MM#57--Dante's Inferno, part 2--Where Hope Dies

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. I have to offer an apology here. Some two weeks ago, I promised we would conclude Dante's Inferno with a quote part two. Well, because of some programming notes and other Mojo minutes written, We completely forgot about Dante's Inferno, part two. So shame on me. So to make good on our promise, and restore your faith in us that we are not going crazy, or have early signs of dementia. Let's share with you the greatness that is Dante's Inferno. And let's talk about that part two. So last time, we share the opening lines and the most memorable lines of that great masterpiece. But let's recap and set the stage very quickly. 

This is the beginning of conto, one of Dante's Inferno. Midway upon the journey of our life, I found myself in a dark wilderness, for I had wandered from the straight and true, how hard to 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. So Dante is lost in a dark wood. He's confused, he's straight from the straight and the narrow path. And ultimately, he is threatened by three beast. And there's significance by the three beast and what they represent. There's tons and tons of commentary, just to make a larger point, there's tons of commentary on Dante's Divine Comedy across the board, I'll put some of the some of the ones I found most fruitful and most beneficial into the show notes. So Dante is confronted by these three beast, and we don't have time to explore in this short amount of time, what they represent. But like I said, that is the beauty of Dante. So 700 years later, they're still theologians, they're still literature experts who write these long commentaries on each of these significant lines within Dante's comedy. 

So Dante is rescued by Virgil, who is his hero's guide on the first part of his journey. And Virgil represents the pagan writer, Virgil who penned the in the head. And there's a lot of significance there. And theologians and literature experts have studied that. And so he's, he's a great pagan poet. And many have speculated a Why is he here? Because Dante is Christian and sin, the 1300s when this is written, and even more so than a Christian, he's a Catholic. The Protestant Revolution, the Protestant Reformation hasn't happened yet. So why is a pagan showing up here, there's a lot of backstory to that. It's wonderful to study. And that's why it's just it's a beautiful poem. I encourage you to delve into it. Even more so than we can hear. And all of that happens in the condo one. So there's a lot going on. In every condo, there's a lot going on, let alone every sentence Dante writes tons of packed information, but we open up content to and I'm just going to summarize here Dante begins to get cold feet, he feels as if he doesn't have the courage to take this journey. And that might sound familiar with us. You know, hard aspects when we have to take a long full step in our lives. Perhaps the death of a parent or a commitment to marriage or a difficult life decision around, perhaps a disease. or sickness, a decision to leave a job for one reason or another decision to move from one location to another. There's many of life, life's decisions that initially come with that lack of courage, as if we don't have the will or the stomach to go through it. And to settle Dante's doubt, in this case,
for Joe gives Dante some of the backstory about why he Virgil is there. And he tells of this Beatrice who came down from heaven to Vegas help this woman, and Beatrice, there's a lot of significance there. Many believe that Dante fell in love with this woman, this girl, Beatrice, when he saw her at either nine or 10, or 11 years old, she ultimately passes away at an early age, Dante is heartbroken. And he ended up marrying another woman. Some speculated whether it was arranged or not. But anyhow, that takes away from the story. And there's, again, there's tons of reading and commentary about it. But as we move along, we get to Konto three. And then we hear some of the most famous lines in all of literature, and most certainly, in all of poetry. Because remember, this is Dante, he's writing it as a poem. 

So let's begin and contour three, at line one. I am the way into the city of Whoa, I am the way into eternal pain. I am the way to go among the lost. Justice caused my high architect to move divine Omnipotence created me the highest wisdom and the primal love. The for me, there were no created things. But those that lost but those that last forever, as do I abandon all hope, you who enter here I saw these words of dark and harsh intent, engraved upon the archway of a gate. Teacher, I said, their sense is hard for me. And those are the words above the Gate of Hell in Dante's Inferno. Abandon all hope you who enter here, unquote. The road to hell is always wide open. And Dante is words to Virgil. His guide seemed to echo in the heart of all of us. And Evie, and every human being when he says, teacher, their sense, meaning the words above the gate are hard for me, unquote. 

But let's continue starting at line 13. And he to me, as one who read my thoughts, here, you must leave distress and doubt behind. Here, you must put all cowardice to death, we have come to the place I spoke about where you would see the souls who dwell in pain, for they have lost the good of intellect. Now, like I said, there are many good commentaries about many aspects of Dante's Divine Comedy and about these particular lines that we're reading here and contour three, but because I'm biased towards my teacher, and my, my instructor, my guide, Dr. Robert royal, most especially, because I've been on this journey with him for over the better part of a year. Please allow me to read from his book, Dante Allegoria, Divine Comedy and divine spirituality. Because for me, this has helped me a great deal and understanding the depth and the breadth that Dante is reaching for and conveying, and each of these lines. 

In fact, this is bringing out why this is most likely the greatest Christian poem ever written, and most certainly in the top five of all literature. So and just to remind you guys, no other poet, no other writer really has tried to tackle everything from hell, to purgatory to Paradise, all together, as Dante has. No other writer no other poet has attempted even attempted to do this. And over 700 years since Dante did it, so please indulge me. I want to read just about two or three paragraphs here from Dr. Rose dr. Robert Royals book, especially about courage, and it's particularly noted.

Quote, courage we are reminded again must be our constant companion and facing what must be faced. But understanding two must be constantly one. There is probably no more difficult doctrine to modern Christians than the notion of hell or eternal punishment for sin. Almost no human failings seems to warrant eternal penalties. But Dante the poet of love, takes the view that quote, the primal love unquote, itself was moved to create Hell, along with the justice and the mitten, omnipotence, and wisdom that are in God. In fact, the power wisdom and love mentioned here are meant to suggest that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the Holy Trinity, made hell and what are we to make of this? Dante much like of the Christian tradition, before and after him, believes in the internal significance of what we do on Earth. And this view, it was an act of divine love that gave us the freedom to love and choose the right things as persons made in the image and likeness of the Creator. Despite that fact, held to has a divine origin and exist to accommodate wrong loves. Virgil also describes the people here as those who have, have lost the good of the intellect. This may appear a cold expression as if simply because of some wrong reasoning, people are being condemned to eternal torture. But Virgil and Dante have something quite different in mind, the great love that moves through all the universes not to be thought of as a separate, as separate from truth and understanding. 

In fact, in God, all these principles are united together. We may recall here that Christ described himself as the WAY the TRUTH and the LIFE, salvation must mean that not only body and spirit, but the human mind comes into the presence of God, that the whole human person reach is beatitude. And if one or more of these three departs from God, definitively, it cannot exist with God except in hell, a heart saying, and Dante notes as much, but coupled with this teaching about the need for cooperation, between will and understanding to achieve salvation, which is really a statement about the dignity of the human nature. We shall see later Later, all sorts of human and divine help that becomes available, if we start to open our hearts and minds to it. Wow, isn't that just brilliant analysis in quite deep theology. But for me, and for so many more of my classmates, and readers of Dr. Royal, and other deeper commentaries, this is the top of the mountain for a flourishing life, this mending together of the heart and the will and the mind into one direction, of a good life, in the truest, fullest sense of a good life, and understanding the proper role of the creature to the Creator, which allows humility, to deeply set in and further allows the Creator then, to shower Grace deeply upon his creature, this grace, this love that is showered upon His creatures. This is the effect of the quote, the right loves, that are opposed to the wrong loves or the disordered loves, of which Dante speaks. So much of an inferno. But this is very, very good to have these explanations and these deep questions. So Dante is just brilliant in the first three condos, and I have to thank Dr. Oil again for his great analysis. But let's go back to Inferno. Let's read back over the lines we just studied.


Dante having just read the most famous line above the gates of hell, that last line, abandon all hope, who abandon all hope you who enter here at line 10 He says, I saw these words have dark and harsh and 10 engraved upon the archway of a gate. Teacher, I said, their sense is hard for me. And he to me as one who read my thoughts, here, you must leave distrust and doubt behind here you must put all cowardice to death, we have come to the place I spoke about, where you would see the souls who dwell in pain, for they have lost the good of the intellect. And then Virgil can see he has made his point to Dante. And so then we read an after he had laid his hand on mine, with cheerful countenance, strengthening my resolve, he led me to the secret things below. 

And so in today's Mojo minute, I hope you can appreciate one of the greatest classic works in all the world, the Divine Comedy, and certainly the greatest Christian poem ever written. And it is our hope at the academy that you'll dive into Dante's Divine Comedy. It's the first classic we studied here among the Mojo Academy, and we hope that you begin reading and studying it as much as we have. Like I said, it's one of those great classics that can help you so much on creating, and most certainly, on leading a flourishing life.


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