This is still one of our favorite moments in the story of Purgatory – when the boat appears with over a hundred saved souls, arriving at the shores.
The Pilgrim has a reed (of Humility) around his waist, kneeling down. And the arrival partly symbolizes how we now start to approach and associate with the positive souls, the spirits who had chosen the Virtues in life.
Reading out loud from the first two cantos of the Comedy last night, it ‘s striking how clearly the overall structure is implied, but how constrained the inner description of the Pilgrim is. The feeling of being in a small, dark space and trying to break out but being blocked. And how the reason is starting to aid the process from the beginning with different arguments, and how it is being motivated by the spiritual and the Grace of the Spiritual, symbolized by Mary, Lucia and Beatrice.
It’s also striking how strongly the Reason is chosen as the close Guide and the first building block of doing the work of the process. The first “spark” is from the spiritual, but the day to day conscious workings is being done by the rational intellect and knowledge. Entering on that “deep and rugged road”.
Aaand first version finished, for the Vita Nuova!
https://dantescomedy.com/vitanuova
A first version is live!
https://dantescomedy.com/thecomedy
Good morning!
Aim for the day is to write a couple of brief introductions to the Comedy as a whole, and for Vita Nuova on the new website on dantescomedy.com š
Happy coffee! āļø
The very last ritual and the ending of the book of Purgatory is the crossing of the river Eunoƫ, to restore and strengthen all memories of the good in life.
The Pilgrim is surrounded by the seven maids who represent the four cardinal Virtues of Fortitude, Prudence, Temperance and being Just – and the three theological Virtues of Faith, Hope and Love.
And at this point on the last page, Dante the Writer suddenly interrupts his own storytelling by noting that he has now run out of space to tell anything more about the river of EunoĆ«, and that he has completed every page that he had planned for the second canticle of his Poem. And then the Pilgrim returns from these “holiest of waters”, reborn, in bloom, and ready for the stars.
The beauty in the Garden of Eden is at times breath-taking, and one of the examples of this is the gradual entrance of the Pageant that appears on the other side of Lethe in the beginning.
The twenty-four elders are walking slowly into the sight of the Pilgrim, symbolically the twenty-four books of the Old Testament, and allegorically meaning that the Pilgrim is now being spiritually merged and introduced to the spiritual wisdom and timeless truths from the old and new Biblical Stories.
Then rises a hundred angels showering the air with rains of flowers, before Beatrice descends from above. And her very first word as she starts to speak is: “Dante”. And this is the only time his name is being used directly in the whole trilogy of the Divine Comedy.
We’ve just finished the last part of the Purgatory, with the deeply allegorical entrance into the Garden of Eden for the Pilgrim, Virgil and Statius. The Pilgrim finally meets Beatrice and allegorically the Biblical Scriptures, and crosses over the two rivers of Lethe and EunoĆ«. The first one is to wash away any remembrance and memory of sins, the second one to restore and strengthen all his memories of the Good in his Life. And after the crossing of the second river the Pilgrim is finally fully purified and reborn, both intellectually and spiritually. Like a tree renewed, “..eager to rise, now ready for the stars”.
Virgil has suddenly disappeared right after the appearance of Beatrice – as symbolically the Pilgrim now has a different leading Guide for his Journey. While Statius joins him into the second river and is headed for his own ascent into Paradise.
And with that.. the second deep journey through Purgatory has finished. The crowning moments with the Dream of Leah and Farewell Speech of Virgil are still standing out as the major achievement and “graduation moment” in the second book of the Divine Comedy. The Garden of Eden is the reward after going through all the hardships and learning of the Inferno and Purgatory, even though the Garden its a little tough on the Pilgrim and his self-professed failings in life. His straying away from the spiritual in the mid-part of his life (c. 25-35 yrs old) is being judged very harshly by Beatrice, as the symbol of Divine Judgement in many ways.
But facing the judgement also has the function of a necessary ritual with full confession and tears, before being able to proceed into the two “baptisms” of Lethe and EunoĆ«. In some ways, the last purgation is a deeply emotional and psychological one, to show the full grief over one’s mistakes. There might even be a point in this threshold about embracing the Free Will, and thus having to acknowledge one’s own wrong-doings – to be able to heal and change at the deepest level. And then, the Pilgrim is Free.
New post for our beloved Patrons ššš is up!
https://www.patreon.com/posts/purgatory-46031164
After a great week of reading and a new website, the substance of the Purgatory is really sinking in.. especially the Seven Terraces as a deeply spiritual Journey for repentance in the sense of the Greek word “metanoia”, the changing of one’s thinking. The entrance through the first dream and relocation (from Earthly to more Spiritual) by the help of St. Lucia (Light) is a masterpiece in itself. And as we reach the threshold of the Fire on the Seventh Terrace, and then the beautiful new dream of Leah and the final crowning speech of Virgil, there is a certain sense of a “Graduation Ceremony” after the studies of the cardinal sins and the Virtues.
Going to the deep of the seven parts of the argument on Mount Purgatory really does change some deep structures for thinking and perceiving the world – in accordance with the timeless wisdom of the redeeming and helpful presence, of the Virtues.
