Divine Comedy

Dante 1265-1312
Inferno, Purgatorio, Paradiso

Representing the summit of human knowledge, Virgil guides Dante through the descending circles of the pit of Hell. Passing Satan at the pit’s bottom, at dead center, Dante and Virgil then emerge on the beach of the island mountain called Purgatory. Repentant sinners are being purged, and Virgil departs, having led Dante as far as human knowledge can.

Now, at the threshold of Paradise, Dante meets Beatrice. She embodies the knowledge of the divine mysteries bestowed by Grace, who leads him through the successive ascending levels of Heaven to the Empyrean, and there he is allowed to glimpse the glory of God, but only for a moment.

​I read one of three: Inferno. Reading grade level is about 12.8, 12th grade or college freshman.

On April 30, 1921, Pope Benedict XV promulgated an encyclical, In praeclara summorum, naming Dante as one “of the many celebrated geniuses of whom the Catholic faith can boast” and the “pride and glory of humanity”.

Praeclara means excellent.