MM#52--700 years later...Dante's Inferno, part one

Welcome to the theory to action podcast, where we examine the timeless treasures of wisdom from the great books in less time to help you take action immediately, and ultimately to create and lead a flourishing life. Now, here's your host, David Kaiser.

Hello, I am David and welcome back to another Mojo minute. 

Midway upon the journey of our life, I have found myself in a dark wilderness. For I had wandered from the straight in true, how hard a thing it is to tell about that wilderness so savage, dense and harsh, even to think of it renews my fear. It is so bitter, death is hardly more, but to reveal the good that came to me. I shall relate the other things I saw, how I entered, I cannot bring to mind. I was so full of sleep just at that point, when I first left the way of truth behind, but when I reached the foot of a high hill, right where the valley opened to its end, the valley that had pierced my heart with fear. I raised my eyes and saw its shoulders robed with the rays of that wandering light of heaven, that leads all men are right of every road that quieted a bit the dread that stirred, trembling within the waters of my heart. All through that night of misery I endured, as a man with labored breathing, drags his legs out of the water, and ashore, fixes his eyes upon that dangerous sea. So to my mind, while still a fugitive, turned back to gaze upon that pass, which never let a man escape alive. 

And that, my friends, is the opening lines. The opening paragraphs of Dante, Allah Gary is Inferno, which is part one of three parts of this absolutely epic poem, that is the Divine Comedy. Inferno is part one, which is Dante's journey through hell. them pick out dough, which is Dante's journey up the mountain of purgatory. And then paradisio. Dante, his journey into the blessedness of heaven, is part three. And it is fitting that we share these words and this year 2021, because 700 years ago, is when Dante Allegoria passed on to his eternal reward in the year 20, or 1321, rather. And today's nuggets of wisdom are twofold. 

First, I share these words from this epic poem and masterpiece so that we can appreciate a glimpse into the history of classical works. And that classical tradition that has helped serve mankind for literally ages. over some 2500 years. It is my extreme hope that we can continue to share them. Because the classics teach us at a much deeper level of man about man. It's the brilliance of authors, composers, and the classical musical pieces that help reveal man about man. In fact, they reveal human nature. That doesn't change. It's a myth of the modern world in modern society today, that they will try and convince you that human nature does change. It's ever evolving. But that's a myth. That's a lie. Human Nature doesn't change. It may have some nuances, but at its core, it's the same, the same passions, the same intellect, the same virtues, the same vices. And my second point, is about Dante's Divine Comedy specifically, and how it's still teaching us about ourselves some 700 years later in profound ways. Dante helps us and helps to guide as St. Bonaventure You're told us the souls back on their journey to God. In the beginning of the poem Dante mentions midway upon the journey of our life, I found myself in a dark wilderness. For I had wandered from the Strait in true.

These words are quite famous, because he speaks of our life, not of his life. Dante was a learned man of his time. But first and foremost, he was a poet. And this poetry which The Divine Comedy was written as, is one of the greatest masterpieces of human thought and imagination ever created, certainly in literature, but truly in what human beings are capable of producing, think of some of the greatest musical pieces ever performed. Some of the greatest achievements ever in history of science and technology are medicine. Well, Dante's Divine Comedy is that in literature, and in Christian spirituality, specifically, as the translator of my copy of the Divine Comedy, put it in his introduction, Anthony s. Wilson. 

Quote, it's not easy to say what the Divine Comedy is about, because in fact, it's about everything, of meaning of human life. Dante cast himself as the main character of his own poem, not as a wise teacher, but as a man lost in sin, who needs the grace of God to lead him back to the path that leads to Bliss? In other words, the Dante we meet in the poem as a great and is a great and brilliant fellow. But he is also any one of us, every man. 

So when we read about him, we read about ourselves, unquote. Dash done that just stir your heart? Isn't that move you to appreciate this grandeur of a thing called life as the great artists prints sang about? But seriously, have you ever found yourself lost and not knowing where to turn? Perhaps spiritually? I believe almost every human being has at one time. At least adults. And Dante speaks to this, as Wilson dramatically tells us in his introduction, quote, The Inferno is not finally a poem about wickedness and punishment, but about beauty and love, the terrible beauty of God which should arouse a man, the most ardent love, and the ruin of beauty, which the soul becomes when it turns that love elsewhere that love, that longing for beauty, pulses all through the comedy, for the solemn judgments imposed upon the sinners, from the solemn judgments imposed upon the sinners, to sweet reminiscences of role life, to scenes of camaraderie and pleasant talk to the rapture of the soul, before the unspeakable mysteries of Trinity, and incarnation, unquote. 

Aren't those stirring words? As Wilson has a gift for great word choice, great sentence structure and wonderful way of describing things now I must confess, I could not have read Dante on my own. I have had the privilege to be part of the esteemed Dr. Robert Royals of the faith and reason Institute, his online classes over this past year. And now you might say, well, who is Dr. Robert Royal? Well, number one, he's a wonderful instructor. And he holds a BA and an MA in a tie in studies from Brown University as well as a doctorate in comparative literature from Catholic University. And like I mentioned before, he is the president of the faith and reason Institute in Washington DC. And he's the author of many books, including one on Dante titled Dante Allegoria, Divine Comedy and divine spirituality, which I do recommend. 

But this whole year, Dr. Rowe has offered online classes studying Dante's Divine Comedy, we started this journey way back when In February with Dante's with the inferno. So it has been one heck of a journey. And it was a wonderful lent for me because in many people that that was part of the online class because our land was all about going through hell. So my learning and appreciation of the classical work
actually helped me to have a very good and fruitful, spiritually good Lent. 

And I've actually grown each week as we've gone through these lessons, from Inferno to Purgatorio. And now we're in the middle of paradisio. So, and today's Mojo minute, let us appreciate the great wisdom that is in class classical literature, most especially Dante's Inferno because there's so many honestly, there are so many good nuggets of wisdom, and even greater themes on right and good living. That to miss these nuggets and classical literature, whether it's Dante's Inferno with a Divine Comedy or Milton's Paradise Lost, or Homer's Iliad, I mean, there's just so much in this classical literature, that it would be like leaving a treasure in the ground and walking by it, dismissing it as fool's gold. 

Dante's Inferno is not fool's gold, in fact, it is a true, true gold. And it's part of that great tradition, that tradition of the true the good and the beautiful. That so much of our culture seems to miss these days. So 700 years later, Dante still captivates the human mind. He shows us the errors of our ways he encourages us onto the right path, and the struggle of right living. And in the end, he dazzles us and warms the human heart, and the only true happiness known to all mankind. Next week, I will share more from Dante's Inferno, but for now, let us continue to read him for another 700 years.

Thank you for joining us. We hope you enjoyed this theory to action podcast. Be sure to check out our show page at T Mojo academy.com where we have everything we discussed in this podcast as well as other great resources. Until next time, keep getting your mojo on