O marvelous garden of every delight!
The Earthly Paradise was the first home of Adam and Eve who, sadly beguiled by the serpent, were expelled from this wondrous place upon eating the forbidden fruit.
Dante, Virgil, and Statius emerge from the wall of flame to find themselves before a seventh staircase. Midway through their climb, however, night falls, interrupting their journey. Each lies down on a separate step to await the sunrise.
EXCERPT OF THE COMEDY: Pg. 27, 124-132
Dante falls asleep. A beautiful young woman kneels and picks flowers. She introduces herself as Leah, who picks the flowers to make herself a garland, and mentions her sister Rachel, who prefers to sit before her reflection in the mirror all day. Leah is a symbol of the active life; Rachel, the contemplative. Dante awakens.
Dawn graces the path with light once more, and the poets resume their climb.
Reaching the top of the stairs, Virgil turns to Dante and reminds him of the long journey they have completed together thus far. Virgil guided Dante away from the dark wood and up to the Earthly Paradise; now, his charge is ready to finally reunite with Beatrice.
Illumination that offers a pictorial summary of Purgatory. The Earthly Paradise is at the summit of the mountain. - Florence, Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale, Banco Rari 215, f. 78v.
EXCERPT OF THE COMEDY: Pg. 27, 139-142
The three poets at last enter the garden. Walking through the sun-dappled trees to the sound of birds singing, they soon reach a river. On the opposite bank, a lone woman entertains herself by picking richly multicolored flowers. This woman is Matelda.
Matelda explains to Dante that from an eternal spring deep within the garden two rivers flow, known as Lethe and Eunoe. The waters of each river have special properties: the one erases the memory of past sinfulness, the other reinforces the memory of past virtuousness.
A procession walks past Dante and Matelda on her side of the river. Seven candelabras, followed by twenty-four venerable old men in white, then four stately beasts, a griffin pulling a chariot, seven women, and lastly seven elderly men, the last of whom is fast asleep.
The procession comes to a halt, and a multitude of angels fly overhead, showering it with flowers.
Allegorical procession through the Earthly Paradise. - Naples, Biblioteca Nazionale « Vittorio Emanuele III », XIII.C.1, f. 119v-120r.
EXCERPT OF THE COMEDY: Pg. 30, 28-33
Beatrice appears among the petals.
Dante relives the strong feelings of his first love. He turns to tell Virgil, only to realize that Virgil is gone.
Dante and Statius stand before Beatrice, who is crowned with flowers. Dante is reflected in the Lethe’s waters. - Florence, Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, Plut. 40.1, f. 198v.
Beatrice, beatified in Heaven and beloved by Dante, is the only one to name the poet in the Comedy, the only one to call him “Dante”.
EXCERPT OF THE COMEDY: Pg. 30, 43-57
Beatrice was his first love. As Dante recounts in the Vita Nova, he first encountered Beatrice when he was nine years old, and then again when he turned eighteen. Dante’s love for Beatrice colors his poetry, manifesting in the tender praises of her in his verse. Tragedy struck, and Beatrice died prematurely; in the conclusion to his Vita Nova, Dante resolves to sing of her glory once more in order to honor his beloved and her newfound place among the blessed in Paradise.
At the beginning of Dante’s journey, Beatrice had seen him erring perilously in the dark wood. She had thus sent Virgil on a mission to save Dante and guide him back to her. Dante had to learn the true nature of infernal suffering to understand what straying from the Good entails. Now, he stands before her in the Earthly Paradise, having climbed Mount Purgatory, ready to journey forth to Paradise. Virgil, whose eternal resting place is in Limbo, must return to his sweet sorrow at the mouth of Hell. Beatrice will now guide Dante through the realm of the afterlife inaccessible to Virgil. Allegorically, the change of guide at this stage in the journey represents the limits of human reason (Virgil) which cannot, on its own, understand divinity. Theology (Beatrice) must thus take over as the guide for the final stretch of the journey.
In the illustration, Dante encounters Beatrice for the very first time, in a church at nine years of age. Beginning of the Vita Nova. - Dante Alighieri, The New Life, translated by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, pictured by Evelyn Paul, Harrap: London, Brentanos: New York, 1910, p. 5. McGill Rare Books and Special Collections, Colgate 9.1 G46 D36N49 1910z.
Conclusion of the Vita Nova, in which Dante proclaims that he will praise Beatrice in all her blessed glory in a poem more befitting his lofty ambition. - La Vita Nuova di Dante Alighieri Fiorentino, Bayford, Ashendene, 1895, p. 113. McGill Rare Books and Special Collections, Colgate 6 A833 D36V58 1895.
Dante confesses that he succumbed to temptation after Beatrice’s death. Somber and filled with regret, he raises his face to look at her, as Beatrice requests. The vision is so intensely sublime that Dante loses consciousness. Matelda pulls Dante into the river Lethe and carries him to the other side, where he comes back to his senses.
Beatrice unveils her face. Dante may now fully contemplate her beauty, which dazzles him.
The procession recommences; Dante and Statius follow behind it.
The griffin ties the chariot to a large, barren tree, which immediately flourishes. A song of praise is sung, and Dante drifts off to sleep once more, then awakens. The members of the procession slowly rise to the heavens while a dragon, a fox, and an eagle take turns assaulting the chariot. From the chariot then emerge seven heads, a prostitute, and a giant. The giant unties the chariot and drags it away into the forest.
Second allegorical procession in the Earthly Paradise. - Naples, Biblioteca Nazionale « Vittorio Emanuele III », XIII.C.1, f. 133r.
Beatrice exhorts Dante to carve into his soul everything he has just seen: he will need to spread word of it upon his return to the world of the living.
It is nearly noon.
Matelda brings Dante and Statius to the bank of the river Eunoe.
Dante lowers his lips to the water.
He drinks it.
Memories of all his past virtuous deeds flood his mind.
He is now purified, ready to ascend to the stars.
EXCERPT OF THE COMEDY: Pg. 33, 136-145