Hi Jack, thanks for the comment! That's an intriguing idea. As a 16th century mystic, John's writing would not have been around in Dante's time, but I definitely see the connection with conversion and the Cross. I'm curious now if the opposite is true--whether Dante had inspired him?
Thanks for the tour. I haven't read this since college (85). It will be nice to revisit the subject matter, since I've begun my physical declination. It'll be a hoot to revisit it with older eyes.
Very much looking forward to this! Since recently retiring I committed to a methodical dive into the “I always meant to read” classics. The 100daysofdante.com effort was a spectacular first transit of the Divine Comedy. Running the pilgrimage again will no doubt provide further revelations. I confess a fond spot for Bonconte I da Montefeltro (Canto V, Purgatorio), the Ghibelline commander who was killed at the Battle of Campaldino in 1289 (where Dante fought as a cavalryman for the Guelphs). We vets have to admire Dante’s respectful and dramatic rendering of an opponent’s death. Best of luck on your endeavor.
Hi Corey, thank you for you comment and checking us out! I hope you can make a good dent in your reading list. Mine seems to grow faster than I can check books off, ha ha! I appreciate the fact that Dante saw military action too, and yes, his ability to render respect where it’s due regardless of loyalties is quite impressive.
Thank you to write about Dante. I read the Divina Commedia every year. I hope to have time to spend with your amazing comments. Thanks again. Blessings.
No need for shame. Just as certain good friends only come into our life when we’re ready for their friendship, authors like Dante or Homer or Plato seem to wait on us as well. Then when it happens, it’s like meeting an old friend for the first time.
An Interesting tour you’re proposing. I’ve always thought of the Divine Comedy as Dante’s attempt to show human beings another path to enlightenment, or God, if you must, by sharing with us the journey of a man struggling through God’s afterworld. This is something like the opposite of Jesus’s journey, a God struggling in Man’s living world. If God gave us his only begotten son to experience human existence, expunge our sins by his suffering, and show us the path to righteousness by taking human form, (and we don’t seem to be getting the message,) Dante shows the way from a more familiar perspective: a human being muddling along, making mistakes, seeing all the mistakes humanity can make, and their just punishments, enduring purgatory (which seems an awful lot like life) and I suppose then exploring God’s heaven, (although I confess I didn’t finish Paradiso, it seemed a bit tame after the excitement of the prior books. ) All accompanied by a pagan guide, whom I’m assuming left him at the gates to heaven, as the noble pagans had their own afterlife, outside the realms of heaven and hell. I imagine Dante saw it as a more relatable way to contemplate the human condition in relation to scripture, (ergo his use and expansion of the vernacular) and to lift up the human longing for the divine/Love, (personified for him in Beatrice). What hubris! What brilliance! What a great read!
I hope you get to work in Dark Night of the Soul by John of the Cross
Hi Jack, thanks for the comment! That's an intriguing idea. As a 16th century mystic, John's writing would not have been around in Dante's time, but I definitely see the connection with conversion and the Cross. I'm curious now if the opposite is true--whether Dante had inspired him?
Thanks for the tour. I haven't read this since college (85). It will be nice to revisit the subject matter, since I've begun my physical declination. It'll be a hoot to revisit it with older eyes.
Isn’t that the truth! I love rereading books from my youth. Some get better with time. Others…not so much! :)
Wow, I remember Homer and Aquinas being referenced, but the others you have mentioned make sense. This will be a fun winter project. Again, thank you.
Very much looking forward to this! Since recently retiring I committed to a methodical dive into the “I always meant to read” classics. The 100daysofdante.com effort was a spectacular first transit of the Divine Comedy. Running the pilgrimage again will no doubt provide further revelations. I confess a fond spot for Bonconte I da Montefeltro (Canto V, Purgatorio), the Ghibelline commander who was killed at the Battle of Campaldino in 1289 (where Dante fought as a cavalryman for the Guelphs). We vets have to admire Dante’s respectful and dramatic rendering of an opponent’s death. Best of luck on your endeavor.
Hi Corey, thank you for you comment and checking us out! I hope you can make a good dent in your reading list. Mine seems to grow faster than I can check books off, ha ha! I appreciate the fact that Dante saw military action too, and yes, his ability to render respect where it’s due regardless of loyalties is quite impressive.
Thank you to write about Dante. I read the Divina Commedia every year. I hope to have time to spend with your amazing comments. Thanks again. Blessings.
Claudia, I’m honored to have you here! Please feel free to share your insights on the poem any time. I’m sure they will enrich us.
I am ashamed I have not read it.
No need for shame. Just as certain good friends only come into our life when we’re ready for their friendship, authors like Dante or Homer or Plato seem to wait on us as well. Then when it happens, it’s like meeting an old friend for the first time.
An Interesting tour you’re proposing. I’ve always thought of the Divine Comedy as Dante’s attempt to show human beings another path to enlightenment, or God, if you must, by sharing with us the journey of a man struggling through God’s afterworld. This is something like the opposite of Jesus’s journey, a God struggling in Man’s living world. If God gave us his only begotten son to experience human existence, expunge our sins by his suffering, and show us the path to righteousness by taking human form, (and we don’t seem to be getting the message,) Dante shows the way from a more familiar perspective: a human being muddling along, making mistakes, seeing all the mistakes humanity can make, and their just punishments, enduring purgatory (which seems an awful lot like life) and I suppose then exploring God’s heaven, (although I confess I didn’t finish Paradiso, it seemed a bit tame after the excitement of the prior books. ) All accompanied by a pagan guide, whom I’m assuming left him at the gates to heaven, as the noble pagans had their own afterlife, outside the realms of heaven and hell. I imagine Dante saw it as a more relatable way to contemplate the human condition in relation to scripture, (ergo his use and expansion of the vernacular) and to lift up the human longing for the divine/Love, (personified for him in Beatrice). What hubris! What brilliance! What a great read!