; THE GREATER IMAGES Wey Dans in the story is always himself ~ the Florentine poet, philo~ 10 y sopher, and politician, and the man who loved Beatrice. In the ing allegory, he is the image of every Christian sinner, and his pi ky grimage is that which every soul must make, by one road or rh oh from the dark and solitary Wood of Error to the City Viner is in the story the shade of the poet who, in the Aeneid, celebrated the origin and high destiny of the Roman Empire and its function in unifying the civilized world, In the Middle Ages he was looked upon as having been an unconscious prophet of ianity and also (in popular tradition) as a great ite ”, whose eee pee gave him power among the "s portrait of him has preserved traces of theseThe Greater Images ceive them directly; at the end of the Paradiso the image of Beatrice is - not replaced by, but - taken up into the image, successively, of the Church pe aereane of Mary, the historig o and universal God-bearer; and of God, in whom Image and Reality are one and the same. Beatrice thus Tepresents for i w ana person - or, more generally, that rience of the Not-telf - which, by arousing his adoring love, has become foe him the God-bearing image, the revelation of the Presence of God, Hatz in the story is the place or condition of lost souls after death; it is asa hi shaped pit, situated beneath the Not Henbohere aid erm to the centre earth, In th i of evil withinThe Greater Images Dante as a lofty mountain on an island in the Southern Hemi- sphere. On its seven encircling cornices, the souls are purged successively of the taint of the seven deadly sins, and so made fit to ascend into the presence of God in Paradise. In the allegory, it is the image of repentance, by which the soul purges the guilt of sin in this life; and, eae the blessed spirits who embrace its purifyin, eecce'ail Gitinaton Lecbtnestirdan cl male eagerly confessing and making atonement for its sins. PaRranisz, in the same way, i es aes ox ocean after death of beatified souls in Heaven. Dante pictures it, first, tnder the figure of the ten Hleavens of medieval astronomy and, secondly, wal sige Mid de aeeen of the souls are shown as enjoying stcending of bliss in the ten successive Heavens, all these are, in reality, one Fesvens nor she Bs nga, each ou being led to its caj baby, wth ll she Joys sola pare wes ees eer es ianDark Wood - Maundy Thursday Night: Good Friday 6 a.m. CANTO I Tux Story. Dante finds that he has stra df ioe the right road and is lost in a Dark Wood, He tries to aie by climbing a ee Mountain, but is turned aside, first by a cee ling renee then by a fierce Lion, and finally by a ravenous Shel Meet As he is, 5 fleein back into the week he is stopped b ya the who el hin he cannot hoy ass the Wolf and ascend a ees that road. One day a - es will ce and drive the Wolf back to Hell; but the only course at present left open to Dante is to trust himself to Virgil, who wil guide him by a ger way, leading through Hell and Purgatory. From there, a worthier bee Virgil I (Beatrice) will lead hie on to see the blessed souls in Paradise. Dante SOPs Virgil as his “master, leader, and lord”, and they set out together. Midway this way of life we're bound uj I woke to find myself in a dark w: Where the right road was wholly lose and gone, Ay me! bar band co peak oh te Die ‘And rough and stul forest! the mere breathcawro 1] Dark Wood - The Mountain: The Three Beasts: 1, 44 : ; : 91 by a And as a swimmer, panting, from the main fre ile pi Heaves safe to shore, then turns to face the drive ch but Of perilous seas, and looks, and looks again, 1 seomble . as So, while my soul yet fled, did I contrive Mf To turn and gaze on that dread pass once more sp | Whence no man yet came ever out alive, i . ands 28 Weary of limb I rested a brief hour, geo Then rose and onward through the desert hied, ghar tho So that the fixed foot always was the lower; “No m8 | a And see! not erro reherati aide, ye nat First rose, a nimble and light an i Eecedtacarteedaas alee nes ie Came gambolling out, and skipped before my feet, | a Hinde meta tom efi In | Time and again I tuned to beat retreat. | ” The morn was , and in his native si | The Sun climbed with the stars whore Attended on him when the Love Divine Of the bright beast so speckled and 3 Yet not to much but that I fll to quck Ata fresh sight-a Lion in the way.Virgil - Good Friday Evening Bven so was I, faced with that restless brute Which little by little edged and thrust me back, Back, to that place wherein the sun is mute, ‘Then, as I stumbled headlong down the track, Sudden a form was there, which dumbly crossed My path, as though grown voiceless from long lack ‘er thou art ~ or very man, or ghost!” It spoke; “No man, although I once was man; rents’ native land was Lombardy oth by citizenship were Mantuan. Sub Julio born, though late in time, was I, And lived at Rome in aia cea Augustus’ days, ipped ignorantly, P and tuned to eee a acivaled bececiGy ‘When Ilium’s pride fell ruined down ablaze. But thou - oh, why run back where fears destroy Bet Why bake mountain beginning “Canst thou be Virgil? thou that fount of Whence Said I, and bowed mycanto 1] Dark Wood - © The Greyhouna - Good Friday cy 7 The savage brute that makes thee cry for dread Lets no'man pass this road of hers, but still Trammels him, till at last she lays him dead, Vicious her nature is, and framed for ill; When crammed she craves more Beecely than before; Her raging greed can never gorge its fill. ‘With many a beast she mates, and shall with more, Until the Greyhound come, the Master-hound, And he shall slay her with a stroke right sore. He'll not eat gold nor yet devour the ground; ‘Wisdom and love and power his food shall be, His birthplace between Feltro and Feltro found; eet tal which Euryalus Nisus di ‘Turnus and chaste Camilla, bloodily.Evening - Commentaries ut xa Then I to him: “Poet, I thee entreat, 130 By that great God whom thou didst never know, | Lead on, that I may free my wandering feet asia From these snares and from worse; and I will go 3 Along with thee, St Peter's Gate to find, ih nop And whom thou portray’st as suffering 80.” et-boond So he moved on; and I moved on behind, 16 |canto 1] Commentaries image of some hoped-for political saviour who should estahy; the just World-Empire. Spinually, the Greyhound, whic the attributes of God (“wisdom, love, and power”), is pro), ably the image of the reign of the Holy Ghost on earth a visible Kingdom of God for which we pray in the Lord’s Prayer (cE. Purg. xi. 7-9). uN Notas. 1. 1: midway: i.e. at the age of 35, the middle point of man’, pilgrimage of three-score and ten years, 1. 17: that planet bright: the Sun, In medieval astronomy, the Earth ‘was looked upon as being the centre of the universe, and the sun be counted as @ planet, In the Comedy, the Sun is often used.as a figure for “the spiritual sun, which is God”, (Dante: Convivio, iv. 12.) 1, 27: whence no man yet came ever out alive: Dante, as we shall see, is by no means “out” as yet; nor will he be, until he has pased through the “death unto sin”. 1, 30: s0 that the fixed foot always was the lower: i.e, he was going Up eee ea ran one Bed foot and one moring fog going uphill, moving foot ght above, and in goit ee, i" _ 137: native sign: ling to tradition, the Sun was in Zodiacal sign of Aries (the Ram) at the moment of the creation. The Sun is in from ax March to ar April: therefore the “sweet of spring. Later, we shall discover that the day is Good , posta ee rice services nics Tonn ink os Precisely correspond to the actual Easter 1300} Dante has merely described the astronomical phenomena typical of BA al ab esCommentaries able reputation for his love-lyrics and philosophic odes, though he had not as yet composed any narrative verse directly modelled upon the ‘Aeneid, When he says that he owes to Virgil the “bello stilo which has won him honour”, he can scarcely be referring to the style of his own prose works, whether in Latin or Italian, still less to that of the as yet reece cone Provarnsty ee means that he had studied to imitate, poems written \¢ vernacular, the elegance, concise , and melodious rhythms of the Virgilian line. 1, 105: between Feltro and Feltro: This is a much~debated line. If the Greyhound represents a political “saviour”, it may mean that his slace lies between Feltre in Venetia and Montefeltro in Romagna (ie, in the valley of the Po). But some commentators think that “fltro” is not a geographical name at all, but simply that of a coarse cloth (felt, or frieze); in which case Dante would be salva- tion to come from among those who wear the robe of poycanto] Dark Wood = Invocation: “Papal and Imperial CANTO II Tux Story. Dante's attempts to climb the Mountain have taken the whole day and it is now Good Friday evening. Dante has not gone fa he loses heart and “begins to make excuse”. To his specious ments Virgil ies ly: “This ee ee eres tells Beatrice, St at the instance of the Virgin Mary herself descended inte Live to eee him to go to eases reat _ canto v] Commentaries bright, voluptuous sin is now seen as it is - a howling darkness ne ee (The “punishment” for sin is simply the hf itself, without illusion - though Dante does not work this out with mathematical rigidity in every circle.) Notas. |. 6; as he girds him, sentencing: as Dante explains in Ul. r1-12, Minos girds himself so many times with his tail to indicate the number of the circle to which each soul is to go (cf. Canto xxyn, 124 and note). 1, 28: 4 place made dumb of every glimmer of light - (cE. Canto 60, “wherein the sun is mi Nevertheless, Dante is able to see This is only one of many passages in which the poet con- veys to us that the things he perceives during his journey are not per- ceived altogether by the mortal senses, but after another mode, (In guide him”.) So, in the present case, ‘recognizes that the darkness is total, although he can see in the thet slew her: + Dido, ; rico eG —aeligtinaaated of theCommentaries sionate, and half-excusable consent of the soul to manages the description, he so heightens the excuse, reveals itself as precisely the sin... the persistent parleying with the occasion of sin, the sweet prolonged laziness of love, is the first sur render of the soul to Hell - small but certain. The formal sin here is the adultery of the two lovers; the poetic sin is their shrinking from the adult love demanded of them, and their refusal of the opportunity of glory.” (The Figure of Beatrice, p. 118.) 1 97: 4 town upon the sea-coast: Ravenna. 1, 10a: the way of it leaves me still distrest; Bither (1) the way of the murder, because the lovers were killed in the very act of sin and so had no time for repentance; or (2) the way in which their love came about. The story went that Paolo was sent to conduct the marriage Rae oe eee oare tricked into consenting by being to suppose that he, and not Gianciotto, was to be her bridegroom. In the same way, in the Arthurian romances, Queen Guinevere falls in love with Lancelot when he is sent to woo her on King Arthur's behalf; and it is this which makes the tale of Lancelot so for her and Paolo. 1. 107: Cain’s place: Caina, so called after Cain; the first ring of the lowest circle in Hell, where lie those who were treacherous to their ois ty Decor: Veg foe. ). Dante is thinking of 123: g 70). jigabh ty Degen Ni eh 2) eed ae ace (oO ‘unspeakable sorrowCircle I: The Gluttonous: The Rain — Cerberys, canto vi] CANTO VI Tua Story. Dante now finds himself in the aes Circle, where Gluttonous ie wall in the mire, drenched by perpetual rain bs mauled by the dog Cerberus, After Virgil gree berus by yen into \ Ledeen talks to ite of Claceo, 4 Pee ae hesles some of the disasters which are about to ls him where he will find certain other caries tells Dante what the condition of the spirits will be, afer the Las Judgment grees ada me stu} Gb at we, ‘Where'er move, of turn myself, sepheh My curious eyes, are seen on every side, Tam now in the Third Circle: that of rain ~ ceaseless, eee.Ciacco the Florentine - Good Friday Night At once my guide, spreading both hands wide out, Scooped up whole fistfuls of the d Asal ce a payee era te And as a ravenous and barking hound Falls dumb the moment he gets his teeth on food, And worries and bolts with never» thought beycad, So did those beastly muzzles of the rude Tr decid or ase Tees the sale, shear Half deafened - or they would be, if they ‘Then o'er the shades whom the rain’s heavy fall Pee eee trod Their nothingness, which seems corporeal, These all lay eign eae c y, a single suddenly up, seeing us pass that road. “hgh i fn ee 3 haa ne frat dead eal eerces sail testo rok Peete eee km ie eco y torments eer aoe aero Sight, if1 cainthacon tale nein nd by oh a 7canto vi] Circle III: The Gluttonous — Ciacco’s Prophecies: x __ In store for the people of our distracted town. sae Is there one just man left? And from what source poe To such foul head have these distempers grown?” bal | % And he: “Long time their strife will run its course, th And come to bloodshed; the wood party thence Over Will drive the other out with brutal force; Pased But within three brief suns their confidence ote li Will have a fall, and t’other faction rise wilt By help of one who now sits on the fence; wine m2 And these will lord it long with arrogant eyes, Goto,” i Steel aichios Isecsiased Which ee et Wheth 7% Two righteous men there are, whom none will heed; t Three sparks from Hell ~ Avarice, Envy, Pride - Int In all men’s bosoms sowed the fiery seed.” _ % His boding speech thus ended; so I cried: 6, with “Speak on, I beg theel More, much more revel ee ie mech moreDescent to Circle IV ~ Commentaries Po Bach soul shall seek its own grave’s mournful mounding, 7 1m Put on once more its flesh and feature, Hey And hear the Doom eternally redounding.” les Thus with slow steps I and my gentle teacher, 100 iy Over that filthy sludge of souls and snow, dey i Passed on, touching a little upon the nature Ot ses Of the life to come. “Master,” said I, “this woe - 103 ‘Will it grow less, or still more fiercely burning Wyk he Great Serene oe retin fe : ide} “Go to,” said he, “‘hast thou forgot thy learning, 106 pe Which hath it: The more the more Whether for Picea pain’s discerning? Though true perfection never can be seen 109 In these damned souls, be more near complete After the Judgment than yet have been.” So, with more talk which I need not repeat, ua We followed the road that rings that circle round, Till on the next descent we set our feet; There Pluto, the great enemy, we found. nscanto vi] Commentaries Notas, 1. 7: I am now in the Third Circle: Once again, Dante does say how he got here: we may suppose that Virgil carried or sala him down before he had wholly recovered his senses, 1, 22; Worm: This, in Old English as in Italian (vermo), is simply, word for a monster, cf. the fairy-tale of “The Laidly Worm fA Spindleston Heugh”, where it denotes a dragon, 1. 26: whole fistfuls of the miry ground: To throw something into hi, mouth was the traditional way of appeasing this particular guard, of Hell hence the phrase “'to give a sop to Cerberus”, In Aeneid vi, the Sibyl who guides Aeneas through Hades brings a number of cakes for the purpose. Here Virgil, not having made this provision, makes use of the first substitute that comes to hand, 1. 49: thy native city: Florence. 1. 52; Clacco you citizens nicknamed me: The word means “pig”, ind, according to Boccaccio, was the nickname of a Florentine gentleman notorious for his gluttony. 1, 61: our distracted town: i.e. Florence. 1, 64: long time their strife will run its course: This is the first 0 _ @ number of passages dealing (under the guise of prophecy) with political events in Italy, and especially in Florence, which took place after the supposed date of the Vision (1300). It refers to the struggl between the two Guelf parties (the Blacks and the Whites), and to the final expulsion of the Whites (including Dante) from Florence. (See Introduction, p. 33 99.) ; iL wood party: the Whites, The adjective selvaggia means cite party (because certain of its leaders had come into surrounding country) or the ‘savage’ ose to the sore airvocratc Blac TheCommentaries Il. 78-80: Tegghiaio ... Mosca: The persons named are all dis- Florentines. We shall meet Farinata in Canto x, Tegghiaio and Rusticucci in Canto xvi, and Mosca in Canto xxvm, Arrigo (see Glossary) is not mentioned again, 1, 96: the Enemy Power: This is the strangest and most terrible peri- phrasis used for Christ in these circles of the damned, who have chosen to know all goodness as antagonism and judgment. 1, 106: thy learning: the philosophy of Aristotle, as incorporated the theology of St Thomas Aquinas. The souls will be “more perfect’ after the Last Judgment becausé they will then be reunited to their bodies. 1, 115: Pluto: god of the wealth that springs from the soil, naturally ‘came to be regarded as an “underground” deity, and from early times ‘was apt to be identified with Hades (Dis), Dante, however, dis- tinguishes him from Dis (Satan), and while making him an infernal power, retains his primitive character as a symbol of riches. There is also a fusion with Plutus, the of wealth” mentioned by