Paradiso (The Divine Comedy series Book 3)

by Dante

  19. The dancer who is most precious (“of greater value”) is St. Peter; he will not be named until Canto XXV.12. For the second appearance of the noun carezza, see Paradiso XXV.33. [return to English / Italian]

  20–21. Peter’s higher worth among even such exalted company as this is indicated by his greater brightness. [return to English / Italian]

  22. Peter circles Beatrice three times, as he will do again at the end of the canto (verse 152), on that occasion circling Dante. This number, that of the Trinity, is obviously auspicious. (Some later commentators see it as the number of the three theological virtues; since Peter appears here as the representative of only one, Faith, that would seem a less likely reference here.) However, and as other passages will remind us, it is also the number of times Peter betrays Jesus (see Matthew 26:34, 26:75; Mark 14:30, 14:72; Luke 22:34, 22:61). This might not be a case convincingly made on the basis of this verse alone; but see the note to vv. 124–126. [return to English / Italian]

  24. The fantasia, the image-receiving capacity of the brain, receives sounds as well, as this passage makes clear. [return to English / Italian]

  25. The familiar image of Dante as scribe is before us again, but now in nonforthcoming mode. His dictator (his phantasy) cannot bring Peter’s song of affection for Beatrice back to mind, and so his pen must omit it. [return to English / Italian]

  26. Daniello (comm. to vv. 22–27) is apparently the only reader of this canto to think of the context offered this scene by the weaving contest between Athena and Arachne. He does so in order to place the painterly technique (the representation of folds in a garment) referred to here in an Ovidian context (Metam. VI.61–66). Jacopo della Lana (comm. to vv. 26–27) was the first to make the now common observation that this verse describes the way a painter would depict the folds in a garment, by using darker colors for them. [return to English / Italian]

  27–30. Dante laments the coarseness of the art of his time (his own included), which is simply not up to the challenge of representing such delicate shadings, whether visually or verbally. What he does reproduce is what Peter says to Beatrice, i.e., the words that he speaks after he has stopped singing. She, he reports, has loosed him from the sphere he was circling in (see verse 11) and he, as a result, may serve as Dante’s interlocutor. [return to English / Italian]

  31–33. And now Dante does reassume his role as scribe, setting down the words that Peter uttered after he had finished his (unrecorded) song. No other section of the poem has more uses of the noun for “breath,” spiro, and the verb for “inspire” or “breathe into,” spirare (Par. XXIII.104, XXIV.82, XXV.82, XXV.132, XXVI.3, XXVI.103). The self-consciousness of these lines is telling: Peter, inspired (the word the poet uses for his breath, spiro, is nearly surely intended to remind us of the spiration of the Holy Spirit), utters words that Dante, his scribe, can tell us (and just has). See the notes to Purgatorio XXIV.55–63 and Paradiso VI.88. [return to English / Italian]

  34–36. From this tercet we realize that the “everlasting light” (we remember that this light was the most brilliant among its companions in the Church Triumphant at verse 21) addressed by Beatrice is St. Peter. For Jesus left the “keys of the kingdom” (Matthew 16:19) to Peter. In the tradition of Roman Catholicism, this signified that Jesus picked him to be the first pope, presiding over, among other things, the departure of the saved and damned souls for the afterlife. [return to English / Italian]

  37–38. Beatrice invites Peter to examine Dante on the theological virtue Faith, both its major tenets and its lesser aspects. For the word tenta, see the note to verse 48. [return to English / Italian]

  39. Peter’s walking on water displayed his faith in Jesus, but also revealed the tenuous nature of that faith when he doubts and begins to sink, causing Jesus to castigate him: “O you of little faith” (Matthew 14:28–33). And so here Beatrice is remembering Peter’s noble beginning and suppressing reference to the far less impressive conclusion of the biblical narrative. See the note to vv. 124–126. [return to English / Italian]

  40–45. Beatrice concludes her intervention on Dante’s behalf by acknowledging that Peter already knows that her pupil passes muster on the three theological virtues. On the other hand, it is Dante’s responsibility to glorify these, most of all Faith. [return to English / Italian]

  40. The three verbs of this verse obviously reflect the three theological virtues, Love, Hope, and Faith, in that order, as was apparent from the very beginning of the commentary tradition (see Jacopo della Lana on this verse). [return to English / Italian]

  46–51. The medieval bachelor’s examination in theology, some elements of which still persist in oral doctoral examinations in a few fields at a few institutions in our day, is rehearsed here. A bachelor was a candidate for the first degree in the field, just as today. The examination was administered by a magister (master); he certified the bachelor as being worthy of entering the pursuit of the doctorate in theology, probably his own goal as well. [return to English / Italian]

  48. The magister intervenes, not to settle the question (quaestio, a formal exercise in debate in which the answer is known or assumed), but to formulate it—as Peter is about to do.

  See Scartazzini (comm. to vv. 47–48) for a full discussion of the dispute that has followed this verse through the centuries. And see Tozer’s explanation (comm. to vv. 46–48): “The allusion here is to what took place in the mediaeval Universities. The ‘Master’ is a duly licensed teacher, and the Bachelor a student who is preparing for the office of teacher. The Bachelor at one stage of his preparatory course was required to pass through a form of examination, which was called ‘Disputatio tentativa,’ before a Master, who propounded the subject of this (la question). Usually in such cases a number of opponents were appointed to combat the candidate’s arguments (see Rashdall, The Universities of Europe in the Middle Ages, vol. I., p. 466). In the present instance, however, this is not supposed to happen, and the proofs advanced lead up to a conclusion which is recognized as well established, so that the candidate has no need [to] terminar la questione. Similarly, St. Peter propounds the question, and Dante adduces what he considers to be the fitting arguments, but the conclusion is determined beforehand. The title ‘disputatio tentativa’ is probably referred to in the word tenta in 1. 37.” [return to English / Italian]

  52–111. Tozer (comm. to these verses) divides the ensuing “examination” into five parts, as follows: “The subjects of the questions and answers in what follows are: (1) what faith is (ll. 52–66); (2) how Dante understands St. Paul’s definition of faith (ll. 67–82); (3) whether Dante possesses faith (ll. 83–87); (4) whence he derived his faith (ll. 88–96); (5) what is the evidence of the inspiration of Scripture, on which he bases his faith (ll. 97–111).” [return to English / Italian]

  52–57. Dante turns to Peter and then to Beatrice, who signals that he should, in metaphor, “pour forth the waters” of his answer. As Grandgent was apparently the first to notice, the passage is possibly a calque on Christ’s words (John 7:38: “He who believes in me, as the Scripture says, ‘From within him there shall flow rivers of living water’ ”). It is interesting that here, as later (vv. 64–65, when he will turn to Paul for the definition of Faith), Dante never uses the words of his examiner to define this theological virtue. It is all very well to explain (as does Carroll [comm. to vv. 52–66]) that Peter never offered a definition of it, with the result that Dante had, therefore, to resort to St. Paul. The question then remains (in addition to the nagging question of Paul’s absence from the cast of characters who perform a part in the poem), why did Dante choose to give Peter so prominent a role with regard to Faith? And, for the question of Paul’s importance to Dante, see the last items in the note to Inferno XXXI.67. [return to English / Italian]

  56–57. Cf. Inferno I.79–80: “Or se’ tu quel Virgilio e quella fonte / che spandi di parlar sì largo fiume?” (Are you then Virgil, the fountainhead / that pours so full a stream of speech?). Consultation of the DD
P reveals that apparently no one has seen what seems a fairly obvious self-citation, perhaps because it would seem to have Beatrice promote Dante to Virgil’s status, making him, and not the Latin poet, a “source” or “fountainhead”; nonetheless, that is approximately what has transpired within the narrative. [return to English / Italian]

  58–60. While this tercet would qualify, formally, as a true invocation, it is uttered by the protagonist rather than by the poet, and thus falls outside the set of nine authorial invocations (see the note to Inf. II.7–9); cf. Ledda (Ledd.2002.1), p. 32n. [return to English / Italian]

  59. “Centurion,” our translation, is the generic term; Dante, however, uses a word that needs some explanation. Peter is presented as the primipilus among “Christian soldiers.” The term refers to the standard-bearer in the Roman army who throws the first javelin (primum pilum) in battle. Benvenuto da Imola (comm. to vv. 58–60) was the first to say that the word was found in Isidore of Seville; he has been followed by several later commentators. However, none offers a specific textual location for the description; furthermore, consultation of the Etymologies does not reveal any even promising leads. (Daniello [comm. to vv. 58–60] indicates a possible source in the Roman military historian Vegetius [cited by Dante in Mon. II.ix.3], in particular De re militari II.viii.) [return to English / Italian]

  61. Dante’s claim for the trustworthiness of even the writing instruments of sacred texts, clear from the phrase “the truthful pen,” reflects his concern for that basic distinction between two kinds of writing, truthful and fabulous (i.e., historical and fictive), that runs from one end of the Commedia to the other. [return to English / Italian]

  62–63. Dante’s locution necessarily calls attention to the fact that Peter did not in fact write about faith, a task that he left for Paul. See the notes to vv. 52–57 and to vv. 124–126. [return to English / Italian]

  64–66. As Paul said (Hebrews 11:1): “Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen—that is its quiddity.” Greco (Grec.1974.1), p. 120, reports that Aquinas, in his De fide, says that it is in fact the best definition of this theological virtue.

  We should remember that Hebrews 11:4–40 recounts the salvations, by their faith in Christ to come, of major Hebrew figures, from Abel to Samuel. [return to English / Italian]

  67–69. Peter challenges Dante to explicate Paul’s words, and especially the related concepts of faith as the “substance” of hope and the “evidence” for things not seeable. [return to English / Italian]

  70–78. Tozer (comm. to these verses) translates the protagonist’s thoughts as follows: “Heavenly mysteries cannot be known on earth by sight, but are discerned by faith only; and as hope is founded on this, faith is the substance, or foundation, of things hoped for. It is also the proof of things unseen, because we are justified in arguing from faith in matters where sight is unavailing.” [return to English / Italian]

  75. Dante’s intenza translates the Scholastic term intentio (notion, concept). And so the thought is (Grandgent [comm. to this verse]) “assumes the concept,” that is, “falls into the category.” [return to English / Italian]

  79–85. Peter approves Dante’s intellectual grasp of the doctrinal aspect of faith; now he wants to know if his pupil really has it, or is only talking a good game, like the sophist Dante seems to have convinced him he is not. [return to English / Italian]

  89–96. To Peter’s question about the source of his faith, Dante responds, “The rain of the Holy Spirit poured over the two testaments is the syllogism of syllogisms.” [return to English / Italian]

  97–102. Peter’s follow-up question, in which he asks why the protagonist considers Scripture inspired, elicits Dante’s avowal that nature cannot have been responsible for the miracles recounted in both testaments. [return to English / Italian]

  103–105. Peter persists in his testing of Dante’s faith, asking whether it might be true that the argument from miracles is not verifiable, that is, that such argument is based on the truth of the proposition that is being tested. (We may reflect that the obvious subtext here, for a Christian discussant, is the resurrection of Jesus.) [return to English / Italian]

  106–110. Tozer (comm. to these verses) paraphrases Dante’s rejoinder as follows: “The reply to such an objection is that the conversion of the world to Christianity without miracles by men of no position like the Apostles would be incomparably the greatest of all miracles, and would be in itself a sufficient proof of the divine origin of Christianity.” See Augustine, the final words of the fifth chapter De civitate Dei XXII: “[O]ne grand miracle suffices for us, that the whole world has believed without any miracles” (tr. M. Dods). [return to English / Italian]

  108. For the word centesmo, see Matthew 19:29 (another passage in which the authority of Peter may seem challenged; see the note to vv. 124–126): “And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life” (italics added). It was Peter’s troubling question (what shall he and the other disciples have for giving up the things of this world to follow Jesus) that elicited that remark. [return to English / Italian]

  111. Gratuitous in terms of the argument being made (but thoroughly in keeping with what we expect from Dante) is this biting thrust at the Church, corrupted under (and, in some cases, by) Peter’s successors. For a survey of saved and damned popes, see the note to Inferno VII.46–48. [return to English / Italian]

  113–114. “Dio laudamo” is of course the Italian version of the Latin hymn “Te Deum laudamus,” which we heard intoned in Purgatorio IX.140, when the gate of Purgatory swung open (see the note to Purg. IX.139–145). And see Casagrande (Casa.1976.1), pp. 260–64, for the relationship between all the Italian hymns of praise in the eighth heaven and the Hebrew word of praise “alleluia.” Also see Brownlee (Brow.1984.2) for reflections on “Why the Angels Speak Italian.”

  There is a profusion of hymns in this heaven: Paradiso XXIII.128 (“Regina celi”); XXV.73 (“Sperino in te”); XXV.98 (“Sperent in te”); XXVI.69 (“Santo, santo, santo”); XXVII.1 (“Al Padre, al Figlio, a lo Spirito Santo, gloria”), including this one, six musical outbursts in all.

  It is curious that the commentary tradition is silent on the fact that the “Te Deum” is represented as being sung in the vernacular, surely connected to the Italian identity of the poet/bachelor of theology who has just concluded the crucial part of his “examination” here. Further, the commentators, without dispute among themselves, either think that the outburst of the Church Triumphant celebrates Dante’s profession of faith or the triumph of the Christian faithful. Scartazzini/Vandelli (comm. to these verses) were the first to suggest that possibly both are intended, as Momigliano (comm. to these verses) concurs. [return to English / Italian]

  115–123. Although verse 121 makes it plain that Peter has accepted Dante’s profession of faith, it is also clear that he wants the new professor to expatiate on two points (they correspond to his first and fourth questions and Dante’s responses [vv. 52–53 and 61–66; and then vv. 89–96]). Peter wants Dante to spell out precisely what he believes and exactly where he learned it. [return to English / Italian]

  115. Peter’s baronial title will be given to James as well (see Par. XXV.17). It probably reflects its use as the term of address for a feudal lord, as Mestica observes (comm. to vv. 115–117). Lombardi (comm. to vv. 115–117) reports that it was not uncommon in the late medieval period to give saints the titles of those who were indeed powerful in this world. One example (of the two) he adduces is Giovanni Boccaccio’s (repeated) reference to “baron messer santo Antonio” (Decameron VI.x.9, VI.x.11, VI.x.44). [return to English / Italian]

  118. See Tozer (comm. to this verse): “Donneare is from Provençal domnear, and that from Lat. domina; it expresses the chivalrous treatment of a lady by her cavalier. Here it is used of the grace of God gently operating on the mind of man.” [return
to English / Italian]

  124–138. Dante’s seventh response involves the experience of Peter and John at Christ’s tomb (see John 20:3–8); Dante’s credo in God the Creator; his proofs: philosophical, theological, and Scriptural (from Genesis to Peter’s Epistles). [return to English / Italian]

  124–126. Here is a part of Carroll’s comment to vv. 115–138: “That is, Peter sees now the risen body of Christ, concerning which he had only faith as he ran to the sepulchre; but even faith made him conquer the younger feet of John, who at the time had no faith in the Resurrection. The difficulty is that it was John who outran Peter and came first to the sepulchre. It is not in the least likely that Dante forgot this. His meaning undoubtedly is that while the younger feet, through lack of faith, lingered at the entrance, Peter’s faith carried him past his doubting companion to the inside. (In De Mon. III.ix, however, the incident is given as an instance of Peter’s impulsiveness rather than his faith: ‘John says that he went in immediately when he came to the tomb, seeing the other disciple lingering at the entrance.’ Perhaps Dante wished to retract his former judgment.) This does no injustice to John, since he himself says it was only after he entered and saw how the grave-clothes were folded up, that he believed (John 20:5–8). It is somewhat strange, however, that Dante should choose this incident as an example of Peter’s faith.”