Michael Spaulding

Dante: Peccatum Analysis: Purgatorio

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I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference. -Robert Frost Dantes Purgatory: The Prideful It is easy to sin, because sinning is easy. Hedonism, living in the moment, without ultimate consequence, because it feels good, short-sighted, because I wanted tomany roads lead to hell, but the path to heaven is narrow. Matthew 19:24 recalls Christs words to his disciples: And again I say unto you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God (339n7-16). And so the journey into purgatory is not guarded by a gate less secret and without its bolts (Inferno, 8.126), but by a holy gate (9.130-31) of massive and resounding metal (8.134). Hell welcomes its guests with wide open arms while purgatory is the narrow road of work and penanceyou come to Purgatory to earn your salvation by working off your sins, because as Virgil says, love is the seed of all acts deserving punishment as well as of every virtue (17.104-5). And so, just moments before Dante actually crosses the threshold of the gates into purgatory, Upon [Dantes] forehead, [Gods angel] traced seven Ps with his swords point and said: When you have entered within, take care to wash away these wounds (9.114). The angel is telling Dante that it will be his responsibility to cleanse himself of his sins (peccatum), not anyone elses. This is important because it places the guilt upon the individual, not any spiritual being in heaven or hell. This echoes Marco Lombardis monologue about free will where he tells

Michael Spaulding

Dante: Peccatum Analysis: Purgatorio

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Dante that [y]ou living ones continue to assign to heaven every cause, as if it were the necessary source of every motion (16.67-9), but the true cause of sin is in you (16.83). Dante, after receiving his seven Ps can now begin to cleanse them away by journeying through the seven planes of mount purgatory. As he begins his journey, Dante is overwhelmed by carvings, effigies of true humility (10.98), of those that represent the antithesis of Pride. Each carving foreshadows not only the sin that Dante is about to witness but also provides separate examples of humility to demonstrate the variability in which humility may be exercised. Virgil emphasizes this variability, telling Dante that his mind must not attend to just one part (10.46). First, Dante studies a carving of the Virgin Mary, the woman through whom the highest love was unlocked (10.42-3). In the carving, she humbly accepts her position as the handmaid of the Lord (340n44), committing herself as a servant and a medium for the Lord to work through. Next, Dante is drawn to a carving of the holy arc being drawn through the city, in front of which King David dances and praises the Lord (10.55-66). Dante notes that the enthusiasm and seemingly reckless display of joy embody humility in a way that made King David both less and more than King (10.66), because he is able to put aside his earthly titles and simply relish, like any man, in the joy of the Lord. And finally, Dante is taken by the carving of Trajan, the Roman Emperor, who personally handled a matter of justice and mercy although he could have had any of his subordinates attend to the task (10.76-93). Although at first this form of humility resembles that of King David in the previous carving, it is different. In Trajans example, it is a pagan humility based on virtues alone. This godless, yet ethical and virtuous, form of humility is so important to Dante the Poet however that he included it as one of the three carvings of divine examples. This reemphasizes Dantes concern with Nicomachean ethics as well as Christian morals.

Michael Spaulding

Dante: Peccatum Analysis: Purgatorio

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And so the stage is set for Dante to finally witness the Prideful penitent of purgatory. Dante notes that life itself, and purgatory, is a debt we owe (10.108), and therefore it is simply justice that purgatory represents, and love. Also before Canto X can end, Virgil illustrates a metaphor on life through his statement about purgatory: Dont dwell upon the form of punishment: consider what comes after that; at worst it cannot last beyond the final Judgment (10.109-111). As humans we must realize that this applies to our own lives, which are short and fleeting and incomparable in length when contrasted against eternity. We must resist the flesh and pursue health of spirit because what is most important is what comes after that (10.110). And so, we meet those that did not consider what comes after that. In the distance, Dante sees objects moving toward himself that [do] not appear like people (10.112-3). The objects are actually people however, they are the Prideful: they placed themselves first and highest and were more concerned with their fame and ego than anything else in their lives. Pride is the sin of elevating ones self so it is fitting that Virgil notes upon seeing their penance, whatever makes them suffer their heavy torment bends them to the ground (10.115-6). And to further ensure that all facets of Pride are correspondingly opposed, Dante the poet has also made them unrecognizable; Virgil agrees with Dantes first observation and says, At first I was unsure of what they were (10.117). Almost like a slap in the face, Dante breaks into lecture as he dismantles the pride of haughty Christians. He accuses the prideful of placing their confidence in backward steps (i.e., themselves) instead of in God (10.123). And then he reminds man that no matter how good of a Christian you are, you have no right to presume to flight when you are still like the imperfect grub, the worm before it has attained its final form (10.127-9). This reemphasizes the unbridgeable gap between the flesh and the spirit, and the man and the divine.

Michael Spaulding

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And so how can one atone for such arrogance and ignorance? Prayer is a good start. The prideful pray a paraphrase of the Lords Prayer, admitting that even if they summon all [their force], they cannot reach [the Kingdom of Heaven] without the Lord (11.7-9). And perhaps as one of the most important parts of the pridefuls penitent prayer is the end when the pray for the ones whom we have left behind (11.24), thus focusing their energies on people other than themselvesa humbling experience. The prayer that the penitent cry out is an experience of unlearning and relearning, paralleling Dante the Pilgrims experience in both The Inferno and thus far in Purgatorio. Dante provides two examples of this perverted prideful love (love of oneself over love of anothere.g., love of neighbors harm). The first we meet is Omberto Aldobrandesco, son of Guiglielmo, and heir to a powerful family line of Lords (11.59). In his arrogance that he extorted from his bloodline he became presumptuous (11.62) and without thinking on our common mother, scorned all men past measure (11.63-4). And so although he may have been a Christian, his perverted love obscured the two of the basic commandments of Christianity: Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets (Matthew 22:37-40). Dantes second encounter, with Oderisi, glory of Gubbio (11.79), is actually less important regarding Oderisi himself, but more important in that it reflects upon Dantes career as an artist. This is where we really begin to see some self-reflection on Dantes own pride and issues he was dealing with as a poet. Oderisi, as a lesson to Dante, expands upon the layers of fame of each artist and how earthly fame is simply empty glory (11.91) that briefly green

Michael Spaulding

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endures (11.92). Worldy renown is nothing other than a breath of wind that blows now here, now there, and changes name when it has changed its course (11.100-2). This discourse between the pilgrim and Oderisi also illuminates some of the insecurities Dante had about his own poetry thus emphasizing the internal struggle as an artist to produce immortal works of art but also to save his own soul. So after Dantes soul is filled with sound humility, abating [his] overswollen pride (11.119-120), he finally stands erect, but with a submissive, bent humility (12.7-9). And then as Dante travels away from the penitent he walks along a path with thirteen examples of those punished for Pride and eventually meets the Angel of Humility who erases the Prideful P from Dantes forehead and promises him a safe journey (12.91-99). And as he ascends, beati paupers spiritu was sung so sweetlyit can not be told in words (12.110-1), for blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:3). Written nearly 700 years ago, the values we learn from Dante are still lucrative todayas a Christian or not. We learn from this terrace of Purgatory to love our neighbor more than ourselves because we all come from the same dirt. As an atheist, we are all part of the same universe and share the same atoms; as a Christian, we are all bound spiritually by our Heavenly Father. Pride has been the source of racism, nationalism (which starts wars: see WWI and WWII), and sexism. Even in the most tolerant and modern era we are just making headway into loving each other for our differences and beginning to think we instead of I. So cast that boulder off your shoulder and know that you cant do anything alone.