Inferno 25

This year, 2021, marks the 700th anniversary of the death of Dante, author of the great Divine Comedy. I invite you to experience the odyssey, by accompanying me as I discuss each canto.

(My book, Dante’s Divine Comedy: A Guide For The Spiritual Journey, is published by Angelico Press for the 700th anniversary of Dante’s death on 13th September 2021.)

Dante begins his journey by waking up in a dark wood. The air tastes bitter. He becomes fearful. Truth is out of reach. But his crisis is a turning point.

Many today, too, are waking up to something that's gone wrong. The air tastes bitter, people are fearful, truth is out of reach. We’re in a spiritual crisis. We must see the world afresh and understand. I believe Dante can help us discover how.

In Canto 25, the metamorphoses of the seventh bolgia become more disturbing still. It opens with a soul cursing God and the surprise appearance of a centaur. Dante then describes two terrible transformations between serpents and humans, though the serpents turn out to be humans too. These souls didn't know the difference between "me" and "you" in life, as Dorothy L Sayers, noted. Interdependence now is torture.

There is an MP3 version of the talk, a sign up to the podcast version and receive notifications, and more at www.markvernon.com/dantes-divine-comedy.

I recommend the translation by Mark Musa in the Penguin Classics edition, both for its accessibility and notes.

The images that accompany my discussion are by Gustav Doré (in black and white), William Blake (in colour), Botticelli (the drawings) and assorted manuscript illustrations.

Видео Inferno 25 канала Mark Vernon