After reading Canto 24, I’ve wondered about the theory of Eternal Recurrence and the nature of the seven pouch. For those who are unfamiliar with this theory, it’s a thought experiment about whether every detail life is meant to endlessly repeat itself; a loop. Famously, there is a symbol that goes hand in hand with this theory, Ouroboros; a snake eating itself.  Friedrich Nietzsche used this as a formula for human greatness. With that in mind, the Sinners are punished by giant serpents binding them. So, we can associate these serpents with the symbol Ouroboros. As these serpents bind sinners, they are caught on fire and turned into ashes. Then these ashes are reborn into human form again. The punishment repeats itself.  Just like the theory of eternal recurrence stated, these sinners are dealing with the same pain over and over again. According to Friedrich Nietzsche, how can these sinners achieve human greatness. In Canto 24, Virgil states that a person has control of their thoughts and impulses, “raise thee up, o’ercome the anguish/ With spirit that o’ercometh every battle,/ If with its heavy body it sink not”(Alighieri 52-54). Perhaps to reach enlightenment, Sinners must be aware of the temptations to which they are always recurring and present, and learn to control these impulses. Although, now that I contemplate about the sinner’s circumstance, they are in hell; therefore they must forever feel torment. At least in this case, the looping element from the Eternal Recurrence would apply here.