by Dante Alighieri
Florence, from the Boboli Gardens
In the coming weeks and at weekly intervals, I will publish a series of blogs on The Divine Comedy, by Dante Alighieri. Born in Florence in 1265, Dante died in exile at Ravenna in 1321. A long narrative poem, The Divine Comedy is Dante's testament; and today it stands as one of the greatest works in world literature. And perhaps because it records a personal spiritual journey set against the backdrop of corruption, political intrigue and a struggle for power between the Church and civic society, it has the distinction of having been, (for several centuries), on the Church's index of banned books. But altogether more relevant, is the fact, that The Divine Comedy has endured and today is an object of fascination and study across cultures and by believers and non believers alike.
These blogs are my response to this great work, from both a literary and personal point of view; and as you will discover in the opening blog, I argue the case, as to why you should not attach too much importance to what I have to say. For my contribution is not an academic treatise. Put simply, my interest, besides being literary, is spiritual and hence a journey into the unknown.
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Introduction:
A Health Warning
If ever a proverb were made to fit an occasion, it is that coined by the poet Alexander Pope in his Essay on Criticism, that, "fools rush in where angels fear to tread"; and it applies to me. For the more I persist in trying to gain some insight into Dante Alighieri's masterpiece, the more it becomes apparent that I am out of my depth.
It's not that I have been living in a fool's paradise, it's simply that the deeper I dig, the more I sense the limits of my understanding and the certainty, that for all my endeavour, I will never tarnish the gloss, let alone, "scratch the surface", of this literary masterpiece . . . . .
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The Divine Comedy Part - 2Who was Dante and what was doing on in his world?
For weeks now I have been on the road, travelling with my companions, Dante and Virgil, on a journey that has taken us first, to the very depth of Hell, after which and together, we climbed the mountain of Purgatory. At its summit and unable to travel further, (because he predates the Christian era), Virgil was replaced by Beatrice, a girl whom Dante had loved, but not married, since first setting eyes on her when he was twelve and she was nine. From here we travelled through the heavens, stopping off at the Moon, Mercury, Venus and the Sun, before heading on to Mars, Jupiter and Saturn and passing on through the Fixed Stars and Primum Mobile, before arriving at Empyrean, the place where God dwells. And no less remarkable was the fact, that at every stage in this journey, we were travelling through parallel worlds: the spiritual landscape of the soul and of life here on earth: as it is to be found in the Bible, in ancient classical literature, the Church and politics, as well as in the broader complexities, both noble and ignoble, of everyday life. . . . .
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Origin and structure of the poem and something of the sources that Dante drew on: Virgil, Saint Paul, Aristotle, Saint Thomas Aquinas, and with a passing reference to Plato and Saint Augustine
Recently we had a discussion here about the impact of the Kindle: as to whether or not its arrival heralds the death of books; and I am happy to tell you that the result was two to one against. But if you care to argue that the death of books has arrived, The Divine Comedy would be a good place to start.
In my copy, of the 741 numbered pages, there are 234 pages of notes; so, as they would say on celebrity TV, "I can now reveal, that, - - - the poem is, - - - - - - 452 pages long.". . . . .
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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 . . . . .
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The Divine Comedy - 5
Eden: as God had intended it. The composite figure of Matelda and the apocalyptic arrival of Beatrice. And the breadth, depth and purpose of Dante's narrative.
Recently while reading an article I was struck by the inadequacy of the language used. Variously, the event was described as "a key milestone", "a major milestone", "big" and "really impressive." And as the article progressed, another scientist doing his best to give expression to his feeling of incredulity, said: "It's utterly astonishing that this fragile artifact, based on 1970's technology, can signal its presence from this immense distance."
I was, of course, reading about Voyager-1; and the reason why the language seemed so inadequate, was, that the various contributors were struggling to convey a sense of an event that is beyond the experience of all of us; and in that context, a few simple stats will do: Now that Voyage-1 is in interstellar space, (beyond the magnetic field of the sun), it will be another 300 years before it reaches the edge of the solar system; and though travelling at 100,000 mph, it will take 40,000 years, before it approaches the nearest star.
Be that as it may, (and though I will be returning to the astronomy of Aristotle), for now it is back to earth: to the Garden of Eden, situated as it is at the summit of the Mountain of Purgatory . . . . .
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The Divine Comedy - 6
AN INTERMISSION:
Dante's letter to his patron Cangrande della Scala, and what it tells us about The Divine Comedy. And, is it real, or a fake?
When Dante published Paradiso, the last of the three cantata that make up The Divine Comedy, it was prefaced by a letter to his "friend" and political patron Cangrande della Scala. It is lengthy and as you might expect, Dante is careful to observe the niceties, or protocols, deemed appropriate in a subordinate addressing his social superior. But, true to form and anticipating public censure, Dante defended himself from a charge of familiarity, in addressing Cangrande as a "friend." But before we get to the letter and the issues that surround it, a though about poetry more broadly.
When a poem leaves the poet, it belongs to the reader, because in putting it into the public domain, the writer is sharing his or her experience and they have no certainty that the reader, or readers, will see it from their point of view. Why? . . . . .
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The Divine Comedy Part - 7JUSTICE:
from God's point of view.
Believing as I do that The Divine Comedy is a poem about the journey of the soul to God amid the trials and tribulations of life, a journey whose end is determined by the choices we make, my focus here is on ideas, rather than following exactly, Dante's progress though the heavens.
That said, and in anticipation of the stories that I am going to tell, I am returning briefly to Part 5, to remind us of how Dante distributed the souls among the heavenly bodies. But also, to show how, in some instances, Dante makes the connection between the present and the past, by linking the virtues of particular saints, with Roman mythology. .
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Dante's interrogation: by Peter, James and John, on the theological virtues of Faith, Hope and Love.
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux and the role assigned to him. And Dante's Amen.
"You have heard, O Virgin, that you will conceive and bear a son; you have heard that it will not be by man but by the Holy Spirit. The Angel awaits an answer; it is time for him to return to God who sent him. We too are waiting, O Lady, for your word of compassion; the sentence of condemnation weighs heavily upon us
"The price of our salvation is offered to you. We shall be set free at once if you consent. In the eternal Word of God we all came to be, and behold, we die. In your brief response we are to be remade in order to be recalled to live. . "
These are not Dante's words, nor do they appear in The Divine Comedy; instead, they are a quotation from Saint Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153), who is reflecting on what was and is, the most profound and dramatic moment in the history of our salvation. As the Gospel according to Luke tells us, when the Angel Gabriel first appeared to Mary, she was afraid; and when she learned of the reason for his visit, she was perplexed . . . . .
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© Cormac E McCloskey
The first in this series of blogs will be published on 8th. January and thereafter at weekly intervals.
The photos of Florence, Auschwitz and the Virgin Mother and Child Jesus, were taken by me
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