Dante Paradiso VIII

Lectura Dantis: Paradiso VIII
Author(s): Vincenzo Cioffari

Source: Dante Studies, with the Annual Report of the Dante Society, No. 90 (1972), pp. 93-
108
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Lectura Dantis : Paradiso viii*
VINCENZO aOFFAM
eighth canto of the Paradiso1 represents the unfolding

unity of divine providence into the multiplicity of human be
It demonstrates how the ultimate goodness of the divin
is distributed into the conditioned goodness of the human spi
tie which binds humanity with divinity is love, or charity in i
and most comprehensive sense. The love which issues from
Spirit permeates through the angelic hierarchies into the souls o
as a celestial influence, and the perfection of the divine mind
the imperfections which we as mortals observe. These are impe
which do not exist if we but fix our gaze on eternal provid
whom the universe is omnipresent and causes do not determin
through necessity.
The canto opens with a hymn to love - the tie that binds the u
Pure and perfect love, which radiates from the heavens, re
world in impure form, because the world confuses it with car
Man creates for himself mythological inventions which represe
love in human form, with both the virtues and the defects of t
species. The symbol of this love is the goddess Venus, in pu
associated with the third heaven of the same name, but in cre
form conceived as the supremely beautiful goddess of mytholog
ated in Cyprus - a "human goddess," with Dione as her mo
Cupid as her son, that delightful figure symbolizing the powe
arouses amorous feelings.2 Mythology, creation of the people,
fantasy of the great poets before Dante, prepare the way for
This is an English version of a Lectura Dantis delivered on April 6, 1972, as

annual series sponsored by the Societa Dantesca Italiana in the "Dante Hall" of
restored memorial complex of Orsanmichele in Florence. (Printed here by
ofL'AHghieri, publisher of the original Italian version.)
93
Dante Studies, xc, 1972
to fashion a concept of love which, as celestial influence, transmits divine

love to the human beings of our world. The poet has abstracted from
the courtly love of his times the ideal of Platonic love which, as a power,
"move il sole e Taltre stelle" (Par. xxxra, 145).
The first twelve verses, serving as a prologue to Canto vm, form a
mosaic of mythological and allegorical allusions that cloak the concept
of love, which is then integrated into the plan of universal providence.
However, when considered in the light of divine providence as conceived
by the Holy Church Fathers and eventually expressed in Thomism,
those mythological beliefs had to be recognized as erroneous and capable
of leading man to perdition rather than salvation. Without true faith,
the world believed in the love radiated by the beautiful Cypriote, not
knowing that this love was only the corrupt part.
Solea creder lo mondo in suo periclo

che la bella Ciprigna il folle amore
raggiasse. . .
(Par. viii, 1-3)
The star whose influence radiated love circled in the third epicycle,
that is, in the epicycle of the third heaven. According to the science of
the time, the epicycle was the smaller circle around which every star
(other than the sun) moved from west to east, while its center moved in
the circumference of the sphere in which that heaven circled around the
world from east to west. In carefully chosen words the poet has indicated
the precise point through which divine love descends to mortals in the
form of celestial influences. The honor due to God according to true
faith was paid instead in sacrifices and votive cries, intended to pacify a
goddess with human emotions. This spirit of love, purified by faith,
is the same spirit that illumines the soul in its return toward the divine
mind, whence it derives. The world may have missed the form, but
not ihe substance. Scientifically moreover, it was known that the star
Venus appeared before the sun in the morning and after the sun in the
evening. Divine illumination reaches the star through the sun, which
irradiates it with love before the day begins and recalls that love when
the day is over. Some commentators prefer the meaning, which is also
possible, that the star woos the sun rather than the sun woos the star.
According to this interpretation, the star gazes at the sun with an act of
love, deriving its joy from the vision of the source of love. But in the
Ptolemaic system the influences are transmitted from the higher to the
lower heavens, and so it seems more valid to construe the sun as wooing
the star. Pietro di Dante explains as follows: "Sol earn respicit modo ad
94
Lectura Dantis: Paradiso vm, vincenzo cioffari
coppam, idest post se, modo ad cilium, idest ante se" (The sun gazes
upon it now from behind, that is, after it, and now from the front, that
is, before it).8 Benvenuto da Imola likewise leaves no doubt as to the
meaning intended.4 In any case, the image which explains the scientific
observation is beautiful indeed.
In twelve verses which form a synthesis of prior beliefs the poet
terminates his invocation of love. This is a musical pause announcing
the function of divine love in the creation of the universe - a theme which
Beatrice had summarized in the preceding canto. Man knows through
faith that his mind is illumined directly by God, but he does not realize
the exact manner of the process. He only notices that the divine light
becomes clearer to him because he derives greater joy from it.
In the first two heavens Dante was aware of his ascension, most rapid
though it was, but in this heaven his ascension attains the speed of
thought:
Io non m'accorsi del salire in ella;
ma d'esservi entro mi fe assai fede
la donna mia chY vidi far piu bella.
(w. 13-15)
Divine virtue is translated into light and sound because it is through the
sensitive intellect that man begins to understand. The images which
present themselves in the ascension are images composed of light and
sound - among the most beautiful that man can perceive through the
senses. In the flame symbolizing divine fervor, the sparks indicate an
individualized ardor, an ardor which varies according to the intensity
assigned to each individual soul in the providential plan. The harmony
of the "Hosanna" becomes more overwhelming when one follows the
movement of a single voice against the harmonious background of the
choir. The shading of a single voice moving against another which
remains firm increases the beauty of the total effect:
E come in fiamma fa villa si vede,
e come in voce voce si discerne,
quand'una e ferma e altra va e riede.
(16-18)
In these verses Dante offers a metaphor based on the laws of counterpoint,

not perhaps so much to demonstrate his knowledge of polyphony, which
is appropriate, as to accentuate the parallel between the laws of the
sensitive world and the laws of the heavens. The beauty of the heaven of
Venus derives from the inner vision of the souls that have received its
influence. Divine virtue is imparted separately in each soul according
95
to their individual potential.6 With such imagery the poet prepares us to

comprehend the divergence of mortals, the multifarious variations
among individuals who form the providential universe. Proceeding
from the general plan of the universe which is actuated through the
heavens, Dante prepares us specifically to understand how the goodness
of Charles Martel and the opposite nature of his brother Robert can
together form part of divine providence, which regulates the universe
"d'un giro e d'un girare e d'una sete" (v. 35).
The love that propels the souls is demonstrated by the rapidity with
which they approach the one who, through his ascension, offers them the
opportunity to exercise the love which moves them. Scientific laws
contribute to the imagery. According to Aristotelian physics, lightning
bolts (venti visibili) are generated by the converging of hot and dry
vapors arising from the third region of the atmosphere and their coming
up against cold clouds. These "visible winds" represent the greatest
speed observable in this world - a speed which nevertheless remains
inferior to that attained by unimpeded souls. The melody of their
"Hosanna" surpasses the sweetest sounds imaginable; indeed it is such
that man can recall it only with the desire to hear it again when he is no
longer impeded by the senses.
Di fredda nube non disceser venti,

o visibili o no, tanto festini,
che non paressero impediti e lenti.
(22-24)
e dentro a quei che piu innanzi appariro

sonava 'Osanna* si, che unque poi
di riudir non fui sanza disiro.
(28-30)
The movement of these souls starts from the intelligences nearest to

God, that is, "the lofty Seraphim,"6 the angels who move the Primum
Mobile, and as their influence descends from heaven to heaven it moves
this, the third, as well as all the other heavens. The influence of love
proceeds directly from God. In the third heaven the descending love
encounters the love which ascends toward God. Dante had already
expressed this concept in his canzone, vox che 'ntenien&o il terzo
del movete,7 where he had addressed the intelligences moving the
heaven of Venus to explain the nature of the love that inspired him. The
first spirit who welcomes him reminds him that it is the same love which
propels the entire angelic choir. The angels moving the heaven of Venus
are the Principalities, whose rule controls the variations of man in society.
96
Lectura Dantis: Paradiso vm, vincenzo cioffaiu
According to the pseudo-Dyonisius the Areopagite, followed by St.

Thomas, the function of the Principalities is the disposition of kingdoms,
the mutations of government from one people to another, and the
instruction of princes regarding matters that pertain to the administra-
tion of their domain.8 Rightly, therefore, Dante, upon reaching this
heaven, recognizes his error in the Convivio (n, v, 6) of assigning here
the movement of the third heaven to the Thrones, which have a dif-
ferent function. The domain of the Principalities belongs to the heaven
which remains in the shadow of the earth, where the mutations of
government from one people to another are assigned to the new intel-
ligence formulated by Dante, the goddess Fortuna.
The divine love which generates the circular movement of this heaven
loses nothing of its charm if the souls pause to exhibit their love to the
new guest:
e sem si pien d'amor, che, per piacerti
non fia men dolce un poco di quiete.
(38-39)
Having terminated his invocation of the power of love and having

revealed the universal plan, the poet passes from the general to the par-
ticular. Within this heaven Dante encounters the soul of a friend who
symbolizes the tie of love in its most comprehensive form, namely, the
love of a sovereign for all of his subjects - an unselfish love, a love that
expects no recompense beyond its own function in the divine plan.
To the one who arrived first in heaven belongs the joy of illuminating
the one who remained on earth; Dante bows his eyes reverently before
Beatrice prior to speaking, in order to seek the consent of his guide;
he bows, as it were, before the theology that will illumine his mind.
The soul which comes to greet him has revealed itself only through
the outward joy of love that moves it. It has, however, inspired such
reverence that Dante respectfully addresses it with "voi," as he had done
upon meeting Brunetto Latini in the Inferno. The similarity between
the two encounters goes even further. Brunetto had said to him: "If
you follow your star, you cannot fail to come to a glorious haven."9
Charles Martel will speak of the "glorious haven" not of a single individ-
ual, but of the entire world, in which Providence guides all toward
the foreseen goal. Human beings reach that goal each in his own way,
according to his particular inclination. The variations between mortals
stem from material goods, from the requirements of the life which will
end with the first death. The tie which binds everything is eternal in
nature; that link is divine love, assigned through celestial influences in a
manner fathomless to man.
97
The one who speaks is prince Charles Martel, who in this world
recognized the nobility of soul of the young poet and extended to him
that cordial friendship which is the true mark of love of neighbor.
Charles Martel, the firstborn of Charles n of Anjou and Mary, daughter
of Stephen v of Hungary, was born in 1271 .10 Five years Dante's Junior,
he died quite young in 1295, when his life was still full of great hopes.
Already crowned king of Hungary in 1292, he did not live long enough
to inherit the other dominions which would rightfully have come to
him. Dante probably met him when the latter came from Naples to
Florence in the first few months of 1294 to greet his father and mother
who were returning from France. Giovanni Villani in his Cronica11
describes vividly the sojourn of Charles Martel in Florence, stating that
he remained there twenty days. Other documents, uncovered by Luigi
Rocca,12 assure us that he remained a shorter period. Be that as it may,
the encounter between Charles Martel and Dante was brief and could
not have fostered a close friendship in the sense of there being repeated
and frequent mutual exchanges. It was a spiritual friendship, an affinity
of aspirations and hopes, a community of spirit unrelated to material
things. Charles had already demonstrated in other ways the affinity
which he felt for the Florentines, and Dante had recognized his inclina-
tion. The exemplary life of the young prince had won the affection of
the populace. His engagement at a very tender age and his subsequent
marriage to the thirteen-year-old Clemenza, daughter of Rudolph of
Hapsburg, must certainly have reminded the young poet of his own love,
already celebrated in his Rime and his Vita Nuova. Charles Martel as a
lover of poetry and music was undoubtedly familiar with the well-
divulgated verses of the eminent Florentine poet. Quite appropriately,
Dante places in his mouth the canzone in which he develops the philo-
sophic basis of love that illumines the intellect.13
The Angevin family, however, had caused the poet's greatest misfor-
tunes. A Guelf by party and family, Dante had seen himself betrayed
by the very party on which he had placed all his hopes. Charles I, grand-
father of Charles Martel, had governed so badly that the people of Sicily
had rebelled against him in the spontaneous uprisal known as the Sicilian
Vespers; Charles n, father of Charles Martel, had favored Boniface vm,
Dante's greatest enemy, and had opposed Henry vn, who represented
for Dante the ideal emperor, the only one who could remedy the ills
of the world. Still another relative, Charles of Valois, sent as peacemaker
to Florence, drove out the Whites instead, in April 1302, and among
the exiled was Dante himself. Robert, brother of Charles Martel and
king of Naples, not only violently opposed Henry vn, but it was his
98
Lectura Dantis: Paradiso vin, vincenzo cioffari
vicar Ranieri di Zaccaria di Orvieto who in 1315 repeated the ban

against Dante and included his children in it.14 Dante was therefore
quite justified in questioning how from the same seed such different
natures could derive. The aversion which he felt for the Angevin family
causes him to seek the basic justice of such divergent effects. The one
who exemplifies the best qualities of that family can best explain it to
him. If divine love, which is the highest good, is transmitted to mortals
through the intelligences, which also represent the highest good, whence
comes the wickedness or evil which we find in this world? The
encounter with Charles Martel furnishes the philosophic solution of this
dilemma.
The unfolding of divine providence is contemplated in the effects

observable among mortals. Man cannot apprehend the vision coming
downward from above because he cannot enter into the divine mind.
He can create for himself only a limited vision, by looking upward,
seeking the causes from observable effects already actuated in time. The
soul of Charles Martel, peering into the divine mind, sees not only the
problem which confuses Dante, but its solution as well, because in his
gaze intermediate time does not exist. To clarify the unfolding of
Providence for Dante, whose vision is limited, Charles reduces it to
terms understandable to him. First he relates his own historical existence,
his life in this world:
. . .11 mondo m'ebbe

giu poco tempo; e se piu fosse stato,
molto sara di mal, che non sarebbe.
(49-51)
Then Charles indicates his eternal state which allows him unlimited
vision. This spiritual state is expressed in sensible images, derived from
impressions already familiar in this world:
La mia letizia mi ti tien celato,

che mi raggia dintorno e mi nasconde
quasi animal di sua seta fasciato.
(52-54)
The silkworm envelops in its beautiful shroud a cocoon and one day
will as a butterfly rise, like a human soul, toward the skies.
Then, finally, Charles recalls the tie that binds the two friends, namely,
a love which is born of noble affections and which inclines one toward
nobility of soul:
99
Assai m'amasti, e avesti ben onde;

che s'io fossi giu stato, io ti mostrava
di mio amor piti oltre che le fronde.
(55-57)
Charles's love would have been evident not just in the first blossoms,
but in the mature fruit. The love which Dante in turn felt for Charles
Martel derived from good roots, and Charles traces the historic reasons
which had aroused high hopes in Dante. By right the sovereignty of
the region of Provence would have come to Charles, a region of peaceful,
natural beauty. The valley of the Sorgue, which will later be sung by
another supreme poet,16 was already awaiting his just rule, demonstrated
when his father left him as vicar in the kingdom of Naples. The whole
kingdom of Naples was awaiting his sovereignty, and Sicily as well was
in line to receive the rule of his descendants. Through the words of
Charles Martel the poet condenses in highly successful images the ge-
ography, history, and science of his times, giving poetic life to mytho-
logical themes sung by previous poets and even inventing new words as
needed. For example, "imborga" (v. 61) is a neologism which conveys
the feeling of a military fortress, or perhaps the boundaries of a city
beyond its walls, or perhaps a concentration of people. The Dantesque
world conveys a feeling of motion from the periphery toward the
center, thereby embracing all the people. Ausonia and Trinacria, poetic
names for Italy and Sicily, are both terms which add a historical and
poetical dimension to geography. The boundaries of the "horn of
Ausonia" are designated by three points where man has already estab-
lished his abode. Historical allusions reinforce the portrait of the life of
Charles Martel. Bari had been the launching point of the Crusades. In
Gaeta, in 1289, the Angevin return battle had taken place after the
disastrous rout of 1284. Catona was the place where the forces of
Charles I gathered to attack Sicily after the Sicilian Vespers. In two
brief verses the poet recalls the hopes which the world had placed in the
future of Charles Martel:
e quel corno d* Ausonia che s'imborga

di Bari e di Gaeta e di Catona.
(61-62)
Some modern commentators, speaking of the "golfo / che riceve da
Euro maggior briga "(68-69), indicate the present gulf of Catania,18
which was not known as such at the time of Dante.17 The verses would
lose their effectiveness if they were limited to a small part of the western
coast of Sicily. They assume greater meaning when they are explained
with the Orosian geography of the time of Dante. The gulf was the
ioo
Adriatic bay ("sinus Adriaticus") in which the Italian peninsula extended

in the form of a ship from northwest to southeast, bathed on the south
by the Tyrrhenian and on the north by the Adriatic seas. Eurus, the
wind which blew in from the east and southeast, assumed its peculiar
characteristic from the sulphuric substrata under Etna. The poet does
not accept the mythological version of a Typhoeus, but corrects the
phenomenon with the science of his time. The canto, dedicated from
the very first verses to dispelling false beliefs, goes on to set forth scien-
tific details. The obfuscations of the human mind are clarified with
philosophic and theological truths.
The account of the life of Charles Martel forebodes with grave tonality
the disasters which the Angevin family will bring to the world in general
and to Dante in particular. The evil which will come to pass would not
be there "se mala segnoria, che sempre accora / li popoli soggetti, non
avesse / mosso Palermo a gridar: 'Mora, moral'" (73-75). From bad
reign in general Dante passes to the reign of him who, because of his
nature, will cause the greatest ills. If brother Robert could look into
the future as souls do, he would not continue on the path he had undertak-
en. But since events in this world unfold in time, nature, which controls
this unfolding, does not offer a view of events before they happen. The
predominant characteristic of Robert is his avarice, his greed. The people
of Catalonia were famous for their covetousness, the vice which directed
their conduct. Robert in his seven years of detention in the kingdom of
Aragon had associated himself with Catalonian soldiers and had brought
them back with him as mercenaries. His nature by family descendancy
should have been open and generous, but by association or by accident
he had turned out to be miserly and greedy. The providential influences,
which were similar at the point of departure, had become differentiated
when they reached the two brothers.
In his question to Charles Martel Dante implies that his doubt arises
from Charles's own words:
. . .parlando, a dubitar m'hai mosso

com'esser pud, di dolce seme, amaro.
(92-93)
The dialogue which precedes the question leads to this natural doubt.
Indeed the whole direction of the canto seems inclined toward this
problem. Robert's nature has been formed right along with his career.
The "poverty of Catalonia" which had surrounded him in his years of
detainment as a hostage, instead of correcting, had accentuated his
natural tendencies. He should have chosen a militia who "non curasse
IOI
di mettere in arca"(84), who would not fill its own coffers by exacting
money from its subjects. The fault came directly from his nature rather
than from his associates. Had it been due entirely to his associates, the
blame would no longer be his. The cause must be sought in the manner
in which Providence functions. Therefore Dante seeks an explanation
from the one who sees truth at its source, without intermediary. Charles
sees the truth by "rimirando in Dio" (90), namely, "la Ve ogne ben si
termina e s'inizia" (87). By explaining how Providence functions,
Charles in his reply will render the answer as natural as the question had
been from the human point of view. Proceeding from the highest good,
which is the beginning of the universe, Charles will trace the course of
Providence through to its terminal point in man. Along this course the
byway will appear where divine unity separates to produce human
variations. The Good which moves the heavens transmits its Providence
as a force which moves the heavens from one step to the next, passing
from the supreme fruition of the Primum Mobile to the lesser fruition
of the heaven of the moon, whence it takes its final leap into the soul of
each created being. Inversely, the soul of every created being, marked
by its own inclination, views through the heavens its unification in the
Supreme Good. The variations which distinguish human beings are
part of the providential pyramid which, starting from divine unity,
terminates in multiplicity in this world, where human beings are diversi-
fied in time and space. Multiplicity is the very unfolding of the
divine mind operating in this world, where the individual is incomplete
in himself, but complete in the function assigned to him in the
providential complex.
Lo ben che tutto il regno che tu scandi

volge e contenta, fa esser virtute
sua provedenza in questi corpi grandi.
(97-99)
Divine Providence foresees and provides not only for the inclination
of the soul, but for the effects of that inclination, since from the effects
will come the virtue that guides the soul back to the point of origin.
Every created being arrives in this world with its return journey already
marked in the divine mind, since the journey which takes place in time
is present without time in the divine concept. The influences which
attach themselves per accidens to the inclination of each individual may
be unknown to the individual who is set in motion, but they are far
from unknown to the one who moves him.
102
Lectura Dantis: Paradiso vni, vincenzo cioffari
E non pur le nature provedute

sono in la mente ch'e da se perfetta,
ma esse insieme con la lor salute.
(100-102)
Divine providence foresees and provides for everything in the universe,

and yet it does not imply necessity. The poet describes the celestial
influence with a metaphor that is comprehensible through our senses.
The virtue of the superior bodies is compared to a bow and the celestial
influence to the arrow which, when leaving the bow, arrives at the mark
already present in the sight of divine providence. If Providence did not
include all effects together with their causes, the total of causes would
not be balanced by the total of effects, and Providence would be deficient
at some point. Perfect equilibrium implies perfect order in the universe;
the lack of this equilibrium would constitute a perfect order no longer,
because a more perfect order could be conceived. If man starts from the
concept that God is ultimate perfection and that his Providence encom-
passes the whole universe, it is impossible to conceive of causes without
effects, which are ipso facto foreseen. Dante, a consummate artist, has
succeeded in rendering all this reasoning in verses of incomparable
beauty and exactness:
Se cio non fosse, il ciel che tu cammine

producerebbe si li suoi effetti
che non sarebbero arti, ma ruine;
e cio esser non pud, se li 'ntelletti
che muovon queste stelle non son manchi,
e manco il primo, che non li ha perfetti.
(106-111)
Such a premise requires no proof, because it is the point of departure of

all truths that follows. Naturally, if we were to imagine a universe
without supreme direction, such conclusions would not follow. But
the universe conceived by Dante is providential, and the conclusions are
self-evident.
It remains to show how within this framework Nature, the artifex of
Providence, can attain results which sometimes do not seem providential
from the point of view of mortals. The perfection of God is indisputable,
just like the perfection of his Providence. In this complex, individuals
function as part of society, to unify it into one grandiose will. Man is
defined as "cive," that is, a being which functions best when it acts
together with other beings. The question which Charles poses implies
its own answer, implicit in the concept of man as part of society:
103
. . . Or di: sarebbe il peggio

per Tomo in terra, se non fosse cive?
(115-116)
Man outside of society would follow his own inclination, but without
the final direction of the whole of society. Therefore the universe would
be lacking in a providential plan. Dante's answer is obvious: "Qui
ragion non cheggio" (117). Aristotle in his Politica and his De Anima
had already evolved the principle that for an orderly society we must
have a variety of inclinations and duties of man.18 But even without
Aristotle, the principle could not be otherwise in a providential universe.
The variations in the functioning of society cannot lead to any other
conclusion. Diversity in human nature can be explained only by the
concept that diversity is necessary for perfection and hence is implicit in
the roots of perfection. Charles concludes: "Dunque esser diverse /
convien di vostri effetti le radici " (122-123). And what are these opera-
tions or effects? Charles continues:
per ch'un nasce Solone e altro Serse,

altro Melchisedech e altro quello
che, volando per Taere, il figlio perse.
(124-126)
One is born a legislator, because without just laws society cannot stay on
the right road. One is born a warrior, because without suppressing
dissension society cannot be unified. Another is born a man of religion,
because his duty is to indicate the path toward salvation. Another is born
with an inventive genius, because without the ability to dominate the
elements society cannot aspire to rise above mundane things.
Having considered the effects and their causes, the poet summarizes
the plan of the universe in terms which are incomparable for their preci-
sion and grandeur. Divine providence is displayed in the form of
concentric heavens which, turning all in the same direction, express
through their motion the unfolding of the divine will. The heavens
together form a "circular nature," which leaves its imprint on the matter
into which the human soul is infused. But how can we explain the
deviations? Only by assuming that they exist from the human point of
view, but not from the divine. In order to function in a world which
is variable because it is temporal, society is divided into various individ-
uals, various homesteads, various abodes. "Circular nature" does not
distinguish between them because the road which each one follows is
equally valid for the final goal. We mortals notice the differences because
we cannot encompass in one single glance the whole of the universe
104
together with its effects. For example, twins should have the same kind
of nature; but according to the divine intellect they are different for the
very reason that they are two separate souls, with distinct goals.
To some extent Dante believed in astral influence on the life of man,
that is in the influence of constellations at the moment of birth. There
are echoes of this belief throughout the Divine Comedy. Brunetto Latini,
gazing into the future, says to Dante, as we have already noted: "Se tu
segui tua Stella, / non puoi fallire a glorioso porto." Dante himself, in
the eighth bolgia speaks of "a good star or something better,"19 and in
the crystalline heaven he turns to the constellation of the Twins with
the invocation :
O gloriose stelle, o lume pregno

di gran virtu, dal quale io riconosco
tutto, qual che sia, il mio ingegno.
(Par. xxn, 112-114)
These influences were for him a residue of the false beliefs which contained
a grain of truth. Even great theologians like Albertus Magnus believed
in the influence of the constellations on man's nature.20 Saint Thomas
did not deny such influences, but incorporated them in his complete
concept of Providence.21 Dante, following the Angelic Doctor, does
not free himself entirely from them, but changes them into celestial
influences which, as part of divine providence, incline the soul toward
the end which is already provided for, but not foreseeable to man. If
the influences which distinguish Esau from Jacob at the moment of birth
derived only from the constellation, they would act alike on the twins.
Divine providence distinguishes the twins because each human being
has his own inclination, simply because it is created as distinct from all
other human beings. Every soul receives its own impulse from Provi-
dence through the celestial influences. Romulus, poetically called Quirinus,
may be born per accidens from an ignoble father, but his nature has
received an impulse that even mortals recognize as noble and therefore
ascribe it to the god Mars. Man's nature which is transmitted through
the heavens would react always in a foreseeable way if all the known
causes were the only ones in the universe.
Natura generata il suo cammino

simil farebbe sempre a* generanti,
se non vincesse il proveder divino.
(133-135)
But above causes and effects divine providence does exercise a greater
force, for its goal is the total well-being of the universe.
105
What remains then is the problem of the variations, which from our
limited point of view are contrary to the providential order. Nature, ac-
tuator of Providence, does not always produce its effects as we expect them
because it comes up against an element which is purely worldly, namely
the complex of circumstances in which it must act. The individual
inclination of each soul sometimes comes up against the inclination of
another soul which has the same right to follow its own free will. This
complex of circumstances has received from man the name of fortune.
The canto opens with the myth of love dominated by the senses and ends
with the myth of fortune, or the complex of circumstances. Corrupt
love causes the world to stray from its path and places man in danger of
forfeiting his salvation. Circumstances created by man cause nature to
deviate from its path and place the world likewise in danger. Corrupt
love places the individual in danger; fortune places society in danger
by driving off course the individuals who form it.
Sempre natura, se fortuna trova

discorde a se, com'ogne altra semente
fuor di sua region, fa mala prova.
(139-141)
Nature, whose task it is to transmit celestial influences, transmits them

as a foundation for the inclinations of the individuals. If the world paid
attention to this foundation and took heed, society would always be
good. But we know from experience that society does not always turn
out to be good. We must look for the reason in the conflict with the
inclinations of other individuals. The inclinations received by nature,
that is the celestial influences, are deviated from their path by the will of
others. Dante says: "But you veer from the path" ("Ma voi torcete,"
v. 145). That "you" indicates the will of others, which comes up against
the inclination transmitted by Providence through "circular nature."
In contrast to the concept of pure love which is the power of Providence,
the poet cites corrupt love, which has caused the world to fall into
decadence and has created its myths. In contrast to the concept of Nature
he cites the concept of an intelligence which controls the material goods
of this world, and which he has personified in the Fortuna of the seventh
canto of the Inferno. It is not Providence which distorts the path, but
the human beings of this world. As an example the poet mentions
someone like Louis, the brother of Charles, who may have been born
with a disposition toward the military, even though he himself was
not aware of it.22 A better example, however, is the other brother,
Robert, in whom the mistake of inclination is more evident."Fate re di
106
Lectura Dantis: Paradiso vni, vincbnzo cioffari
tal ch e da sermone (147). The allusion to Louis is perhaps doubtful,

but not the one to Robert. Nature had not endowed Robert with regal
qualities, because his government was clearly wrong. In order to accen-
tuate the faulty nature of Robert, Dante contrasts it with the goodness
of Charles.
As in St. Augustine, Boethius, and St. Thomas, so in Dante fortune
is part of the providential system. Philosophically, the concept assumes
all the elements that are extraneous to the perfect Good, which remains
perfect from its inception in the divine mind until its infusion in the
individual. The providential scheme makes no allowance for contingen-
cies which can bring evil. And yet evil does exist in this world, even if it
does not exist in the concept of divine goodness. It can be nothing but a
mistaken concept which we have of divine goodness, caused by the lack
of complete vision of the universe in all its effects. If man could take in
at a single glance the whole providential system, that element would
disappear. Dante follows the Augustinian concept of fortune, later
integrated into Thomism.23 As Saint Bernard will explain in his final
summary, "Dentro a l'ampiezza di questo reame / casual punto non
puote aver sito" (Par. xxxn, 52-53).
Thus, there remains in the universe that element of indeterminism
which man cannot manage to comprehend and therefore assigns it to
indeterminate forces, under the name of fortune, chance, or fate. It is
not our purpose here to explain the meaning of these various concepts
throughout history, a topic which we have treated elsewhere,24 but
rather to show that even in the universe as conceived by Dante there is
an element which in a certain way remains impenetrable to mortals,
like the mystery of predestination. When Dante tells us that nature
finds fortune discordant from itself, he does not explain fortune. He
tells us only that some force contrary to nature distorts its intentions.
Nature does not respond exactly to the hand of the artist because it
includes the element of - for want of a better term - probability. Nature
produces its effects with the probability which results from innumerable
possibilities. In the divine mind the innumerable effects are foreseen
and provided for together with their causes. It remains for the divine
mind to choose among these possibilities. For man the mystery remains
as profound as the mystery of predestination. He will never be able to
fathom it exactly because his vision, being limited in time and space,
can only partake of the divine vision, never equal it.
Boston University
Boston, Massachusetts
107
NOTES
1~. In these notes I annotate only points of particular interest for my interpretatio
Besides the references mentioned here, I should like to acknowledge my indebtedness
the excellent readers of this canto who have preceded me, namely: Giovanni Falla
II canto vra del Paradiso (Lectura Dantis nella Casa di Dante di Roma; Torino: Socie
Editrice Internazionale, 1964); Carlo Muscetta, II canto vra del Paradiso (Firenze
Monnier, 1966) ; Andre Pe*zard, // canto vra del Paradiso (Nuova Lectura Dantis ; Bolog
Cappellij 1953); Luigi Rocca, II canto vra del Paradiso (Firenze: Sansoni, 1903; also
"Nuova Lectura Dantis; Bologna, 1953); Aldo Vallone, "Lectura del canto vra d
Paradiso/* in Hutnanitas, xiv (1959), 277-295; Vittorio Vaturi, // canto vra del Paradis
(Firenze: Sansoni, 1923).
All quotations from the Divine Comedy are from La Commedia secondo Vantica vulga
a cura di Giorgio Petrocchi (4vols.; Milano: Mondadori, 1966-1 %7).
2. Virgil, the supreme poet before Dante, sang of him in the Aeneid, where he has h
assume the human form of Ascanius and sit on Dido's lap to enflame the heart of Aene
"ut ... Cupido / pro dulci Ascanio veniat, donisque furentem / incendat reginam at
ossibus implicet ignem" (Aeneid i, 658-660) .
3. Petri Allegherii super Dantis ipsius genitoris Comoediam Comment arium, nunc primum
lucent editum (Florentiae, 1845), ad loc.
4. "quam Venerem tamquam vagam suam pulcerrimam sol pulcerrimus respici
Benvenuti de Rambaldis de Imola Comentum super Dantis Aldigherij Comoediam, nunc prim
in lucem editum, curante Lacaita (Florentiae, 1887), ad loc.
5. "al modo . . . di lor viste interne" (v. 21).
6. "li alti Serafini" (v. 27).
7. Convivio, n; cited in our canto at verse 37.
8. Cf. Contra Gentiles, ra, 80; Summa Theologica, i. quaestio 108.a5.
9. ... "Se tu segui tua Stella / non puoi fallire a glorioso porto" (Inf,. xv, 55-56).
19. Cf. Michelangelo Schipa, Un principe napoletano amico di Dante (Carlomartello dfAng
Nuova Ed. (Napoli: I.T.E.A., 1926), p. 13.
11. Giovanni Villani, Cronica, vra, 13.
12. Rocca, op. cit., pp. 9-10.
13. "Voi che *ntendendo il terzo ciel movete" (v. 37), which is the opening of th
canzone commented upon in the second treatise of die Convivio.
14. Codice diplomatico dantesco, edito da R. Piattoli, Nuova Ed. (Firenze: L. Gonne
1950), items 114 and 115.
15. Petrarca, Canzoniere, Canzone cxxxv, and passim.
16. Cf. Mario Casella, "Questioni di geografia dantesca," in Studi danteschi, xn (1927)
pp. 65-77.
17. Cf. Gaetano del Noce, "II golfo che riceve da Euro maggior briga," in his Studi
danteschi (Firenze: Loescher, 1892), p. 5.
18. Cf. Politica, i, 2; De Anima, ra, 9. 6.
19. "stella bona o miglior cosa" (Inf. xxvi, 23).
20. Astrologers resolved the difficulties with technical computations based on the
moments of the double birth, but such a determinism negated the existence of a superior,
directing providence. Cf. Cioffari, Fortune and Fate from Democritus to St. Thomas Aquinas
(New York, 1935), p. 96.
21. Cf. Cioffari, op. cit., pp. 103 ff.
22. Louis was canonized in 1317, twenty years after his death.
23. Cf. Cioffari, op. cit., pp. 78-82.
24. Cf. Cioffari, op. cit. ; Cioffari, The Conception of Fortune and Fate in the Works of Dante
(Cambridge, Mass.: Dante Society of Cambridge, Mass., 1940).
108

Dante Paradiso VIII

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Lectura Dantis: Paradiso VIII

Author(s): Vincenzo Cioffari

eighth canto of the Paradiso1 represents the unfolding

This is an English version of a Lectura Dantis delivered on April 6, 1972, as

to fashion a concept of love which, as celestial influence, transmits divine

Solea creder lo mondo in suo periclo

In these verses Dante offers a metaphor based on the laws of counterpoint,

to their individual potential.6 With such imagery the poet prepares us to

Di fredda nube non disceser venti,

e dentro a quei che piu innanzi appariro

The movement of these souls starts from the intelligences nearest to

According to the pseudo-Dyonisius the Areopagite, followed by St.

Having terminated his invocation of the power of love and having

vicar Ranieri di Zaccaria di Orvieto who in 1315 repeated the ban

The unfolding of divine providence is contemplated in the effects

. . .11 mondo m'ebbe

La mia letizia mi ti tien celato,

Assai m'amasti, e avesti ben onde;

e quel corno d* Ausonia che s'imborga

Adriatic bay ("sinus Adriaticus") in which the Italian peninsula extended

. . .parlando, a dubitar m'hai mosso

Lo ben che tutto il regno che tu scandi

E non pur le nature provedute

Divine providence foresees and provides for everything in the universe,

Se cio non fosse, il ciel che tu cammine

Such a premise requires no proof, because it is the point of departure of

. . . Or di: sarebbe il peggio

per ch'un nasce Solone e altro Serse,

O gloriose stelle, o lume pregno

Natura generata il suo cammino

Sempre natura, se fortuna trova

Nature, whose task it is to transmit celestial influences, transmits them

tal ch e da sermone (147). The allusion to Louis is perhaps doubtful,

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