Gambling with Gambling

Gambling with Gambling

From The Catholic Thing by The Catholic Thing

June 6, 2026 · 7 min · Episode 53

About this episode

The episode explores the absence of gamblers in Dante's Hell and the deeper implications of their sins.

By Daniel B. Gallagher But first a note from Robert Royal: I generally don't ask our authors to write on a specific topic because, like you, I'm interested in seeing how the Spirit is moving out there, not just in my own head. But I'm always interested when the Spirit speaks of Dante, whom I discovered all on my own as an undergraduate, and has been with me in ways beyond reckoning ever since. TCT brings all of us, even staff, great, unlooked for surprises, even within the steadiness of the great tradition. Since you're a reader, I know you value that too. So let's make sure this Thing continues for the rest of 2026 and well beyond, in ways that continually surprise and inspire. Now for today's column... Ever since I started teaching the Divine Comedy years ago, I've been on the lookout for lacunae. Just when I think I've found one, it turns out Dante has covered it with incomparable sagesse. Take gamblers. Why don't we find them in Hell? Well, it depends on where we look. There's no specific infernal circle set aside for gamblers. That's because they're scattered throughout. And that, in turn, is because their true sin doesn't lie in the wager, but in what prompts it, what feeds…

People in this episode

Guest: Daniel B. Gallagher

Topics covered

  • gambling
  • Dante
  • sin
  • greed
  • prodigality
  • spirituality

Keywords

  • gambling
  • Dante
  • Divine Comedy
  • greed
  • prodigality
  • spirituality
  • sin

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Divine Comedy, Dante

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