Truth

According to Dante, truth and dishonesty are viewed as the most sinful act to be done in the mid-evil period. In Dante's eyes, liars are sent to hell and truth holds a high standard to life, without truth one must face the consequence of lying. In today's society, truth is still important. Without truth there is no honesty and without honesty you cannot expect to maintain relationships. People may befriend you because of your lies, but you are not automatically assumed as a sinner. Whereas in the mid-evil period, if you were even thought of as not telling the truth you were automatically believed by Dante as a sinner who must suffer in hell. To Dante, truth is not about you but about the impact you have on society. Without truth in the mid-evil period, society cannot expect to survive.

In today's time period, lying is not considered such as a high standard as murdering or stealing. Within courtrooms, people swear under oath that they will "tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth", sadly enough people are still found lying under oath and jurors are needed to determine whose lies sound more accurate. Although honesty and truth is a learned behavior from childhood, it seems as if many people don't regret the acts of lying. Could this be because there aren't any consequences to this act? One could be charged with perjury, but only if the courtrooms have profound evidence of one lying. Determining whether one has lied is often hard and requires evidence, however to assume that one's lied can result is many more lies from the liar.

In Dante's theory through Virgil's words dishonesty is thought of as, "heavens hatred is injustice- and each end of this kind, whether by...

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... after the time

When its bold, pitiless women killed every male;

His deceitful gifts and fair words overcame

The young Hypsipyle there, who'd had the skill

TO deceive the rest. He left her great with child,

Forlorn: and such guilt bring him torment in Hell (Dante 147).

Through Dante's examples, you can see that society could be in chaos without truth. In comparing the truth of one's word in the society of the mid-evil to that of today, you can appreciate the new advancements that we have in order to determine if one's lying. Whereas, in the mid-evil period believing one's word was their only proof, and assumptions were often made about whether or not one was lying. Although, there are many differences in the views of truth between the mid-evil period and today, truth has lied as important common denominator throughout historical times.