THE PARADISO DANTE'S ULTIMATE VISION OF UNIVERSAL HARMONY AND ETERNAL SALVATION

by John Translated By: Ciardi

Hardcover

Published January 1, 1970

Reviews

[Julio The Fox · Rating 4 out of 5]

Christianity on acid. Very few read the PARADISO section of the DIVINE COMEDY any more, or ever. Schiller pronounced it "indescribably dull", and Voltaire remarked that the reason Dante's reputation continued to grow is that people had stopped reading him. PARADISO is typical Dante: bonkers metaphysics paired with ecstatic visions no man had ever put into words before. The trouble here is that if you eliminate every instance of Dante proclaiming, "light upon light, o my rapturous soul" and shouts once more about the beauty of his Beatrice you'd wind up with two or three cantos, at best. The "shadows beyond darkness" of damned souls that inhabited INFERNO and PURGATORIO are replaced in PARADISO by saints, angels and the three permanent residents of Empyrion, The Virgin Mary, Christ and God the Father. Climbing upward with Dante and Beatrice we are treated to cameo appearances by Saints Peter (Faith), James (Hope) and John (Caritas, not charity but Christian love). This is wonderful news for the Christian and dull literature. A note on theology and the rankings in heaven. Mary is accompanied to her right and left by Jewish female icons of faith, Eve, Sarah, Judith and St. Veronica, who wiped away the blood on the face of Jesus. This is ecunemical yet for Dante does not absolve the Jews of deocide; a position the Church only reversed at VATICAN II. Unbaptized babies are in the PARADISO waiting room, limbo. A few years back the Church declared they went straight to heaven, thus proving that while Dante was fallible the Mother Church cannot preach error, to its satisfaction anyway. The crisp, sound translation is by poet John Ciardi, with terrific end notes to each canto.

[Christopher Waller · Rating 4 out of 5]

The total effect of Dante is spellbinding, even if many of the individual scenes devolve into obscure doctrine and medieval Italian politics. His departing from Beatrice is deeply charged and that final scene, with Dante staring up at the face of God itself is a fitting conclusion. On par with the Inferno and Purgatorio, I think.

[Keith Paterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I finished! It took a minute with all the side reading and notes. I am glad to read it though. Simply an amazing read!