Status Updates From La Divina Comedia

"El hombre debe, siempre que pueda, cerrar sus labios antes de decir una verdad que tenga visos de mentira; porque se expone a avergonzarse sin tener culpa."

— Inferno, Canto XVI.

Paradiso Canto 11 is far more than a biography of Francis of Assisi. Dante has the Dominican Thomas Aquinas praise Francis, suggesting that true wisdom can recognize greatness outside its own tribe. If every meaningful movement eventually risks drifting from its founding vision, how do we preserve the mission without simply preserving the founder?

Paradiso Canto 10: Sphere of the Sun, where Dante surrounds himself with teachers, philosophers, theologians, and seekers of wisdom. The wise move together in harmony—knowledge here isn’t about status or winning arguments but about seeing reality more clearly and helping others do the same. If wisdom is measured by how well knowledge illuminates truth, what kinds of learning actually make us wiser?