The Divine Comedy Part 7

The Divine Comedy Part 7
PARADISE 

JUSTICE: 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. .

Dante's distribution of the saints among the heavenly bodies.
Not forgetting that most of these souls will have spent time in Purgatory atoning for past sins, the Moon is where we find those who were unfaithful to their religious vows; and Mercury, where we meet those who, in life, had sought after fame. On Venus we make the acquaintance of those whose love, (for whatever reason), was misplaced. And unsurprisingly, the Sun is where we find the great luminaries: those saints, such as Thomas Aquinas who were renowned for their wisdom. In Roman mythology Mars was the god of war, and it is in this context that Dante placed there, evangelists: the souls of those, who, in crusading for Christ, had put their lives at risk and in some cases lost it. And again in the context of mythology, as Jupiter was the supreme god of the Roman pantheon and protector of the state and its laws, Dante placed there, souls who, when on earth and in positions of power and influence, had ruled with justice. On Saturn we find the contemplatives, and at the Fixed Stars the Church Triumphant; and among them, the apostles, Peter, James and John, and Adam, the first man created by God. And at the Primum Mobile, the orders of angels.
__________

Divine justice and the story of Piccarda Donati and the Empress Constance.
Now in the context of justice, and what I like to call the affairs of the heart, the story belongs to Piccarda Donati and the Empress Constance. We are on the Moon, at cantos III, IV (4) and V (5). Both women were nuns, who, for political reasons were forced by their respective families to leave their convents and enter into politically expedient marriages. Piccarda, (related by marriage to Dante), had been a “Poor Clare” a companion order of nuns, to that of the monks, (Franciscans) founded by the famed Saint Francis of Assisi. In Piccarda's case, the culprit was her brother Corso Donati, a black Guelph leader, and hence, a political opponent of Dante, of whom it was earlier foretold in The Divine Comedy, that he was destined for Hell. Shortly after her marriage, Piccarda died. Constance, who was married to Henry VI, became the mother of the last truly great Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick II, who, continually at war with the popes, was excommunicated four times. But though he admired him greatly, as Emperor, and for his cultural achievements, Dante placed Frederick among the heretics in Hell, apparently, (as at least one commentator has suggested), so as to represent him as he would have been perceived by his enemies.

Dante's response to Piccarda and Constance is one of sympathy, but with a sense of injustice. After all, weren't they forced to abandon their consecrated life. So surely, he asks, shouldn't they be in a more exalted place: a higher Heaven. But, accepting some blame in the matter, Piccarda tells Dante that there was something “unfulfilled” in their vows. After which, and quoting from the Confessions, of Saint Augustine, she puts his mind at rest; so that he understands that all the saints, in whichever heaven he finds them, are happy, because they are in the presence of God.

79 "It is indeed the essence of this life
    That we keep ourselves within the divine will,
    So that our wills may be made one with his:

82 So that, how we are at various thresholds
    Throughout this kingdom, pleases the whole kingdom
    As it does the king who rouses us to his will

85 And in his will we find our peace:                                [Saint Augustine]
    It is the sea to which everything moves
    Which it creates and which nature makes.”

To which, Dante responds:

88 Then it was clear to me how everywhere
    In heaven is paradise, although the grace
    Of the highest good does not fall on all in one way.

                                    (Paradiso (III:79-90)

But notwithstanding this enlightenment, there are other issues to be resolved. And they are not idle speculations, for in all these encounters, Dante, in juxtaposing the wisdom of man, with the wisdom of God, is defining the true nature of Christian belief.

And Beatrice, aware that Dante is still troubled poses the question that she knows is on his mind:

19 "You reason: “If the will remain good,
    How can the violence of another
    Diminish the measure of my desert?”

                                       (Paradiso Canto IV (4)

And answers it.

Having explained to Dante that the Moon represents the lowest of the celestial states (l. 39), she has something to say about Piccarda's willingness to accept some blame on her own and Constance's behalf, a view that she expresses in the context of both divine justice and free will:

67 “Our justice, appearing to be unjust
    In the eyes of mortals, is a matter for faith:
    There is nothing wicked or heretical in that.

70  But, because your intelligence is able
     To penetrate this truth as you desire,
     I will put your mind at rest.

73  If violence is to be understood
      As meaning that the sufferer contributes nothing
      To the force that moves him, these souls had not that excuse;

76   For the will does not weaken unless it wants to,
      But operates as nature does in a flame
      If it is violently twisted a thousand ways.

79  For if it bends itself either much or little,
     It gives way to the force, and so did these,
     For they could have gone back to the sacred place.

82 If their will had remained inviolate,
    Like Lawrence's when he lay upon the grid
    Or Mucius, who condemned his own right hand,

85 It would have put them back upon the road
    From which they had been dragged, as soon as they were free;
    But wills so positive are all too rare.

                                (Paradiso Canto IV (4): 67-87)

But Dante is still troubled and this prompts another question, (though he readily acknowledges the limits of the intellect, when it comes to comprehending the mind of God). If the essence of religious vows is the surrender of the will to God, he wants to know if it is ever possible to make amends when one has been unfaithful, by offering to God, an action that is greater than the thing itself? In response, Beatrice (who likens the vows to the covenants of the Jewish tradition as in the Old Testament), tells him that the answer is no. A truth, that if we think about it in terms of Dante's concerns, far from being a negative, was profound, in terms of the nature of divine forgiveness.
__________

Justice: Charles Martel, providence v inheritance, and the Divine plan.
Now in terms of ideas, one of the many topics that Dante confronted, (and which still resonates today), was what I like to think of as the question of "fitting square pegs into round holes," but which for Dante was a case of grappling with the thorny issue of providence versus inheritance. And here, inheritance has to do with man's natural endowment, and not with inherited power or wealth as such.

We are in Paradiso canto VIII (8), where we make the acquaintance of Charles Martel, who, somewhat obliquely at first, renews his acquaintance with Dante. The warmth and mutual respect is obvious, even to the point of Charles quoting directly from Dante's poetry: the third and final instance in The Divine Comedy of autocitation. They had met in Florence in 1294, for all of three weeks, so why, we might wonder, given the brevity of the acquaintance did the friendship endure? The answer is almost certainly politics, and the promise, both on account of his character and his family connections, that Charles seemed to represent. Heir to the Kingdom of Naples, the Kingdom of Hungary, and the county of Provence, he straddled the political divide, for while his grandfather Charles of Anjou (King of Naples) was a Guelph, his father-in-law Rudolph I of Hungary, was a leader of the Ghibellines. But, whatever hope Dante thought there might have been for a political compromise, came to an abrupt end when in 1295, both Charles and his wife Mary died during an epidemic. He was 24.

So here, in the voice of Charles Martel, is how Dante grapples with the question of providence versus inheritance; or of the failure of society to organize itself, for the better, around its natural, (god given) talents:

139 "Nature always, if she finds a fortune hostile,
      Just as she does with any other seed
      Out of its region, makes a poor job of it.

142 And if the world down there would give its mind
      To the foundation nature herself lays,
      And was guided by that, it would have excellent people.

145 But you force into a religious order
      Someone who would be better with a sword,
      And make a king of someone who should be a preacher

148 No wonder your journey takes you off the road.”

                                            (Paradiso Canto VIII 139-148)

But as this is not where the story began, we need to go back to the fifth tercet of canto VIII, (8) for it is at that point, (when distracted by Beatrice's ever increasing beauty as they near the Empyrean), that Dante becomes aware that they have ascended from Mercury to Venus

What he sees are “divine lights” descending from Empyrean, and what he hears is the singing of “Hosannas” a beautiful sound that he wants to sustain. Then, from within the circle of lights a voice comes towards them saying: “We are all/Ready at your pleasure, for you to rejoice at us.” (32-33) And then, the first hint as to the identity of Charles Martel, when the voice quotes from Dante's own poetry, before telling him that they are so full of love for him, that for a moment they are willing to stop singing and be silent. And after Dante has asked “Who are you?” the next clue comes from the voice telling him of his premature death, of what might have been, of why it is that he remains invisible, and of the love that Dante had for him in the past:

49                                            “The world had me
      For a short time down there; and had it been longer,
      Much evil that will happen, would not have happened.

52  My happiness keeps me concealed from you,
      For it radiates from me and hides me as if I were
      A creature bundled up in its cocoon. .

55  You loved me greatly, and you had good cause;
      For if I had been below longer, I would have shown you
      More than the mere foliage of love.”

                                            Paradiso. (Canto VIII, 49-57)

Following on from this and in succeeding tercets, the voice makes reference to the places with which he had been associated: the county of Provence, and the southern portion of Italy around Ausonia, Bari, Gaeta and Catona, that correspond to the Kingdom of Naples, Hungary and Sicily; and he laments the conduct of his brother Robert, who, as King of Naples from 1309, instead of learning from the family misfortunes, (as in the loss of Sicily), ruled with avarice; a vice that he acquired in Catalonia, where he had lived for a number of years as a hostage, in exchange for the release of his father. A mistake compounded by his appointing avaricious Catalan friends as officials when he came to power..What Charles Martel describes as, “the greedy poverty/Of Catalonia.” (77-78)  After which he reflects on how Robert's nature had changed, “sunk”, “from liberality”.into “meanness” From this, a discussion develops on the nature and purpose of man, hence, providence versus inheritance; and with Dante, on the basis of what he has been told about Robert, asking, in the context of inheritance: "How sweet seed [the noble Martel lineage] can produce something so bitter.” (93)

In summary Charles replies to the effect that, as can be seen in the heavens, there is a divine plan, an order and purpose that comes from the mind of the mover, God. Were it not so, even the heavens through which he is travelling, Dante is told, would be reduced to ruin. And the point about a divine purpose is forcefully made, with the image of the archer finding the target:

103 So that whatever arrow leaves the bow                       [Aristotle]
       It falls ready for a foreseen object,
       Like something that is directed to its mark.

After which and in the same context he poses the question:

115 “Now say, would it not be worse
      For a man on earth, if he were not a citizen?”              [Aristotle]

To which Dante, (the exile), in the last line of this tercet, replies with certitude:

      “Yes,” I replied, “no need to explain that.”

                                    (Paradiso. Canto VIII.(8) 103-105, 115-116)

The Divine plan and levels of meaning in the Comedy
Now what we have to remember is, that there is no one single narrative in The Divine Comedy, and this is a case in point, because in these easily understood exchanges, more is going on than is apparent. In referencing the archer, and man's nature as a social being, Dante is endorsing the philosophy of Aristotle, that as we saw previously, was the starting point, upon which, Saint Thomas Aquinas developed his proofs, from reason, for the existence of God. And if further proof were needed as to levels of meaning, it is worth returning to Bloom, and a contribution there by Teodolinda Barolini.

Entitled, Autocitation and Autobiography,Teodolinda Barolini, in passing, touches on the subject of Charles Martel. As compared to Purgatorio where Dante had many friends, Martel, she observes, is the only friend that he has in Paradiso. Why? Because as a pilgrim making his way to God, the emphasis is changing. The focus now, for Dante, is on the dying to self, on the process of letting go, in particular in letting go of the social dimension to which we attach so much importance.

And another truth about the Paradiso is, that the further you advance into it, the more it becomes something of a "Who's Who?" which is why, it is not possible, in these blogs, to include everything. So I have had to decide on where the focus should be. Which is why I am passing over hugely significant portions of the poem, and against all expectations, those cantos that feature Saint Thomas Aquinas, who, along with many other luminaries: "theologians, philosophers and scholars" are to be found in the sphere of the Sun, (cantos X-XIV) (10-15). Instead, and so as to follow on the theme of justice, I am moving on to Jupiter.

That it is beyond the capacity of man to, fully comprehend, the nature of Divine justice.
It is at the mid point of canto XVIII (18) that Dante and Beatrice arrive on Jupiter, and we stay with them there until the end of canto XX. (20). And the long and the short of it is, that by that point we know, for it has been clearly demonstrated, that it is beyond the capacity of man to fully comprehend the nature of divine justice. A truth that is put tellingly in respect of the Trojan hero, Ripheus.

In mythology Ripheus was a just ruler, who was rejected by the Gods. But here and though a pagan, we find him among the redeemed. And though redeemed, even he, as Dante represents him, can not fully comprehend the justice of God..

70   He now knows much of the divine grace
      Which the world below is not able to see
      Although his sight does not discern the bottom of it.

                                            (Paradiso XX (20)

And from all of this comes a conclusion that I touched on in Part 2, and that is worth repeating, to the effect that for the many reasons revealed to Dante, at this point, neither he, nor we, can know who is actually saved or damned:

133   And you mortals hold yourselves back
        From giving judgement; for we, who see God,
        do not yet know who all the elect are.

                                           (Paradiso Canto XX)

Now, treating these Cantos as one, and moving back and forward between them, when the spirits first appear in Canto XVIII (18) they resemble birds flying with abandon, and singing joyously. But as soon as they begin to form themselves into individual letter shapes, and appreciating that they are wanting to communicate, Dante makes an impassioned and prayerful appeal to Pegasus (the divine winged horse) to help him convey to the reader what it is that he is seeing:

82   O Pegasus goddess, giver of glory
       To the inventive mind, and long life,
       Which, with your help, it gives to cities and kingdoms,

85   Inspire me, so that I can set out boldly
       their figures, in the manner I have remembered them:
       Let your power appear in these brief verses!

                                          (Paradiso Canto XVIII (18)

And what he sees, when the formation of letters is finished, is, "DILIGITE IUSTITIAM QUI JUDICATIS TERRAM." ("Love justice you rulers of the earth [set your mind upon the Lord as is your duty]" (Solomon I.I) After which, more lights (souls), descend singing and settling on the final "M" before rising like sparks from a burning log and taking the shape of the head and neck of an eagle. Later and to a no less astonished Dante's, and though comprised of many souls, the eagle, symbolic of Empire, speaks with one voice in support of justice. And finally, in Canto XX (20) Dante is instructed to focus on the eagles eye, on:

31   "The part of me which sees, and in mortal eagles
       Withstands the sun, . . . . . .
       Should now be watched with attention."

                                           (Paradiso XX (20)

After which, the six "divine lights", that are associated with the eye, are identified. The one that occupies the centre of the eye, as does the pupil, and the five that are around the circumference of the eyebrow. And as we will see later, such is the selection, that they are intended to point up the fact that a full understanding of the nature of divine justice, is beyond man.

And just as the formation of the eagle was symbolic of Empire, so too was the final "M" (Canto XVIII (18)), as spelled out by the lights. Painted as it was with a lily, (the emblem of both France and Florence), it was symbolic of the "M" in De Monarchia; the treatise in which Dante argued, in opposition to Pope Boniface VIII in Unam sanctam, that the temporal authority as exercised by the Holy Roman Emperor, was lawful, (ordained by God), as was the spiritual authority of the Pope.

Dante's concerns for the Church, and for those souls that predated the Christian era
At this point, we have the first of a number of concerns that Dante has about divine justice. In this instance he is moved to prayer, and his concern is for the Church. And prayer though it is, is is also a criticism of the Church, in particular, of Pope John XXII.

124  O army of heaven, which I contemplate,
       Offer a prayer for those who upon earth
       Are lead out of course behind a bad example!

127  The custom once was to make war with swords;
        But now it is made by taking from one or another
        The bread the living father keeps from none.

130   But you who write only to rub out,
        Remember that Peter and Paul, who both died,
        For the vineyard you spoil, are still alive.

                                 (Paradiso Canto XVIII)    

"The bread the living father [God] keeps from none", relates to the use of excommunication as a weapon, (hence a ban from the Mass and from communion), for those who defied the Pope. In particular, and as discussed above, Emperor Edward II; as well as Philip IV of France; and in the case of Pope John XXII against Cangrande della Scala, (Dante's patron), who was Captain-General of the Ghibelline League, in 1318. As for the rubbing out at (l..130), this is to do with the ready lifting of the excommunications once the offending parties had conformed, or been brought to book.              

Another of Dante's concerns is for those souls who predated the Christian era; and here, too, as was often the case, Beatrice anticipates Dante's thoughts:

70   For you said: "A man is born upon the banks
       Of the Indus, where there is none to tell of Christ
       And no one to read or write about him;

73   And all his inclinations and his actions,
       As far as human reason sees, are good;
       He is without sin in word or deed.

76   He dies unbaptised and without faith:
      Where is the justice in condemning him?
      Is it his fault, if he does not believe?

                                   (Paradiso. Canto XIX (19))

And tells him, that this would be an interesting speculation if it wasn't for the fact that he has scripture to guide him:

85   O worldly creatures, O you gross minds!
      The primal will, [God] which is good in itself,
      Is never less than itself, the supreme good.

88   Whatever is in accord with it, is just:
       No created good can attract the divine will
       Unless by its radiance the divine will so directs it."

Or put another way, because all that is good, is a manifestation of the divine presence, divine justice is available to all.

__________

In some instances those that we come across in the poem, are  alluded to, rather than named, and even where they are named, the reference is often oblique: So to fully understand what is going on, we have to seek out explanations; as here in the context of the last judgement and the book of life, (Revelations 20: 11-15): when many kings, Dante is told, will fare less well than ordinary Christians. (106-08) Among the unjust rulers who will be held to account, are Albert I, King of Hungary and Holy Roman Emperor. Philip IV King of France, otherwise known as Philip the Fair, and Edward I (associated with the Scottish wars and execution in 1305 of William Wallace?), and Ferdinand IV King of Castille and Leon, and Wencelaus II of Bohemia, Charles II of Anjou and Provence, and King of Naples, and Frederick II of the Royal house of Aragon, and King of Sicily, and his brother James II King of Aragon; and Diniz and Haakon V, kings of Portugal and Norway respectively.and Stephen Urosh II, King of Rascia (old Serbia).

And in this listing, the strength of Dante's feelings against unjust rulers is conveyed by the use of an acrostic, (Canto XIX (19), that is not as apparent in translation as it is in Italian. As David H. Higgins explains in his notes, Dante's listing is presented in three groups of three tercets, with the first letter taken from each set, spelling out the word "LVE" i.e. "LUE" meaning "pestilence." In English it is apparent that Dante is reinforcing or making a point, but not to that extent,.for the phrases that are repeated appear only in two sets of three. They are: "There will be seen . . .", and "Soon also . . ." And though the acrostic does not correspond exactly with the original, sufficient of these rulers, misdeeds, stand out: "pride", "lechery and soft living", "avarice and baseness."

In terms of associated material, the last of these cantos XX (20), is no less dense; and the point is reinforced, that it is not in man's gift to comprehend the mind of God. As for the six lights associated with the Eagle's eye, (on which Dante was told to focus), were the most outstanding examples of justice. And again, any narrow view of divine justice, is cast aside, in favour of a divine justice that is even-handed. Two of these lights are from the Old Testament, (the Hebrew Bible): King David and Hezekiah, and two: Ripheus and Trajan, "Who consoled the widow for the loss of her son;" were pagans; and the final pair, the Emperor Constantine and William II of Hauteville, King of Naples and Sicily, were Christian. And it is King David, who danced before the Ark of the Covenant as it was brought to Jerusalem, and to whom many of the Psalms have been attributed, and who is listed in in the genealogy of Saint Matthew's Gospel, as an ancestor of Christ, who is placed at the centre of the eye. And especially interesting is the inclusion of Hezekiah King of Judah, of whom Dante has this to say:

49   The next one along the circumference            [of the eye]
       Of which I am speaking, on the upper arch
       Put off his death by true penitence:

52   He now knows that the eternal judgement
      Is not altered, when a deserving prayer
      Defers till tomorrow, what was to have been today.

                               (Paradiso Canto XX 20))  

What is interesting about Hezekiah, is that when Isaiah came to visit him when he was, ill and told him that he would die, (2 Kings 20:1-6) and had left, he was told by God to return and tell Hezekiah, (who had prayed and wept bitterly, and reminded God of how he had ruled justly), that his prayer had been heard and that his life would be extended by fifteen years. And what is exceptional about Dante placing the Trojan Ripheus, a pagan, who had lived long before the advent of Christianity on the eye, as a model of the just ruler, is that in doing so he was feeding into a debate on the subject of predestination, that was ongoing in his day. For it was believed that Ripheus had been redeemed, (saved) in the Harrowing of Hell.

Justice: in summary
In conclusion, and in the context of Paradiso, and in the case of Piccarda and Constance, we have seen the application of divine justice to the individual, and of how, [allied as it is to mercy], it is separate, and therefore not dependent on the capacity of the soul to make amends that are adequate. And in Charles Martel, and in the context of the wider society, indirectly, we are reminded of the Gospel  parable of the talents, and the consequences for society, and the divine plan, if they are misused. And in the heavens, through Dante's encounters, we have been made aware of the futility of attempting to comprehend the mind of God; or of speculating, about those things over which we have no control: who will be saved and who will be damned. Or, as to the fate of those souls who predated the Christian era. In effect, we are being reminded of the folly of shaping the mind of God, according to our own flawed standards. A grave mistake. And a truth powerfully expressed in these words previously quoted, but worth repeating.

85   O worldly creatures, O you gross minds!
       The primal will, which is good in itself,
       Is never less than itself, the supreme good:  

____________

© Cormac McCloskey

Above the gate at Auschwitz, the slogan: "Work is Freedom". Photograph taken by me in 2005.

The last in this series of blogs The Divine Comedy Part 8 will be published on Wednesday next 26 February 2014 on:
Dante's interrogation:  by Peter, James and John, on the theological virtues of Faith, Hope and Love. and Saint Bernard of Clairvaux and the role assigned to him. And Dante's Amen.

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

Dante Alighieri
Bloom's Modern Critical Views
Editor, Harold Bloom
Chelsea House 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 : 978-1-59325-262-5

(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."

The Divine Comedy Part 6

The Divine Comedy Part 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 thought 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 will see it from their point of view. Why? Because when we read, and irrespective of whether it is prose or poetry, it is inevitable that we will measure it against our own experiences. So people are not necessarily agreed about the value of something, or the significance of what it is that is being said. And more interesting perhaps, is that a discerning reader might identify something from the subconscious of the writer, (including the influence of other poets). All of which, is just another way of saying that even if the poet thinks they know what it is that they have created, that is not necessarily the case.

So it is against these general principles that we have arguments, or better, perhaps, difference of opinion, as to what is actually going on in any given literary work. And so in respect of The Divine Comedy, there are no shortage of differing opinions and speculations.

When the third book, Paradiso was published, it was prefaced by a letter of dedication to Can Francesco della Scala, who, on account of his physical and mental precocity, became known as Cangrande, a word that translates as "great" or "big dog". A warrior and autocrat, and from an illustrious family, he at first shared power with his brother Albiono, but when Albiono died in 1311, Cangrande, at the age of twenty, became the sole ruler in Verona. In the years that followed, until his death in 1329, Cangrande, with an appetite for territory, engaged in several wars and treaties with the cities of Vicenza, Padua, and Treveso. In the first instance, and as a Ghibelline, (a supporter of the Holy Roman Emperor), his allegiance was to Henry VII, and after his death in 1314, to Frederick I of Austria: allegiances in defiance of the Pope, who, at first threatened, and finally excommunicated him. What angered  Pope John XXII was Cangrande's defiance, for by accepting imperial titles: Imperial Vicariates, Cangrande was not only publicly acknowledging the authority of the Emperor, but agreeing to act as his representative in his absence. But more important than all of this, in the context of Dante's exile from Florence, is that Cangrande was his principal patron.

Contemporaries described Cangrande as a man of physical strength and endurance, jovial, and with an open disposition, someone who enjoyed discussion and debate, but, whose temper could be ferocious when things (presumably battles}, were not going well. And not withstanding his excommunication, he was described as a deeply religious man, with a particular devotion to the Virgin Mary, (on whose account he fasted twice a week). Widely respected for his bravery in battle, even his foes praised him for the mercy shown to them in defeat. But for all his achievements, his dynasty did not last, so that today he is remembered mostly for his association with Dante.

On the 18th of July 1329, and having yet again defeated the city of Treveso, Cangrande entered the city in triumph, but five days later, on the 22nd, he was dead, having become ill, it was said, by drinking from a polluted stream. But if his dynasty didn't last, the historical interest in him was sufficient to cause his naturally mummified body to be exhumed in 2004. And in the autopsy that followed, (and with some of the internal organs remarkably well preserved), the conclusion was, that death was caused by the ingestion of a lethal quantity of the poison, digitalis, probably given to him in the guise of a medicine. A conclusion that lends credence to the suspicion at the time, that he might have been poisoned.

But, returning now to The Divine Comedy, to Paradiso, where Dante meets his great-great grandfather Cacciaguida, Dante, as noted previously, used Cacciaguida to foretell of his future expulsion from Florence and of how Cangrande woulc come to his aid:

70   "Your first refuge, and your first entertainment
       Will be the courtesy of the great Lombard            
       Whose arms are a ladder bearing the sacred bird;      [Cangrande]

73   And his good will towards you will be such
       That doing, which generally comes after asking,
       As between you two, will be what comes first.

76   In him you will see one who at his birth
       Was so marked by this powerful star
       That his performance will be notable.

79   He is someone people have not yet noticed,
       Because of his youth; for nine years only                    [b.1291]
       Have these spheres circulated around him.

82   But before the Gascon has deceived the great Henry      [Pope Clement V]
       Sparks of his virtue will begin to appear
       Careless alike of money and exertion.

85   So well will his magnificence be known
       That not even his enemies will be able
       To keep their tongues from talking of his actions.

88   Look to him and the benefits he will bring;
       Through him many people will be transformed,
       Changing their condition, the rich and the beggars.

91   And you shall bear a record of him in your mind
       But say nothing"; and then he told me things
       Incredible to those who will live through them.

                                         (Paradisoo, Canto XVII (17) 70-93)
_______________

We are first made aware of Pope Clement V in Hell, where, Pope Nicholas III, (buried head first in a hole with only his legs visible), welcomes him, and marvels at his early arrival. He has of course mistaken Dante for Pope Clement: a clever device by which Dante foretold of his damnation. Not only did he excel Nicholas III as a simonist, but being French and owing his election as pope to the influence of the French King, Phillip IV, Clement, in return, moved the papacy from Rome to Avignon. But more significant in the context of the tercets quoted above, Dante blamed him, again at the instigation of Phillip IV, for abandoning Emperor Henry VII of Luxembourg, in his attempt to unify the warring factions in the northern Italian cities.

Now as it was the third and final book of The Divine Comedy that Dante was dedicating to Cangrande, he felt it necessary to put the book in context: to explain the nature of the entire work in the context of allegory, as well as to say something about the structure and content of Paradiso. And in context of the original title, Comedia,  (Comedy), to explain the nature of comedy to Cangrande. And in all of this, he tells him, he will do: "under the guise of a reader."

To begin with, and in the context of the work in its entirety, Dante distinguishes between the literal and the allegorical:

"The subject of the whole work, taken only from a literal standpoint, is simply the status of the soul after death, taken simply, the movement of the whole work turns from it and around it. If the work is taken allegorically, however, the subject is man, either gaining or loosing merit through his freedom of will, subject to the justice of being rewarded or punished."

Then, taking a passage from the Old Testament, (Psalm 113. 1-2)  Dante uses it to show how allegory works: how the reader can go beyond the literal so as to arrive at the "moral or anagogical" [higher level] of spiritual understanding. The lines he quotes are:

""When Israel went out of Egypt, the house of Jacob from a barbarous people, Judea was made his sanctuary, Israel his dominion.""

After which he goes on to say:

"If we look at it from the letter alone [the literal] it means for us our redemption done by Christ; if from the moral sense, it means the conversion of the soul from the struggle and misery of sin to the status of grace; if from the anagogical, it means the leave taking of the blessed soul from the slavery of this corruption to the freedom of eternal glory. And though these mystical senses are called by various names," he tells us, "in general, all can be called allegorical, because they are different from the literal or the historical. . ."

An idea that he applied to the Divine Comedy, with these introductory remarks:

"The sense of this work is not simple, rather it may be called polysemantic, that is, of many senses the first sense is that which comes from the letter, the second is that which is signified by the letter . . ."

As for conveying the idea of what comedy is, Dante, having traced the etymology of the word, does so, by contrasting it with tragedy, and with his own work in mind:

"...It differs therefore from the tragedy, in matter by the fact that tragedy in the beginning is admirable and quiet, in the end or final exit it is smelly and horrible. . .But comedy begins with harshness in some thing, whereas its matter ends in a good way . . .They differ also in the way of speaking: the tragedy is elevated and sublime, the comedy loose and humble . . ." To which, he adds: "At times, however, even comedy exalts her voice. And from this it is obvious that the present work is called comedy. And if we look at the matter in the beginning it is horrible and smelly,.Inferno; in the end it is good, admirable and graceful, for it is Paradiso; as to the manner of speaking, it is easy and humble, because it in in the vulgar tongue, [the spoken language of every day, as distinct the classical languages of Latin or Greek] in which also women communicate. And thus it is obvious why it is called Comedy . . ."

And in respect of Paradiso, Dante describes it as being divided mainly into two parts: "the prologue and the real part". The idea of the first part, (here he is citing Cicero), is to "render the listener well intentioned, attentive and malleable", so as to prepare them for the second part, which by tradition, should be, "something marvelous". The prologue he tells Cangrande, is likewise in two parts. The first, and again by convention, is to outline what is to be said, and in the second to invoke the help of the gods. So he begins by explaining that he is recalling something of what he can remember, (but with an oblique reference to Saint Paul and Saint Thomas Aquinas), whose unique mystical experiences defied description. And secondly, an invocation, in this instance a prayer asking for help from Apollo, the Greek and Roman god of, (among other things), poetry and song:

    The glory of him who moves everything
     Penetrates the universe and shines
     In one part more and, in another, less.

4   I have been in the heaven which takes most of his light,
     And I have seen things which cannot be told,
     Possibly, by anyone who comes down from up there;

7   Because, approaching the object of its desires,
    Our intellect is so deeply absorbed
    That memory cannot follow it all the way.

10  Nevertheless, what I was able to store up
     Of that holy kingdom, in my mind,
     Will now be the matter of my poem.

And the invocation:

13  O good Apollo, for this final endeavour,
      So make me the vessel of your virtue
      As to be fit to receive your beloved laurel.

                                          (Paradiso. Canto 1:1-15)

Apollo is of course the Sun god, associated with truth and prophecy, music, poetry and more besides. And the "laurel" which Dante hopes to prove worthy of, was the traditional symbol of victory in battle.

As for the "marvelous", he tells Cangrande that Paradiso "is going to tell about those things which are most attractive to the desires of man, namely the  joys of Paradise;" adding that "he touches on the marvelous when, he promises to tell about such difficult, such sublime things." After which Dante moves to the "letter", the main part, where, in a long discourse and by arguing according to the principles of Aristotle's Metaphysics, and theology, as to how God's presence is manifest in scripture, he analyses the tercets quoted above. And in the context of his claim that the poem is divinely inspired, he makes the not unimportant, and many layered statement, that: "he [himself] was in that heaven "which most receives the glory of God, or his light.For which reason you must know that that heaven is the highest heaven, containing all bodies, and contained by none, within which all bodies move (while it remains in eternal quiet), and receiving power from no corporal substance. And it is called empyrean, which is the same as fiery heaven or flaming with heat; not that it is fire or material heat, but spiritual, which is holy love or charity."
__________

Now if, as he did, Dante acknowledged his poem to be an allegory, and he explained clearly how allegory works, that for most of us would be sufficient. But not if you are Charles S. Singleton.

In a contribution to Bloom's Modern Critical Views, entitled, "The Two Kinds Of Allegory" Singleton asks in respect of The Divine Comedy, what kind of allegory it is. Is it the allegory of the poet, or the allegory of the theologian? What he is doing is addressing a contentious issue about the true nature of the poem. And as Dante was a poet, "Why?" he asks, wouldn't you start with the assumption that it is allegory, as poets understood it and as Dante described it in the Convivio : a poem in which the first and literal sense is a fiction, and the second or allegorical sense is the true one. What Singleton later describes as a case of "this for that". And so strong is this view among some scholars, that the Divine Comedy is the allegory of the poet, that they question the authenticity of the letter to Cangrande. Why? Because by way of explaining allegory, and how it works, Dante quoted not from other poets, as they would have expected,: poets such as Ovid, but from Scripture: from Psalm 113. And this, for Singleton is the nub of the issue.

Importantly Singleton makes the point that in his letter to Cangrande, Dante is not making a comparison between the different kinds of allegory; but the fact that Dante quotes from the Psalms, is what makes the poem the allegory of theologians: for, in quoting the lines "When Israel went out of Egypt  . . ." that is the direction that Dante is pointing. And Singleton presents us with a definition of the allegory of the theologian as given by Thomas Aquinas in Summa Theologica, which he says is well know to all medievalists. But he, himself, gives effective expression to the difference between the two types of allegory, where he writes:

"It [the poem] is that kind of allegory, the "allegory of the theologian" not only because Holy Scripture is cited to illustrate it, but since Scripture is cited, the first or literal sense cannot be fictive [fictional] but must be true and in this instance historical." To which, by way of making the distinction, he adds: "The effect of Orphius' music on beasts and stones may be a poets invention, setting forth under a veil of fiction some hidden truth, but the Exodus [to which the Psalm relates] is no poet's invention."

So for a poem to be the allegory of the theologian, it has in the first instance to be true, not fictional, as with the allegory of the poet, and therefore the first meaning is both historical and literal. And in going beyond that to the allegorical, as Thomas Aquinas points out, is what takes the theologian into the realm of the spiritual, a case as Singleton puts it of "this and that", rather than ""this for that"", or as Aquinas puts it: "That signification whereby things signified by words have themselves also a signification is called the spiritual sense, which is based on the literal and presupposes it."

Well, all of that said, there is yet another angle to be considered, which is as to whether or not in a reading of the poem today, this distinguishing between the different types of allegory, matters, when in either case, as in reading any poem: "we must enter in to the willing suspension of our disbelief."

To which Singleton adds:

"Indeed it happens to matter very much, because with this poem it is not a question of one meaning, but two meanings, and the nature of the first meaning will necessarily determine the nature of the second - will say how we shall look for the second . . ."

And further along, he writes::

"The crux of the matter, then, is this. If we take the allegory of the Divine Comedy to be the allegory of poets, (as Dante understood that allegory [in another of his works], Convivio) then we shall be taking it as a construction in which the literal sense ought always to be expected to yield another sense, because the literal is only a fiction devised to express a second meaning. In this view the first meaning, if it does not give another, true meaning, has no excuse for being. Whereas, if we take the allegory of the Divine Comedy to be the allegory of theologians, we shall expect to find in the poem a first literal meaning presented as a meaning which is not fictive but true. And we shall see these events themselves offering a second meaning because their author, who is God, can use events as men use words. But, we shall not demand at every moment that the event signified by the words be in its turn as a word, because that is not the case in Holy Scripture . . .

And by way of concluding, this:

"One should have no difficulty in making the choice. The allegory of the Divine Comedy is so clearly  the "allegory of theologians" (as the letter to Can grande by its example says it is) that one may only wonder at the continuing efforts made to see it as the "allegory of poets." What indeed increases the wonder at this effort is that every attempt to treat the first meaning of the poem as a fiction devised to convey a true but hidden meaning has been such a clear demonstration of how a poem may be forced to meanings that it cannot possibly bear as a poem."

And clearly implicit in Singleton's narrative, is that he doesn't consider the letter to Cangrande della Scala to be anything other than authentic.

_______________

© Cormac McCloskey

Dante's letter to Cangrande della Scala

The autopsy on Cangrande della Scala in 2004

The next blog in this series, The Divine Comedy Part 7
JUSTICE: from God's point of view will be published on Wednesday 19 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

Dante Alighieri
Bloom's Modern Critical Views
Editor, Harold Bloom
Chelsea House 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 : 978-1-59325-262-5

(1)    Wikipedia  unam sanctam
         Virgil (40-19 BC) 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."

A Spiritual Reading 6

On occasion, and in the context of world affairs, I find myself taken by surprise, and so question myself. Having lived as long as you have, I tell myself, you must know that in some important respects, the world has changed. A case in point was when Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio emerged as Pope Francis and I read that journalists were reported as being in a frenzy: looking for someone who could explain what a Jesuit was. 

What it meant and means is, that Pope Francis is a member of the religious order known as The Society of Jesus, or Jesuits for short, or shorter still, as an appendage, (SJ) So as distinct from the life of a parish priest, he lived in community, had taken the religious vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, and as a follower of Christ, lived, according to the Rule and Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, who founded the Jesuits in 1539. And as a Jesuit, he should have remained a little known individual, since a part of the Jesuit ethos is not to seek high office within the Church. But somewhere along the way he was singled out, to serve in roles within the Church that would not normally be undertaken by a member of a religious order, and as they say, "the rest is history."

Now changing tack completely, (though there is a connection that will become apparent), in my past life I spent many Saturday mornings manning a stall on the High Street, as an active campaigner against the nuclear arms race; something that I have referenced in my poem, "Double Dealing." So knowing something of the history of the Jesuits and of the tragedies that befell Hiroshima and Nagasaki, I though that I would share this with you. It is taken from the Liturgy of the Hours, in particular the Office of Readings, in respect of Paul Miki and his Companions. It was written by a contemporary, and the events described took place in Nagasaki, in 1597..
__________ 

   "The crosses were set in place. Father Pasio and Father Rodrigues took turns encouraging the victims. Their steadfast behaviour was wonderful to see. The Father Bursar stood motionless, his eyes turned heavenward. Brother Martin gave thanks to God's goodness by singing psalms. Again and again he repeated: "Into your hands Lord, I entrust my life." Brother Francis Branco also thanked God in a loud voice. Brother Gonsalvo in a very loud voice kept saying the Our Father and Hail Mary.
   "Our brother, Paul Miki saw himself standing now in the noblest pulpit he had ever filled. To his "congregation" he began by proclaiming himself a Japanese and a Jesuit. He was dying for the Gospel he preached. He gave thanks to God for this wonderful blessing and he ended his "sermon" with these words: "As I come to this supreme moment of my life, I am sure none of you would suppose I want to deceive you. And so I tell you plainly: there is no way to be saved except the Christian way. My religion teaches me to pardon my enemies and all who have offended me. I do gladly pardon the Emperor and all who have sought my death. I beg them to seek baptism and be Christians themselves."
   "Then he looked at his comrades and began to encourage them in their final struggle. Joy glowed in all their faces, and in Louis' most of all. When a Christian in the crowd cried out to him that he would soon be in heaven, his hands, his whole body strained upwards with such joy that every eye was fixed on him.
   "Anthony, hanging at Louis' side looked towards the heavens and called upon the holy names - "Jesus, Mary!" He began to sing a psalm: "Praise the Lord you children." He learned it in catechism class in Nagasaki. They take care there to teach the children some psalms to help them learn their catechism.)
   "Others kept repeating: "Jesus, Mary!" Their faces were serene. Some of them even took to urging the people standing by to live worthy Christian lives. In these and other ways they showed their readiness to die.
   "Then, according to Japanese custom, the four executioners began to unsheathe their spears. At this dreadful sight, all the Christians cried out, "Jesus, Mary!" And the storm of anguished weeping then rose to batter the very skies. The executioners killed them one by one. One thrust of the spear, then a second blow. It was over in a very short time."

__________
Cormac E McCloskey

Saint Paul Miki

The Divine Comedy Part 5

The Divine Comedy: Part 5 

Eden: as God had intended it. The composite figure of Matelda (Matilda) and the apocalyptic arrival of Beatrice. And the breadth, depth and purpose of Dante's narrative. And more on astronomy.

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 artefact, 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 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 in this blog to the heavens: 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.

As Dante passes through Purgatory, of necessity, he undergoes a process of cleansing from sin, a point made apparent when, passing through the narrow gate, his forehead is marked by the angel guarding it:

   Seven P's he traced upon my forehead
   With the point of his sword, and said: "See that you wash
   Those wounds when you are in here."

                                          (Purgatorio IX (9) 112-14)

Consequently, as he passes out from each of the seven Terraces a "P" (symbolic of his soul wounded by sin), is removed, so that when he emerges into the Garden of Eden, he is cleansed from the consequences of his sins. And it is at this point that he meets Matelda.

A composite figure, Matelda is singing, and gathering flowers, in what is an idyllic place: the Garden of Eden as God had intended it for Adam and  Eve. And it is here too, where Dante, for the first time on this spiritual journey, comes face to face with Beatrice. Coming as she does from Heaven, she arrives in a perfusion of light and singing: distant at first, but more audible as the great allegorical procession that accompanies her draws near. At this point in his composition, Dante draws on images from the Old and New Testaments: the books of  Ezekiel, and Revelations (Apocalypse) respectively; and because they are complex images, they deserve their own special treatment, which is why, for now, I am focusing on Dante and his encounter with Matelda.

In Canto XXVIII, (28), and before Matelda makes her appearance, Dante paints a picture of the Garden of Eden as God had intended it: a place in marked contrast to the tormented world that Dante inhabits, a place in which there is neither pain nor sorrow, where nature and Matelda are in harmony, and Dante, as reflected in his writing, feels liberated:

        Eager now to explore in and around
        The divine forest, which was dense and alive,
        So that it tempered the new light to my eyes,

4      I left the slope, without waiting longer,
        Making my way across the plain at leisure
        Over the ground which was everywhere fragrant.

7      A soft air, without any trace
        Of variation, struck me on the forehead,
        But no harder than a gentle breeze;

10   It made the branches quiver without resistance,
       As one and all they bent in the direction
       In which the holy mountain casts its first shade;

13   Yet they were not so deflected from their stations
       That the little birds who were perched on top of them
       Interrupted the exercise of their art;

                                               (Purgatorio XXVIII (28) 1-15)

And it is while admiring the variety of the May flowers, that Dante becomes aware of Matelda and engages her in conversation.

34    With my feet I came to a stop, but with my eyes
        I crossed the little river, in order to gaze
        At the variety of May-time flowers;

37     And there appeared to me, as there appears,
         Suddenly, something which, for the wonder of it,
         Sets every other thought one may have off course,

40     A girl by herself, who went along
         Singing, and picking flower after flower,
         Her entire path being coloured with them.

43     "Pray, lovely lady, who, if I am to believe
         The looks which generally reveal the heart,
         Are warming yourself in the sunshine of love,

46     May it please you to come forward a little,"
         I said to her, "towards the bank of the stream
         So that I may hear what you are singing.

49     You bring to my mind where and what manner of person
         Proserpine was in the time when her mother
         Lost her and she herself lost her spring flowers."

52     As a woman dancing turns herself
         With her feet close to the ground and to each other,
         And hardly advances one toe out of line,

55     She turned in my direction, looking over
         The red and yellow flowers, exactly as
         A virgin will modestly lower her eyes;

                                                 (Purgatorio XXVIII (28) 34-57)

Now what is interesting about the fictional character of Matelda is, that commentators generally are unclear as to who, (if anyone), Dante had in mind when he created her. Among them are Raffa and Higgins, both of whom go to some lengths to provide possibilities for the reader. In Danteworlds, Raffa having explained how Dante draws a comparison between Matelda and the classical Roman goddess Proserpina (Greek: Peresphone) and Venus, as well as the virginal figure of Justice, Astraea, goes on to suggest as a possibility, that Dante may have had a number of Matelda's, or near sounding Matelda's in mind: Countessa Matilde of Canossa, or the mystic Mechtildis of Hackeborn, or possibly, Saint Machtildis of Magdeburg.

But for Harold Bloom who has a lot to say about the role of Beatrice in The Divine Comedy, and who doesn't much care for her, all such speculation is pointless. For it would seem from his Introduction to Bloom's Modern Classics: Dante Alighieri, he too, in the context of Matelda, feels liberated:

"Why Dante named this singing girl of a restored Eden Matilda (Metelda) is something of a puzzle, explained away differently by various scholars. Dante's Matilda makes only a brief appearance, but I personally prefer her to Beatrice, who scolds and preaches, and is endlessly too good for Dante. Like Shakespeare's Perdita, Matilda charms us. Who but the ferocious Dante could fall in love again with the heavenly Beatrice? Who would  not fall in love with Matilda . . . "

Then having quoted a passage by William Merwin, Bloom continues in this blissful frame of mind, with the image of Dante and Matelda walking in the meadow. And clearly enjoying himself, ends, it seems to me, making light of this literary debate:

"Gracious and beautiful, the mysterious epitome of a young woman in love, Matilda walks with Dante through the meadows  as though the Golden Age had returned. Matilda moves like a dancer, and we need not slow her pace by piling allegories upon her, or by relating her to historic noblewomen or blessed contemplatives. Dante notoriously susceptible to the beauty of women, clearly would fall in love with Matilda, if the transmogrified Beatrice, as much chiding mother, as image of desire, were not waiting for him in the next canto."

Of course what Matelda doesn't do is usurp the role of Beatrice. On the contrary, she alerts Dante to the imminent arrival of Beatrice from Heaven, and on Beatrice's instructions, she performs the final cleansing rite for Dante: bathing him in the rivers Lethe and Eunoe. But not before she first explain to Dante how, the state of perfection that she enjoys, is sustained by the will of God. Or before Dante, speaking through Matelda, reminds us of the mythical poetry of the ancients, in which attempts were made to create, (or from Dante's point of view), recreate, that idyllic world that was lost. This Dante attributes to the unique perceptiveness of the poet; and it is not an idle boast, for in making it he was claiming no small credit for himself:

136   I [Matelda] will give you a corollary as a grace;
         Nor do I think you will value my words less
         If they go beyond what I have promised.

139   Those who in ancient times wrote poems about
         The happy condition of the age of gold,
         Perhaps, on Parnassus, were dreaming of this place.

142   Here the root of the human race was innocent;
        Here it was always spring, every fruit is here;
        This is the nectar of which everyone talks."

                                          (Purgatorio, Canto XXVIII (28) 136-144)

Now as compared to the quiet and pleasing appearance of Matelda, the pending arrival of Beatrice was both dramatic and problematic for Dante, who found himself caught between extremes of emotion. On the one hand, the rekindling of his natural love for Beatrice, and on the other, fear of the love that he might experience when he sees her transformed in glory:

31   Over a white veil, crowned with olive,
       A lady came to me, under her green cloak
       Clothed in the colour of flame.

34   And my spirit, which for so long a time
       Had not been in her presence,
       Trembled with wonder, crushed,

37   Without knowing her any more, with my eyes,
       But through the secret virtue which went out from her,
       Felt the great power of this ancient love.

40   The moment that, as I looked, I was struck
       By the high virtue which had already stabbed me
       Before I was out of my boyhood,

43   I turned round to my left, with that trust
       With which a child runs to his mother,
       When he is afraid or in trouble,

46   To say to Virgil: "Less than a drop of blood
       Is left in me, that is not trembling:
       I know the signs of the ancient flame."

49   But Virgil had taken himself away from us,
       Virgil, my sweetest father, to whom
       I had given myself up for my own well-being."

                                        (Purgatorio Canto XXX (30) 31-51)

But given the the redemptive nature of Dante's journey, it was not long before the mood had changed, and a remorseful Dante was reduced to tears by Beatrice, who, addressing her entourage! was chastising him for having endangered his soul after her death:

121   For some years I sustained him with my looks
         Showing my youthful eyes to him,
         I led him with me in the right direction.

124   As soon as I was upon the threshold
         Of my second age and changed my life, he took himself   [Her marriage]
         From me, and gave himself to others.
     
127   When I had mounted from flesh to spirit,                        [Early death]
         And my beauty and virtue had grown greater,
         To him I became less dear and less pleasing;

130   And he turned his steps along an untrue path,                  [Study and politics]
         Following false appearances of good
         Which never kept any promise entirely.

133   It was not good  my begging for inspiration,
         With which in dreams, and in other ways
         I called him back, little he cared about that!

136   So low he fell, that every remedy
         Was short of what was needed for his salvation,
         Except that of showing him the dammed."

                                    (Purgatorio Canto XXX (30) 121-138)


And yet again the scene changes. With the procession retracing its steps we find Beatrice sitting on the ground by a rejuvenated tree, talking to Dante, and instructing him to remember what he had sees, so that he can tell of it when he returns to earth. For what had unfolded before him, as allegory, was the history of the Church.

In the first of these allegorical passages, the arrival of Beatrice, Dante was mistaken in interpreting the images before him. What from a distance had appeared as illuminated trees, turned out to be seven candlesticks. And what he had mistakenly thought were banners following on from behind the candlesticks, were trailing flames of light. And using the span of the seven candlesticks as a guide, he judged the procession to be ten paces wide. Behind the candlesticks and with the choir singing Hosannas, came seven columns, one behind each candlestick, as though, as Dante put it, following their leader. They were dressed in white, and in appearance gave off a luminous quality that he likened to sunlight reflected in a mirror. And coming two-by-two behind them, were twenty four elders, "all crowned with fleur-de-lys." and singing: "Blessed art thou/Among the daughters of Adam, and blessed/Your loveliness to all eternity!" In turn, they were followed by "four living creatures/Each of them crowned with green branches". They each had six wings, and their feathers were "full of eyes."

At this, Dante breaks off from his description of the four living creatures, to address the reader directly, and advises them to read Ezekiel, where these creatures can be found. After which, he continues with his description of this great procession:

In the space between these four creatures came a triumphal two wheeled car drawn by a griffin  The griffin's wings stretched upwards to a great height, and with such precision, that they allowed the middle streamer of light to pass undisturbed between the wings, and with three of the remaining six streamers of light passing on the outer edge of each wing. Those parts of the griffin that resembled a bird, were gold, while the rest was white and carmine. By the right carriage wheel three ladies danced in a circle. One was a fiery red, another, the colour of emerald, while the third was as white as fresh snow. And there were four by the left wheel, all dressed in purple and led in their dance by the one with three eyes in her head. Then came two old men who, though dressed differently, had the same forthright and massive bearing. One he tells us, was dressed like a follower of Hippocrates, the other, as he puts it,  "dressed for the opposite profession". He bore a sword: glittering and sharp, that left Dante fearful, though he was watching this solemn procession from a distance: from the opposite bank of the river. And lastly, came four men of modest appearance, and behind them, an old man, advancing as though he were asleep, but whose face was keen. All were dressed in purple; and rather than lilies, their heads were bedecked with roses and other red flowers. To which Dante adds, that from a distance, it seemed as though the area above their eyes was alight.

Now if we are to go beyond the literal, to the allegorical, this is a moment at which we need help, and here the notes are invaluable, for they provide us with an insight into the breadth, depth, and purpose of Dante's narrative.

From them we learn that what Dante was witnessing was the Revelation of Divine Truth. In the "candlesticks":we have the seven-fold spirit of God, as well as the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, that in my boyhood days would have been identified as: "Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Fortitude, Knowledge, Piety, and fear of the Lord."  "Hosanna" was the cry of welcome that went up from the crowds, as Jesus entered Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover, after which, he was betrayed and put to death by crucifixion. And the ten paces between the banners of light, "probably" represent the Ten Commandments. As for the elders, they are symbolic of "the twenty-four books of the Old Testament, "on the reckoning of St. Jerome, (who had in mind the twenty-four elders of Revelations 4.4"). As for the fleur-de-lys, the lily, that is symbolic of the purity of the Faith. And when it comes to the words: :"Blessed art thou/Among the daughters of Adam, and blessed/Your loveliness to all eternity!" (II.85-87, we are told that in them we have a blend of ideas: an echo of the words of the Angel Gabriel to Mary at the Annunciation  (Luke 1.28), to which Dante added, "something of the words of the Bridegroom to his Bride" in this instance, "Christ to his Church" (Higgins), from the Song of Songs (4.7), of which, the chariot or "car" that carries Beatrice is the symbol. The four "living creatures" represent the Evangelists: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, and consequently the four Gospels. "Green" expresses the hope of eternal life, which is the message of the Gospels. And as previously mentioned, the "triumphal car": is the Church on earth, the two wheels of which, "probably" signify the monastic: religious orders: the Dominicans and Franciscans who were dedicated to the pursuit and propagation of divine knowledge and the practice of Christian love. To which, Higgins adds, that the "car", is also a reminder of the two-wheeled war chariots employed in triumphal processions in ancient Rome. Half Eagle and half lion, the griffin stands for Christ in his duality: as both God and man. with the gold, an incorruptible metal, representing his divinity, and the white and carmine, the purity of his manhood, and the blood of his sacrifice on the Cross. The "Three ladies" in their traditional symbolic colours of red, green and white, are representations of the theological virtues of love, hope and faith, virtues essential to salvation, which is why they dance by the right wheel of the Church. As for the four ladies on the left, they stand for the "moral, cardinal or active virtues of prudence, courage, justice and moderation." And while their purple dresses are symbolic of the Christian love that infuses them, for they are now are what were pagan virtues, transferred to the service of the true God.. As for the lady leading the dance and having "three eyes", this we are told, is a representation of the past the present and the future. The "two old men" are the evangelist Luke, (a doctor,) identified by his link to Hippocrates, and who appears here as the author of the Acts of the Apostles; and St. Paul, representing the major Epistles. As for the "four modest men" they are Peter, Jude, James and John, who represent the minor or General Epistles. And, "an old man by himself": Saint John the Evangelist, author of the last book of the Bible, Revelation, (Apocalypse.) which it is believed he wrote after a profound visionary experience. And lastly: "...roses and other red flowers:" the red signifying the fire of Christian love.  

Continuing with the allegory, in Canto XXXII, (32), what Dante describes, is the history of the struggle between good and evil as represented both within the Church, and between the Church and the wider world. And here too, meaning is implied. That said, this passage, from a literary point of view, could stand: alone:

109   Never did fire descend with such swiftness            
         From thick cloud, where it falls from the remotest  
         Regions of the atmosphere,

112   As I saw the bird of Jove drop                                 
         Down through that tree, ripping the bark,              
         As well as the flowers and the new leaves;               

115   And he struck against the car with all his strength;
         So that it reeled like a ship in a storm,
         Battered by the waves, first to port and then to starboard.

118   Then I saw the vixen rush into the cradle                
         Of the triumphal car; she seemed to have been fasting
         From every kind of wholesome nourishment.

121   But, reproving her for her obscene faults,
        My lady put her to a flight as swift
        As those bones without flesh could manage.

124   Then, by the way by which it had first come,          
         I saw the eagle descend into the inside                  
        Of the car, and leave it coated with his feathers:     
                                                                                      
127   And, as a voice comes from a grieving heart,
         There came a voice from heaven, with these words:
         "My little ship, how ill-laden you are!"

130   Then it seemed to me that the earth opened            
         Between the wheels, and I saw a dragon come out;
         And it struck its tail right up through the car;               

133   And like a wasp which pulls back its sting,
         Drawing his malignant tail to himself,
         He pulled out a bit of the bottom and wandered off.

136   What remained covered itself again
         With the feathers - which perhaps had been offered
         In good faith and with the kindest intentions -

139   Like earth sprouting grass, and both wheels,
        And the shaft were covered with them
        In less time that a sigh keeps the mouth open for.

142   The sacred construction, thus transformed,
         Put out heads from its different parts,
         Three over the prow and one on each side.

145   The first were horned like oxen, but the four
         Had a single horn upon their foreheads;
         Like monster there was never seen before..

148   Securely, like a city set on a hill,
         Appeared to me a harlot, her clothes loose,
         And casting her eyes around her all the time.

151   And as if to ensure that no one carried her off,
         I saw a giant beside her, standing upright;          
         And from time to time they kissed one another.    
                                                                             
154   But because she turned her lustful wandering eye
        On me, her fierce lover immediately                    
        Whipped her from head to foot;

157   Then, full of suspicion and made cruel by rage,                    
         He loosed the monster, and dragged it through the wood,
         Which made that the only shield I had                                 

160   From the harlot and the new monstrosity

                                        (Purgatorio Canto XXXII (32) 109-160)
                                                                                                 
In opening tercet, Dante alludes to the persecution of the early Christian Church by the Emperor Nero. While in the tercet that follows "the bird of Jove" is the eagle, and "possibly" symbolic of the Roman Empire. In turn the "vixen" is representative of heresy, and in particular Gnosticism in the second century. As for the eagles feathers with which the car was coated, these relate to what is known as the "Donation of Constantine" a forged document that surfaced in the eighth century, and n which it was claimed that the Emperor Constantine had surrendered the political authority of the Roman Empire to the Pope. As for the "dragon" attacking the carriage and being linked to Mohammed and Islam, in context, this relates to the, mistaken belief, by Dante and his contemporaries, that Mohammed was a Christian heretic, apostate and schismatic. As for the additional feathers, that Dante suggests might have been offered in good faith (as protection for the Church), Higgins suggests that this may relate to the donations to the Church of territories and wealth by the Frankish kings, Pepin and Charlemagne in the eighth century, thereby compounding the problem of avarice and loss of spiritual authority within Church, with the result that the Church of Dante's day was seen to be a monstrous parody of the primitive Church, (lines 142-7), born as it was, out of material poverty and spiritual wealth.  And the metamorphosis of the car into a monstrous beast with seven heads and ten horns, is linked to the image of Revelations (Apocalypse) 13.1. The harlot is the corrupted Bride of Christ, the Church, and the giant, the kings of France who at first on friendly terms with the papacy, came to dominate it, and who, with the compliance of the Gascon pope, Clement V, moved the papacy from Rome to Avignon. An action for which in the Inferno, Dante predicts his eternal damnation.

All this being so, and before Dante undergoes his final spiritual cleansing: a prerequisite for ascending with Beatrice to the Heavens, Beatrice foretells that God will send a champion to save, both the Church and the Empire.

Now in the context of Dante's pending journey with Beatrice, this seems a good point at which to return, briefly, to a consideration of astronomy from the point of view of Aristotle, Saint Thomas Aquinas and Dante.

In Dante's day, astronomy and theology were part of the liberal arts at the first universities of Oxford and Paris, with the result, that the linking or overlapping of these disciplines was not uncommon. So beginning with Aristotle and moving from there to Aquinas, by the time we get to Dante we will better understand his approach to astronomy in the Comedy.

Aristotle's views are expressed in a convoluted argument in Chapter VIII of "Physics", and on the theme of motion and cause, he argues that a "first mover" is self-evidently necessary in explaining the origin of things. In his argument he considers movement as we understand it, not just in the heavens, but here on earth: as to whether or not, for example, movement in an animate object can be self-generated, an idea that he rejects. And so too with the inanimate. We know from experience, he tells us, that movement has to be generated from beyond the thing itself. i.e., a stone can't move itself, but it can be moved by a stick, that in turn is moved by an arm holding the stick, and so on  And so too in respect of the heavenly bodies, for which motion is essential. While the movement in one thing can generate movement in another, Aristotle argues that it is self-evidently not an explanation for the cause of existence, to try to trace motion back into infinity, because what we know, is, that movement ultimately has to be generated by a mover, a first mover, that by that very fact, has to be eternal..And he argues the case for a single unidentified first mover. So it is in this context that Aristotle knows that God exists, but, unlike Aquinas, who was a theologian, he does not go beyond this point.

Now in the passage that follows, taken from Aquinas, from his Shorter Summa, his own abridged version of his vast work Summa Theologica,.we can see the mind of Aristotle, as it were, hovering in the background.

Simply headed "God" it reads:

"Regarding the unity of the divine essence, we must first believe that God exists. This is a truth clearly known by reason. We observe that all things that move are moved by other things, the lower by the higher. The elements are moved by heavenly bodies; and among the elements themselves, the stronger moves the weaker; and even among the heavenly bodies, the lower are set in motion by the higher. This process cannot be traced back into infinity. For everything that is moved by another is a sort of instrument of the first mover. Therefore, if a first mover is lacking, all things that move will be instruments. But if the series of movers and things moved is infinite, there can be no first mover. In such a case, these infinitely many movers and things moved will all be instruments. But even the unlearned perceive how ridiculous it is to suppose that instruments are moved, unless they are set in motion by some principle agent. This would be like fancying that, when a chest or a bed is being built, the saw or the hatchet performs its functions without the carpenter. Accordingly, there must be a first mover that is above all the rest; and this being we call God.".

As for Dante and his astronomy, and the link with Aristotle, we have this passage from Raffa's Danteworlds, which is clear and concise, and therefor a good summary:

"Dante's Paradise, consistent with Medieval cosmology, comprises concentric spheres revolving around a fixed immobile earth [the Earth is the centre of the universe]. The first eight spheres each carry a heavenly body - or bodies, in the case of the eighth - in circular orbit around the earth: the Moon, Mercury, Venus, the Sun, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and Fixed Stars (the constellations of the Zodiac) The ninth, outermost sphere in Dante's geometric cosmos, is the crystalline sphere of Primum Mobile - that is the sphere that is first moved and thus able to impart movement to the sphere's below it. Beyond the Primum Mobile, and therefore beyond space and time, is the Empyrean. . . . . .an immaterial motionless heaven that is the divine mind itself and the true home of angels and the blessed."

And an important aspect of the connection with Aristotle, is how Dante used astronomy as a measure of good or ill in the journey of the soul to God. Just as Aristotle developed a cosmology of worth, as determined by his perception of the physical laws in which all that was corruptible and imperfect was consigned to Earth, (people and animals), so too, all that was considered Divine, or perfect, was associated with the heavens, and with the moon representing the lowest point in this state of perfection. So too with Dante. Remembering that as Dante arranged it, there was a hierarchy of sin in both Hell and Purgatory, Dante follows the principles of Aristotle. Hell, and hence the Devil, as we have seen, are at the centre of the Earth, at the farthest most point from the Empyrean, the place where God dwells. And as we progress through the Paradiso, we can see that there is a definite gradation in saints, the nearer we get to the Empyrean.

So here then is Dante's categorizing of the blessed, as expressed superficially, that is, as best he can so as to be understood by us.

On the Moon we have those souls who, while consecrated to God in religious life, had been unfaithful to their vows. On Mercury, those whose sin had been to seek after fame. On Venus, lovers, but with this important caveat, those whose love (for whatever reason), had been misplaced. The Sun: is where we find those who were renowned for their wisdom. And on Mars, and as in mythology the name suggests, the valiant: those souls who in life had evangelized, risking, and in some instances, loosing their lives for Christ. Jupiter, again as the name suggests, is the heavenly home of those who ruled justly. And Saturn: the home of contemplatives. At the Fixed Stars we have the Church Triumphant, where, among others, we meet the apostles, Peter, James and John, and Adam, the first man created by God. And at the Primum Mobile, the orders of angels

_______________
© Cormac McCloskey

Note: The next in this series of blogs,  AN INTERMISSION: will appear on 12 February.
Dante's letter to his patron Cangrande della Scalla, and what it tells us about The Divine Comedy. And, is it real, or a fake?

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

Dante Alighieri
Bloom's Modern Critical Views
Editor, Harold Bloom
Chelsea House 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 : 978-1-59325-262-5

(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."

(1) Dante's Astronomy :