Paradiso

La Divina Commedia #3

by Dante Alighieri, John Ciardi

The Divine Comedy is a complete scale of the depths and heights of human emotion," wrote T.S. Eliot.  "The last canto of the Paradiso is to my thinking the highest point that poetry has ever reached or ever can reach."

The Divine Comedy stands as one of the towering creations of world literature, and its climactic section, the Paradiso , is perhaps the most ambitious poetic attempt ever made to represent the merging of individual destiny with universal order.  Having passed through Hell and Purgatory, Dante is led by his beloved Beatrice to the upper sphere of Paradise, wherein lie the sublime truths of Divine will and eternal salvation, to at last experience a rapturous vision of God.

"A spectacular achievement," said poet and critic Archibald MacLeish of John Ciardi's version of Dante's masterpiece.  "A text with the clarity and sobriety of a first-rate prose translation which at the same time suggests in powerful and unmistakable ways the run and rhythm of the great original."

Genres: Classics, Poetry, Fiction, Literature, Religion, Italian Literature, Fantasy

363 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1321

About the author

Dante Alighieri, or simply Dante (May 14/June 13 1265 – September 13/14, 1321), is one of the greatest poets in the Italian language; with the story-teller, Boccaccio, and the poet, Petrarch, he forms the classic trio of Italian authors. Dante Alighieri was born in the city-state Florence in 1265. He first saw the woman, or rather the child, who was to become the poetic love of his life when he was almost nine years old and she was some months younger. In fact, Beatrice married another man, Simone di' Bardi, and died when Dante was 25, so their relationship existed almost entirely in Dante's imagination, but she nonetheless plays an extremely important role in his poetry. Dante attributed all the heavenly virtues to her soul and imagined, in his masterpiece The Divine Comedy, that she was his guardian angel who alternately berated and encouraged him on his search for salvation.

Politics as well as love deeply influenced Dante's literary and emotional life. Renaissance Florence was a thriving, but not a peaceful city: different opposing factions continually struggled for dominance there. The Guelfs and the Ghibellines were the two major factions, and in fact that division was important in all of Italy and other countries as well. The Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor were political rivals for much of this time period, and in general the Guelfs were in favor of the Pope, while the Ghibellines supported Imperial power. By 1289 in the battle of Campaldino the Ghibellines largely disappeared from Florence. Peace, however, did not insue. Instead, the Guelf party divided between the Whites and the Blacks (Dante was a White Guelf). The Whites were more opposed to Papal power than the Blacks, and tended to favor the emperor, so in fact the preoccupations of the White Guelfs were much like those of the defeated Ghibellines. In this divisive atmosphere Dante rose to a position of leadership. in 1302, while he was in Rome on a diplomatic mission to the Pope, the Blacks in Florence seized power with the help of the French (and pro-Pope) Charles of Valois. The Blacks exiled Dante, confiscating his goods and condemning him to be burned if he should return to Florence.

Dante never returned to Florence. He wandered from city to city, depending on noble patrons there. Between 1302 and 1304 some attempts were made by the exiled Whites to retrieve their position in Florence, but none of these succeeded and Dante contented himself with hoping for the appearance of a new powerful Holy Roman Emperor who would unite the country and banish strife. Henry VII was elected Emperor in 1308, and indeed laid seige to Florence in 1312, but was defeated, and he died a year later, destroying Dante's hopes. Dante passed from court to court, writing passionate political and moral epistles and finishing his Divine Comedy, which contains the Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. He finally died in Ravenna in 1321.

Reviews

[Fergus, Weaver of Autistic Webs · Rating 5 out of 5]

The old prose translation of Dante by Charles Eliot Norton is the BEST - for it gives us the Logic behind all his great Poetry. If you want to understand what Dante MEANS, especially in his medieval physics, history and theology, LOOK NO FURTHER!

So what is Dante really saying?

What it takes for a medieval man to gain Heaven at his life’s close, Dante says, is the constant practice of the Seven Cardinal Virtues. And this virtue must be crowned - as by the watchful and life-giving Paraclete - by the WISDOM OF DISCERNMENT.

To know yourself and your friends inside and out - the good AND the bad - is Discernment in Action.

You know, a very wise philosopher by the name of Leibniz compared the knowledge of the human psyche to peering through the windows of a house. When we’re looking outside of this house of our selves from the windows of our senses, we see the details of the outside world going about its busy business.

Fine.

But people Outside our house can’t see us in our indoor world. They have no idea of the decor we take for granted unless we invite them inside.

That ‘inside’ is our inner world. And we normally only TALK about our inner selves to the people closest to us. So they in turn can look out our windows as if they are for a moment living our lives. THAT’s discernment.

Just so, Dante, by knowing as much as he could about his contemporaries’ lives, thought he DISCERNED the final disposition of their souls!

But the afterlife holds plenty of surprises in store for each of us.

Including for Dante, as he finds out in Heaven...

Take Picata Donati, a noble acquaintance from his old days. She discerns a religious vocation in herself and joins a cloister. Folks around her generally admire that decision. But not her brother.

He takes her out of the convent to marry a well-placed Italian youth: that, he thinks fondly, would reflect better on both Picata AND her family. For him that is a win/win solution. Is he right?

Before you answer, haven’t we all had acts of moral turpitude committed against us in our life? How we must have railed at our malefactors! But Picata’s situation is different, for she AGREES to what her brother asks of her. She SEES the ´win/winness’ of agreeing.

Problem is, her friend Dante was a real Stickler for Rules when he heard in days past of Picata’s problem, for Picata had already taken her final monastic vows. So isn’t that a SIN, he now asks his spirit guide Beatrice in Heaven?

So Beatrice introduces him to Picata, there in heaven. She has made the right choice, and now she is happy.

Dante is disarmed by her fresh, innocent guilelessness, and falls into confusion.

Know WHY?

Dante can’t yet DISCERN.

In fact, that is the Ultimate Lesson he learns through all of his otherworldly journeying to Heaven: LEARN TO DISCERN!

For when Dante wrote this masterpiece, he was old like me -

And with age can come wisdom...

The WISDOM OF DISCERNMENT.

[Dream.M · Rating 5 out of 5]

《کمدی الهی چیست؟》
کمدی الهی شعری حماسی در سه بخش است که سفر خیالی دانته را در جهنم، برزخ و بهشت ​​توصیف می‌کند و در نهایت با مشاهده خدا به اوج می‌رسد. این اثر طی سال‌های ۱۳۰۸ تا ۱۳۲۱ میلادی نوشته شده است.
کمدی الهی داستانی تمثیلی است که ریشه در تاریخ و اسطوره دارد. جهانی که دانته ترسیم می‌کند، یک جهان قرون وسطایی ست که در آن خورشید و ستارگان به دور زمین می چرخند، و با جزئیات علم معاصر قرن چهارده مطابقت دارد.
دانته دوزخ را به شکل یک قیف مخروطی تصویر کرده که در زیر نیمکره شمالی قرار داشته و به زمین فرو رفته است. درست در طرف مقابلِ عمیق‌ترین نقطه از جهنم، گذرگاهی ترسیم شده که به نیمکره جنوبی منتهی می‌شود، در آنجا کوه برزخ ( شکل آن منعکس‌کننده شکل جهنم است ) قرار دارد که قله آن به سمت بهشت ​​راه دارد. خود بهشت ​​به صورت مجموعه‌ای از ده حلقه تصور شده که زمین را احاطه کرده‌اند. جایگاه خدا در بالاترین حلقه قرار دارد.
در جهان دوزخ و برزخ، برای هر گناهی که در جهان وجود دارد، طبقه ای در نظر گرفته شده است. در حالی که در بهشت ​، که جایگاه اولیای الهی و تثلیث مقدس است، تنها پاکی و عدل وجود دارد و اولیای الهی در سلسله مراتب دقیق و در حلقه های مختلف جای دارند.
.......
《زبان کمدی الهی》
نکته مهم در مورد کمدی الهی این است که زبان اشعار آن لاتین نیست ( در زمان دانته این نکته در رابطه با هنرهای عالی مرسوم بود). بلکه زبانی است که توسط افراد تحصیل کرده فلورانس قرن چهاردهم استفاده میشد. علاوه بر این، دانته از زبان‌های باستانی و گویش های محلی و بومی در سرودن اشعار استفاده کرده است. هدف دانته این بود که اثر خود را هم برای خواننده معمولی و هم روحانیون و دانشگاهیان، قابل خواندن کند. 
.......
《بئاتریس که بود و چه کرد؟》
یکی از شخصیت‌های اصلی کمدی الهی ، بئاتریس است که اهمیت زیادی در زندگی دانته داشته. دانته اولین بار در ۹ سالگی با بئاتریس پورتیناری ۸ ساله آشنا شده و عاشق او شد. آن ها دورادور در عشق هم میسوختند تا اینکه بئاتریس در سن بیست و چهار سالگی درگذشت. از آن پس بئاتریس برای دانته نمادی از همه چیزهای خالص و ارزشمند شد. او منبع الهام دانته برای سرودن اشعار بسیاری شد، تا آنجا که این شیفتگی در سرودن بهشت به حد اعلی خود رسید. در کمدی الهی این بئاتریس است که ویرژیل را می فرستد تا دانته را در دوزخ و برزخ راهنمایی کند. در پایان مسیر برزخ، خود او مسئولیت دانته را بر عهده می گیرد و این اوست که بعداً شکوه و جلال بهشت را برای دانته آشکار کرده و به جایگاه دیدار خدا رهنمون می کند.
......
《بهشت، آری یا نه؟》
اگرچه در بین سه کتاب، بهشت کمتر شناخته، کمتر نقل قول شده و کمتر از دوزخ و برزخ وام گرفته شده است، اما به اندازه دو کتاب قبلی از این سه گانه چشم اندازی فوق العاده دارد. تعداد کمی از نویسندگان در دنیای ادبیات جرات توصیف بهشت ​​را داشته اند.‌ چگونه می توان به پاکی، نیکی، ایمان و عشق شکلی عینی داد؟ اینها مشکلاتی است که دانته با آن مواجه بود و خودش بارها به ناتوانی اش در بیان اندیشه هایش، صرفا با کلمات، اعتراف کرده است. دانته در توصیف دنیاهای زیرین، توانست موجودات عجیب و غریب، مناظر خارق العاده و شکل مسخ شده گناهکاران را به راحتی بازنمایی کند. اما در بهشت وظیفه او این است که ما را با پاکی و عدالت و امید آشنا کند. مفاهیم انتزاعی که جایگاهشان در میان ستارگان و نور و فضای غیر مادی است. دانته در بهشت، به جای تصاویر خارق‌العاده، شخصیت‌پردازی‌های رنگارنگ و اظهارنظر سیاسی آثار قبلی ، روایت خود را پر از استدلال و گمانه‌زنی الهیاتی می‌کند و اغلب به مسائل روحانی می پردازد. مسائلی از این دست باعث شده بهشت از نظر ارائه مفاهیم سخت خوانتر از دو کتاب قبلی باشد و کمتر خوانده شود.
.........
《چرا باید کمدی الهی بخوانیم؟》
یا
《خب که چی حالا؟》
کمدی الهی شاهکاری از ادبیات جهان، آمیزه‌ای از سبک‌های مختلف، داستانی نمادین مرکب از فساد و سیاست و مذهب است؛ و اطلاعات زیادی در مورد قرون وسطی، فلسفه، فرهنگ، مردم، آداب و رسوم و طرز تفکر آن‌ها در اختیارخواننده می گذارد. علاوه بر این، ما باید آن را بخوانیم زیرا اساس ادبیات ایتالیایی است.(مگر اینکه به ادبیات ایتالیا علاقه نداشته باشیم و یا خب حالا که چی؟ ما که ایتالیایی نیستم) خوب، در جواب باید گفت در صورت خواندن این سه گانه، ما حداقل به دانش فوق العاده ای در باره کتاب مقدس، ارسطو، الهیات تومیست، معنویت بوناونتوران، ورگیل، اووید، لوکان، استاتیوس، اساطیر یونانی-رومی، شعر پرووانسالی، شاعران ایتالیایی، تاریخ دعواهای فلورانسی بین گولف ها و گیبلین ها و رابطه آنها با امور خارج از فلورانس، زندگی دانته و تبعید او، مدل تفسیری چهارگانه دانته، تفسیر کتاب مقدس، به طور کلی داستان های عاشقانه ای مثل عاشقانه آرتوریایی، پائولو و فرانچسکا، مسئله تروا، اولیسه... و دومینیکن ها و فرانسیسکن ها، دست پیدا می کنیم. و تازه همه اینها فقط نوک کوه یخ هستند. پس میبینیم که خواندن کمدی الهی چندان هم بی فایده نیست.
به شما این نوید را می دهم که ترجمه های بسیار خوبی از این کتاب در بازار نشر وجود دارد ( بخصوص نسخه شفا) که با حاشیه نویسی ها و توضیحات پاورقی کامل، زحمت تفسیر شعر ها را کم کرده و به کسب لذت افزوده اند. حرف آخر این که این کتاب یکی از قدیمی‌ترین آثار ادبی است که در طول قرن‌ها (هنوز هم تا به امروز توسط نویسندگان بی‌شماری که پس از دانته آمده‌اند)، و بیش از هر کتاب دیگری، به آن ارجاع داده شده است. اگر به هر حال قصد دارید یک کتاب فانتزی، علمی تخیلی، آموزنده یا حتی سرگرم کننده بخوانید، به خودتان لطف کنید و زمانی را به دانته اختصاص دهید.

................

برای شخص من، این که آیا داستان این مجموعه کتاب جذاب است یا نه؛ خواندنش در دنیای ادبیات اهمیت دارد یا نه؛ مهم نبود. برای من این فقط یک کتاب نیست. بلکه گنجینه‌ای گران بها و یادگاری ارزشمند از خاطرات روزهای سعادتمندی و آسودگی خاطر است...

[leynes · Rating 2 out of 5]

People warned me that Purgatorio and Paradiso are rough. And since I already struggled with Inferno, everyone was sure that I was gonna absolutely loathe the other cantiche as well.

To everyone's surprise (including my own!), I really really loved Purgatorio. I found it so much more accessible and engaging than its predecessor because it had a clear structure throughout, and in addition to that, I loved learning about the organisation of Mount Purgatory, especially the seven deadly sins, their countering virtues, and their Biblical and historical exemplars.

Nonetheless, I knew that Paradiso would be rough for me. I'm not particularly interested in theological musings or learning more about Christian beliefs. On top of that, everyone told me that in Paradiso Dante is, by far, much more preachy and instructive. And yeah, that's not my cup of tea at all. So, it comes as no surprise that I really really hated the last instalment of The Divine Comedy.

If I had to break it down, I think my distaste for this book can be summed up within three points:

1) Beatrice sucks. [And Dante, too.]
At the end of Purgatorio, Virgil (my poor baby boy!) left and his role as Dante's guide was taken over by Dante's muse (...love of his life, woman he's been obsessed with since he was a child... ugh) Beatrice. Beatrice is the one who pleaded with God so that Dante could go on this journey in the first place.

Even in the last canti of Purgatorio, I sensed that Bea and I would never be friends. Her holier-than-thou (in the literal sense, lmao) attitude was getting on my got damn nerves and her moral was so black-and-white it was truly off-putting. But damn, I had no idea how bad that was gonna get in Paradiso.

First of all, I hated how Dante perceived her. Basically, he couldn't do anything (!) without her in this book. He was constantly turning toward her, needing her reassurance before asking questions and marvelling at her beauty (oh my gosh, if I had to count how often he described that her beauty was indescribable ....) and her goddamns smile. It was exasperating. And whilst we're at it, the constant likening of Beatrice as the mother figure and Dante as this "little boy" was just EW. Honey, you are 35 years old. Grow the fuck up!

So, Dante just sucks in this book. He lost his goddamn head. But Beatrice wasn't better at all. She constantly (!) belittled Dante, and even worse, his thirst for knowledge. At one point, she even says that one of the questions that Dante asks is "poisonous" because it challenged a specific Christian belief? Excuse me, ma'am, can you chill the fuck out? And it gets even worse when you think about the fact that all that homeboy was asking was why Piccarda was being punished/ reproached for the horrible things that were done to her by the men in her life. A TOTALLY VALID QUESTION!

Little context for those who aren't familiar with Piccarda's story: When she was alive, she was a nun but forcibly removed from her convent by her brother Corso, in order to marry her to a Florentine man and further her family's political interests. And she died soon after her wedding.

And so in this fucking book (Paradiso, I'm talking about you), Piccarda is used to show a deficient form of virtue and is therefore held at the lowest sphere of Heaven. EXCUSE ME? This woman was literally kidnapped by her family and raped in her arranged marriage, and you're telling me it is her fault that she didn't "keep her vows" to God. Miss me with that bullshit.

But yeah, Beatrice reproaches Dante for questioning God's judgement in regards to Piccarda and she tells him – in the truest victim blaming fashion – that "for her offence there is no excuse." WHAT IS HER GODDAMN OFFENCE??? And that it's her fault because her will wasn't strong enough. Yeah, I really hate Christianity.

And what makes matters worse is that Dante is soooo easily convinced by everything that Beatrice says. I mean, this woman really couldn't defend God's judgement in any sensible way, yet Dante ate that shit up. As soon as Bea opened her mouth, Dante lost all of his braincells. And that's what I really don't appreciate about Paradiso. It gives off the vibe that people shouldn't think for themselves and come to their own conclusions but rather trust God's judgement no matter way. Umm, yeah, no, I think I'll pass.

Beatrice is supposed to embody the quest for truth by illuminating Dante’s doubts with her "insights" ... however, to me it seemed more like she was brainwashing Dante and not allowing any second opinions. Ain't nothing truthful about that.

Another of Bea's gems is that she defends the destruction of Jerusalem and the attack on the Jews after the killing of Christ. Make it make sense??? Dante exhibited zero tolerance towards Jews. Similarly to how he put Muhammad, the founder of Islam, into Hell as a "sower of discord". ISSA NO FROM ME. I'm really not religious at all but either you accept all forms of religion, buddy, or none. Miss me with the whole CHRISTIANITY IS THE BEST OF ALL RELIGIONS BULLSHIT. I really hated that.

2) Christianity is boring as fuck.
I'm not a Christian, so it isn't all that surprising that all of Dante's theological rants either flew right over my head, left me utterly confused or just bored the shit out of me. Whereas, I really loved the "architecture" of Hell and Mount Purgatory, and therefore couldn't wait to explore these places and the people who inhabited them, I really hated how Heaven was structured and everyone we met there was a fucking brainwashed psycho, so that wasn't great either.

Basically, Heaven is depicted as a series of concentric spheres surrounding the Earth, consisting of the Moon, Mercury, Venus, the Sun, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, the Fixed Stars, the Primum Mobile and finally, the Empyrean. The structure of Paradiso is, obviously, not based on different classifications of sin but rather in the four cardinal virtues (Prudence, Fortitude, Justice and Temperance) and the three theological virtues (Faith, Hope and Love).

But instead of having each virtue correspond to a different sphere of Heaven (which would've made so much sense!!) the first seven (!) spheres deal solely with the cardinal virtues (and so nothing was lining up), whereas the three theological virtues are all dealt with within the 8th sphere. And then the 9th sphere and the Empyrean weren't linked to any specific virtues at all. JUST WHY? It made the whole structure of the poem super messy, especially in comparison to the clear structure of Purgatorio.

What I also didn't appreciate is the hierarchy of Heaven. I know that Dante mentions that the hierarchy (lower versus higher spheres) is nothing more than a scheme intended to accommodate the human mind, whereas in reality all souls of Heaven are equal and with God in the Empyrean. But I feel like that message didn't really come across in the poem because Dante clearly saw certain people/ souls to be "better" and "greater" than others ... and I wasn't vibing with that at all. I don't care if you're Moses, St. John or an unknown human being – in death, everyone should be treated the same. God can suck my ass with his High Court and its hierarchical seating arrangements.

In these spheres, Dante mainly meets and converses with saints of the Church, including Thomas Aquinas, Bonaventure, Saint Peter, and St. John. Dante is also tested by different saints on the principles of Faith, Hope and Love, before he can pass on to the Primum Mobile. Therefore, the conversations in Paradiso are much more theological in nature than those in Inferno and Purgatorio. The messiness of the poem was also apparent in these conversations because they just kept being dragged on through several canti? Just why??? Most of the conversations in the other parts of The Divine Comedy were kept short and cute and confined to one canto. WHICH WAS SO MUCH BETTER!

And since of all of these people in Heaven are "good Christians" they're fucking anyone because all of their messages boil down to GOD IS GREAT AND KNOWS EVERYTHING, DO NOT EVER DOUBT HIM! I mean, where is the critical thinking? These bitches were really out here spluttering bullshit such as: ‘Dear brother, we in will are brought to rest / by power of caritas that makes us will / no more than what we have, nor thirst for more.’ They are really content with everything that God is giving them. They have no aspirations of their own.

‘Yet here we don’t repent such things. We smile
not, though, at sin – we don’t think back to that –
but at that Might that governs and provides.’

What I hated even more was how fucking HAPPY everyone was. Oh my, I could've killed someone every time that Dante mentioned that this souls are the pure embodiment of happiness, he even refers to some of the people he meets as "the first happiness", "the second happiness", etc. – EXCUSE ME??? What even is this?? Eternal happiness sounds so goddamn awful. The fact that these all of these souls were forced to forget about all of their sins (=> aka the purgation in the River Lethe in the Garden of Eden) was bad enough ... but I never thought what that would actually for Heaven itself. If I take one thing away from Paradiso, it's that Heaven is not the place to be. At least for me. They all seemed like a fucking cult of forced positivity and I ain't about that.

Among the souls that Dante meets is his ancestor, Cacciaguida, who tells him of the decline of Florence and “foretells” Dante's future (= his exile). And there would've been many other opportunities for epic moments but they all fell flat: Dante talking to Adam? Underwhelming. Dante seeing the Virgin Mary as the Queen of Heaven? Underwhelming. Dante finally looking upon God? Fucking underwhelming. It was so sad.

Instead, we "learn" so many stupid lessons like "all souls strive towards God", or "predestination is hidden within God", therefore human beings should NEVERRRR talk about it (??), or "humanity couldn't atone for Adam's sin out of their own accord and therefore God, in his generosity, chose to become Man". It was so fucking boring.

One of the lessons that really INFURIATED ME (I'm still so mad!!) is the bullshit "explanation" we got for why noble pagans are stuck in Limbo. This was one of the questions that was most pressing to me because I found it so unfair that people like Virigl & Co. are stuck in Hell, simply because they weren't Christian (at a time when Christianity wasn't even a thing!!!). And so – BRACE YOURSELF – it is explained that humans cannot comprehend God’s justice and therefore, they should never doubt Him and just accept His ruling. EXCUSE ME??

“Well, who are you to sit there on your throne,
acting the judge a thousand miles away,
eyesight as short as some mere finger span?”

UMMM... WHO IS GOD?? Not even once in this fucking book did you give any reasonable explanations for Christian beliefs. Why should he be allowed to throw virtuous people in Hell just because he feels like it??? MAKE IT MAKE SENSE!! And then, he makes a fucking Ripheus and King Trajan? Why?? Where is the consistency? And then, Dante comes up with the bullshit explanation that “God resurrected Trajan so that he could be baptised and then die and come to Heaven”. EHHH?? It's laughable, really.

3) The social and political commentary got repetitive.
The criticism of the Church and of politics within Italy got dull and repetitive as well. Dante just seemed bitter. And his moral compass was really off. Basically all the people he liked and who were on his side (politically), he put in Heaven, whereas most of the people who opposed him, he placed in Hell and kept dragging through the mud. It was kinda cheap.

I also really didn't vibe with how Dante positioned himself. It was so narcissistic? Basically he wrote himself to be these "chosen ambassador", who is supposed to enlighten humanity with his newly acquired knowledge? Yeah, how about we don't do that. It was so self-absorbed and shitty.

At the beginning of Paradiso, Dante even warns non-Christian readers to not proceed with reading this poem because they are not ready and it is important that his message isn’t misunderstood. ARE YOU DUMB?

The only political "commentary" I enjoyed in Paradiso was St. Peter roasting the shit out of Pope Boniface VIII, simply because it was fucking brutal:

“He who on earth has robbed me of my place,
my place, my place – which therefore, in the sight
of God’s dear Son, stands vacant now – has made
of my own burial ground a shit hole
reeking of blood and pus. In this the sod
who fell from here down there takes sheer delight.”

I mean, I didn't think I would read the word "shit hole" in a translation of a 14th-century text but I ain't complaining.

But what did you learn?
○ In certain folklore, Cain was seen as the Man in the Moon, and the dark spots of the Moon were regarded as the mark of Cain.

○ In Dante’s day, Christians didn’t believe that souls would remain eternally disembodied in Heaven, but that, at the Last Judgement, souls would be reunited with their bodies forever

○ Adam claims that he and Eve only lasted six hours (!) in the Garden of Eden before they committed the sin – LMAO WHAT A MOOD!!

○ The classification of celestial beings in Heaven was interesting, e.g. Seraphim who guard God’s throne (what a shitty job! will never understand why this is the highest honor!), Cherubim who guard the Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden, Archangels who are concerned with the politics of nations, Angels who are sent to humanity as messengers, etc. – it really opened my eyes to the whole "better reign in Hell than serve in Heaven"-speech from Lucifer because dang, he's totally right, all of these celestial beings are servants. Nothing more.

○ St. Peter, older than the rest of the disciples such as John, ran more slowly to the tomb of Christ on the morning of the Resurrection, but was quicker to believe that Christ had risen. Therefore, St. Peter represents the virtue of Faith (=> he's the one who, in Paradiso, tests Dante on his faith).

○ Lastly, something that I want to research a bit more is the role of women in Paradiso. I found it noticeable that a lot more women inhabited Heaven (even the highest spheres, e.g. Eve, Sara, Rachel, Anne, Rebecca, Judith, etc.) in comparison to Hell and Purgatory. I don't know if Dante was trying to make a comment about how women have a better moral compass than men, but it was definitely striking!

[Michael Finocchiaro · Rating 4 out of 5]

The journey with Dante and his spiritual guides through the afterlife concludes appropriately with Paradiso. Written around 1319 to just before he died in 1321, it is his ultimate vision of God and Heaven and a wild ride. The pace is much faster - or at least it seemed to me - than Inferno and Purgatorio and he and Beatrice fly through the Heavenly Sphere (yes, you need a lot of suspension of disbelief and lots of Scholastic philosophy - even Aquinas himself is a tourguide at one point), so it is almost like a science fiction/space travel book. At times, it reminded me of the incomprehensible end of 2001: A Space Odyssey with colors and light and memories flooding by. It requires perhaps the least use of footnotes (see my lamentations in my Purgatorio review) and was fun to read. I felt like I was really surfing sometimes and enjoyed the conclusion with - as in the other two canticles - stars in the sky. It gave me pause to think that as Dante was writing this, the Pope was in Avignon, Giotto was working on his frescoes in Padua, and Copernicus had not yet talked about the sun being the center of the solar system. Quite a time warp...

To describe this with a painting, no less than Mathias Grünewald's Isenheim mantlepiece could do - particularly the inner panel with Christ shown in a blinding glow of light. I went to Colmar this year to finally see this piece in person and it gave me the same giddy, light-headed feeling as Paradiso did.

[Piyangie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Paradiso is the third and final part of The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri which describes Dante's version of Paradise. Dante's Paradise is influenced by medieval views on Cosmology. Accordingly, it has nine concentric spheres that surround the earth. Above the spheres is the Empyrean which is where God resides.

In Paradiso, Dante journeys through Paradise. Here his guide is Beatrice. Virgil is no longer there and I missed dear old Virgil who guided Dante through the Inferno and Purgatorio. Unlike in the Inferno and Purgatorio where more classical and literary influences could be seen, Paradiso is based on Christian theology, astronomy, and classical philosophy. It is said that allegorically Beatrice represents theology. So it is all but natural that Beatrice is his guide here and that Virgil has no role to play.

The beautiful metaphors, the detailed descriptions, and lyrical beauty of the verses that I loved in both the Inferno and Purgatorio are found here as well. I enjoyed reading them. However, when compared with the other two, Paradiso was a heavy read for me. At times, especially in the middle, I found the read a little exhausting. But towards the last third cantos, the contents were lighter and I was able to get into a comfortable pace of reading.

Now that I have read all three parts, I can safely conclude that my favourite out of them all is Inferno. I find Inferno to be more creative and imaginative than the other two. Nevertheless, I enjoyed them all. With this read, I have completed my read of The Divine Comedy. I cannot say that I understood the entirety of it, but for me, poetry is more to feel than to understand.

The second reading made me better understand and appreciate Paradiso, and I enjoyed it more this time. Again and again, I marvel at the wisdom and creative power of Dante to create such a magnificent masterpiece.

[فؤاد · Rating 4 out of 5]

حال آن کس را دارم که چیزی را به رؤیا دیده و چون بیدار شود، لذت آن هنوز باقی است، اما رؤیا را به یاد نتواند آورد. زیرا که مکاشفه ی من از خاطرم رفته است، اما لذتی که از این بابت بردم هنوز در دلم باقی است.

دانته به یاری روح معشوقش، «بئاتریس»، به نقطه ی پایانی عزیمت خود می رسد: بهشت آسمانی.ارواح بهشتی، بر خلاف ارواح دوزخی و برزخی، صورت مادی واضحی ندارند و به تجرّد نزدیک ترند.
در نهایت این سفر، دانته به کهکشان فرشتگان و بهشتیانی که به دور نقطه ی نورانی الهی می چرخند می رسد و با یاری آن ها، به ذات الهی نظر می کند. این مکاشفه، آخرین واقعه ی این سفر طولانی است که از غوطه خوردن در گناهان (دوزخ) آغاز می شود، با توبه و تطهیر (برزخ) ادامه می یابد و با پیمودن درجات کمال (بهشت) به نقطه ی نهایی عروج انسانی (رؤیت خداوند) می رسد.



جغرافیای بهشت
بر اساس علم نجوم قرون وسطا، جهان کره ای تو پُر است که در مرکزش، کره ی زمین قرار دارد. بر گرد زمین، ستارگان و سیارات، در طبقاتی تو در تو، مانند لایه های پیاز، می گردند. به هر یک از این لایه ها یا طبقات، یک «فلک» می گفتند. آسمان نه فلک داشت (هفت فلک متعلق به سیارات و ماه و خورشید، یک فلک متعلق به ستارگان، و یک فلک بلورین و بدون ستاره و سیاره، موسوم به «فلک الافلاک» که کل جهان را در بر گرفته بود.) که توسط فرشتگان به گرد زمین می چرخیدند. و پس از این نه فلک، عرش الهی قرار داشت.
در بهشت دانته، هر یک از این فلک ها، جایگاه دسته ای از بهشتیان است که به طور موقت در آن جای گرفته اند. جایگاه اصلی همه ی ارواح بهشتیان، در ورای افلاک آسمان و در عرش الهی است.

[Ulysse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Paradiso

My toes lifted off the peak of Purgatory
And my whole body was airborne and light
So close I got to God in all his glory

That I at last tasted the true taste of flight
The way it feels to be a human rocket
Or a freewheelin’ heaven-kissing kite

My presumption friends oh pray do not mock it
I really did reach the Primum Mobile
No need to look incredulous or shockéd

It’s just a place where souls hang out most holily
And sing songs that begin but never end
Twelve days I dwelt among them and hopefully

I’ll never have to go back there again
For one thing I am no theologist
I never called Saint Augustine my friend

Temptation I would rather not resist
Than have to hear another obnoxious
Halo-wearing hotshot angel harpist

Riffing on what it takes to become righteous
Of course I would not chose to go to Hell
Either—when dead I wanna be unconscious

Sunk deep in Oblivion’s bottomless well

[withdrawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

"What little I recall is to be told,
from this point on, in words more weak than those
of one whose infant tongue still bathes at the breast." Canto XXXIII

Note: When your eyes glaze over at any point while reading this review, simply skip ahead to the solid line __________.

Dante wrote his 'Divine Comedy' as a didactic poem. He wanted to teach his fellow citizens about what could await them after death - Inferno; Purgatorio; Paradiso. He also wanted to teach a lesson in Faith and Morals. He wrote it in the Italian dialect of his region so that they could easily access it. He included historical personages, including many still living at the time so that they could recognize their neighbours and themselves. And he created a stunning and beautiful work of poetic art so that they would want to read it over and over again. The very poetry carries the message in its form and structure. And here we are, 700 years later, still reading it - but do we learn what he tried to teach? Do we even understand the 'Divine Comedy'? Can any modern reader immerse herself in Dante's late medieval world to catch an inkling of his message?

I think not. Perhaps there are a few, somewhat naïve, Catholic scholars locked away somewhere who can grasp it all, but to really be the audience Dante intended, no. The social imaginaries have changed and no one can get back to Dante. So why do so many somewhat educated, non-believing (or at least living a totally different belief) western thinking GR members continue to read the 'Divine Comedy'?

Well, some 107 000 GR members say that they have read the 'Inferno'. (That's Best Seller status!). A lot of the reviews cite that the notes were necessary for identifying all those characters who Dante was critical of and had condemned to an eternity of suffering. Reviewers also cite their interest in the stories of these persons in life and, even more so, their delight in Dante's imagined torments. I suspect that few of us are frightened by these torments. Nor do we feel a particular sense of satisfaction or revenge that any of these souls (What's a soul?) are so condemned. But, we have scored 'Inferno' at 3.98 stars. Pretty good, even if we didn't really get where Dante wants us to be.

Now, almost 16 700 ratings are in for 'Purgatorio'. Quite a drop in readership considering the high ratings for 'Inferno'. But these readers are quite happy with a rating of 4.01 stars. Obviously, those who stick with it are those who are most devoted. Again, the comments are focused more on the characters and the suffering than on the message that Dante intended.

Finally, there is the 'Paradiso' with some 11 800 ratings. That suggests that the majority of the readers of the 'Purgatorio' persevered. And then, having made it all that way, they assigned an average of 3.98 stars. Now that is only .03 stars fewer stars than were awarded to the 'Purgatorio'. Statistically significant? I suspect so given the high numbers of raters. (I also suspect that there is a lot of the well known "Damn it. I've read all of this and I'm going to appreciate it" factor at play here. So the rating is likely skewed a bit on the high side.)

What is interesting here is that many of the reviews, while positive, do note a lack of action. Perhaps the higher rating is due to the fact that Dante has made fewer references to historical personages who mean nothing or little to the reader. (Of course, this group of readers may include those most likely to read and enjoy endnotes.) However, it is noteworthy that few of the reviews say a great deal about the theological or philosophical discussions which abound in this volume. Dante's messages are apparently not getting through, even to the most devoted readers. Why not? Because we lack the background.

The problem for most of us is that we are not born with an 'a priori' knowledge of classical literature and mythology, medieval philosophy and theology, and Dante's personal genius.

Now I'm going to reveal myself as the pedantic, intellectual snob that I've always striven to be. I'm going to to tell you that I spent months reading up on medieval philosophy and theology and then read up on Dante. (I should note that others have outdone me and have demonstrated a much greater depth of knowledge and insight. Actually, I suspect that their knowledge is 'a priori', perhaps divinely ordained.)

All of the above to say that I studied my way through the 'Paradiso', rather than reading it. I made as many connections with classical and medieval thought as I could and reconnected with those sources, which is why I spent months on this volume. And, it was fun. I will note, however, that I understood a great deal more than I would have done otherwise but the majority still evaded me. Also, I did not convert to Catholicism nor to Christianity. Not even to some vague spiritual belief (like, uhh, I don't really believe in any religion, ya know, but like, I think there's something out there, like, a god or something.) Nope. No epiphany. I'm still the same. Except I was blown away by Dante's genius. Wow. That guy had an enormous amount of information at his disposal. No internet. His own intellect had all of this within his grasp. We really should honour Dante.

______________________________________

So what did I get out of reading the Paradiso? (Finally. If you've read this far, you'll probably be disappointed.) I learned a great deal about Dante's worldview (If you're into German thought, that's "Weltanschauung".) I learned about his chain of reasoning which took him from the eyes and smile of Beatrice to love, to light, to the Sun, to all of creation, through to truth to the suffering and resurrection of Christ and then to the perfection of God. In Dante's world, not only is all of this united but, finally, it is all one, eternal and infinite.

His development of this path is one of both logic and scripture. He uses his knowledge of medieval theology and his poetry to bring his reader to this perfect knowledge, to a moral and intellectual Wisdom. The only wisdom possible.

To support this development, Dante has himself in Heaven addressed by a veritable army of saints, theologians and philosophers. He also calls forth Kings and Biblical persons as well as characters from Roman and Greek mythologies. It is all of the above who develop the imagery and the arguments necessary to lead his readers to Christ and to Wisdom. Dante presents himself as little more than a scribe chosen by Christ to bring the message to humanity. As such, of course, he can be seen as a prophet. But Dante, who was aware of his tendency to the sin of pride, and has been berated for it by Beatrice at their first encounter, often reminds his reader of his humble role. That a man of such genius has assumed this role seems somewhat unbelievable. But that may be part of his genius.

My advice to anyone wishing to read and enjoy the 'Divine Comedy' is to immerse yourself in Dante's world as much as you may have patience for. As well, there is so much more that I have not touched upon.

[William2]

I'm only reading the poems, and the preceding brief clarifying outlines, this first time through. I find the long critical sections to be almost wholly poem killing. I am not a Christian, so my view is literary and anthropological. All literature for me, the compelling stuff, delineates a lost or wholly imagined world or parallel sphere. (J.G. Ballard's off-beat work comes to mind.) The Divine Comedy wonderfully creates just such an imagined existence. It is, in fact, a dystopia, very ancient and chilling. There are stanzas that take the breath away. Just two here:

Oh you, eager to hear more,

who have followed me in your little bark

my ship that singing makes its way,

turn back if you would see your shores again.

Do not set forth upon the deep,

for, losing sight of me, you would be lost.

The old prejudices are here strong as ever. Especially, the killing of Jesus by "the Jews." Missing as usual is Jesus's Jewish birth. Also, the ridiculous dogma of Original Sin, which was an invention of Augustine of Hippo, and adopted by the early church, late in the 4th century. Yet the beauty of the verse allows us to glimpse something of the relevance and immediacy the poem must have had for readers of Dante's day. One gets a similar effect when viewing El Greco's portraits of the saints. It is the style that transfixes.

[Gabriel · Rating 2 out of 5]

El Infierno y el Purgatorio son mil veces más divertidos y entretenidos de leer en contenido, mensaje y todo lo demás que el Paraíso.

Admito que pensé que nunca terminaría este.

[Sadra Kharrazi · Rating 4 out of 5]

چقدر بهشت نزدیک بود آن زمان که دیوار جهنم را بنا می‌کردند...

پایان ماجراجویی یک ماهه با کمدی الهی
یک اسفند 1403

[Sidharth Vardhan · Rating 3 out of 5]

As much as you have to admire Dante for his knowledge spanning over so many fields - philosophy, cosmology, history, theology, mythology, poets, politics, whatever is the word for the science of torture (Dante should be called father of that science), about local crimes etc - one can see why Borges considered it the best thing ever written; still I didn't particularly like Paradiso. It is mostly saintly souls in large groups moving in different shapes. And despite all those souls telling us everything about right and wrong; the only thing that I liked are the parts where Dante and Beatrice are flirting with each other.

"Open thine eyes and look at what I am
Though hast behold such things, that strong enough
Has thou become to tolerate my smile."

or

"Were I to smile, then you would be
like Semele when she was turned to ashes,
because, as you have seen, my loveliness
which, even as we climb the steps of this
eternal palace, blazes with more brightness

were it not tempered here, would be so brilliant
that, as it flashed, your mortal faculty
would seem a branch a lightning bolt has cracked"

I mean get a room, right? But that is another thing missing from Paradise. No rooms. Souls just move around in closed shapes all the time, singing prayers. Sounds boring. To be fair, there are some religious celebrities - especially towards the end which might interest the faithful. But still, isn't paradise supposed to be really,really attractive? I can't imagine anyone being sold on this idea of Paradise. I, for one, can't imagine myself climbing the stupid purgarito mountain for that.

Not that I know of too attractive an idea of paradise. Even Hindu idea of paradise with all its riches never tempted me. It is this monotony which must accompany eternity - everything becomes boring in long run. Whats the point of having your favorite food, if you have been having it for last thousand years? I could rather prefer their alternative of cycle of rebirth and death over it, which Hindu saints are trying to free themselves from. The cycle of rebirth and death means, as I see it, the opportunity of doing things repeatedly without burden of the memory of having done it before. Think of all the first loves, first kisses, first sight of your children you can have in that scenario!

Another defect of heavenly life is we will probably lose our personality, our individuality too along with our pleasure - as was the case in Borges' short story 'Immortal'. There is thus no Paradise that is not boring and that doesn't make us dull. The only incentive a paradise has is a negative one - it is not hell, so one need not suffer (except from boredom).

And so, the best thing that can happen would be if we were reborn again or didn't have a soul at all. A soul doomed to live eternally must choose between suffering of hell and monotony of paradise. I know, pretty philosophical, is my it? I should be a theologian.

I think for us, goodreaders, choice can't be more clear. There is only one suffering we can't bear - boredom. I mean we chose he books that might make us make us cry, suffer along with its protagonists over sitting idly. And if we know a book that has made someone cry, we give preference to that book. Not that there is anything wrong with that. If you shall Google 'soul-destroying', it shall offer 'monotony' as its meaning. We focus our activities on saving our souls and we must continue to avoid monotony (read paradise) even after death ... No, the money I received from Satan for making a sale-pitch for his resort has nothing to do with this. Let us face it, hell has all the interesting people. I mean where do you think all the Lawerences, Nabokovs, Calvinos are?

So, feel free to commit all the sins you want. In the end, that is what will save you soul.

... On the other hand, the Islamic Paradise with its proposal of four virgins ... tempting.

And of course, to quote Nemesis "stars".

[Carl Audric Guia · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Faith is the substance of the things we hope for,

And evidence of those that are not seen"

I have nothing but admiration for Dante. Wow! That was such a great ending for an iconic masterpiece.

Almost all throughout the book, our narrator runs out of words to describe the magnificence of the scenes before him. Even with subtle guides of visualization, I liked how the rest of the magic was up to the reader's mind. After reading a certain line or canto, I would find myself blankly staring at the wall because I could not get over what I just "saw" -- what Heaven, and Paradise, was like. With here I truly feel for Dante because I honest to goodness also wasn't really able to grasp all of the beauties of God's kingdom.

Frankly, though, Paradiso had been a harder read compared to the past two parts of the Divine Comedy. It was difficult to take in what the narrator says, and I found myself reading the lines excruciatingly slowly. Not that it's a bad thing. I really liked that I had to read slower than usual in order to comprehend the writing. But I feel like I have not understood every part if this book. I kinda feel guilty about it; I guess my reading comprehension is not that ready for the difficulty of this text. So for now I'm giving it four stars. I'm planning to get back on this trilogy perhaps some time in the future, when also my reading level is higher and improved. That way I can appreciate more what a masterpiece this was. Even now, after my reading it for the first time, I feel like it is.

P. S. It actually feels like a 4.5. But yeah, the minus .5 for now will be for the guilt that I wasn't able to take in everything.

[Riku Sayuj · Rating 3 out of 5]

Paradise: Too bright and too noisy. Not my choice for a good retirement spot.
I have decided to settle for the Earthly Paradise atop Purgatory, with its meadows, light music and pleasant breeze. Seems like the best long term investment at the end of this cosmic tour.

[Algernon · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Infinite order rules in this domain.
Mere accidence can no more enter in
than hunger can, or thirst, or grief, or pain.”

“Now comes this man who from the final pit
of the universe up to this height has seen,
one by one, the three lives of the spirit.”

I have been reviewing each canto separately, but that is not how the poem was constructed. Dante planned his timeless masterpiece to the last detail, leaving nothing to chance or improvization. His supreme deity is one of order and meaning, and only our limited intelligence stops us from understanding His master plan. My limited intelligence also made me struggle with the last Canto much more than with the previous two. The Florentine poet urges me to put aside everything I gained through the powers of reasoning and observation of the natural world and rely on Faith for the last leg of the journey, to look inward and examine what I believe in and how strong is my conviction. More than in the other two cantos combined, I relied on the the translator’s synopsis and endnotes to explain the subtleties of the text (says Ciardi: Dante warns back the shallow reader: only those who have eaten of the knowledge of God may hope to follow him into the last reaches of his infinite voyage, for it will reveal such wonders as only faith can grasp. )

The three lives of the spirit: Inferno shows us the punishment of those who only live for themselves and for material gains. Purgatory shows us there is a path to salvation of our souls, a tortuous and exhausting climb up from the gutter. Now Paradise is the proof that Man’s spirit was made to soar up into the immaculate sphere of pure thought and unreserved Love. Ciardi, my erudite and patient guide through the intricate swirls of Dante’s argument, remarks on how the poet achieves his goals – analogies and metaphors that are started in the first Canto and are followed up and developed throughout the journey. Dante climaxes the master metaphor in which purification is equated to weightlessness. Having purged all dross from his soul he mounts effortlessly, without even being aware of it at first.

A second master metaphor I have identified is the use of light : from the darkness of Inferno to the night and day alternance in Purgatorio and now to painting with light on a white canvas. The spiris Dante meets in the celestial spheres are differentiated only by the intensity of their shining shapes, an ever increasing value that leads to the need for Dante to have his eyesight upgraded more than once in order to observe his surroundings without being burned to a crisp (he sees spirits dancing even in the middle of the Sun)

To finish with the poem wide projects, I should also make a note of the soundtrack. From the groans, wails and screams of the condemned souls in Inferno or the individual songs of praise in the Purgatory we have graduated now to hearing the celestial chorus, the synchronized dance and music of the stars, as free of the weight of routine concerns as the body of the poet is free of gravity.

“O heavenly love in smiling glory wreathed,
how ardently you sounded from those flutes
through which none but the holiest impulse breathed.”

Paradise starts at the top of the Purgatory mountain, when Dante leaves behind his ancient philosopher companion (literally and spiritually) and is handed down into the hands of Beatrice, the incarnation of Divine Love. The distances the poet travel increase exponentially as he visits the celestial spheres nested one inside the other like Matrioshka dolls, but thanks to his above mentioned weightlessness after the shedding of all sinful and impure thoughts, he covers the space in a blink of an eye. Yet, for all the declared goal of writing about a spiritul voyage, I couldn’t help but notice that Dante cannot help himself from showing off his interest in astronomical observations, zodiac symbols and mythical recollections even as he visits the spheres of Air, Moon, Mercury, Sun, Venus, Jupiter, up to the final destination The Empirean. As he cannot renounce, not even when facing the highest authorities in Heaven, his right to criticize the religious excesses and the political betrayals that have sent him in exile.

As a side note, beside Ciardi I am extremely grateful to the Divine Commedy reading group here, who provided excellent illustrations and commentary to each canto. The most intriguing, and in my opinion appropriate observation was linking the journey of Dante to contemporary Arab texts describing the spiritual journey of Mohammed on the back of a winged donkey. The implications are many and I am in danger of getting derailed, but I really liked to notice how the two major religions are not so different as modern haters want me to think, and how in early Renaissance the oriental wisdom played as major a part as the Greek and Roman philosophical heritage.

Paradisio though is more focused on the Christian saints and myths, and I am less familiar with their names and their histories than with the people Dante met in Hell or Purgatorio. Yet I recognized the major influences : Aquina, Bede, Boethius, St Bernard, St Benedict, St Augustine. The higher Dante ascends, the closer he gets to the apostles, the Virgin and the Saviour. The ultimate revelation ( which amusingly for me comes only after Dante is questioned about his faith like a schoolboy reciting his catechism) is about the nature of the Trinity that is One. Despite being often confused by the sophistic arguments, I cannot help but be in awe at the conviction and passion Dante puts into this final affirmation of his creed.

‘There was not, nor will be, from the first day
to the last night, an act so glorious
and so magnificent, on either way.
For God, in giving Himself that man might be
able to raise himself, gave even more
than if he had forgiven him in mercy’.

God has given us a choice in our salvation. Dante sees more worth in devotion that is freely given instead of a general amnesty that forgives everybody or lip service that comes out of fear of punishment or desire for rewards. Punishment and rewards are still a major part of the poet’s project, but for me the most important question remains this one regarding free will. I was curious about how Dante would reconciliate the opposing concepts of freedom of thought with the total obedience to the tenets of the church. I found the solution weak, especially after Virgil exclaims at the end of Purgatory : “Lord of yourself I crown and mitre you!”. For a second I thought Dante will be consistent in his support for the idea:

“Of all creation’s bounty realized,
God’s greatest gift, the gift in which mankind
is most like Him, the gift by Him most prized,
is the freedom he bestowed upon the will.”

But immediately after this exclamation comes Beatrice and tries to demonstrate that Man should use his freedom to give the gift back to God and act only in accordance with what the scriptures require of him. A second and third disappointment comes later when Dante’s inquisitive Renascentist mind can’t help but ask to understand the nature of Divine justice (for example why are countless innocent people killed in natural catastrophes?). Again Ciardi expresses the theme better than me:

Dante is afire to understand the nature of Divine justice and begs the Eagle to explain it, but he is told that the infinity of God’s excellence must forever exceed his creation, and that none may fathom His will, whereby it is presumptuous of any creature to question the Divine Justice. Man must be content with the guidance of the Scripture and with the sure knowledge that God is perfect, good, and just. Not even these enormously elevated souls can know the full answer. Likewise, in the sphere of Saturn: The mystery of predestination is beyond the reach of all but God, and man should not presume to grasp it.

Can you spell copout? This goes against all I admired in the first two cantos and all I loved about the Renaissance men – they liberated our spirit from the shackles of dogma. I need to think more about how Dante arrived at his conclusion, but for the moment colour me underwhelmed.

I got a couple of more quotes that reiterate the position of Dante as a political militant, railing against the corruption of his home city and against the sins of the Pope and of his antourage. I’ve discussed the subject in my previous two reviews, so I will not spend more time on it:

“Florence [...] brings forth and spreads the accursed flower of gold
that changes the shepherd into a ravening wolf
by whom the sheep are scattered from the fold.”

and,
“For all the goods of the Church, tithes and donations,
are for the poor of God, not to make fat
the families of monks – and worse relations.”

and once more,
“The bride of Christ was not suckled of old
on blood of mine, of Linus, and of Cletus
to be reared as an instrument for grabbing gold.”

I don’t want to say goodbye to the Divine Comedy on this negative note. I kept one last stanza to express my awe and gratitude for the fantastic journey that keeps giving us food for thought and moral support after so many centuries, a masterpiece that sees scholars dedicate their whole lives to the study and interpretation of the poet’s verses, that has dramatically influenced the vision of countless authors who borrowed and used the fruit of his imagination, a ray of hope and of joy about the future of mankind:

“Contemplating His Son with that Third Essence
of Love breated forth forever by Them both,
the omnipotent and ineffaable First Presence
created all that moves in mind and space
with such perfection that to look upon it
is to be seized by love of the Maker’s grace.”

For and outstanding collection of illustrations to the cantos, please visit the Divine Comedy reading group. Thanks again for pushing me to read the books and for providing a one stop cornuccopia of knowledge and enthusiasm.

[Manny · Rating 5 out of 5]

For the Celebrity Death Match Review Tournament, The Complete Tales and Poems of Winnie-the-Pooh versus The Divine Comedy

My propositions are elucidatory in this way: he who understands me finally recognizes them as senseless, when he has climbed out through them, on them, over them. (He must so to speak throw away the ladder, after he has climbed up on it.) He must surmount these propositions; then he sees the world rightly.

- Ludwig Wittgenstein

One by one, all the other animals had left the Great Expotition. Rabbit had been first, in the Sphere of Mercury; then Kanga and Roo, in the Sphere of Venus. Tigger had joined the Holy Warriors in the Sphere of Mars, and Owl and Eeyore the Wise in the Sphere of the Sun. Christopher Robin had not been able to tear himself away from the Fixed Stars. "They're too beautiful," he'd muttered apologetically as they said goodbye. "You'll have to tell me what you find higher up." And now Pooh and Piglet followed Beatrice into the final Sphere.

The rest of this review is in my book What Pooh Might Have Said to Dante and Other Futile Speculations

[Peiman · Rating 3 out of 5]

دانته پس از بهشت زمینی با بئاتریس به بهشت غیرزمینی میره که در آسمانه و هر آسمان یک طبقه از بهشت. طبقات مختلف بهشت دانته عبارتند از

آسمان 1: فلک ماه - ارواحی که در ایفای نذورات خود کوتاهی کرده اند
آسمان 2 :فلک عطارد - ارواح کوشا و نکوکار
آسمان 3: فلک زهره - ارواح عاشق
آسمان 4: فلک خورشید - ارواح فقها و متالهین
آسمان 5: فلک مریخ - شهسواران مسیح
آسمان 6 : فلک مشتری - شاهان دادگستر و خردمند
آسمان 7: فلک زحل -ارواح مجذوب
آسمان 8: فلک ثوابت - پیروزی مسیح و مریم - پتروس یعقوب و یوحنا
آسمان 9: فلک بلورین - فلک الافلاک

چیزی که برای من مشخصه اینه که به ترتیب از دوزخ به بهشت جذابیت داستانی، روایی و اسطوره‌ای کتاب کم و به بحث‌ها و گفتگو‌ها و بیان عقاید مذهبی پرداخته شده. این کتاب از نظر من ضعیف‌ترین کتاب بین این سه جلد از کمدی الهی بود

پ.ن: احتمالاً آخرین کتاب بیست بیست و چهار

[Manny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some concluding statements. I began reading Paradiso believing it was the weakest of the three canticas of Inferno, Pugatorio, and Paradiso. Such a notion was implanted from what I can only say are biased academics. Paradiso does not have the fanciful torments of Inferno. It does not have the bodily tensions of Purgatorio. But Paradiso is special. Perhaps it is the most theological of the three canticas—and that is why I think that academic biased developed. But the theology is dramatized in imagery, proposed in beautiful similes and metaphors, all leading to that vision of God as the Trinity. Paradiso is the most beautiful of the three canticas. The sublimity of the imagery is unsurpassed. One can be horrified at the imagery of Inferno, and feel empathy at the imagery of Purgatorio. But one longs to embrace the imagery of Pardiso. Indeed, one longs to participate in the imagery of Paradiso.

In the very first canto of Paradiso, Beatrice in response to a question as to why all things move upward provides an answer which I think is the central thesis of not just Paradiso but of the entire Devine Comedy.

'All things created have an order
in themselves, and this begets the form
that lets the universe resemble God.

'Here the higher creatures see the imprint
of the eternal Worth, the end
for which that pattern was itself set forth.

'In that order, all natures have their bent
according to their different destinies,
whether nearer to their source or farther from it.

'They move, therefore, toward different harbors
upon the vastness of the sea of being,
each imbued with instinct that impels it on its course. (Par.I.103-114)

That the universe has an order, that things created have an order, all of which resembles God, who has created all forms out of reason and love, is at the heart of this epic. The entire Commedia is shaped to reflect God’s order. The order in Inferno, as it winds its way down to the bottom pit of hell, reflects God’s ordering of justice. The penitential climb up the mountain in Purgatorio reflects the order to retrain the soul to what you were made to be. The order of Paradiso, with its impelling motion toward the city of God, reflects order of God’s love as He draws us into His bosom as a parent draws their child. No other epic has such a complete vision of humanity in its relationship to his universe, and, indeed, to his creator.

Which is the greater of the three canticas? You can’t think of it that way. Each fulfills the other two. They complement each other as a trinity for a unified vision. So which of the three canticas do I prefer? Whichever I have read last, which at the moment is Paradiso.

[Zidane Abdollahi · Rating 5 out of 5]

و این کار عشق بود که خورشید و دیگر اختران را در گردش دارد.
آخرین شعر دانته در کمدیش



آخرین جلد کمدی الهی، اثری بسیار متفاوت با دو جلد قبلیست؛ حاوی مباحث دشوار، زبانی ثقیل و مملو از استعارات پیچیده و سرشار از مفاهیم عرفانی. شاید مهمترین علت شهرت و احترام این جلد در غرب، نادر بودن چنین نوشته‌هایی در ادبیات آنهاست (برخلاف ادبیات شرق و ادبیات پارسی). در مقدمۀ طولانی، لازم و غنیِ مترجم نیز به این اشاره شده (حتی اثر با منطق‌الطیر عطار نیز مقایسه می‌شود)، به گونه‌ای که تقریباً برای جزء‌جزءِ سرودهای این کتاب، می‌توان نمونه‌ای مشابه از اشعار شعرای بزرگ پارسی یافت و مترجم نیز در مقدمه‌ها و حواشی به‌خوبی به آنها اشاره کرده است.
بنابراین کتاب دیگر تنها سفرِ بدیع و جذاب قهرمانِ داستان به طبقات بهشت نیست، بلکه حاوی سروده های عرفانی و فلسفیست (با تمِ مسیحیت) که سعی می‌کند مسائلی چون جبر و اختیار، ایمان، عشق، یگانگی خداوند و ... را بررسی کند.
اگر نگاهی کلی به سه مجموعۀ کمدی دانته بیندازیم، به گمانم می‌توان گفت دوزخ و برزخ پوستۀ اثر و بهشت، هستۀ آنهاست. خواننده در بسیاری از سروده‌های «بهشت» تنها با مفهوم سروکار دارد، نه روایت داستان. در این کتاب از توصیفات محیط خبری نیست؛ دیگر دانته نمی‌داند چگونه مسیر خود را طی می‌کند و تنها با اشارۀ راهنمایش متوجه می‌شود به طبقه‌ای بالاتر صعود کرده‌اند. اشخاص تنها فروغی هستند که تا آن هنگام که خودشان، خود را معرفی ننمایند، شناخته نمی‌شوند و گذر زمان نیز حس نمی‌شود؛ پس تمام اشعاری که در دو کتاب قبلی دربارۀ چنین مطالبی سروده شدند، در «بهشت» جای خود را به سرودهای عرفانی، دینی و فلسفی داده‌اند. این تغییر در محتوا و نگارش اثر، موجب شده که فهم اثر بسیار دشوارتر شود (به گونه‌ای که مجبور شوم دو مرتبه کتاب را بخوانم) و از سوی دیگر نیز با فهم سروده‌ها خواننده متوجه می‌شود که اشعار چه‌اندازه زیباتر و دلنشین‌تر هستند(در مقایسه‌ای کلی با دو کتاب قبلی).
بیش از نصفِ حجم کتاب، شاملِ حواشی، توضیحات و مقدمات مترجم می‌شود که ضروری‌اند و به گمانم بدون آنها کتاب آنطور که باید و شاید فهم نمی‌شود. مترجم عزیز با حوصلۀ هر چه تمام‌تر هر آنچه که ممکن بوده برای یک خواننده سؤال شود را توضیح داده و این توضیحات (که چکیده‌ای از چندین تفسیر مشهور جهانی‌اند) خود بیش از اثر به خواننده اطلاعات می‌دهند. گفتۀ من فقط دربارۀ این جلد کمدی الهی نیست، بلکه در هر سه جلد این مسئله مشهود است، اما خب مانند نویسنده، اوج کار مترجم نیز در همین جلد آشکار می‌شود.

[Catoblepa (Protomoderno) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rileggendolo a distanza di una dozzina d'anni dalla prima volta, mi sento di confermare l'impopolare giudizio che mi formai all'epoca: questa è la migliore delle tre cantiche.
Superficialmente lo si potrebbe spiegare con una motivazione meramente quantitativa: sia l'Inferno sia il Purgatorio contengono tre o quattro canti che forse avrebbero potuto far la fortuna di altri ma che nel repertorio dantesco risultano un po' sottotono. Il Paradiso è perfetto, dall'inizio alla fine.
Ma il vero motivo è che quella che oggi definiremmo sperimentazione, già presente nella poesia di Dante sin dalla Vita nova e con sempre maggiore finezza nelle prime due cantiche, qui raggiunge il suo culmine. Non solo non c'è un singolo verso del Paradiso che non fosse, a inizio Trecento, di una novità sbalorditiva: a far trasecolare è che a distanza di sette secoli si può ben dire che molte delle novità qui presenti non sono ancora state recepite. I canti puramente teologici, dai più considerati i momenti noiosi della Commedia, sono in realtà la pura avanguardia dantesca, il suo tentativo (riuscitissimo, ovviamente) di far entrare nella dimensione poetica generi considerati altri, come appunto il trattato (oggi diremmo il saggio): in un'epoca in cui i generi erano strettamente canonizzati si trattava chiaramente di qualcosa di inconcepibile, e per trovare altri poeti che tentino sistematicamente una cosa del genere si dovrà aspettare il periodo a cavallo tra Novecento e ventunesimo secolo, l'adesso insomma, in cui la commistione di generi sembra la tendenza più forte tra i letterati che cercano d'innovare (in poesia come in narrativa come a teatro); per trovare altri poeti che lo facciano con la grazia e l'umanità di Dante non ci è dato di sapere: potremmo dover aspettare altri sette secoli, potremmo metterci il cuore in pace perché non ne arriveranno mai.

[Andrei Bădică · Rating 3 out of 5]

Asta este.

"Un adevăr, de nu te-ajută firea,
degeaba-l cați, căci de la mal la fel
cum ai plecat te-ntoarce amăgirea."
"Iubirea însă, cînd pecetea vie
a Tatălui în verbul sfînt o-mplîntă,
desăvîrșit e ce-a fost scris să fie."
"Tot ce-i etern și tot ce-astfel s-ar vrea
e numai forma-n care se-oglindește
cerescul tată și iubirea sa."

[A. Raca · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Ey şaşkınlıkla izlediğim ruhlar, yeryüzünde
kötü örneğin doğru yoldan saptırdıkları
için dualar edin."

Bir yolculuğu daha bitirdik...

☀️

[Shawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Something about this passage gets me. I always come back to it. Sad and beautiful. Dante asks a woman in the lowest rung of Paradise - the moon - if she doesn't hanker to go higher:

"A smile at this
Lightened her eyes, and those who crowded near
Smiled with her. Then she spoke, and all the bliss
Of Love's first flame, it seemed, was hers to sing,
She was so joyous in her answering.

"Brother, the quality of our Love doth still
The impulse of rebellion; all our will
Being God's only. Here we rest content.
What God hath in his perfect counsel meant
In our assorting is our certain good.
Incapable of a different thirst are we,
And, that you may the clear occasion see,
Consider that Love rules omnipotent
From threshold unto threshold, from this low
Soon-circling moon, that for our home we know,
To the vast Ultimate Heaven. And think again.
What is Love's nature? Love itself were vain
If envy could corrupt it. Love must be
Surrender by its own necessity
Unto the God from Whom itself derives.
No more desire in emulation strives,
But all our joy is in this will supreme;
And thence is His joy also, that our wills
Find peace in His - the universal sea
Which to Itself all that Itself creates,
And all that Nature thence originates,
Draws in divine attraction."

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

خب تموم شد
حقیقتش دوزخ محبوب ترینم بود و توقعم رو شاید خیلی برده بود بالا
آخرای این خوب میشه ها
ولی وسطاش واقعن میخواستم بذارمش کنار
اگه با دوستم نمیخوندمش و تشویقم نمی‌کرد که تهش خوب میشه ادامه نمی‌دادم:)))


در حین خوندن کلی چیز میز نوشتم، اگه برسم مرتبشون کنم میام این زیر اضافه میکنم.

[Best Friend with Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

Üç kitaptan aklımda kalanları toparlayabilirsem mutlaka bir yorum yazacağım.

[Laurel Hicks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful! I need to read it a few more times to really own it, though. It is filled with music and smiles and light.

[Chad · Rating 5 out of 5]

I began my journey with Dante in mid-November. How could I have known then that, along the way, I would develop such an admiration and fascination with the Comedy? Not only have I read all three parts now, but I have listened to three online classes about the poem (from The Great Courses; Word on Fire; and Hillsdale College). I also profited greatly from Joseph Gallagher’s handbook, A Modern Reader’s Guide to Dante’s The Divine Comedy. His 2-3 page, easily readable explanations were a tremendous aid.

Had I known what a challenge it would be to read the poetic translation of the work by Dorothy Sayer, I would have chosen a different version to read for my first time. But I persevered. Her rendering is lovely, yes, but also rather stilted and archaic at times. The notes she provides, however, are always illuminating and concise. On my next reading through the poem, I will use John Ciardi's translation and keep Sayers’ close for commentary.

This oft-quoted remark fits my experience as well: “Now that I have read the Divine Comedy, I am ready to read the Divine Comedy.”

[LauraT · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ovviamente non si può non dire che questo è un capolavoro assoluto non solo della poesia italiana, ma di tutta la produzione intellettuale occidentale. Senza se e senza ma.
Ma - e lo so, non ce la faccio!!! - ma, in fondo anche il nostro sommo Dante, se amava il paradiso come entità più di tutto il resto, non ci credo abbia amato il terzo libro della sua fatica come i primi due. E' tutto troppo...dovuto; troppo didascalico. Lo doveva per educare il suo popolo; ma come si è divertito a mettere nella bocca di Lucifero i suoi concittadini o i Papi di cui aborriva l'operato, non ci credo che abba goduto altrettanto nel descrivere la contemplazione della luce eterna. Insomma, anche per la lettura sicuramente si fa molta più fatica!
Però per carità: chapeau!


Non avea case di famiglia vòte;
non v’era giunto ancor Sardanapalo
a mostrar ciò che ‘n camera si puote.

Tu proverai sì come sa di sale
lo pane altrui, e come è duro calle
lo scendere e ‘l salir per l’altrui scale.

[Matthew Ted]

130th book of the year. Artist for this review is, again, for the last time, French artist Gustave Doré.

I have no idea what to rate this as there is so much to unpack and I'm just a lowly student (not even a student anymore). Without notes there's no way that I could possibly read or understand this. I found myself extremely grateful that I studied Classical Civilisation once again and knew a good number of the names Dante was dropping in regards to the Roman Empire, but the religious names, the Saints and countless people from Dante's own lifetime were mostly lost on me in their allusions. Paradiso has a poor reputation as being boring/difficult compared to the first two installments of the Comedy and to be honest it is the most boring and the most difficult. Beatrice is a boring guide compared to the awesomeness of having Virgil himself leading you through Hell itself (is anything cooler?) and the stories of finding God/understanding piety are far less compelling than the sufferings of those in Hell, and the same with Purgatory. In Hell we meet characters like Ulysses and in Paradise we meet Saints and Angels. Though the imagery is still wondrous as Dante and Beatrice fly through the circles of Heaven (in an end-of-2001: A Space Odyssey way), the bits around all that are not as great. Most of all I felt I needed so much outside research to understand it, I knew I'd have to read it several more times.

However, I have now read the whole of The Divine Comedy and I think I stand with Joyce in saying: Dante > Shakespeare. As a whole, one of the most amazing things I've read. I'll come back to this difficult beast when I read the whole thing all over again in another translation, probably Ciardi. But for now, it's finally farewell to Dante (and now I feel like I am on first name basis).

[Sura ✿ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5
ليست بجودة الجحيم , و بعد قراءة الاف الابيات ذات النمط المتشابه الى حد ما شعرت بالملل .

"يحدث غالباً ايها الاخ , أن يجبر المرء
لكي يتفادى خطأً ما
على فعل شيء كان ينبغي أن لا يقوم به "