Purgatorio, Canto 9 with Dr. Phil Donnelly

[@mikemtgy]

Clearly you are an excellent teacher; so much of value delivered in a short time. Thank you.

[@treborketorm]

Dr. Donnelly, thank you for a fine presentation. Yes, the name Lucia comes from the Latin word Lux meaning "light. It is the feminine form of the Roman praenomen Lucius and can be alternatively spelled as Lucy. As a side note, the name Lucia could be an anagram for "acuila" (aquila) which means "eagle" in Latin as in the "eagle of God" in Dante's dream. Dante is a master of the delightful play on words. It seems like there is no end to them. The deeper we dig, the more we find.

[@zimmerfamilyaccount5311]

This is EXCELLENT! Thank you very much, Dr. Donnelly! What a hopeful and beautiful canto. I loved your final question to us: "What does this show us about how loves become reordered from vice to virtue?" Thank you for your detailed and beautiful reflection today. :)

[@jeffreytrimbath5170]

Excellent...one of the best lectures so far.

[@lorimorrison6539]

Dr. Donnelly, wow!!! Thank you for all that wealth! I loved when you used the word, we, his true treasure, entered. I'd never have known all those allusions. I can see how C.S. Lewis often did the same thing, taking old stories and turning them inside out, upside down, etc. I can't wait to discover how we entangle ourselves from our twisted disordered-ness and turn outward rightly!! Thank you so much!!!

[@lisabaeringer6188]

Thank you for this very detailed lecture and breaking it down to more easily understandable terms

[@tgold3311]

Great summary of not just this Canto but the whole Divine Comedy.

[@johndunham9236]

Thank you, Dr. Donnelly, for your rich exposition on Canto IX. It seems that as we ascend the mountain my notes get longer and longer! Transition is a good word to use, though "journey" or "transformation" makes more sense to me. You hit the nail on the head describing the transition from sin to grace, vice to virtue, sadness to joy. The pain that will be felt on this path to holiness is vital to understand. Purgation is full of suffering, but suffering that leads to love and joy. I did not grasp the fullness of the classical stories until you explained them. Ovid is a familiar old favorite, but this makes more sense now in light of your "sadness" connection. Very true. Thank you !

[@kevinthomasmarincowitz5249]

Thank you Dr. Donnelly for a most insightful lesson and interpretation.

[@elizabethbrink3761]

Dr. Donnelly, thank you so much! This was so helpful. I loved reading this canto.

[@allegrasmick4719]

Excellent. You open the gate of this canto and bring light to the reader.

[@darryhoward4079]

Thank you. That was a great commentary on Canto 9. Lots of detail and coverage from beginning to end.

[@BarrySchweig]

I never before noticed the similarly between Tithones's eternal life and eternal life through Christ. The first an eternity of suffering and the second an eternal life of love, joy, and happiness.

[@nunyabizniz8894]

This is one of the best entries so far. Thank you, Dr. Donnelly.

[@jayniefloyd9406]

This was so helpful! Thank you! I will be thinking about this all day today.

[@frankcahill747]

A wonderful and enthralling presentation. I will 'do' it again.

[@5kidsNeverDullMoment]

Wonderful relay of the Canto and adding in details and analysis.

[@xieouyang1341]

Thanks for this excellent, detailed explanation.

[@patcamerino5456]

Canto 9: During his conversation with his companions, Dante drifts off to sleep, just before moonrise, and in an erotic-like dream is carried upward by a golden eagle and plunged into a sphere of fire. Dante awakens in a new place and is told by Virgil that, while he slept, he was carried off by Saint Lucy to the very doorway to Purgatory, itself. The entrance is alcove-like with a gate at the top of three steps: the first, transparent white marble for the rite of Confession; the second, purple with cruciform cracks for mercy and forgiveness, and third, a blood-red adamantine, representing the coming glory of forgiveness, salvation and redemption. On the top step is seated the Keeper of the Gate, bearing a bright sword and carrying the gold and silver keys Saint Peter had given him for unlocking the gate to Purgatory. On his knees, Dante begs for mercy and, as in the recitation of the Confiteor Deo, strikes his breast three times. The Angel marks Dante’s forehead with seven “P’s” - for the seven sins (Peccatum): Pride, Envy, Wrath, Sloth, Avarice, Gluttony, and Lust. The Angel uses his keys of physical and spiritual power to unlock the gate, having been instructed by St Peter to err on the side of a prostrate penitent, if there would be a question about eligibility to enter. The Angel warns them: once granted entrance, the person seeking forgiveness must not look back to the time before that, else one could easily return to the sin. As they pass through the portal, they hear voices, accompanied by a harmonious organ, singing: “Te Deum laudamus” (You are God, Let us praise You).

[@wayneferguson7326]

According to Mandelbaum, "she who shares the bed of old Tethonus" is "Aurora, the goddess of the dawn" (see the endnote to line 1 on page 648 of Mandelbaum's translation).

[@brendantannam499]

I was reading the notes on Canto 9 in John Ciardi's translation and he mentions a Professor MacAllister who claimed the stucture of the cantiche was based on the Mass. I can't find anymore than that assertion online. If anyone can point me in the right direction, I would appreciate it very much.

[@jennifermelton9598]

Not going to lie…Purgatory is not as exciting as Inferno.

[@DeniseQ125]

But I am much happier in Purgatory.

[@tomlabooks3263]

The goal of the Divine Comedy is not that of exciting or entertaining people.