The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri (13 inch ebook reader .txt) π

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Dante Alighieriβs Divine Comedy is considered one of the greatest works in world literature, and it established the standardized Italian language that is used today. Writing between 1308 and 1320, Dante draws from countless subjects including Roman Catholic theology and philosophy, the struggle between the papacy and the Holy Roman Empire, Greek mythology, and geocentric cosmology to answer the age-old question: what does the afterlife look like? Danteβs vision of the answer, this three-volume epic poem, describes in great detail the systematic levels in Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven.
The poem opens with Danteβs deathβnot his actual death that would come shortly after his workβs completion, but his fictional deathβwhere the author is found wandering in a dark forest. Blocked from climbing towards the bright light by a she-wolf, a leopard, and a lion, he is forced to walk further into the darkened valley and towards the gates of Hell. Dante and his guides must then travel through the nine circles of Hell, seven terraces of Purgatory, and nine spheres of Heaven to experience divine justice for earthly sins so that he may reach the Empyrean and receive Godβs love. On his journey, he will learn that one must be consciously devoted to the path of morality and righteousness, else one find oneself on a path towards sin.
This production is based on Henry Wadsworth Longfellowβs blank verse translation. Longfellow succeeds in capturing the original brilliance of Danteβs internal rhymes and hypnotic patterns while also retaining accuracy. It is said that the death of his young wife brought him closer to the melancholy spirit of Danteβs writing, which itself was shaped by his wounding exile from his beloved Florence in 1302.
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- Author: Dante Alighieri
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By the βprimal peopleβ Dante does not mean our first parents, but βthe early races which inhabited Europe and Asia,β says Mr. Barlow, Study of Dante, and quotes in confirmation of his view the following passage from Humboldtβs Cosmos, II:β β
βIn consequence of the precession ot the equinoxes, the starry heavens are continually changing their aspect from every portion of the earthβs surface. The early races of mankind beheld in the far north the glorious constellations of the southern hemisphere rise before them, which, after remaining long invisible, will again appear in those latitudes after a lapse of thousands of yearsβ ββ β¦ The Southern Cross began to become invisible in 52Β° 30β² north latitude 2900 years before our era, since, according to Galle, this constellation might previously have reached an altitude of more than 10Β°. When it disappeared from the horizon of the countries of the Baltic, the great Pyramid of Cheops had already been erected more than 500 years.β
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Iliad, XVIII:β β
βThe Pleiades, and the Hyades, and the strength of Orion, and the Bear, which likewise they call by the appellation of the Wain, which there turns round and watches Orion; and it alone is deprived of the baths of Oceanus.β
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Cato of Utica. βPythagoras escapes, in the fabulous hell of Dante,β says Sir Thomas Brown, Urn Burial, IV, βamong that swarm of philosophers, wherein, whilst we meet with Plato and Socrates, Cato is found in no lower place than Purgatory.β
In the description of the shield of Aeneas, Aeneid, VIII, Cato is represented as presiding over the good in the Tartarean realms: βAnd the good apart, Cato dispensing laws to them.β This line of Virgil may have suggested to Dante the idea of making Cato the warden of Purgatory.
In the Convito, IV 28, he expresses the greatest reverence for him. Marcia returning to him in her widowhood, he says, βsymbolizes the noble soul returning to God in old age.β And continues: βWhat man on earth was more worthy to symbolize God, than Cato? Surely noneβ;β βending the chapter with these words: βIn his name it is beautiful to close what I have had to say of the signs of nobility, because in him this nobility displays them all through all ages.β
Here, on the shores of Purgatory, his countenance is adorned with the light oi the four stars which are the four virtues. Justice, Prudence, Fortitude, and Temperance, and it is foretold of him, that his garments will shine brightly on the last day. And here he is the symbol of Liberty, since, for her sake, to him βnot bitter was death in Uticaβ; and the meaning of Purgatory is spiritual Liberty, or freedom from sin through purification, βthe glorious liberty of the children of God.β Therefore in thus selecting the βDivine Catoβ for the guardian of this realm, Dante shows himself to have greater freedom than the critics, who accuse him of βa perverse theology in saving the soul of an idolater and suicide.β β©
The βblind riverβ is Lethe, which by sound and not by sight had guided them through the winding cavern from the centre of the earth to the surface. Inferno XXXIV 130. β©
His beard. Ford, Ladyβs Trial:β β
βNow the down
Of softness is exchanged for plumes of age.β
Dante uses the same expression. Inferno XX 45, and Petrarca, who became gray at an early period, says:β β
βIn such a tenebrous and narrow cage
Were we shut up, and the accustomed plumes
I changed betimes, and my first countenance.β
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Upon this speech of Virgil to Cato, Mr. Barlow, Study of Dante, remarks:β β
βThe eighth book of the Tesoro of Brunetto Latini is headed, Qui comincia la Rettorica che cβ insegna a ben parlare, e di governare cittΓ e popoli. In this art Dante was duly instructed by his loving master, and became the most able orator of his era in Italy. Giov. Villani speaks of him as retorico perfetto tanto in dittare e versificare come in aringhiera parlare. But without this record and without acquaintance with the poetβs political history, knowing nothing of his influence in debates and councils, nor of his credit at foreign courts, we might, from the occasional speeches in the Divina Commedia, be fully assured of the truth of what Villani has said, and that Danteβs words and manner were always skilfully adapted to the purpose he had in view, and to the persons whom he addressed.
βVirgilβs speech to the venerable Cato is a perfect specimen of persuasive eloquence. The sense of personal dignity is here combined with extreme courtesy and respect, and the most flattering appeals to the old manβs wellknown sentiments, his love of liberty, his love of rectitude, and his devoted attachment to Marcia, are interwoven with irresistible art; but though the resentment of Cato at the approach of the strangers is thus appeased, and he is persuaded to regard them with as much favor as the severity of his character
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