lenten series: Dante's Purgatorio; pt 1

   Per correr miglior acque alza le vele                        1    To run its course through smoother water
                            
omai la navicella del mio ingegno,                              2    the small bark of my wit now hoists its sail,
                             
che lascia dietro a sé mar sì crudele;                          3    leaving that cruel sea behind.
                             
    e canterò di quel secondo regno                             4    Now I shall sing the second kingdom,
                             
dove l'umano spirito si purga                                      5    there where the soul of man is cleansed,
                             
e di salire al ciel diventa degno.                                  6    made worthy to ascend to Heaven.
                            
    Ma qui la morta poesì resurga,                                7    Here from the dead let poetry rise up,
                             
o sante Muse, poi che vostro sono;                             8    O sacred Muses, since I am yours.
                             
e qui Calïopè alquanto surga,                                      9    Here let Calliope arise
                             
    seguitando il mio canto con quel suono                  10    to accompany my song with those same chords
                             
di cui le Piche misere sentiro                                      11    whose force so struck the miserable magpies    

lo colpo tal, che disperar perdono.                             12    that, hearing it, they lost all hope of pardon.

"The joys of heaven are for most of us, in our present condition, an acquired taste" C.S. Lewis.

Lewis, I think, sums up what may be the essence of Dante's vision of "purgatory".  When we left Dante last spring, he had just finished his course through the Inferno and was emerging again from the underworld.  This year's lenten blogging text will be Dante's Purgatorio.  Over the next 6 weeks we will join him in the next stage of his pilgrimage, through this "second kingdom" - the ascent of Mount Purgatory.  Out goal is one with Dante himself in the poem - to be "made worthy to ascend to Heaven".  To that end, I propose that we follow much the same course as we did with the Inferno:  to read the poem as a spiritual guide and commentary on the life of the soul.  And as Lent is a season of self-examination, I plan to use the poem as a guide in reflecting upon sin and grace, hope and holiness, ascent and pilgrimage.  So eat up your Shrove Tuesday pancakes, & prepare to be purged of gluttony!

As is my wont, I will mostly be reading along with the poet.  Secondary works will be invoked from time to time, but the great writers are meant to be read.  And no, my Italian is not that good, so we will be sticking with English.  The above is from the Princeton Dante Project (an invaluable resource).  There are several English translations available (I haven't decided which one to use, but will probably end up with the Penguin, as it is most easily available for those who wish to read along with me.

So do not give up "all hope of pardon", we have left the "cruel sea" of the Inferno behind us.  And let us begin the "light burden" of Lent.

Comments

[Tim Chesterton]

I'm confused - does Chloeqs31 think Dante needs help with his essays???

[joseph]

I think he's just a typical spammer but I haven't had time to remove him yet!

[Leslie]

I'm looking forward to this, Joe. :)

[Susan]

I'm confused, too. I thought Tim wasn't reading blogs during Lent! I am looking forward to this series also, Joseph. Here we are. Sixth day of Lent. So when does it start?

[Tim Chesterton]

I'm only reading one blog during Lent, Susan - this one! That's because, unlike most blogs, this one is good for my soul.