Hello, friends!
Last week we were to have read through Cantos 1-3; this week you should be reading 4-8.
Here are my notes from last week's readings - forgive me, because they're pretty rudimentary. I just pulled out quotations that struck me, and made a quick note on each.
Canto 1:
-the purpose of Purgatory: "Where human spirits purge themselves, and train/To leap up into joy celestial." To me (oh me Protestant) this seems very like the purpose of Earth for those who are saved. It puts me in mind of that line in the children's Christmas hymn: "Fit us for heaven to live with thee there."
-Virgil about Dante: "'Tis liberty he seeks". <- This, in turn, reminds me of Galatians 5:1: "it is for freedom that Christ has set us free." There's some great mystery in the fact that in submitting to Christ's rule, we are finally free men.
Not from Dante, but I really liked Dorothy Sayers' note on the purpose of the Dew in Canto 1: "Before ascending the Mountain, Dante's face must be cleansed from the tears he shed in Hell. The penitent's first duty is cheerfulness: having recognized his sin he must put it out of his mind and not wallow in self-pity and self-reproach, which are forms of egotism."
Canto 3:
-Quoth Manfred: "Their curse cannot so damn a man for ever/That the eternal love may not return/While one green hope puts forth the feeblest sliver." - Even the slightest turning for His grace rescues for eternity - see the thief on the cross.
That's it from me! Again, I'm sorry it's so slight. But it does fit in with the idea of this blog - not to add an extra burden, but to read through the great poem and jot down what strikes us so that we'll be able to think about it and remember it. I really look forward to reading what the rest of you found in the first three Cantos.
Peace of Christ to you,
Jessica Snell
No comments:
Post a Comment