Purgatorio

Plan of Mount Purgatory. Having survived the depths of Hell, Dante and Virgil ascend out of the undergloom, to the Mountain of Purgatory on the far side of the world (in Dante's time, it was believed that Hell e isted underneath !erusalem". #he Mountain is on an island, the only land in the $outhern Hemisphere, created with earth ta%en from the e cavation of hell. &t the shores of Purgatory, Dante and Virgil are attracted by a musical performance by 'asella, but are reprimanded by 'ato, a pagan who has been placed by (od as the general guardian of the approach to the mountain. #he te t gives no indication whether or not 'ato's soul is destined for heaven) his symbolic significance has been much debated. ('antos * and **". &llegorically, the Purgatorio represents the 'hristian life. 'hristian souls arrive escorted by an angel, singing in exitu Israel de Aegypto. *n his Letter to Can Grande, Dante e plains that this reference to *srael leaving +gypt refers both to the redemption of 'hrist and to ,the conversion of the soul from the sorrow and misery of sin to the state of grace.,-./ &ppropriately, therefore, it is +aster $unday when Dante and Virgil arrive. #he Purgatorio is notable for demonstrating the medieval %nowledge of a spherical +arth. During the poem, Dante discusses the different stars visible in the southern hemisphere, the altered position of the sun, and the various time0ones of the +arth. &t this stage it is, Dante says, sunset at !erusalem, midnight on the 1iver (anges, and sunrise in Purgatory. Dante starts the ascent of Mount Purgatory at sunrise. 2n the lower slopes (designated as ,ante3 Purgatory, by commentators" Dante meets first a group of e communicates, detained for a period thirty times as long as their period of contumacy. &scending higher, he encounters those too la0y to repent until shortly before death, and those who suffered violent deaths (often due to leading e tremely sinful lives". #hese souls will be admitted to Purgatory than%s to their genuine repentance, but must wait outside for an amount of time e4ual to their lives on earth ('antos *** through V*". 5inally, Dante is shown a beautiful valley where he sees the lately3deceased monarchs of the great nations of +urope, and a number of other persons whose devotion to public and private duties hampered their faith ('antos V** and V***". Dante's beautiful description of evening in this valley ('anto V***" was the inspiration for a similar passage in 6yron's Don Juan.-7/ 5rom this valley Dante is carried (while asleep" up to the gates of Purgatory proper ('anto *8". #he gate of Purgatory is guarded by an angel who uses the point of his sword to draw the letter ,P, (signifying peccatum, sin" seven times on Dante's forehead, ab9uring him to ,wash you those wounds within., #he angel uses two %eys, gold and silver, to open the gate. #he %eys must be inserted and turned in a different order each time the gate is opened, but there is no way to tell which is first and which is second. *f the gate opens, it means that the individual attempting to enter Purgatory is worthy. #he angel at the gate then warns Dante not to loo% bac%, lest he should find himself outside the gate again, symboli0ing Dante having to overcome and rise above the hell that he has 9ust left and thusly leaving his sinning ways behind him.

5rom there, Virgil guides the pilgrim Dante through the seven terraces of Purgatory. #hese correspond to the seven deadly sins, each terrace purging a particular sin in an appropriate manner. #hose in purgatory can leave their circle whenever they li%e, but essentially there is an honor system where no one leaves until they have corrected the nature within themselves that caused them to commit that sin. $ouls can only move upwards and never bac%wards, since the intent of Purgatory is for souls to ascend towards (od in Heaven, and can ascend only during daylight hours, since the light of (od is the only true guidance. &ssociated with each terrace are historical and mythological e amples of the relevant deadly sin and of its opposite virtue, together with an appropriate prayer and beatitude. [edit] The Terraces of Purgatory 2n the first three terraces of Purgatory are purified those whose sins were caused by perverted love directed towards actual harm of others.

First Terrace. #he proud are purged by carrying giant stones on their bac%s, unable to stand up straight ('antos 8 through 8**". #his teaches the sinner that pride puts weight on the soul and it is better to throw it off. 5urthermore, there are carvings of historical and mythological e amples of pride and humility to learn from. :ith the weight on one's bac%, one cannot help but see this carved pavement and learn from it. #he prayer for this terrace is the ;ord's Prayer, and the beatitude is blessed are the poor in spirit. &t the ascent to the ne t terrace, an angel clears a letter P from Dante's head. #his process is repeated on each terrace. +ach time a P is removed, Dante's body feels lighter, because he becomes less and less weighed down by sin. Second Terrace. #he envious are purged by having their eyes sewn shut and wearing clothing that ma%es the soul indistinguishable from the ground ('antos 8*** through 8V". #his is a%in to a falconer's sewing the eyes of a falcon shut in order to train it. (od is the falconer and is training the souls not to envy others and to direct their love towards Him. #wo e amples of envy ('ain who was 9ealous of his brother, and &glauros who was 9ealous of her sister" are contrasted with three of generosity. 6ecause the souls here cannot see, the e amples are voices on the air, including !esus' words ,love your enemies., &s he is leaving the terrace, the da00ling light of the angel causes Dante to observe that the angle of incidence is e4ual to the angle of reflection ,as theory and e periment will show.,-</ Third Terrace. #he wrathful are purged by wal%ing around in acrid smo%e ('antos 8V through 8V**". $ouls correct themselves by learning how wrath has blinded their vision, impeding their 9udgment (the sin of wrath represents a perversion of the natural love of 9ustice". #he prayer for this terrace is the Agnus Dei, and the beatitude is blessed are the peacema%ers.

2n the fourth terrace we find sinners whose sin was that of deficient love=that is, sloth or acedia.

Fourth Terrace. #he slothful are purged by continually running ('antos 8V*** and 8*8". #hose who were slothful in life can only purge this sin by being 0ealous in their desire for penance. &llegorically, spiritual la0iness and lac% of caring lead to sadness, and so the beatitude for this terrace is blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted.->/

2n the fifth through seventh terraces are those who sinned by loving good things, but loving them in a disordered way.

Fifth Terrace. #he avaricious and prodigal are purged by lying face3down on the ground, unable to move ('antos 8*8 through 88*". + cessive concern for earthly goods =whether in the form of greed or e travagance=is punished and purified. #he sinner learns to turn his desire from possessions, power or position to (od. *t is here that the poets meet the soul of $tatius, who has completed his purgation and 9oins them on their ascent to paradise. Sixth Terrace. #he gluttonous are purged by abstaining from any food or drin% ('antos 88** through 88*V". Here, the soul's desire to eat a forbidden fruit causes its shade to starve. #o sharpen the pains of hunger, the former gluttons on this terrace are forced to pass by cascades of cool water without stopping to drin%. ('onsidering Dante's use of (ree% myth, this may be inspired by #antalus." Seventh Terrace. #he lustful are purged by burning in an immense wall of flames ('antos 88V through 88V**". &ll of those who committed se ual sins, both heterose ual and homose ual, are purified by the fire. + cessive se ual desire misdirects one's love from (od and this terrace is meant to correct that. *n addition, perhaps because all sin has its roots in misguided love, every soul who has completed his penance on the lower si cornices must pass through the wall of flame before ascending to the +arthly Paradise. Here Dante, too, must share the penance of the redeemed as the last ,P, is removed from his forehead.

#he ascent of the mountain culminates at the summit, which is in fact the (arden of +den ('antos 88V*** through 888***". #his place is meant to return one to a state of innocence that e isted before the sin of &dam and +ve caused the fall from grace. Here Dante meets Matelda, a woman of grace and beauty who prepares souls for their ascent to heaven. :ith her Dante witnesses a highly symbolic procession that may be read as an allegorical mas4ue of the 'hurch and the $acrament. #he procession forms an allegory within the allegory, a little li%e $ha%espeare's play within a play. 2ne participant in the procession is 6eatrice, whom Dante loved in childhood, and at whose re4uest Virgil was commissioned to bring Dante on his 9ourney. Virgil, as a pagan, is a permanent deni0en of ;imbo, the first circle of Hell, and may not enter Paradise? he vanishes. 6eatrice then becomes the second guide, and will accompany Dante in his vision of Heaven.

Dante drin%s from the 1iver ;ethe, which causes the soul to forget past sins, and then from the 1iver +uno@, which effects the renewal of memories of good deeds. #hus purified, souls can direct their love fully towards (od to the best of their inherent capability to do so. #hey are then ready to leave Mount Purgatory for Paradise. 6eing totally purged of sin, Purgatorio ends with Dante's vision aimed at the stars, anticipating his ascent to heaven.

[edit] Paradiso
&fter an initial ascension ('anto *", 6eatrice guides Dante through the nine celestial spheres of Heaven. #hese are concentric and spherical, similar to &ristotelian and Ptolemaic cosmology. Dante admits that the vision of heaven he receives is the one that his human eyes permit him to see. #hus, the vision of heaven found in the 'antos is Dante's own personal vision, ambiguous in its true construction. #he addition of a moral dimension means that a soul that has reached Paradise stops at the level applicable to it. $ouls are allotted to the point of heaven that fits with their human ability to love (od. #hus, there is a heavenly hierarchy. &ll parts of heaven are accessible to the heavenly soul. #hat is to say all e perience (od but there is a hierarchy in the sense that some souls are more spiritually developed than others. #his is not determined by time or learning as such but by their pro imity to (od (how much they allow themselves to e perience Him above other things". *t must be remembered in Dante's schema that all souls in Heaven are on some level always in contact with (od. :hile the structures of the Inferno and Purgatorio were based around different classifications of sin, the structure of the Paradiso is based on the four cardinal virtues and the three theological virtues.

[edit] The Spheres of Heaven #he nine spheres are)

First Sphere. #he sphere of the Moon is that of souls who abandoned their vows, and so were deficient in the virtue of fortitude ('antos ** through V". Dante meets Piccarda, sister of Dante's friend 5orese Donati, who died shortly after being forcibly removed from her convent. 6eatrice discourses on the freedom of the will, and the inviolability of sacred vows. Second Sphere. #he sphere of Mercury is that of souls who did good out of a desire for fame, but who, being ambitious, were deficient in the virtue of 9ustice ('antos V through V**". !ustinian recounts the history of the 1oman +mpire. 6eatrice e plains to Dante the atonement of 'hrist for the sins of humanity. Third Sphere. #he sphere of Venus is that of souls who did good out of love, but were deficient in the virtue of temperance ('antos V*** and *8". Dante meets 'harles Martel of &n9ou, who decries those who adopt inappropriate vocations, and 'uni00a da 1omano. 5ol4uet de Marseilles points out 1ahab, the brightest soul among those of this sphere, and

condemns the city of 5lorence for producing that ,cursed flower, (the florin" which is responsible for the corruption of the 'hurch.

Fourth Sphere. #he sphere of the $un is that of souls of the wise, who embody prudence ('antos 8 through 8*V". Dante is addressed by $t. #homas &4uinas, who recounts the life of $t. 5rancis of &ssisi and laments the corruption of his own Dominican 2rder. Dante is then met by $t. 6onaventure, a 5ranciscan, who recounts the life of $t. Dominic, and laments the corruption of the 5ranciscan 2rder. #he two orders were not always friendly on earth, and having members of one order praising the founder of the other shows the love present in Heaven. Dante arranges the wise into two rings of twelve? his choices of who to include give his assessment of the significant philosophers of medieval times. 5inally, &4uinas introduces Aing $olomon, who answers Dante's 4uestion about the doctrine of the resurrection of the body. Fifth Sphere. #he sphere of Mars is that of souls who fought for 'hristianity, and who embody fortitude ('antos 8*V through 8V***". #he souls in this sphere form an enormous cross. Dante spea%s with the soul of his ancestor 'acciaguida, who praises the former virtues of the residents of 5lorence, recounts the rise and fall of 5lorentine families and foretells Dante's e ile from 5lorence, before finally introducing some notable warrior souls (among them !oshua, 1oland, 'harlemagne, and (odfrey of 6ouillon". Sixth Sphere. #he sphere of !upiter is that of souls who personified 9ustice, something of great concern to Dante ('antos 8V*** through 88". #he souls here spell out the ;atin for ,;ove 9ustice, ye that 9udge the earth,, and then arrange themselves into the shape of an imperial eagle. Present here are David, He0e%iah, #ra9an (converted to 'hristianity according to a medieval legend", 'onstantine, :illiam ** of $icily, and (Dante is ama0ed at this" 1hipeus the #ro9an, saved by the mercy of (od. Seventh Sphere. #he sphere of $aturn is that of the contemplatives, who embody temperance ('antos 88* and 88**". Dante here meets Peter Damian, and discusses with him monasticism, the doctrine of predestination, and the sad state of the 'hurch. 6eatrice, who represents theology, becomes increasingly lovely here, indicating the contemplative's closer insight into the truth of (od. Eighth Sphere. #he sphere of fi ed stars is the sphere of the 'hurch #riumphant ('antos 88** through 88V**". Here, Dante sees visions of 'hrist and of the Virgin Mary. He is tested on faith by $aint Peter, hope by $aint !ames, and love by $aint !ohn the +vangelist. Dante 9ustifies his medieval belief in astrology, that the power of the constellations is drawn from (od. Ninth Sphere. #he Primum Mobile (,first moved, sphere" is the abode of angels ('antos 88V** through 88*8". Dante sees (od as a point of light surrounded by nine rings of angels, and is told about the creation of the universe.

5rom the Primum Mobile, Dante ascends to a region beyond physical e istence, called the +mpyrean ('antos 888 through 888***". Here the souls of all the believers form the petals of an enormous rose. 6eatrice leaves Dante with $aint 6ernard, because theology has here reached its limits. $aint 6ernard prays to Mary on behalf of Dante. 5inally, Dante comes face3to3face with (od Himself, and is granted understanding of the Divine and of human nature. His vision is improved beyond that of human comprehension. (od appears as three e4ually large circles within each other representing the 5ather, the $on and the Holy $pirit with the essence of each part of (od, separate yet one. #he boo% ends with Dante trying to understand how the circles fit together, how the $on is separate yet one with the 5ather but as Dante put it ,that was not a flight for my wings, and the vision of (od becomes e4ually inimitable and ine plicable that no word or intellectual e ercise can come close to e plaining what he saw. Dante's soul, through (od's absolute love, e periences a unification with itself and all things ,but already my desire and my will were being turned li%e a wheel, all at one speed by the ;ove that turns the sun and all the other stars,.

[edit] Earliest manuscripts