Tag Archives: dante

The Internal Restoration in Eden in 14 Essays

Posted on June 28, 2025 by Richard Emerson

Here are the 14 essays that give a new and more anagogical (spiritual) reading of the Garden of Eden in Canto 28-31 of Dante’s Purgatorio, focusing primarily on the Soul’s Journey to God. Garden of Eden The Soul as Reflecting … Continue reading →

Posted in Purgatory | Tagged anagogical reading, dante, Eden, essays, purgatorio, restoration | Leave a comment

The Blessings

Posted on June 25, 2022 by ancientworld

“Fall to your knees, fall to your knees! Behold the angel of the Divine! And fold your hands. Expect to see more ministers like him.” After the Pilgrim has girded his waist with a soft reed, as a symbol of … Continue reading →

Posted in Dante | Tagged blessing, dante, humility, purgatory | 1 Comment

McGilchrist on the Sacred, and Intellectual Humility

Posted on January 23, 2022 by ancientworld

In his newest masterpiece “The Matter with Things”, McGilchrist writes about the approach to the apprehension of something transcendent, or Divine: “What the term ‘G-d’ requires of us is not a set of propositions about what cannot be known, but … Continue reading →

Posted in Theology | Tagged apprehension, dante, humility, mcgilchrist, sacred | Leave a comment

Morning Dante Reflections

Posted on September 26, 2021 by ancientworld

We’ve started a new concept today – reflections on the Divine Comedy, with one tercet from anywhere in the whole Journey. Today, from the opening of Purgatory 10: https://dantescomedy.com/morning-dante-reflection And we’ve made a new page for resources for the Divine … Continue reading →

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Breaking free of the Mind’s Confinement

Posted on August 11, 2021 by ancientworld

These four short lines fully re-sets the Pilgrim’s Mind (ie: us, the story, the process) and spans out the book’s scope: my mind, confined till then to what took place, broke free, and now was eager to explore: I raised … Continue reading →

Posted in Purgatory | Tagged dante, poetry | Leave a comment

Friday

Posted on July 30, 2021 by ancientworld

We’re slowly digesting Paradiso whilst opening the first page of Purgatory again. The first time we read Paradiso a few years ago it felt exhausting with the lack of concreteness, but in the last few months that has changed. In … Continue reading →

Posted in Misc | Tagged dante, reading | Leave a comment

Canto XXXIII

Posted on July 28, 2021 by Richard Emerson

Reading the last canto in Paradiso for the 4th time, it felt bigger than ever. The last Canto of the whole Comedy is likely the biggest masterpiece and genius of them all. But it takes years and years to get … Continue reading →

Posted in Misc | Tagged breath-taking, comedy, dante, ending, masterpiece, paradiso, pilgrim | Leave a comment

Ending at the Deep of Philosophy and Theology

Posted on July 23, 2021 by Richard Emerson

One more thought on the Paradiso – in some ways sphere 9 and 10 are repeating the overall idea of Dante of how both philosophy and theology are paths to deep truths, but theology embeds it all. Sphere 9 is … Continue reading →

Posted in Misc | Tagged dante, paradiso, thought | Leave a comment

Before the 10th Heaven

Posted on July 23, 2021 by Richard Emerson

We’ve just finished the Primo Mobile and the 9th Sphere, and we’re trying to digest what is really happening there; in a sense how the first two books, which are all on Earth, and then eight more spheres in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Misc | Tagged Aristotle, being, dante, Heavems, motion, paradiso, prepartion, primo mobile, time, transition, writing | Leave a comment

The Rings of Angelic Beings

Posted on July 19, 2021 by Richard Emerson

Here’s the moment when the Pilgrim looks at the source of the Divine in the Deep of Motion, and sees the nine rings of Angelic Beings: there came showers of light from all the fiery rings, like molten iron in … Continue reading →

Posted in Paradiso | Tagged angels, dante, dionysius, fire, paradiso, poetry | Leave a comment

Good morning!

Posted on July 19, 2021 by ancientworld

New week – and a great cup of coffee! ☀️😊☕️

Posted in Misc | Tagged dante, morning, new week, summer, sunny | Leave a comment

The First Mover, and Time

Posted on July 18, 2021 by Richard Emerson

From the moment we leave the Fixed Stars and enter into the First Mover, the poetry changes from deep theology to pure philosophy about motion, the universe, and Time. And the whole sphere is pure motion: “The parts of this, … Continue reading →

Posted in Misc | Tagged Beatrice, dante, first mover, motion, nature of universe, paradiso, philosophy, physics, time, transitionpoint | Leave a comment

Reflections on Paradiso

Posted on July 17, 2021 by Richard Emerson

Reading the Paradiso for the third, and now fourth time, has been a fully different experience from the first journey through the spheres up to the Empyrean. The narrative seems even less structured than in the other two books, which … Continue reading →

Posted in Paradiso | Tagged books, dante, firenze, florence, paradiso, re-reading, reading, reflection | Leave a comment

Dante’s thoughts of the New Papacy around 1300

Posted on July 16, 2021 by Richard Emerson

Towards the boundary of the material cosmos, and right before entering the Eternal Mind of the Divine, Dante sums up his thoughts about Pope Boniface VIII through the voice of St. Peter – the first Pope: He who on earth … Continue reading →

Posted in Paradiso | Tagged boniface viii, dante, history, popes, st. john, st. peter | Leave a comment

Beauty in Arts, Nature, and the Mystery