Dante’s Divine Comedy

[erik8lrl]

 

[SaltyMeatballs]

@erik8lrl Looks interesting. Have you done the whole course? Any good insights?

[Etherial Cat]

I've bought the book on audible like 2-3 days ago. 

It really seems like a book that deserve a read.

[RendHeaven]

I thought Inferno was meh from a metaphysics perspective. The whole thing is basically mental masturbation - but I suppose that might be the point of it.

Purgatorio was similarly meh from a metaphysics perspective, except for one passage that stuck out like a beacon: around halfway through the book, Virgil describes to Dante precisely how all things have their roots in Love. Even things that appear not to be Love are ultimately Love. The details are confusing and the passage is circular, but the message is clear.

Paradiso is amazing. It's basically a psychedelic trip baked into text. The character Dante becomes One with Cosmic Love & God - what more could you ask for?

Edited July 22, 2021 by RendHeaven

[erik8lrl]

@SaltyMeatballs The course is free. It's pretty good if you've never read the work.

[erik8lrl]

@RendHeaven Yep, it goes through the whole journey. 

[flume]

After my first "awakening experience" I had no idea how to put into words the beauty of what I've seen, the trust it created, the meaning it gave to my life.

Some time later, I heard this excerpt from The Divine Comedy and I teared up because it so perfectly described what I've seen. All I wanted to do was read this poem for days.

"I have been in that heaven the most illumined by light from Him
And seen things which to utter,
He who returns hath neither skill nor knowledge.
For as it nears the object of its yearning,
Our intellect is overwhelmed so deeply
It never can retrace the path it followed.
But whatsoever of the holy Kingdom
Was in the power of memory to treasure
Will be my theme until the song is ended.” - Dante

[erik8lrl]

@flume Yep, words cannot describe even the smallest part of infinite love. 

Edited July 25, 2021 by erik8lrl