In Dante’s In ferno, he describes a visit to Hell. In a recently discovered chapter, he encounters five people sitting at a table with a pot of stew in the middle. Although each one holds a spoon that...

In Dante’s In ferno, he describes a visit to Hell. In a recently discovered chapter, he encounters five people sitting at a table with a pot of stew in the middle. Although each one holds a spoon that reaches the pot, each spoon’s handle is much longer than each person’s arm, so no one can feed him- or herself. They are famished and desperate. D ante then suggests: “Why do you not feed one another ?” The rest of the chapter is lost.