What does contrapasso mean?

The punishment of an individual's soul in Hell is related to the sin that person committed on earth.

"Counter" and "step, pace" were used in Dante's work.

"Suffer the opposite" refers to the punishment of souls in Dante's Inferno, by a process either resembling or contrasting with the sin itself.There is a penitential process that occurs in the Purgatorio.In the 4th Bolgia, the false prophet had his head twisted around on his body so that he could not see ahead of him.The twisted nature of magic is exemplified by the attempts to see into the future by forbidden means.It is not merely a form of divine revenge, but rather the fulfilment of a destiny freely chosen by each soul during his or her life.The phrase "cos s'osserva in me lo contrapasso" can be found in Canto XXVIII of the Infidel.He was decapitated there because he undermined a rightful head of state.

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