The Divine Comedy: Part 4
Pride, treachery and the inescapable logic of Hell. Purgatory, repentance and the structure and nature of punishment. Hypocrisy and the Wastrel Friars; and some good news. And raw politics: De Monarchia and Unam Sanctam. And the spiritual: Faith and free will.
As a small boy at school I learned of the "seven deadly sins"; and as is the case with things taught by rote, I remember them still. They were: pride, covetousness, lust, anger, gluttony, envy, and sloth. And as in those far-off times we distinguished between sins that were "mortal" and sins that were "venial", what made them mortal, ("deadly!"), was that if the offence was sufficiently grave, you could go to Hell: "for all eternity.".But don't despair about my childhood, because from a religious point of view forgiveness was always just around the corner, which was probably why we paid more attention to being naughty, than fretting about the Catechism. And without doubt, our teachers understood that they were imparting truths for the long term. .
Now as the seven deadly sins were around in Dante's Day, it is unsurprising that he treats of all of them, in both Hell and Purgatory, and with punishment proportionate to the offence, and with consequences, not just for the individual, but for society as a whole. So in this context it is worth noting, that the first sinner we are introduced to, is Dante.
Half way along the road we have to go, Midpoint of his life
I found myself obscured in a great forest,
Bewildered, and I knew I had lost the way.
(Inferno Canto 1, 1-3)
In his confusion Dante can't recall how he got to this point, but the scene that he describes implies hope, and the prospect of redemption:
10 I cannot tell exactly how I got there,
I was so full of sleep at that point of my journey
When, somehow, I left the proper way. Of Jesus
13 But when I had arrived at the foot of a hill
Which formed the far end of that menacing valley
Where fear had already entered into my heart,
16 I looked up, and saw the edges of its outline
Already glowing with the rays of the planet
Which shows us the right way on any road.
(Inferno Canto 1, 10-18)
And no less important as we descend through the nine circles of Hell, in each of which we are confronted with specific sins, and at times, grotesque descriptions of suffering, is that what emerges is a more rounded picture of Dante. Variously he can be described as curious, compassionate, fearful, unforgiving and violent, but always compliant with the wishes of his guardian Virgil. And though at first it might seem pointless to consider his arrangement of the order of sin, in respect of the damned, this arranging of the order of sin, is significant: for it reflects Dante's experiences, his preoccupations and prejudices; and it is out of his own mouth, so to speak, that we have it that this arrangement is deliberate:
If I could write in harsh and raucous verse,
As would be suitable to the sad pit
On which all the other rocks weigh down, Circles of Hell
04 I could press out the juice of my conception
More fully, but because I have not that skill,
Not without fear I bring myself to speak;
07 For it is not a matter to take lightly,
Describing the lowest point of the universe,
Not something to be done in baby-talk:
10 And may those ladies help me with my verse Classical: nine muses
Who helped Amphion to put the wall round Thebes who helped Amphion
So that what I say may answer to the facts. as described.
13 O you who are the lowest dregs of all,
Put in this place which it is hard to speak of,
Better if here you had been sheep or goats. A biblical echo
(Inferno Canto XXXII. (32), 1-15)
We are in the 9th circle of Hell, or what Dante, (drawing on both the literature of the ancient world, and the Bible), calls Cocytus, "the river of wailing"; in this instance a frozen lake, where those guilty of treachery in its various forms, are punished. It is the lowest point in Hell, the place where Lucifer dwells, though separately it seems, with Judas Iscariot, Brutus, and Cassius. And though treachery is listed under four headings: (in descending order): against kin, against homeland or party, against guests, and benefactors, the backdrop is essentially political: reflecting the consequence of the bitter struggle for power between the Guelph and Ghibelline families, of which Dante was a casualty. And this deliberate arrangement of the order of sin, (with the emphasis on political feuding), explains why, those guilty of Fraud, (including Dante's arch enemy Pope Boniface VIII), are one step removed from the lowest point in Hell, in circle 8.
But it is in the lowest point in Hell, in (Circle 9, Canto XXXII (32) where we see Dante loosing his self-control and presenting himself as a mirror image of the bitterness that has long existed between rival families in the political struggle for control of Florence. Coming across thousands of heads protruding from a lake of ice, Dante, (though not sure how it happened), kicks one of them in the face. This brings an angry and defiant response from the shade, who, asks if Dante has come "to increase the vengeance," on account of Montaperti, where the Guelphs, in 1260, were defeated by the Ghibelline's. At this Dante's ire is raised, and he prevails on Virgil to wait while he seeks to establish the name of the traitor:
76 Whether it was will or fate or fortune,
I do not know, but, passing among those heads,
I struck one in the face hard, with my foot.
79 Weeping, he cried out: "Why do you tread on me?
If you have not come to increase the vengeance
Of Montaperti, why do you molest me?"
82 And I: "My master, now, wait for me here,
So that, with this one's help,.I may clear a doubt;
After that, make me hurry as much as you please."
85 My guide stood still, and I said to the one
Who was still uttering frightful imprecations:
"Who are you, who complain of other people?"
88 "And who are you who go through Antenora," Betrayer of Troy to
He answered, "striking other people's cheeks? the Greeks
If I were still alive I would not stand it."
91 "I am alive, and it may matter to you,"
Was my reply, "if you want reputation,
That I should put your name among my records."
84 And he to me: "I want the opposite;
Get out of here and give me no more trouble,
You do not understand how to flatter here."
97 At that I took him by the scruff of the neck
And said: "You'd better tell me who you are,
Or I will tear out every hair of your head."
100 Then he to me: "Even though you scalp me,
I will not tell you who I am, nor show you,
Though you stumble on my head a thousand times."
103 I already had his hair coiled around my hand,
And had pulled out more than one bunch of it,
He yelping, and keeping his eyes lowered;
106 When another called: "What is the matter Bocca?
Isn't it enough for your jaws to chatter,
Without yelping? What devil is biting you."
108 "Now," I said, "there is no need for you to speak,
You filthy traitor; for now, and to your shame,
I will take back a true report of you."
(Inferno Canto XXXII (32) 76-110)
As we would expect, and as Dante conveys with power, there is a remorselessness and inescapable logic in the punishment of the damned, which is why, as soon as Bocca degli Abati's, has been betrayed and his identity disclosed, he responds by disclosing the identities, (betraying) an additional four traitors in the struggle between the Guelphs and Ghibelline's.
__________ .
In Purgatory this same idea seems to apply, though it is not quite as clear cut. To begin with, among his literary inventions, Dante has created ante-Purgatory: a place at the very bottom of the mountain, that is reserved for two groups: the late repentant, (those who left it to the last moment to express sorrow for their sins), and repentant rulers; those who, on account of Dante's particular interest, are gathered together in the Valley of Rulers. Together, these two groups share the same fate, in that they cannot begin to atone for their sins until the angel guarding the narrow entrance to Purgatory proper, allows them through. As to how long that wait might be, that depends on whether or not they have family and friends on earth who are interceding for them. If not, then they must remain in ante-Purgatory for the equivalent length of time that they had lived in sin.
But returning to the main point, once inside the gate of Purgatory, it is apparent that Dante's arrangement of the order of sin is hierarchical, and to some extent, again, it reflects his beliefs and prejudices. At the farthest point from redemption, on the first terrace, are those whose sin is Pride, (the sin of Lucifer), while beyond them, in ascending order, are those atoning for the sins of Envy, Wrath, Sloth, Avarice and Prodigality, Gluttony, and Lust. And in terms of Dante's construct, it is interesting to note, (though of no consolation to the damned), that Lust occupies a similar position in Hell as it does in Purgatory. In Hell, Lust is at the farthest point from Lucifer, while in Purgatory, those who are atoning for sins of the flesh, are the closest to Heaven. But more importantly, because Purgatory is a place of atonement and transition, with the repentant souls rising towards the summit of the mountain of Purgatory: to the Garden of Eden, of necessity there can be no one fixed starting point for sinners, (as distinct from a type of sin). And the existence of the Valley of Rulers, (with the particular rules that apply to them), again is consistent with Dante's main preoccupation, which, aside from his own spiritual journey, has to do with the consequences of sin for society as a whole.
Now as it is well beyond me in these blogs, to do anything more than give some small insight into The Divine Comedy, in respect of Hell and Purgatory, I am going to focus on specific canto's, rather than flit between cantos, with all the necessary explanations and qualifications that that would entail. So to that end, I am going to quote almost all of Hell, Canto XXIII. (23): it reads well, conveys a particular mood, and for the uninitiated, should be easy to follow; after which, and drawing on various sources, I will expand on the text. We are in Circle 8, otherwise known as Malebolge, or place of ("evil ditches"), and the theme is Hypocrisy:
58 Down there we came upon a painted people,
Who went around with very slow steps,
Weeping and looking weary and exhausted.
61 They had cloaks with the hoods drawn down
Over their eyes, made in the same fashion
As those that are made for the monks of Cluny. Benedictine monastery
Burgandy France AD 910
64 Outside, they are gilded in that they are dazzling,
But inside, all lead, and so heavy
That in comparison Frederick's were like straw. Notorious: used molten
lead on his captives
67 What wearying gear for all eternity!
We turned once more to the left-hand side, together
With them, listening to their unhappy sobs;
70 But, with the weight, that weary people came
So slowly that, with every step we took;
We found ourselves beside fresh company
73 So I said to my guide: "See if you can find Virgil
Someone who is known for what he did, or his name,
And cast your eyes around you as we go."
76 And one who understood the Tuscan speech, Dante's dialect
Called to us from behind: "Oh, hold back,
You who run so fast through the dark air.
79 Perhaps you will find in me what you are looking for."
So my guide turned and said: "Now wait for him,
And then go on, but at his own pace."
82 I stood still, and saw two showing great haste,
In their minds - or their looks - to be with me;
But their burdens, and the narrow path, kept them back.
85 When they came up they eyed me sullenly,
Looking for a long time but saying nothing;
Then turned towards each other, and said to each other:
88 "It looks as if he's alive, the way his throat works,
And if they are dead, then what right have they
To go without wearing the heavy stole?"
91 Then to me he said: "You, Tuscan, who have come
To the hypocrites' club, where they all wear sad faces,
Don't be above telling us who you are."
94 I said to them: "I was born, and grew up,
On the lovely river Arno, in the great city, Florence
And am with the body that I have always had.
97 But tell me who you are, from whom pain wrings
Such drops as I see rolling from your cheeks;
And what is that glittering penalty which is yours?"
100 And one replied to me: "The orange cloaks
Are of such thick lead that the weight of them,
As you might say, causes the scales to creak.
103 We were Wastrel Friars, and Bolognese: A military / religious order
I was called Catalano and he, Loderingo; noted for its self-indulgence.
We were given a joint appointment by your city. Guelph and Ghibelline appointed to
rule jointly in a divided Florence
106 - Though, usually, a single man is chosen -
To keep the peace; and how we acted
Is still to be seen, around the Gardingo." The betrayal of trust and
destruction of Ghibelline homes
109 I began: "O brothers, you evil . . ." but I spoke
No further, for I caught sight of one
Crucified on the ground with three stakes:
112 When he saw me, he twisted himself up,
And blew the sighs he was making into his beard;
And Brother Catalano, who saw this;
115 Said to me: "The one you see nailed there The high priest Capihas
Advised the Pharisees it was expedient
That one man should be tortured for the people. Christ
118 He lies across the path, naked, as you
See him, and so he is obliged to feel
The weight of everyone who has to pass.
121 And in this way his father-in-law also Annas
Suffers in the ditch, and the rest of the Council
Which sowed so many evils for the Jews." The belief that as a race
the Jews were to blame
124 Then I saw Virgil marvelling over for Christ's death
The one who was there extended on a cross
So ignominiously in eternal exile.
127 Afterwards he spoke to the friar with these words:
"Be so kind, if it is not forbidden,
To say whether, on the right, there is an outlet
130 Through which both of us can get away
Without encouraging the black angels
To come down to this place and get us out."
133 He then replied: "Nearer than you may hope,
There is a rock which moves from the great circle
And crosses over all the cruel valleys,
136 Except that in this one it is broken and doesn't cover it:
You will be able to climb up on the ruins
Which lie on the slope and are heaped at the bottom."
139 My guide stood there a little, his head bowed,
Then said: "He gave us false directions
That one that hooks the sinners over there."
142 The friar said: "I heard once in Bologna
Of the Devil's many vices, among which
That he was a liar, and the father of lies." Echoing Christ's words
Gospel: John 8.44
145 Then with long strides my guide went on his way,
Somewhat disturbed by anger, from his looks;
So I left those heavily burdened spirits,
148 Following the impression of those dear feet.
(Inferno. Canto XXIII. (23), 58-148)
On the face of it, this is not a difficult passage. We all know, (hopefully not from ourselves), what a hypocrite is. And those of us who have knowledge of the Gospel's, know, that Christ in his judgements was especially outspoken in this regard. Almost all of the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 23, is taken up with this, and in modern parlance it is strong stuff. Jesus uses the words "Woe to you Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites", no less than seven times, as he moves from example to example of hypocrisy. And in this context, we have no difficulty whatever, in appreciating the symbolism of monk like figures, whose appearances are not what they seem. But we need to go beyond the literal to fully grasp what is going on here: the extent to which religious and political life are intertwined, self-serving and corrupt; and as a consequence, in conflict with one another.
This is exemplified in Catalano and Loderigo, "Wastrel Friars" who in life were from opposing political factions. (Guelphs and Ghibellines respectively), but who were also founding members of the "Knights of the militia of the Blessed and Glorious Virgin Mary", a religious/military order founded by noblemen of Bologna in 1261, whose purpose was to care for widows and orphans, and to promote peace: a noble end it would seem. But by 1280 and on account of their luxurious lifestyle, the members of this order had become known as the Jovial Friars. But what made Catalano and Loderigo hypocrites, was that they did not live up to the task assigned to them by Pope Clement IV: that after the national defeat of the Ghibellines at Benevento, in 1266, they should rule as peacemakers over a divided Florence. In the end, and possibly with the connivance of the Pope, the trust was betrayed, the Ghibelline's defeated, and with lines 106-09 here referring to the destruction of Ghibelline properties in Florence. And this passage is made the more poignant, by Catalano's admission, that, while on earth he had heard the words of the Gospel in which the Devil was described by Jesus as, "a liar, and the father of lies". A warning that he had clearly not heeded.
_______________
Now because Purgatory is a place of atonement, or cleansing from sin, and where hope abounds; as Virgil and Dante climb the mountain of Purgatory, there is much reflection on the truths of the Faith. And as we go, it seems a good thing to begin just inside the narrow entrance, in Circle 1, where, as previously mentioned, the souls there are atoning for the sin of Pride; the sin of Lucifer. And as we pass through (Canto's X-XII (10-12)), hopefully we will get, as they say, a flavour of the journey.
Having passed through the narrow entrance to Purgatory, (Canto X. (10), Dante tells us that at first their steps were faltering, but it was not long before their attention was drawn to a number of striking, sculpted reminders, of acts of Humility: the opposite of Pride. .
First, from the New Testament, a depiction in white marble of the Annunciation: that momentous moment in man's salvation, when Mary, in obedience to the will of God, consented to become the mother of Jesus, with the words: "Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it done to me according to Thy word." (Luke 1:38). Further along, and from the Jewish Bible, (the Old Testament), they see carved into the rock, the story of King David, who unabashed, danced before the Ark of the Covenant as it was brought in to Jerusalem. And lastly, and as Dante often does, from fable, a depiction of the Emperor Trajan, (d. 117 AD) who is seen delaying his entry into battle, so as to address the wrong done to a widow whose son was murdered. As for the condition of the souls atoning for sins of Pride, Dante likens them to, " . . . a corbel a figure/Whose knees are pressed up against his chest" by the weight of the rocks that are pressing them down. But, not before reminding us, with words of reassurance, that contrary to the plight of the souls in Hell, Purgatory as a place of suffering, will come to an end:
106 I do not want, reader, to discourage you
From good resolutions, when you hear
How God wills that the debt should be paid.
109 Do not concern yourself with the form of pain:
Think what follows; and think that at the worst
It cannot go on beyond the last judgement.
(Purgatorio X (10) 106-111)
From the outset in Canto XI (11), Dante confronts us with the novel idea of reciprocity, that is, of the capacity of the souls in Purgatory to intercede on behalf of family members and others left behind on earth. And he does this by paraphrasing the Lord's Prayer. Each of the first seven tercets begins with a portion from the prayer, and it is the souls themselves who are reciting it. But when it comes to the final petition, "Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil", the souls have to acknowledge that at this point the idea of reciprocity can not be sustained, as this particular petition cannot be applied to them:
Our father, which art in heaven,
Not because circumscribed, but out of the greater love
You have for your creation on high,
4 Praise be to your name and worthiness
From every creature, as it is appropriate
To render thanks to your sweet charity.
7 Thy kingdom come, and the peace of thy kingdom,
Because we cannot attain it of ourselves,
If it does not come, for all our ingenuity.
10 As of their own freewill your angels
Make sacrifice to you, singing Hosanna,
So may men also do of their freewill.
13 Give us this day our daily manna,
Without which, through the roughness of this desert,
He who tries hardest to advance, goes backward.
16 As we forgive everyone the evil
That we have suffered, may you pardon us
Graciously, and have no regard to our merits.
19 Do not put our virtue to the test
With the old adversary, it is easily overcome,
But free us from him who spurs us on.
22 This last prayer, dear Lord, we no longer
Make for ourselves, having no need of it, Temptation is for mortals
But for those who are left behind us.
(Purgatorio Canto XI (II) 1-24)
Which, according to Dante, (this time addressing the reader), places an added obligation on us to, (as the Catechism used to put it): "pray for the dead so that they may be loosed from their sins"; after which, souls from the nobility and the Art's attest to the folly of ambition, fuelled by pride, a sentiment encapsulated in these lines:
100 Earthly fame is nothing but a breath of wind
Which first blows one way and then blows another,
And brings a fresh name from each fresh direction.
(Purgatorio Canto XI (II))
And the canto ends with an oblique reference to Dante's own fate; when, as an exile from Florence he will discover how hard it is, to swallow ones pride, so as to beg for support.
__________
Still in the realm of Pride, (Purgatory, Canto XII. (12), Virgil instructs Dante to keep his eyes cast down, so as not to miss, as they pass over, the bas-relief's that tell of the fall of the arrogant. Dante begins with a description of the sculpted fall of Lucifer, and ends by extolling the virtues of the artist, on whom the unlearned, especially, depended, for visible evidence of the truths of their faith.
64 What master he was of painting and design
Who drew the shadows and the features there,
Which would make any subtle mind gaze at them.
67 The dead looked dead, the living looked alive:
Those who had seen the real thing saw no better
And then I stepped out as I was walking bent down. Like a penitent soul
The Tower of Babel that Dante, Purgatory
Canto XII, uses as an example of the sin of
Pride. Painting by Peter Brueghel the Elder
(Wikipedia)
And among these representations, was Nimrod, architect of the Tower of Babel, whose plan when building the city of Nineveh, was to build "a tower with its top in the heavens". (Genesis II, 1-9). But God, fearing what next rash thing they might do, thwarted their ambition, by replacing the language that was universal, with a multiplicity of tongues, so as to confuse them. And the list ends with an example from classical literature: the fall of Troy. "Proud Troy", captured and sacked by the Greeks.
__________
Now moving on to Canto XVI. (16). where souls on the 3rd Terrace of Purgatory are atoning for the sins of Wrath, we have arrived at the mid-point in the poem. And in the context of Dante's objective, it is hugely significant that it is here where he has chooses to set out the themes that are central to his masterpiece. They are on the nature of the relationship between the spiritual and the temporal, (Church and state) and on the nature of the relationship between Faith, and free will.
When Dante was writing The Divine Comedy, he wrote another famous work, De Monarchia, in which he attacked, head on, the view of Pope Boniface VIII as expressed in his bull, (letter), Unam sanctam (1302), that, "it is absolutely necessary for salvation that every human creature be subject to the Roman Pontiff." And as we have seen previously, this conflict was at the heart of the struggle for power between the Guelphs and Ghibellines. Consequently, and in time, Dante came to be viewed as a heretic, with copies of the book seized and burned on the orders of Cardinal Beltrando of Pogetto. It was an injunction that seems to have had little effect, since in 1559, around the time that a new edition of De Monarchia appeared in Basle (Switzerland), the book was placed on the Church's Index of banned books, where it remained until 1881.
Well here, in The Divine Comedy, is how Dante, through the character of Marco expresses his concerns:
106 Rome, which was the maker of the good world, Ancient Rome
Used to have two suns, by which could be seen
Both the road of the world and the road to God.
109 One has put out the other; and the sword is combined
With the pastoral crook, the two held together,
It must of necessity be that things go badly;
112 Because, combined, one does not fear the other:
If you doubt what I say, look at the ear of corn,
For every kind of plant is known by its seed.
(Purgatorio Canto XVI (16) 106-14)
Now before we turn to scholars for guidance, we have to be struck by the power in these words: "Because, combined, one does not fear the other", words that lend themselves to the saying, (an expansion on the original), that, "power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely". A point that Dante reinforces in the lines that follow, where, with reference to the "ear of corn", he is alluding to the Gospel's and Christ's parable in respect of a tree and its fruit: as to how the quality of the fruit testifies to the state of the tree. (Luke, 6, 43-45).
"No good tree bears bad fruit,nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit; for each tree is known by its own fruit. Figs are not gathered from thorns, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. The good person out of the good treasure of the heart produces good, and the evil person out of evil treasure produces evil; for it is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks."
But more important, in respect of the contemporary world of Dante, is his reference to there once having been "two suns", (l, 107) and to the Church having usurped the power of the state, (line, 109), as the result of which, " . . .the sword is combined/With the pastoral crook . . ." This was a direct attack on Unam Sanctam, in which, Pope Boniface VIII used the metaphor of "two swords" as exemplifying the supremacy of the pope, in matters temporal as well as spiritual. As for the "two suns", this was Dante's invention, a counterblast against those whose support for the Pope was based on Genesis 1, 16, where in the story of creation, the moon, (now symbolic of the state), is seen as inferior to the sun, (now symbolic of the Church), from which the moon gets its light:
"God made the two great lights, the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night - and the stars."
In De Monarchia, and using a convoluted argument, Dante rejects this view of subservience, before asserting that:
". . . although the Moon may have abundant light only as she receives it from the sun it does not follow on that account that the moon herself owes her existence to the sun. It must be recognized that her existence, her strength, and her function are not one and the same thing. Neither in her essence, her strength, nor her function taken absolutely, does the moon owe her existence to the sun, for her movement is impelled by her own motor and her influence by her own rays. Besides, she has a certain light of her own, as is shown in eclipse."
To which he adds:
"It is in order to fulfil her function better and more potently that she borrows from the sun abundance of light, and works thereby more efficaciously."
(De Monarchia Chapter III.X (10))
But, as we know, it was a mistaken view on Dante's part, in respect of an eclipse, to conclude that the moon has light of its own.
Now although I have chosen to reverse the order of discussion in Canto XVI (16), Dante understandably, begins, with a consideration of Faith in the context of free will. Why? Because as we will recall from Part 3, if the will is free, then we are responsible and accountable for the choices we make, and to a greater or lesser extent, for the state of the world in which we live. Meeting Marco, a Lombard, in Purgatory, Dante asks him to explain why the world is in such a terrible state. "I beg you" he says, "to indicate the reason/So that I see it and point it out to others,/Since some say it is in the stars, some here below." (L 60-63). To which Marco responds with, "Whew!" (line 65) And in his response, we have yet another subtle reminder of Dante's support for the views of Saint Thomas Aquinas.
67 You who are living attribute all causes
To the stars above, as if everything there is
Had of necessity to move with them.
70 If it were so, this would mean the destruction
Of your free will, and it would not be just,
For good to be rewarded, and sinners punished.
73 The stars may imitate your movements;
I do not say all of them, but suppose I should say so,
There is a light to tell good from evil.
76 And free will, which, if it makes an effort
Throughout the first battles with the stars,
Will be victorious, if it is well nourished.
79 Free as you are, you are subject to a greater law
And a better nature, and that creates in you
The mind the stars do not have in their charge.
82 So if the present world is going off course,
The reason is in you, and should be sought there;
And I will tell you only how the land lies.
(Purgatorio Canto XVI (16) 67-84)
From here Marco carries on explaining how, from the innocence of childhood we get to the point of corruption as exemplified in politics and in the Church. Without an Emperor who will lead by example, and enforce the laws as codified by Justinian, and a pope who knows his rightful place, he continues:
103 You can see easily that bad government
Is the cause which has made the world wicked,
And not your nature, corrupted though it may be.
For Dante, the old order no longer exists, save in three old men: "Currado da Palazzo, the good Gherado,/And Guido da Castel . . ."(l. 124-125). As for the Church, it is in a sorry state:
127 You may now put it that the Church of Rome,
By confounding two powers within itself,
Falls in the muck and dirties itself and its load.
Be that as it may, all is not lost, for though Dante is on a personal spiritual journey, he is also a missionary, and he wants those of us who, like him, "have lost the way", to find our way back on to the right path, and to Paradise.
__________
© Cormac McCloskey
Note: The next in this series of blogs, The Divine Comedy Part 5 will be published on 5 February.
The sources listed below were referenced, and in most instances, used, in the composition of these blogs:
The Divine Comedy
Translated by C.H. Sisson
Introduction and Notes: David H. Higgins
(Oxford World's Classics)
Oxford University Press (2008)
ISBN: 978-0-19953564-4
Dante: The Divine Comedy
I: Hell
Translated by Dorothy L. Sayers
Penguin Classics (1953) edition
The Complete Danteworlds
A Reader's Guide to the Divine Comedy
Guy P. Raffa
University of Chicago Press (2009)
ISBN:10: 0-226-70270-7
The De Monarchia Of
Dante Alighieri
Edited With Translation And Notes
by Aurelia Henry (1904)
Printed in Great Britain
by Amazon.co.uk Ltd
Encyclopedia Britannica, Vol's 1,3,7,11,14 and 28
in respect of a variety of related topics (1991 edition)
Vol 14: Aristotle. 28: Thomas Aquinas
Aristotle
A very Short Introduction
by Jonathan Barnes
Oxford University Press (2000)
ISBN: 978-19-285408-7
BBC Radio 4 archive
In Our Time, 17th September 2009
"Melvyn Bragg discusses the life, works and enduring influence of the medieval philosopher and theologian St. Thomas Aquinas, with Martin Palmer, John Haldane and Anabel Brett." here
Bloom's Modern Critical Views
Editor, Harold Bloom
Chlsea Hous Publishers,
Philadelphia U.S.A. (2004)
ISBN: 0-7910--7658-X
The Poetics of Conversion
by John Freccero
Harvard University Press
Cambridge, Massachusetts
and London England (1986)
ISBN: 0-674-19225-7 (alk, paper (cloth)
ISBN: 0-674-19226-5 (paper)
Saint Augustine
City of God
Penguin Books 2003
ISBN-13: 978-8-14-044894-8
Evangelii Gaudium
The Joy of the Gospel
Pope Francis
The Word Among Us press 2013
ISBN : 978-1-59325-262-5Penguin Books 2003
ISBN-13: 978-8-14-044894-8
Evangelii Gaudium
The Joy of the Gospel
Pope Francis
The Word Among Us press 2013
(1) Wikipedia unam sanctam
Virgil (40-19BC) Regarded as one of Rome's greatest poets
(2) Wikipedia, for an excellent broad sweep of The Divine Comedy, go here
(3) De Monarchia Boo II: XIII
In the chapter headed "Christ in dying confirmed the jurisdiction of the Roman Empire over all humanity" Dante argues the case for the Roman Empire being the lawful authority by which Christ was put to death (lawful, in the sense of being ordained by God) and at XIII.4 he writes "Wherefore let those who pretend they are sons of the Church cease to defame the Roman Empire, to which Christ the Bridegroom gave his sanction both at the beginning and at the close of his warfare. And now I believe, it is sufficiently obvious that the Roman people appropriated the Empire of the world by Right."
Wikipedia
WikiPaintings (1) Hell, by William Blake
