Several scholars I studied mentioned the quote from C. S. Lewis in “The Problem of Pain” that the joys of heaven would surely be an acquired taste. It is the same for Dante the Pilgrim as grapples with the transcendence of this new reality. He is bewildered from the start, misinterpreting what he sees and being unsettled by the wrong things. However, Dante the Poet is far wiser than Dante the Pilgrim, showing us the expansive growth in the spiritual and intellectual maturity of this pilgrim.
Some commentators over the centuries have made the mistake of merely identifying the Pilgrim with the Poet, suggesting that Dante the Poet was out of his depth in this third cantica. Far from it. Dante is the consummate craftsman and theologian and artisan. He fills this final journey with transcendental language [more on that later], inventing new words to describe a new reality. He reminds us that the journey into divine love is not the bland, patently stupid caricature of sitting on clouds and playing harps. Rather one is overwhelmed by the astonishing courage of this poet to show how vibrant, deep and ALIVE this journey into Divine Love can be.
As we move into the final cantica of the Commedia, we need to be aware of a few major differences between the last two books [Inferno and Purgatorio] and the one we are entering now: Paradiso. At each stage, the language shifted and was quite unique to the needs of the milieu through which Dante the Pilgrim moved. Inferno’s poetry and language was not unlike a calliope within a three-ring circus. The language was bawdy and descriptive. There were farts, screams, thunder, fire, trumpet blasts from the back ends of demons. Not unlike the circus clowns, demons bustled about in weird groups, causing pain to themselves and others. Not unlike circus artists, we saw souls whirling through the air, standing on their heads in the midst of fire and transforming into wild, odd beasts. The Purgatorio’s language and milieu shifted dramatically and was centered around liturgy, music, art and confession. The souls who moved through this world were there willingly, suffering and singing and living as a congregation in worship and repentance because they wanted to. Indeed, as with any kind of attendance of worship or growth in the spiritual realm, what may be required is presence, boredom, obedience and the shared air of a joint journey with other pilgrims. The language here is far more refined and musical than the Inferno.
But now we come to another world altogether. Dante the Pilgrim has finally moved beyond the self-centered frame of reference that began the last two cantiche. The opening lines of the Inferno and Purgatorio focused on Dante the Poet, on finding himself lost or the boat of his genius. Note now, the opening lines of Paradiso: God is to be the focal point now, not Dante.
1 The glory of Him who moves all things
La gloria di colui che tutto move
2 pervades the universe and shines
per l'universo penetra, e risplende
3 in one part more and in another less.
in una parte più e meno altrove.
In the very first Canto of the Paradiso, we have a neologism, a created word that has never appeared before in the Italian vernacular. We are going to get transformational poetry and experiences here that beggar belief. Indeed, we are told that while these experiences are beyond description, Dante the Pilgrim will do his level best to be Dante the Poet and share whatever he can, despite the paucity of descriptive words at his disposal or his inability to even remember let alone grasp and comprehend all that he witnessed.
10 Nevertheless, as much of the holy kingdom
Veramente quant' io del regno santo
11 as I could store as treasure in my mind
ne la mia mente potei far tesoro,
12 shall now become the subject of my song.
sarà ora materia del mio canto.
When Dante mentions himself now, it is to claim his limited abilities and to ask for help from all the holy powers that be in order to share this overwhelming reality.
Novices reading Paradiso for the first time must do the same that my wife and I did in raising two teenagers: choose your battles wisely. Do not expect a medieval poet and theologian to have anything other than a medieval understanding of metaphysics and the order of the universe. Dante lives within a Ptolemaic worldview and a Scholastic theology with classical underpinnings for philosophy. All that is to say one need not fully understand the foundational background of The Paradiso to benefit from the poetry and spiritual insights within. I still, after so many personal readings, let go of what I don’t understand and just go blithely on, enjoying the scenery and meditating on the discoveries of Dante the Pilgrim. Of course I continue to research and explore, for the truth is that the further we go in the Commedia, the more it will require of us. Dante the Poet warns us in the next Canto that we may drown in the “ocean [pelago]” of his poetry. This is true only if we assume or expect to understand each Canto completely. Let us hold these verses lightly, like eating fish, setting aside the bones that choke and enjoying the meat which nourishes us this time around. Here are just a few basics to keep in mind at the start of The Paradiso:
• The universe for Dante is basically a series of concentric spheres or circles. Each circle is a planet or moon or even the sun. That continues until one reaches the Primum Mobile and beyond that is infinity and God Himself.
- • Dante will spend time describing light and geometry and mathematics as a way of trying to show beauty and holiness.
- • The very heart of this journey is paradoxical in that he is trying to describe in a poetic way a timeless realm through the use of his memory and the craft of writing it all down. How does one use memory, which requires a framework of time to describe timeless beauty?
- • All of reality is ordered by God and participates in God but is NOT God. There is nothing which is that is not celebrated by God or celebrates God Himself.
103 and [she] said: 'All things created have an order
e cominciò: "Le cose tutte quante
104 in themselves, and this begets the form
hanno ordine tra loro, e questo è forma
105 that lets the universe resemble God.
che l'universo a Dio fa simigliante.
- • We see now the joy and growth which comes from a wise guide such as Beatrice. Dante ascends to the first level by emulating her. She answers his questions before he even asks them. I am reminded yet again of the dearth of wise, holy mentors and guides in this world of Twitter and social media. Sigh…
We will find throughout the Paradiso similes and metaphors from Ovid and Christian salvation history that relate to Dante’s transformation and inspiration. After the renunciation, repentance and redemption experienced on Mt. Purgatory Dante the Pilgrim is emptied in order to be filled with God’s Spirit and message. This may be violent, even, as we read of Marsyas being literally emptied [pulled out of his own skin] so that he, Dante, may be filled. Note especially vs. 19 where he asks for in-SPIRA-tion, to filled with divine breath.
19 Enter my breast and breathe in me
Entra nel petto mio, e spira tue
20 as when you drew out Marsyas,
sì come quando Marsïa traesti
21 out from the sheathing of his limbs.
de la vagina de le membra sue.
As Dante the Pilgrim follows the example of Beatrice in gazing at the sun, he is changed. Following Ovid yet again, he relates the tale of Glaucus eating a weed / herb and becoming a sea god. [Fans of Harry Potter will relate to this and the eating of “gillyweed” in The Goblet of Fire.] Indeed, Dante the Poet tells us that as Dante the Pilgrim was changed, he then became able to swim in that great ocean of infinity that is heaven, moving with lightning speed due to his transformation and redemption; the holier he becomes the lighter he is.
67 As I gazed on her, I was changed within,
Nel suo aspetto tal dentro mi fei,
68 as Glaucus was on tasting of the grass
qual si fé Glauco nel gustar de l'erba
69 that made him consort of the gods in the sea.
che 'l fé consorto in mar de li altri dèi.
Since it is impossible to describe this transformation in human words [vv. 70-71] Dante the Poet invents a new word to help us understand. His word in vs. 70 has been literalized by some translators as “transhumanized.” He takes the Italian for ‘human’ [umano], turns it into a verb [umanar] and then adds a prefix that means to go beyond [tras]. Hence [tras] and [umanar] leads to Hollander’s translation:
70 To soar beyond the human cannot be described
Trasumanar significar per verba
71 in words. Let the example be enough to one
non si poria; però l'essemplo basti
72 for whom grace holds this experience in store.
a cui esperïenza grazia serba.
Dante the Pilgrim is flabbergasted that he has risen, somehow, to the first level of heaven without realizing it. Indeed, like Paul in Corinthians, he does not even know if he is in his own body or not. In asking her a simple question as to how this happened, she answers by outlining God’s design for creation. This will happen again and again in Paradiso; a simple question will lead to a universal answer. She tells him the old categories will not work in this eternal reality. The work of redemption has changed reality, and he rises naturally, for that is what he truly is, ultimately, being made in the image of God.
136 'If I am correct, you should no more wonder
Non dei più ammirar, se bene stimo,
137 at your rising than at a stream's descent
lo tuo salir, se non come d'un rivo
138 from a mountain's peak down to its foot.
se d'alto monte scende giuso ad imo.
139 'It would be as astounding if you, set free
Maraviglia sarebbe in te se, privo
140 from every hindrance, had remained below,
d'impedimento, giù ti fossi assiso,
141 as if on earth a living flame held still.'
com' a terra quïete in foco vivo."
Intentionality matters. Response and repentance produce change. Redemption brings one back home again, to what we are.
“What we call the beginning is often the end
And to make an end is to make a beginning.
The end is where we start from.”
Little Gidding
T. S. Eliot