Inferno, Canto 26 with Dr. Brendan Case

[@peterjanssen3033]

Ulysses: "...unshakeably fixated on the same misbegotten love which led him away from his true end" - a profound insight. This is a very fine commentary on this Canto and Dante's DC generally.

[@elizabethbrink3761]

Fascinating! I'm in awe of how complex this canto is. Thank you Dr. Case for bringing so many layers to light!

[@lisabaeringer6188]

"The way up is to go down. To humble ourselves." Very insightful

[@helenvaline891]

Excellent presentation and perspective! Have studied Ancient Greek, read the classics, and this is truly a very insightful perspective on Odysseus in relation to Dante.

[@pierdecarlo9290]

Thank you Dr Case, I particularly enjoyed your explanation of Dante's observation that pursuing knowledge is not always good, particularly if it's motivated by hubris and a distorted desire for power akin to God.

[@ohamlin84]

I recently posted my first comment to this string of lectures, so in so doing, I have at least temporarily cured my bashfulness. So I now present my thanks to Dr. Case for his thorough precise, and beautiful explanation of this Canto.

[@emwenz100]

Very rich and well appreciated explanation of this curious (to me) admonition not seek knowledge that is beyond what is limited by the gods. Reaching for knowledge that is deemed “too sublime” for humans seems to occur in other works if I recall (scripture, St Augustine). The relentless quest for exploration and understanding is innately and wonderfully human. I’m always troubled that the idea of humanity striving to understand the world could be seen as counter to God’s will for us. With this lecture, I understand that the knowledge itself is not the problem but the pursuit of discovery/exploration/experience at the expense of “kith and kin” (read consequences to family and community) is a form of selfishness. Humbling yourself is not a modern quality of spirit in these times.

[@cynthiaford6976]

I keep wondering if the entheogen cults and at Eleusis have something to do with these injunctions against knowledge. Is Dante talking about hubris? It is interesting that Dante pilgrim is filled with desire to know, but asks Vergil (who does he represent at this point ?), a pagan, and prays to know about the souls in the flame. How is that desire different than Odysseus'? Is that a mystical story, perhaps from the Sufi tradition, about the shipwreck in the whirlwind? Is it not really deception but a failure of love that damns these souls? I think there's something creepy in this theme that moves from Daedalus and Icarus, through the comedy, to Faust then to Frankenstein about the dangers of seeking knowledge, but there's something subtler, perhaps, I'm not understanding.

[@emwenz100]

@@cynthiaford6976 kzbin.info/www/bejne/aoGvp5ejnst3ic0 This quote from Jurassic Park continues the theme of hubris Hope it transfer.

[@bej5000]

I didn't realize how much scholarship has been done on Dante's influence on Jorge Louis Borges or that Borges had written about Dante himself. See for example: In the “Prologue” of his Nine essays by Dante (Adelphi, 2001, pp. 94; with the translation by Antonio Melis and Fabio Rodriguez Amaya in 1982, edited by Tommaso Scarano), Jorge Luis Borges defines the Comedy “the best book written by men“. In review of this book, this comment is made (which Dr. Case mentions in the lecture: "Borges’ Dante is Ulysses, he possesses the same pride as the Homeric hero, the same desire for knowledge, the same forcing of the known to venture into the mystery. Dante is the whole poem, even in guilt and error."

[@torifreeman993]

Fantastic presentation!

[@johndunham9236]

Ulysses is one of the great "noble pagans" in literature. His character is as complex as you say, and I am happy to learn more about this complex Canto...

[@5kidsNeverDullMoment]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts

[@denisebraganza]

Thank you for your profound insights.

[@lorimorrison6539]

I love this!! Were you saying Adam and Eve actually had tried to eat the tree of life, too? That really makes sense why God prevented them from it. Like tower of Babel's prevention, too. Thank you again so so much!!!

[@patcamerino5456]

Canto 26: In this canto, and the following one, Dante speaks with two “evil” counselors: Ulysses and a Franciscan monk, Guido da Montefeltro. No one would dispute that each is a counselor. The adjective, evil, indicates that each, in his counseling, advised the use of trickery, of mistrust, of fraud. Their contrapasso was to be consumed for eternity by a living flame surrounding each sinner, in parody of the flame of the Holy Spirit, the counselor of righteousness, who had descended upon the apostles at Pentecost. At the outset of the Trojan War, Ulysses had tricked Achilles into joining the assault by the Greeks. At the end of the war, he advised that the Greeks construct the wooden horse which ultimately led to the defeat of the Trojans. Now as he converses with Dante, this Greek counselor presents a new voyage, beyond the one described in Homer’s Odyssey, perhaps in an attempt to obtain redemption for his trickery. Sailing beyond the Pillars of Hercules, he convinced (or tricked!?) his faithful companions to continue with him, because they were “souls ... not made to live like brutes or beast, but to pursue virtue and knowledge.” After a five-month journey towards an area below that of the City of Jerusalem, they see, in the distance, Mount Purgatory. Ulysses was prevented from landing, due to a massive whirlwind that carried his ship beneath the waves. Once assigned to the Inferno, there is no path for the sinner to reach Purgatory. On the other hand, as a still-living person, Dante must understand the sinfulness of humanity before being able to climb the mountain of Purgatory and enter Paradise.

[@nicoleparsons4005]

Your commentary is a helpful addition to the video. The story Ulysses tells in this Canto is complicated because it is not directly linked to his placement in Inferno (which is named as his involvement in the Trojan war). His voyage may or may not be the reason he is damned, but the fact that he is damned should make us and Dante wary of what he espouses. I also think it's noteworthy that Ulysses doesn't tell Dante this story directly. Virgil has told Dante to stay hidden (saying his Italian accent will be problematic). It is Virgil to whom the story is related, perhaps giving Dante some small distance from the influence of this "false counselor."

[@patcamerino5456]

@@nicoleparsons4005 Interesting point. It never occurred to me that Dante remained hidden from Ulysses, but only silent. I think Ulysses was condemned for his fraudulent advice about the Horse and other matters, not because of his "new" voyage beyond the Pillars. (BTW: one of my favorite epics is "The Odyssey: a Modern Sequel" by Nikos Kazantzakis.)

[@frankdenome324]

Wow! Your point regarding the symbolism of being consumed in the flame is very insightful! It opened up a lot more to ponder regarding this Canto.

[@jeffreytrimbath5170]

Can't understand a word of this canto, or this lecture...I appreciate the effort tough

[@pjhammond494168]

Some of it went over my head too, but I thought his commentary on the vice of curiosity was superb.

[@jasonfowler2949]

Use the closed captions option. Also 1.25x or 1.5x playback speed

[@jennifermelton9598]

Too dry and boring for my tastes. Never liked Odysseus TBH

[@stevewalter1670]

Yeah, this one was too much and over my head for me too. I'm glad I am among people who admit ignorance.

[@stevewalter1670]

I did understand his commentary on the vice of curiosity, which is so prevelant in this day in age. I can certainly relate to this desire for knowledge for knowledge's sake, when I should be searching for God for His sake alone.

[@scoobethdoobethII]

Thanks Joseph Gordon levitt!

[@mikemtgy]

Excellent talk. Please learn not to sway back and forth, it distracts from the speech you give so well.

[@wolskerj]

Well, he is discussing a sea-voyage . . .

[@jennifermelton9598]

Guy reminds me of professors I had who enjoyed hearing themselves talk and GFY if you just couldn’t understand their monologues.

[@bej5000]

Understanding sometimes requires exertion on part of a listener or learner as well. Professors who spoon feed pre-digested simplified material to students can do a big disfavor to them.

[@treborketorm]

Presentation less than optimal. The constant leaning from side to side like a slow metronome did not match the the "reading" speed of the presenter and this was very distracting. I felt like I was on deck of a ship with Ulysses leaving the Pillars of Hercules to wallow in the swells of the Atlantic.