TIME OUT / TIME IN
In these last few Cantos we have slowed down to a crawl, or at least a stroll, what with interactions with poets, friends and the resulting fellowship. Virgil and Statius have been embracing, hobnobbing and catching up on the status of past poets, and soon, Dante will be discovered by his own dear friend, Forese. We have come to a complete halt, almost like during a walk in the park and stopping to view the trees or birds or flowers: a leisurely and, well, lazy interlude. Dante the Pilgrim admits to it with his recognition that he is stopped, gazing for the source of voices, in a “wasteful way…”

1 While I was peering through green boughs,
Mentre che li occhi per la fronda verde

2 even as do men who waste their lives
ficcava ïo sì come far suole

3 in hunting after birds,
chi dietro a li uccellin sua vita perde,

Virgil, in fact, seems to realize that they indeed have been remiss in these last few Cantos and urges him to better use of time. In doing so, he admits that perhaps he too has not made the best use of time.

4 my more than father said to me: 'My son,
lo più che padre mi dicea: "Figliuole,

5 come along, for the time we are allowed
vienne oramai, ché 'l tempo che n'è imposto

6 should be apportioned to a better use.'
più utilmente compartir si vuole."

And yet, we are reminded in Sayers’ commentary that there is wasteful time, and there is useful time, noting that now Dante the Pilgrim follows close behind the two poets, but still doing nothing other than listening and learning. This is time well spent. “every step I took paid double wages.” L. 9 [Sayers]

The differences in the SPAN of years or time is highlighted here too, as can be seen in the principal actors and friends in this Canto. Statius has just been released from the Seven-Storey Mountain after hundreds of years while Forese is close to the top after only four years since his death. Of course, Forese is aided by the prayers of his holy wife, Nella. Books have been written about the role played by Time here on Mt. Purgatory. It is only at this intermediate, transitional stage of Dante’s version of the medieval worldview that sleep is experienced and dreams interpreted. That requires time. And we see that it is not just action that matters, but presence, intention, patience and a hungry heart. While eternity is the paradigm for the Inferno and Paradiso, however here on this mountain, Time is the necessary vehicle, the currency, by which each soul is not only measured, but redeemed. 

HUNGRY, HUNGRY HEARTS
On this level of the Penitent Gluttons, we find examples of the proper and improper use of one’s mouth which reflects one’s proper and improper desires/hungers. The best thing for these Penitent Gluttons is to open their lips and sing God’s praise.

11 'Labïa mëa, Domine' in tones
"Labïa mëa, Domine" per modo

12 that brought at once delight and grief.
tal, che diletto e doglia parturìe.

The opening hymn of Lauds rings out as the active repentance of the penitent Gluttons: 'O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall proclaim your praise.'  Psalm 50:17 has as its context the repentance of David for his excessive lust, a type of gluttony one might say, but the true point is that our mouths and bodies should not be focused on self-referent hungers and pleasure only. We are then given the negative examples of the WRONG ways to use one’s mouth and hungers, as in devouring one’s own flesh [Erysichthon] and one’s own children [Mary of Jerusalem]. In all these cases, the mouth opens, but for far different reasons. We are even given the opening of Christ’s lips to cry out “Eli! Eli!” from the Cross, but the point is not the openness of the lips, but the hunger of the heart, yet again. Christ is hungry for redemption. The penitents are hungry for repentance. We see, in fact, the praise of Nella’s prayers as she opens her lips to pray for Forese and her broken and hungry heart on the behalf of her beloved. 

This hunger of the heart is the reason that suffering is embraced and seen as a gift and grace.

72 I speak of pain but should say solace,
io dico pena, e dovria dir sollazzo,

73 'for the same desire leads us to the trees
ché quella voglia a li alberi ci mena

74 that led Christ to utter Elì with such bliss
che menò Cristo lieto a dire 'Elì,'

75 when with the blood from His own veins He made us free.'
quando ne liberò con la sua vena."

The willingness to suffer is weighed against the redemption which results from that willing acceptance of it. Christ’s hunger for our redemption and salvation is seen as an act of love and joy, ultimately heard in His cry from the Cross: “It Is Finished.” The penitents true and appropriate hunger is the hunger for holiness and for God, and is seen by their willingness to suffer. This is truly a counter-cultural lesson for the 21st century.

CURIOSITY KILLS NOT
Throughout the various levels of Dante the Poet’s universe, we have seen a kaleidoscope of emotions, justifications and reactions.  Depending on the level in which one finds oneself, these can change, from anger and self-righteousness in the Inferno to sorrow and repentance in the Purgatorio to praise and wonder in the Paradiso. However, having read The Commedia several times over the span of 30 years, I have found one reality that seems to be a constant on every level of reality for Dante the Poet: Curiosity. Whether one is in the depths of Hell or on the slopes of Purgatory or at the heart of Paradise, Curiosity is present. Dante’s characters want to discover and discuss and discern, regardless of their state in the afterlife. Why is Dante the Pilgrim here? What has happened to my loved ones on earth? How does this help your passage through eternity? How did my writings lead you to salvation? Why did I dream that specific dream?

Curiosity may have killed the cat, but in Dante’s universe, curiosity defines the human condition. Therapists and counselors know that the presence of depression is authentic when curiosity dies. The heart of scientific discovery is based on curiosity. As we climb further we have seen that this curiosity needs to be directed toward a greater good and more mature soul. Dante the Pilgrim peering into the branches of the tree is “wasting” time, and his curiosity needs to be “apportioned to a better use.” So it is, by following and listening yet again to his two guides. As I said above: this is time well spent. “every step I took paid double wages.” L. 9 [Sayers] My fear, at times, is that in our present culture today, whether in higher education or spiritual formation or political discourse, curiosity is crushed. Doctrine, dogma, lack of dialogue and lack of discovery rule the day. Open respect and curiosity about another’s point of view or daily struggle are hard to find any longer. I am impressed that Dante the Pilgrim is willing to talk with and listen every single character he finds on his journey: caring curiosity incarnate. 

WOLF TERRACE
As we continue along the Terrace of Avarice, we come across a familiar figure. Just as we returned to Ulysses in Canto XIX, we now go even further back, returning to the beginning of this entire journey, Inferno Canto I and the she-wolf of greed blocking the way of Dante the Pilgrim. Avarice and Greed must be feared at every level of human experience; be it ecclesiastical ladder-climbing as with Pope Adrian V, or the overwhelming desire for knowledge as with Ulysses, or the addiction for secular political power as with the descendants of Hugh Capet in this Canto XX [11 kings in all]. Dante the Poet seems keenly aware that he is walking the razor’s edge in this, his magnum opus, attempting to embrace the entirety of the known universe, secular and sacred, and the reason for life itself. The wolf of Greed can lead one astray in all manner of ways, unless discernment, humility and wisdom continually intercede.

THE ROOT OF HUGH
The medieval church celebrated the birth of Jesus Christ by remembering his lineage, focusing on “the root of Jesse” passage from Isaiah. 

“There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.” (Is 11:1)

The icon we see here is just one of many dating from the 12th to the 16th centuries, showing the family tree sprouting from Jesse’s loins, with the family of Christ including David, Solomon, many others and, of course, Mary the Theotokos and infant Jesus on her lap. Dante the Poet shows that Hugh Capet is profoundly aware of his “root” and the legacy that comes from this lineage: 

43 'I was the root of the evil tree
Io fui radice de la mala pianta
 
44 that casts its shadow over all the Christian lands
che la terra cristiana tutta aduggia,
 
45 so that good fruit is rarely gathered there.
sì che buon frutto rado se ne schianta.

While the Root of Jesse brought salvation and hope, the Root of Hugh cast dark shadow over all Europe of death and despair. We then have a litany of offspring who ruled France, “Of me were born the Philips and the Louis,” a litany of avarice, greed, murder and betrayal. The poetry is powerful; terrible in its beauty and cadence. I believe this is the longest such soliloquy on Mt. Purgatory. Read through the list of fraud, rape, sin and shame and one has a sense of the dysfunctional political landscape that led to Dante the Poet’s exile and the wars of power politics that ravaged Europe for centuries.

And yet, in the midst of this litany we have three lines that should shock and stun us. Remember that Dante the Poet was abashed at the meddling of the Church in politics, and Boniface VIII was the epitome of such sin. Indeed, he was directly responsible for Dante’s exile from Florence, and we read in the Inferno that he will soon be joining the other popes there. And yet, in the Root of Hugh, we read that one of the actions of his lineage was to storm the castle of the 87 year old Pope Boniface VIII. They ransacked the castle, tied the old pope up and threatened to torture and kill him. In the end, they released him, but Boniface, who had reacted, surprisingly, with grace and humility to these actions, died shortly after his release as a direct result of the abuses. 

Dante the Poet shows that Hugh Capet now views all these actions in a far different light from the Terrace of Avarice. And while Dante the Poet may not be blamed if he had applauded the abuse of the old pope, rather he abhorred it all. Through Hugh’s words he likened the attack to the Crucifixion of Christ all over again. The Vicar of Christ on earth was being tortured on earth and it was as if Christ Himself were suffering yet again, save now the thieves on either side did not die, but still lived and shouted their abuse at that Crucified One. 

86 I see the fleur-de-lis [French politics] proceed into Anagni
veggio in Alagna intrar lo fiordaliso,
 
87 and, in His vicar, make a prisoner of Christ.
e nel vicario suo Cristo esser catto.
 
88 'I see Him mocked a second time.
Veggiolo un'altra volta esser deriso;
 
89 I see renewed the vinegar and gall--
veggio rinovellar l'aceto e 'l fiele,
 
90 between two living thieves I see Him slain.
e tra vivi ladroni esser anciso.

Dante the Poet has not shied away from expressing his disgust and hatred of Boniface VIII. He felt it was Boniface who made of the Tomb of Peter a sewer running with blood and feces (Paradiso XXVII 23-24). It was he who would be in Hell with the Simoniacs. And yet, and yet, the office of the Vicar of Christ must still be honored and respected, regardless of who sits upon that chair. The fact is that the anointing of each pope, in Dante the Poet’s theology, still is a sacred and holy act and the office should be treated accordingly by one and all. Dorothy Sayers expresses it beautifully:

“Nothing in Dante is more paradoxical or more magnificent than his treatment of Boniface VIII…. Christ’s Vicar is Christ’s Vicar still, identified with Him in the sacrament of his anointing; and to lay hand on him is to crucify Christ afresh. This balance of two equal and opposed indignations, [the sins of Boniface and the abuse of his office-added] both blazing and mutually unmitigated, is a triumph of the passionate intellect unsurpassed in literature and scarcely paralleled.” 

I am reminded of the gleeful denigration of the Office of the President, I am reminded of the proliferation and glorification of revenge motives and movies, I am reminded of the unwillingness to forgive in today’s culture, and I ache for the paradoxical and magnificent heart of Dante today.

STAY TUNED
The Cantos continue to run together more and more as we move nearer to the top of Mt. Purgatory. The earthquake and shouts of glory will be explained and we find Virgil beginning to make his exit as the Gates of Paradise draw ever closer. Things begin to move more quickly now. Don’t go away!