>See also, INFERNO, canto 23, line 144:
> "...a liar and father of lies." Mandelbaum translation.
>
The context of this line is especially pertinent, at least as regards
Dante's view of the matter: Virgil is being ironically reproved by one of
the hypocrites for having believed what he was earlier told by the demon
Malacoda - in other words, you should *expect* to be lied to by the Devil
(or one of his emissaries), because that's who he is and what he does.
(Robert Durling's note on this passage in his translation makes the
connection with John 8:44, which he describes as having become
"proverbial".)
My own instinctive reaction to the question "can the Devil lie?" would be
"can he do anything else?"!
Best wishes,
Steven Botterill
Associate Professor of Italian Literature
Acting Chair, Department of Italian Studies
Acting Chair, Italian/Slavic/Scandinavian Administrative Cluster
Department of Italian Studies
6303 Dwinelle Hall #2620
University of California
Berkeley, CA 94720-2620
(510) 642-6246 (voice)
(510) 642-9884 (FAX)
http://ls.berkeley.edu/dept/italian/botterill.htm
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