific torments await sinners: hunger, thirst, stench, burning resin, gnashing of teeth and the like. Schottel ascribes a precise duration to each type of torture. Burn in resin for a thousand years, grind teeth for 100 thousand years. On the rim of the wheel, mental torments are listed: remorse, despair, horror. Schottel even determines the poses of sinners. One hundred years on the right side, a thousand on the left, 20 thousand on the back, 100 thousand on the belly, and all over again.
In 1861, a book by the English Jesuit Father Ferniss entitled "A View of Hell" was published in London. There he says something new. How are naughty teens punished? For example, one sixteen-year-old girl painted her face and attended a dance school. Moreover, on Sundays she did not go to church, but walked in the park! This does not fit into any gate. Should we be surprised at the fairness of the punishment assigned to her - forever standing barefoot on a red-hot iron … Or another girl who, instead of mass, went to the theater. It would be better if I changed my mind, otherwise after the theater I ended up in the bloody (literally) circus of Father Ferniss. Her blood was always boiling in her veins, and the bone marrow was in her bones.
Do not look at the evil one
Little by little, the readers got used to the gnashing of teeth and stopped being intimidated. But, whatever one may say, it is necessary to frighten with something. And so the Italian Dominican monk Batista Manni wrote his book in 1677. In it, he assures that the very sight of devils is more terrible than all kinds of torment. Obviously, this author did not know the Russian proverb that says that the devil is not so terrible as he is painted. Manny refers to Saint Catharina, who looked into hell in her sleep and declared that it would be better for her to wander over hot coals than to see the devil. There is also evidence of a certain gentleman who met two devils and decided to dive into a lake of molten lead rather than see a third.
Somewhat earlier, in 1616, the French canon Francois Arnolt famously dealt with those guilty of "crimes of love" in his book "Wonders of the Other World". He began, as befits a gallant Frenchman, with women. “Forget about whitewash and blush, slutty ladies! he exclaims. - What will you say when devils, accompanied by a trumpet howl and vile laughter, drag you naked across the squares of hell for the amusement of the crowd? However, it would be unfair to accuse the canon of misogyny. Men who disregarded the "face of morality" also got it from him. Instead of a bed of love, they had to lie on a hot stove, and instead of the embrace of their beloved, they were waiting for their embrace of fiery serpents, also ardent in their own way. That is, those who breathe sulfur gases into their mouths, which burn sinners from the inside.
The temptations of Eden
However, what are we all about gloomy. Hell and hell, but what about heaven? Here we turn first of all to the same Francois Arnolt. He is not limited to hell, he describes paradise. True, his paradise is not much different from contemporary France. The same terry feudalism from top to bottom. Angelic ranks - marquises, counts, barons, etc. according to the table of ranks, the simple righteous are the people. He rejoices, as is typical for him, and what else should he do when there are no earthly worries, no worries, no labor for his daily bread. The palace of the king (in this role, of course, the Lord) is seven-story, and the entrance to each floor is guarded by an angel in the rank of captain. The palace has 1200 windows. But these are not just windows, but, as it were, stars, and the largest are the Sun and the Moon. Although the Sun is generally useless here, since the radiance of the bodies of the righteous is seven times stronger. But at incessant feasts, a wonderful drink is served, which tastes better than any fine wines. It is, of course, nice, but just offensive somehow. You come to a feast, and there are only glasses on the table.
Another author, the Spanish Jesuit Henriques, in 1631 paid great attention to the aesthetic aspect of paradise. The women there are dressed in the latest fashion of the time. Balls follow one after another in a continuous sequence. Virgins sing more euphonious than opera divas, and without stopping for a minute. Paradise is always permeated with this sweetest music. Music today, music tomorrow, music in a thousand years. So it won't take long to go crazy. Or ask for a vacation to hell, a little rest …
But perhaps the most exquisite delight for the righteous in paradise was invented by the Scottish preacher Thomas Boston (1672-1732). They contemplate the columns of smoke rising from hell, and gloat over the fate of sinners. Although everyone imagines paradise as a place where he himself would be good, right?
Andrey BYSTROV
