Hello all.

  There is an interesting and worth reading article on Charles Williams published
in the Times Literary Supplement (02.04.04) You can also read it here:
http://www.the-tls.co.uk/this_week/story.aspx?story_id=2106861

  Regards,
  Olga

The Figure of Beatrice: A Study in Dante pp130-131

There is one incident in this circle which presents a thing frequently in
Dante's thought - the incident of Brunetto Latini. Brunetto had been Dante's own
teacher; he sees him here running on the sand: 'Siete voi qui, Ser Brunetto? -
are you here, Ser Brunetto?' (XV, 50). Dante speaks of and to him as he speaks
of and to no-one else in hell; Brunetto is indeed the nearest to the shape of a
damned Beatrice.

Chè in la mente m' è fitta, ed or mi accora,
la cara e buona imagine paterna
di voi, quando nel mondo ad ora ad ora
m' insegnavate come I' uom s' eterna,
e quant' io l' abbia in grado, mentre io vivo convien che nella mia lingua si
scerna.

(XV, 82-7)


'The dear, kind, paternal image of you is fixed in my mind and goes now to my
heart, when hour by hour in the world you taught me how man makes himself
eternal, and whilst I live it is proper that my tongue should show how great is
my gratitude.' Possibly in the final depth of hell, such courtesy, like all
courtesy, would be forbidden, but only there. Whatever Brunetto - say, whatever
Beatrice - has been brought to, there is owed to him and to her that freedom of
admiration and respect. Our sources may be both dammed and damned, but we must
acknowledge the derivation. It is the explanation of Dante's attitude towards
even the criminal Popes. Boniface VIII is in hell, but all heaven shudders at
the outrage done to his office in his person. The office and function is always
to be honoured; much more those from whose functions we ourselves have lived and
learnt to live; much more those whom we loved. 'While I live, it is right I
should show my debt.' To ask what Dante would have said to Brunetto, had he
found him in the final all but dehumanized ice, is to go beyond decency; only
the raising of the question shows, in its suggestion of agony, how deep both
passions went with him. There are some things Dante spared himself and us. But
only there, if there, can derivation be forgotten. Elsewhere, for ever and ever,
it must be remembered, willingly praised, and ardently published before earth
and heaven. Any who have been at all our source and derivation deserve, for ever
and ever, no less; such a loyalty is necessary to the life of the City, and he
who forgets it sins himself against Nature and deserves for ever to run, far
from the City, on the harsh sand under the unabsolving fire.
-----------------------------------------------------
"Our sources may be both dammed and damned, but we must acknowledge the
derivation," writes Williams, providing proof of how deep his courtesy (and
ours) should run.

Sayers tells us that the figure we meet at

'1. 30: Ser Brunetto: Messer Brunetto Latini (c. 1220-94) was a Florentine
Guelf, a man of considerable learning. An early commentator says "that he was a
neighbour of Dante and taught him a great many things; that he did not care for
the soul, as he was altogether worldly; that he sinned greatly in unnatural
crime, and scoffed much at the things of God and Holy Church" (Vernon)."'

Dante, The Divine Comedy: Hell, trans Dorothy L. Sayers, (London: Penguin
Classics pbk, 1973), p166


The 'unnatural crime' which Brunetto Latini sinned greatly in is a euphemism for
homosexual vice, particularly sodomy. For example, in Yusuf Ali's  Commentary on
the Holy Qur'an, Sura 7:80-84 we read:


'The inhabitants of Sodom in their lust for unnatural crime invaded Lot's house
but were repulsed.'

(Ali explains that "Lut is the Lot of the English Bible").

Holy Qur'an, Sura 7:

80. We also (sent) Lut: he said to his people: "Do ye commit lewdness such as no
people in creation (ever) committed before you?
81. "For ye practice your lusts on men in preference to women: ye are indeed a
people transgressing beyond bounds."
82. And his people gave no answer but this: they said "drive them out of your
city: these are indeed men who want to be clean and pure!"
83. But We saved him and his family except his wife: she was of those who lagged
behind.
84. And We rained down on them a shower (of brimstone): then see what was the
end of those who indulged in sin and crime!




Dorothy Sayers perceives that at "1. 56: the glorious haven: Brunetto seems to
mistake Dante, and think that he is only aspiring to lasting fame on earth, and
says that, if he himself had not died too soon, he would have helped him to
achieve perfection of knowledge."

Dante, The Divine Comedy: Hell, trans Dorothy L. Sayers, (London: Penguin
Classics pbk, 1973), p166

The misunderstanding is significant.

In his chapter "Extra-terrestrial Journeys In Different Traditions", in his The
Esoterism of Dante, René Guénon holds unlikely the hypothesis of Brunetto Latini
being a possible intermediary for the transmission of the writings of Muhyi
'd-Din  ibn al-'Arabi to Dante:
"One question that seems to have greatly preoccupied most of Dante's
commentators is that of what sources to acknowledge for his conception of the
descent into Hell; and this is also one of the points that most clearly
highlights the incompetence of those who have only studied these questions in a
completely 'profane' manner. In fact, this matter can only be understood through
a certain acquaintance with the stages of initiation, and it is this that we
shall now try to explain.
If Dante takes Virgil for his guide in the first two parts of his journey, the
principal reason, as everyone recognizes, is doubtless his recollection of the
sixth canto of the Aeneid, but we must add that this is because Virgil's work is
no mere poetic fiction, but, on the contrary, gives incontestable proof of
initiatic knowledge. It is not without reason that the practice of the sortes
virgilianae [casting of lots] was so widespread in the Middle Ages; and if
people have wanted to make a magician of Virgil, this is only a popular and
exoteric distortion of a profound truth which those who likened his work to Holy
Writ - even if they did so only for a divinatory usage of very relative interest
- probably sensed better than they could express.
On the other hand, it is not difficult to see in this connection that Virgil
himself had some predecessors among the Greeks, and apropos of this to recall
the voyage of Ulysses to the country of the Cimmerians and the descent of
Orpheus into the Underworld; but does the concordance we have noticed in all of
this prove nothing more than a series of borrowings or successive imitations?
The truth is that what is involved here has a close connection to the mysteries
of antiquity, and that the various poetic and legendary accounts are only
translations of one and the same reality: the golden bough [rameau d'or] that
Aeneas, guided by the Sibyl, first goes to gather in the forest (that very selva
selvaggia where Dante also sets the beginning of his poem), is the same bough
that was carried by the Eleusinian initiates, reminding one further of the
acacia of modern Masonry, 'token of resurrection and immortality'. What is more,
Christianity presents us with a similar symbolism: in the Catholic liturgy it is
Palm Sunday [la fête des Rameaux]¹
1. The Latin name for this festival is Dominica in Palmis [Palm Sunday]. The
palm and the bough are obviously one and the same thing; and the palm, taken as
an emblem for the martyrs, also has the meaning we are indicating here. Recall
also the popular name Paques fleuries [for Palm Sunday, literally 'flowery
Pascha'], which very dearly expresses, although those who use it today are
ignorant of it, the relationship of the symbolism of this festival to the
resurrection.


that opens Holy Week, which encompasses the death of Christ, his descent into
Hell, and his resurrection, to be followed shortly thereafter by his glorious
ascension; and it is precisely on Holy Monday that Dante's recital commences, as
if to indicate that it is in undertaking the quest of the mysterious bough that
he loses his way in the dark forest where he will meet Virgil; and his journey
across the worlds will last until Easter Sunday, that is to say until the Day of
Resurrection.
On the one hand, death and descent into the hells; on the other, resurrection
and ascension to the heavens. These are two inverse and complementary phases, of
which the first is the necessary preparation for the second, and can easily be
recognized in the description of the Hermetic 'Great Work'; the same is clearly
affirmed in all traditional doctrines. In Islam, for example, we encounter the
episode of Muhammad's 'nocturnal journey', consisting of the same descent into
the infernal regions (isra), followed by ascension to the various paradises or
celestial spheres (mir'aj). There is a striking similarity between certain
accounts of this 'nocturnal journey' and Dante's poem, so much so that some have
seen in them one of the principal sources of Dante's inspiration. Don Miguel
Asìn Palacios has shown the multiple relationships that exist in respect not
only of content but also of form, between the Divine Comedy (not to speak of
some passages from the Vita Nuova and the Convivio) on the one hand, and both
the Kitab al-Isra (The Book of the Nocturnal Journey) and the Futuhat
al-Makkiyah (The Meccan Revelations) of Muhyi'd-Din  ibn al-'Arabi on the other,
works that were written about eighty years before Dante's. He concludes that
these analogies, taken alone, are more numerous than all of those that other
commentators have succeeded in establishing between Dante's work and the
literatures of all other countries.2


2. Miguel Asìn  Palacios, La Escatologia Musulmana en la Divina Comedia:
sequida de la historia y critica de una polemica (Madrid: Editorial Maestre,
1961). [See Islam and the Divine Comedy, tr. Harold Sutherland (London: Frank
Cass & Co., 1968).] Cf. Edgar Blochet, Les Sources orientates de 'la divine
Comédie' (Paris: J. Maisonneuve, 1901)."

"Here are some examples:
In an adaptation of the Islamic legend, a wolf and a lion bar the pilgrim's
route; similarly, the panther, the lion, and the she-wolf force Dante to draw
back.... Heaven sends Virgil to Dante and Gabriel to Muhammad, each satisfying
the pilgrim's curiosity during the journey. Hell is heralded in the two legends
by identical signs: violent and confused tumult, blasts of fire.... The
architecture of Dante's Inferno is modeled on the Muslim Hell: both consist of
an immense funnel formed by a series of levels, with circular steps or stairs
descending gradually to the bottom of the earth; each of them harbors a category
of sinners whose culpability and punishment grow worse the deeper the circle in
which they dwell. Each level is subdivided into several others, allotted to
various categories of sinners; finally, both of these Hells are located under
the city of Jerusalem.... On leaving Hell, in order to purify himself and ascend
to Paradise, Dante undergoes a triple ablution. In the Islamic tradition, a
similar triple ablution purifies souls: before entering Heaven, they are plunged
successively into the waters of the three rivers that fertilize the Garden of
Abraham.... The architecture of the celestial spheres across which the Ascension
occurs is identical in the two legends: the souls of the blessed are ranged in
the nine heavens according to their respective merits, and are gathered finally
in the Empyrean or last sphere.... Just as Beatrice stands aside that Saint
Bernard may guide Dante during the final stages, so does Gabriel abandon
Muhammad near the throne of God, to which he will be drawn by a luminous
garland.... The final apotheosis of both ascensions is the same: the two
travelers, raised to the presence of God, describe Him as a center of intense
light surrounded by nine concentric circles formed by close files of innumerable
angelic spirits who emit luminous rays; one of the circular ranks nearest to the
center is that of the Cherubim; each circle encloses the circle immediately
below it, and all nine turn unceasingly around the divine center.... The
infernal stages, the astronomical heavens, the circles of the mystic rose, the
angelic choirs that surround the center of divine light, the three circles
symbolizing the trinity of persons: all are borrowed word for word by the
Florentine poet from Muhyi 'd-Din ibn al-'Arabi.3

3. A. Cabaton, 'La Divine Comédie et 1'Islam', in Revue de I'Histoire des
Religion, 1920; this article contains a resume of the work of Miguel Asìn 
Palacios.

"Such coincidences, extending to the most precise details, cannot be accidental,
and we have many reasons to think that to a considerable extent Dante indeed was
inspired by the writings of Muhyi 'd-Din. But how could he have known these
writings? One possible intermediary is Brunetto Latini, who had lived in Spain,
but this hypothesis hardly seems satisfactory because, though he was born in
Murcia (hence his nickname Al-Andalusi), Muhyi 'd-Din did not spend all his life
in Spain, dying in fact in Damascus; and though his disciples were spread
throughout the Islamic world -primarily in Syria and Egypt - it is unlikely that
his works entered the public domain at that time; indeed, some have never yet
been published. Muhyi 'd-Din was in fact anything but the 'mystical poet' that
Palacios imagines him to be. What must be acknowledged here is that in Islamic
esoterism Muhyi'd-Din is referred to as al-Shaykh al-Akbar, that is, the
greatest of spiritual Masters, the Master par excellence; that his doctrine is
purely metaphysical; and that several of the principal initiatic Orders in
Islam, among them the highest and least accessible, proceed from him directly.
We have already indicated that in the thirteenth century, that is to say in
Muhyi 'd- Din's own era, such organizations were in contact with the Orders of
Chivalry, which for us explains the transmission noted. Were it otherwise, and
had Dante known of Muhyi'd-Din through 'profane' channels, why did he never name
him, as he did two exoteric philosophers of Islam, Avicenna and Averroes?4

4. Inferno, iv, 143-144.


"Furthermore, it is recognized that there were some Islamic influences at the
beginnings of Rosicrucianism; it is to this that the supposed journeys of
Christian Rosenkreuz to the East allude. But the real origin of Rosicrucianism,
as we have already stated, lies precisely in the Orders of Chivalry; and it was
these that formed the true intellectual link between the East and the West in
the Middle Ages.
Modern Western critics, who regard Muhammad's 'nocturnal journey' as nothing
more than a poetic legend, claim that this legend is not specifically Islamic,
or Arab, but of Persian origin, for an account of a similar journey exists in a
Mazdean book, the Arda Viraf Nameh.5

5. Blochet, 'Études sur 1'Histoire religieuse de 1'Islam', in Revue de
I'Histoire des Religions, 1899. A French translation of Livre d'Arda Vîraf, by
M.A. Barthélemy, was published in 1887.

"Some think it necessary to go back much further, to India, where in Brahmanism
as well as in Buddhism we indeed meet a multitude of symbolic descriptions of
the diverse states of existence under the form of a hierarchically organized
ensemble of heavens and hells; and some even go so far as to suppose that Dante
may have been directly influenced by doctrines from India.6

6. Angelo de Gubematis, 'Dante e 1'India', in Giornale della Società asiatica
italiana, vol. iii, 1889, pp3-19; 'Le Type indien de Lucifer chez Dante', in
Actes du Xe Congrès des Orientalistes. Cabaton, in the article cited above,
points out that 'Ozanam had already glimpsed a double Islamic and Indian
influence on Dante' ('Essai sur la philosophie de Dante', pp198 ff); but we must
say that the work of Ozanam, in spite of the reputation it enjoys, seems to us
extremely superficial."


"For those who see all this as mere 'literature', such a way of looking at
things is understandable, although it is rather difficult, even from the
historical point of view, to admit that Dante could have known anything of India
other than through the intermediary of the Arabs. For us, however, these
similarities demonstrate nothing else than the unity of doctrine in all
traditions. There is nothing astonishing in finding everywhere expressions of
the same truths, but precisely in order not to be astonished one must first of
all know that these are truths, and not more or less arbitrary fictions. Where
there are only resemblances of a general order there is no reason to conclude
that there must have been direct communication, for such a conclusion would be
justified only if the same ideas were expressed in an identical form, such as is
the case with Muhyi'd-Din and Dante. It is certain that what we find in Dante is
in perfect accord with the Hindu theories of the worlds and cosmic cycles,
though it is not clothed in a properly Hindu form; and this accord necessarily
exists among all who are conscious of the same truths, however they may have
acquired knowledge of them."

René Guénon, The Esoterism of Dante, (Ghent, NY: Sophia Perennis, 2001) pp26-31.


'sees him here running on the sand'

Sayers writes of the Sodomites that

'Their perpetual fruitless running forms a parallel, on a lower level, to the
aimless drifting of the Lustful in Canto V.'

Dante, The Divine Comedy: Hell, trans Dorothy L. Sayers, (London: Penguin
Classics pbk, 1973), p165.

'As we descend with Dante through the levels of Hell' writes William Anderson in
his excellent Dante the Maker, 'so we find the damned less and less able to
exercise control over their bodily movements. Some are impelled to run on
burning sand like Brunetto Latini...This inability to move as they would is a
physical analogue of the decay of mental control.'

William Anderson, Dante the Maker, (London: Hutchinson, 1983), pp17-18.


'Brunetto is indeed the nearest to the shape of a damned Beatrice.'

In René Guénon, The Esoterism of Dante, (Ghent, NY: Sophia Perennis, 2001) p41
we find that Dante employs number symbolism to draw just this contrast:

'666 lines are interposed again between the prophecy of Brunette Latini and that
of Farinata'.

René Guénon finds that a predominantly literary 1921 work by Rodolpho Benini
says that:

'...Dante substituted for the earlier plan a system of consonances and rhythmic
periods far more complicated and secret, as bents a revelatory language spoken
by those who see the future. Here the famous numbers 515 and 666 make their
appearance, numbers that recur frequently in the trilogy: 666 lines separate
Ciacco's prophecy from that of Virgil, and 515 Farinata's prophecy from that of
Ciacco; 666 lines are interposed again between the prophecy of Brunetto Latini
and that of Farinata, and again 515 between the prophecy of Nicolas III and that
of Master Brunetto.'

Guénon writes that

'These numbers 515 and 666, which we see alternate so regularly, are opposed to
each other in the symbolism adopted by Dante: we know in fact that 666 is the
'number of the beast' in the Apocalypse, and that innumerable, and often
fanciful, calculations have been indulged in to find the name of the Antichrist,
of whom it must represent the numeric value, 'for this number is a number of
man.'9 On the other hand, 515 is expressly invested with a meaning directly
contrary to 666 in [Beatrice's] prediction: 'A cinquecento diece e cinque, messo
di Dio....' [Guenon's emphasis].10 Some have thought this 515 equivalent to the
mysterious Veltro, enemy of the she-wolf, which is also identified with the
apocalyptic beast;11 and it has even been suggested that both symbols designated
Henry of Luxembourg.12 We do not intend to discuss the significance of the
Veltro13 here, but neither do we believe it necessary to see in it an allusion
to a particular person; for us, it concerns only one of the aspects of the
general conception Dante had of the empire.'

René Guénon, The Esoterism of Dante, (Ghent, NY: Sophia Perennis, 2001) pp40-42.

'Our sources may be both dammed and damned, but we must acknowledge the
derivation.'

It is one of the strange things of life that one may find oneself given a gift
by an enemy, helped by an enemy or one may even have one's life saved by an
enemy. Charles Williams reminds us to give honour where honour is due.

'The office and function is always to be honoured.'

This is particularly the case with royalty, of course, and priesthood, but the
principle has a much wider application.

'The scribes and the Pharisees',

Christ told the multitude and his disciples,

'sit in Moses' seat
All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do...'

Matthew 23:3-3



'Any who have been at all our source and derivation deserve, for ever and ever,
no less; such a loyalty is necessary to the life of the City, and he who forgets
it sins himself against Nature and deserves for ever to run, far from the City,
on the harsh sand under the unabsolving fire.'

The shock of the imagery from Sodom and Gomorrah drives home the importance of
Williams's warning to us. Ingratitude is close to the spirit of the "mockers" of
whom Scripture speaks.



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

The Figure of Beatrice: A Study in Dante pp130-131

There is one incident in this circle which presents a thing frequently in
Dante's thought - the incident of Brunetto Latini. Brunetto had been Dante's own
teacher; he sees him here running on the sand: 'Siete voi qui, Ser Brunetto? -
are you here, Ser Brunetto?' (XV, 50). Dante speaks of and to him as he speaks
of and to no-one else in hell; Brunetto is indeed the nearest to the shape of a
damned Beatrice.

Chè in la mente m' è fitta, ed or mi accora,
la cara e buona imagine paterna
di voi, quando nel mondo ad ora ad ora
m' insegnavate come I' uom s' eterna,
e quant' io l' abbia in grado, mentre io vivo convien che nella mia lingua si
scerna.

(XV, 82-7)


'The dear, kind, paternal image of you is fixed in my mind and goes now to my
heart, when hour by hour in the world you taught me how man makes himself
eternal, and whilst I live it is proper that my tongue should show how great is
my gratitude.' Possibly in the final depth of hell, such courtesy, like all
courtesy, would be forbidden, but only there. Whatever Brunetto - say, whatever
Beatrice - has been brought to, there is owed to him and to her that freedom of
admiration and respect. Our sources may be both dammed and damned, but we must
acknowledge the derivation. It is the explanation of Dante's attitude towards
even the criminal Popes. Boniface VIII is in hell, but all heaven shudders at
the outrage done to his office in his person. The office and function is always
to be honoured; much more those from whose functions we ourselves have lived and
learnt to live; much more those whom we loved. 'While I live, it is right I
should show my debt.' To ask what Dante would have said to Brunetto, had he
found him in the final all but dehumanized ice, is to go beyond decency; only
the raising of the question shows, in its suggestion of agony, how deep both
passions went with him. There are some things Dante spared himself and us. But
only there, if there, can derivation be forgotten. Elsewhere, for ever and ever,
it must be remembered, willingly praised, and ardently published before earth
and heaven. Any who have been at all our source and derivation deserve, for ever
and ever, no less; such a loyalty is necessary to the life of the City, and he
who forgets it sins himself against Nature and deserves for ever to run, far
from the City, on the harsh sand under the unabsolving fire.
-----------------------------------------------------
"Our sources may be both dammed and damned, but we must acknowledge the
derivation," writes Williams, providing proof of how deep his courtesy (and
ours) should run.

Sayers tells us that the figure we meet at

'1. 30: Ser Brunetto: Messer Brunetto Latini (c. 1220-94) was a Florentine
Guelf, a man of considerable learning. An early commentator says "that he was a
neighbour of Dante and taught him a great many things; that he did not care for
the soul, as he was altogether worldly; that he sinned greatly in unnatural
crime, and scoffed much at the things of God and Holy Church" (Vernon)."'

Dante, The Divine Comedy: Hell, trans Dorothy L. Sayers, (London: Penguin
Classics pbk, 1973), p166


The 'unnatural crime' which Brunetto Latini sinned greatly in is a euphemism for
homosexual vice, particularly sodomy. For example, in Yusuf Ali's  Commentary on
the Holy Qur'an, Sura 7:80-84 we read:


'The inhabitants of Sodom in their lust for unnatural crime invaded Lot's house
but were repulsed.'

(Ali explains that "Lut is the Lot of the English Bible").

Holy Qur'an, Sura 7:

80. We also (sent) Lut: he said to his people: "Do ye commit lewdness such as no
people in creation (ever) committed before you?
81. "For ye practice your lusts on men in preference to women: ye are indeed a
people transgressing beyond bounds."
82. And his people gave no answer but this: they said "drive them out of your
city: these are indeed men who want to be clean and pure!"
83. But We saved him and his family except his wife: she was of those who lagged
behind.
84. And We rained down on them a shower (of brimstone): then see what was the
end of those who indulged in sin and crime!




Dorothy Sayers perceives that at "1. 56: the glorious haven: Brunetto seems to
mistake Dante, and think that he is only aspiring to lasting fame on earth, and
says that, if he himself had not died too soon, he would have helped him to
achieve perfection of knowledge."

Dante, The Divine Comedy: Hell, trans Dorothy L. Sayers, (London: Penguin
Classics pbk, 1973), p166

The misunderstanding is significant.

In his chapter "Extra-terrestrial Journeys In Different Traditions", in his The
Esoterism of Dante, René Guénon holds unlikely the hypothesis of Brunetto Latini
being a possible intermediary for the transmission of the writings of Muhyi
'd-Din  ibn al-'Arabi to Dante:
"One question that seems to have greatly preoccupied most of Dante's
commentators is that of what sources to acknowledge for his conception of the
descent into Hell; and this is also one of the points that most clearly
highlights the incompetence of those who have only studied these questions in a
completely 'profane' manner. In fact, this matter can only be understood through
a certain acquaintance with the stages of initiation, and it is this that we
shall now try to explain.
If Dante takes Virgil for his guide in the first two parts of his journey, the
principal reason, as everyone recognizes, is doubtless his recollection of the
sixth canto of the Aeneid, but we must add that this is because Virgil's work is
no mere poetic fiction, but, on the contrary, gives incontestable proof of
initiatic knowledge. It is not without reason that the practice of the sortes
virgilianae [casting of lots] was so widespread in the Middle Ages; and if
people have wanted to make a magician of Virgil, this is only a popular and
exoteric distortion of a profound truth which those who likened his work to Holy
Writ - even if they did so only for a divinatory usage of very relative interest
- probably sensed better than they could express.
On the other hand, it is not difficult to see in this connection that Virgil
himself had some predecessors among the Greeks, and apropos of this to recall
the voyage of Ulysses to the country of the Cimmerians and the descent of
Orpheus into the Underworld; but does the concordance we have noticed in all of
this prove nothing more than a series of borrowings or successive imitations?
The truth is that what is involved here has a close connection to the mysteries
of antiquity, and that the various poetic and legendary accounts are only
translations of one and the same reality: the golden bough [rameau d'or] that
Aeneas, guided by the Sibyl, first goes to gather in the forest (that very selva
selvaggia where Dante also sets the beginning of his poem), is the same bough
that was carried by the Eleusinian initiates, reminding one further of the
acacia of modern Masonry, 'token of resurrection and immortality'. What is more,
Christianity presents us with a similar symbolism: in the Catholic liturgy it is
Palm Sunday [la fête des Rameaux]¹
1. The Latin name for this festival is Dominica in Palmis [Palm Sunday]. The
palm and the bough are obviously one and the same thing; and the palm, taken as
an emblem for the martyrs, also has the meaning we are indicating here. Recall
also the popular name Paques fleuries [for Palm Sunday, literally 'flowery
Pascha'], which very dearly expresses, although those who use it today are
ignorant of it, the relationship of the symbolism of this festival to the
resurrection.


that opens Holy Week, which encompasses the death of Christ, his descent into
Hell, and his resurrection, to be followed shortly thereafter by his glorious
ascension; and it is precisely on Holy Monday that Dante's recital commences, as
if to indicate that it is in undertaking the quest of the mysterious bough that
he loses his way in the dark forest where he will meet Virgil; and his journey
across the worlds will last until Easter Sunday, that is to say until the Day of
Resurrection.
On the one hand, death and descent into the hells; on the other, resurrection
and ascension to the heavens. These are two inverse and complementary phases, of
which the first is the necessary preparation for the second, and can easily be
recognized in the description of the Hermetic 'Great Work'; the same is clearly
affirmed in all traditional doctrines. In Islam, for example, we encounter the
episode of Muhammad's 'nocturnal journey', consisting of the same descent into
the infernal regions (isra), followed by ascension to the various paradises or
celestial spheres (mir'aj). There is a striking similarity between certain
accounts of this 'nocturnal journey' and Dante's poem, so much so that some have
seen in them one of the principal sources of Dante's inspiration. Don Miguel
Asìn Palacios has shown the multiple relationships that exist in respect not
only of content but also of form, between the Divine Comedy (not to speak of
some passages from the Vita Nuova and the Convivio) on the one hand, and both
the Kitab al-Isra (The Book of the Nocturnal Journey) and the Futuhat
al-Makkiyah (The Meccan Revelations) of Muhyi'd-Din  ibn al-'Arabi on the other,
works that were written about eighty years before Dante's. He concludes that
these analogies, taken alone, are more numerous than all of those that other
commentators have succeeded in establishing between Dante's work and the
literatures of all other countries.2


2. Miguel Asìn  Palacios, La Escatologia Musulmana en la Divina Comedia:
sequida de la historia y critica de una polemica (Madrid: Editorial Maestre,
1961). [See Islam and the Divine Comedy, tr. Harold Sutherland (London: Frank
Cass & Co., 1968).] Cf. Edgar Blochet, Les Sources orientates de 'la divine
Comédie' (Paris: J. Maisonneuve, 1901)."

"Here are some examples:
In an adaptation of the Islamic legend, a wolf and a lion bar the pilgrim's
route; similarly, the panther, the lion, and the she-wolf force Dante to draw
back.... Heaven sends Virgil to Dante and Gabriel to Muhammad, each satisfying
the pilgrim's curiosity during the journey. Hell is heralded in the two legends
by identical signs: violent and confused tumult, blasts of fire.... The
architecture of Dante's Inferno is modeled on the Muslim Hell: both consist of
an immense funnel formed by a series of levels, with circular steps or stairs
descending gradually to the bottom of the earth; each of them harbors a category
of sinners whose culpability and punishment grow worse the deeper the circle in
which they dwell. Each level is subdivided into several others, allotted to
various categories of sinners; finally, both of these Hells are located under
the city of Jerusalem.... On leaving Hell, in order to purify himself and ascend
to Paradise, Dante undergoes a triple ablution. In the Islamic tradition, a
similar triple ablution purifies souls: before entering Heaven, they are plunged
successively into the waters of the three rivers that fertilize the Garden of
Abraham.... The architecture of the celestial spheres across which the Ascension
occurs is identical in the two legends: the souls of the blessed are ranged in
the nine heavens according to their respective merits, and are gathered finally
in the Empyrean or last sphere.... Just as Beatrice stands aside that Saint
Bernard may guide Dante during the final stages, so does Gabriel abandon
Muhammad near the throne of God, to which he will be drawn by a luminous
garland.... The final apotheosis of both ascensions is the same: the two
travelers, raised to the presence of God, describe Him as a center of intense
light surrounded by nine concentric circles formed by close files of innumerable
angelic spirits who emit luminous rays; one of the circular ranks nearest to the
center is that of the Cherubim; each circle encloses the circle immediately
below it, and all nine turn unceasingly around the divine center.... The
infernal stages, the astronomical heavens, the circles of the mystic rose, the
angelic choirs that surround the center of divine light, the three circles
symbolizing the trinity of persons: all are borrowed word for word by the
Florentine poet from Muhyi 'd-Din ibn al-'Arabi.3

3. A. Cabaton, 'La Divine Comédie et 1'Islam', in Revue de I'Histoire des
Religion, 1920; this article contains a resume of the work of Miguel Asìn 
Palacios.

"Such coincidences, extending to the most precise details, cannot be accidental,
and we have many reasons to think that to a considerable extent Dante indeed was
inspired by the writings of Muhyi 'd-Din. But how could he have known these
writings? One possible intermediary is Brunetto Latini, who had lived in Spain,
but this hypothesis hardly seems satisfactory because, though he was born in
Murcia (hence his nickname Al-Andalusi), Muhyi 'd-Din did not spend all his life
in Spain, dying in fact in Damascus; and though his disciples were spread
throughout the Islamic world -primarily in Syria and Egypt - it is unlikely that
his works entered the public domain at that time; indeed, some have never yet
been published. Muhyi 'd-Din was in fact anything but the 'mystical poet' that
Palacios imagines him to be. What must be acknowledged here is that in Islamic
esoterism Muhyi'd-Din is referred to as al-Shaykh al-Akbar, that is, the
greatest of spiritual Masters, the Master par excellence; that his doctrine is
purely metaphysical; and that several of the principal initiatic Orders in
Islam, among them the highest and least accessible, proceed from him directly.
We have already indicated that in the thirteenth century, that is to say in
Muhyi 'd- Din's own era, such organizations were in contact with the Orders of
Chivalry, which for us explains the transmission noted. Were it otherwise, and
had Dante known of Muhyi'd-Din through 'profane' channels, why did he never name
him, as he did two exoteric philosophers of Islam, Avicenna and Averroes?4

4. Inferno, iv, 143-144.


"Furthermore, it is recognized that there were some Islamic influences at the
beginnings of Rosicrucianism; it is to this that the supposed journeys of
Christian Rosenkreuz to the East allude. But the real origin of Rosicrucianism,
as we have already stated, lies precisely in the Orders of Chivalry; and it was
these that formed the true intellectual link between the East and the West in
the Middle Ages.
Modern Western critics, who regard Muhammad's 'nocturnal journey' as nothing
more than a poetic legend, claim that this legend is not specifically Islamic,
or Arab, but of Persian origin, for an account of a similar journey exists in a
Mazdean book, the Arda Viraf Nameh.5

5. Blochet, 'Études sur 1'Histoire religieuse de 1'Islam', in Revue de
I'Histoire des Religions, 1899. A French translation of Livre d'Arda Vîraf, by
M.A. Barthélemy, was published in 1887.

"Some think it necessary to go back much further, to India, where in Brahmanism
as well as in Buddhism we indeed meet a multitude of symbolic descriptions of
the diverse states of existence under the form of a hierarchically organized
ensemble of heavens and hells; and some even go so far as to suppose that Dante
may have been directly influenced by doctrines from India.6

6. Angelo de Gubematis, 'Dante e 1'India', in Giornale della Società asiatica
italiana, vol. iii, 1889, pp3-19; 'Le Type indien de Lucifer chez Dante', in
Actes du Xe Congrès des Orientalistes. Cabaton, in the article cited above,
points out that 'Ozanam had already glimpsed a double Islamic and Indian
influence on Dante' ('Essai sur la philosophie de Dante', pp198 ff); but we must
say that the work of Ozanam, in spite of the reputation it enjoys, seems to us
extremely superficial."


"For those who see all this as mere 'literature', such a way of looking at
things is understandable, although it is rather difficult, even from the
historical point of view, to admit that Dante could have known anything of India
other than through the intermediary of the Arabs. For us, however, these
similarities demonstrate nothing else than the unity of doctrine in all
traditions. There is nothing astonishing in finding everywhere expressions of
the same truths, but precisely in order not to be astonished one must first of
all know that these are truths, and not more or less arbitrary fictions. Where
there are only resemblances of a general order there is no reason to conclude
that there must have been direct communication, for such a conclusion would be
justified only if the same ideas were expressed in an identical form, such as is
the case with Muhyi'd-Din and Dante. It is certain that what we find in Dante is
in perfect accord with the Hindu theories of the worlds and cosmic cycles,
though it is not clothed in a properly Hindu form; and this accord necessarily
exists among all who are conscious of the same truths, however they may have
acquired knowledge of them."

René Guénon, The Esoterism of Dante, (Ghent, NY: Sophia Perennis, 2001) pp26-31.


'sees him here running on the sand'

Sayers writes of the Sodomites that

'Their perpetual fruitless running forms a parallel, on a lower level, to the
aimless drifting of the Lustful in Canto V.'

Dante, The Divine Comedy: Hell, trans Dorothy L. Sayers, (London: Penguin
Classics pbk, 1973), p165.

'As we descend with Dante through the levels of Hell' writes William Anderson in
his excellent Dante the Maker, 'so we find the damned less and less able to
exercise control over their bodily movements. Some are impelled to run on
burning sand like Brunetto Latini...This inability to move as they would is a
physical analogue of the decay of mental control.'

William Anderson, Dante the Maker, (London: Hutchinson, 1983), pp17-18.


'Brunetto is indeed the nearest to the shape of a damned Beatrice.'

In René Guénon, The Esoterism of Dante, (Ghent, NY: Sophia Perennis, 2001) p41
we find that Dante employs number symbolism to draw just this contrast:

'666 lines are interposed again between the prophecy of Brunetto
  Latini and that of Farinata'.

René Guénon finds that a predominantly literary 1921 work by Rodolpho Benini
says that:

'...Dante substituted for the earlier plan a system of consonances and rhythmic
periods far more complicated and secret, as bents a revelatory language spoken
by those who see the future. Here the famous numbers 515 and 666 make their
appearance, numbers that recur frequently in the trilogy: 666 lines separate
Ciacco's prophecy from that of Virgil, and 515 Farinata's prophecy from that of
Ciacco; 666 lines are interposed again between the prophecy of Brunetto Latini
and that of Farinata, and again 515 between the prophecy of Nicolas III and that
of Master Brunetto.'

Guénon writes that

'These numbers 515 and 666, which we see alternate so regularly, are opposed to
each other in the symbolism adopted by Dante: we know in fact that 666 is the
'number of the beast' in the Apocalypse, and that innumerable, and often
fanciful, calculations have been indulged in to find the name of the Antichrist,
of whom it must represent the numeric value, 'for this number is a number of
man.'9 On the other hand, 515 is expressly invested with a meaning directly
contrary to 666 in [Beatrice's] prediction: 'A cinquecento diece e cinque, messo
di Dio....' [Guenon's emphasis].10 Some have thought this 515 equivalent to the
mysterious Veltro, enemy of the she-wolf, which is also identified with the
apocalyptic beast;11 and it has even been suggested that both symbols designated
Henry of Luxembourg.12 We do not intend to discuss the significance of the
Veltro13 here, but neither do we believe it necessary to see in it an allusion
to a particular person; for us, it concerns only one of the aspects of the
general conception Dante had of the empire.'

René Guénon, The Esoterism of Dante, (Ghent, NY: Sophia Perennis, 2001) pp40-42.

'Our sources may be both dammed and damned, but we must acknowledge the
derivation.'

It is one of the strange things of life that one may find oneself given a gift
by an enemy, helped by an enemy or one may even have one's life saved by an
enemy. Charles Williams reminds us to give honour where honour is due.

'The office and function is always to be honoured.'

This is particularly the case with royalty, of course, and priesthood, but the
principle has a much wider application.

'The scribes and the Pharisees',

Christ told the multitude and his disciples,

'sit in Moses' seat
All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do...'

Matthew 23:3-3



'Any who have been at all our source and derivation deserve, for ever and ever,
no less; such a loyalty is necessary to the life of the City, and he who forgets
it sins himself against Nature and deserves for ever to run, far from the City,
on the harsh sand under the unabsolving fire.'

The shock of the imagery from Sodom and Gomorrah drives home the importance of
Williams's warning to us. Ingratitude is close to the spirit of the "mockers" of
whom Scripture speaks.



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Is Dante *surprised* to see Brunetto there (in the story)? Had he (in
1300) thought of B. as having died in a state of grace?

The connection of Dante to Islamic texts seems stretched to me.

Any takers?

DDD


--- In coinherence-l@yahoogroups.com, "Allan Dewar" <AMDewar@x> wrote:
> The Figure of Beatrice: A Study in Dante pp130-131
>
> There is one incident in this circle which presents a thing
frequently in Dante's thought - the incident of Brunetto Latini.
Brunetto had been Dante's own teacher; he sees him here running on
the sand: 'Siete voi qui, Ser Brunetto? - are you here, Ser
Brunetto?' (XV, 50). Dante speaks of and to him as he speaks of and
to no-one else in hell; Brunetto is indeed the nearest to the shape
of a damned Beatrice.

<<Is Dante *surprised* to see Brunetto there (in the story)? Had he (in
1300) thought of B. as having died in a state of grace?
The connection of Dante to Islamic texts seems stretched to me.
Any takers?
DDD>>

     We should remember that the revival of Aristotle in European thought came
as a result of translated Arabic sources.  Aristotle was very popular among
Arabic philosophers, and commentaries on his works translated into Latin were a
major influence on Aquinas, among others.  This was well before Dante.  There
is no difficulty with other translated Arabic material circulating in Europe
and getting into the hands of such an omniverous reader as Dante.  I have a
feeling we do not have surviving all the sources which Dante used.

<<Possibly in the final depth of hell, such courtesy, like all courtesy,
would be forbidden, but only there. Whatever Brunetto - say, whatever Beatrice -
has been brought to, there is owed to him and to her that freedom of admiration
and respect. Our sources may be both dammed and damned, but we must
acknowledge the derivation.>>

     Dante repeatedly acknowledged another damned source which he emulated --
Vergil.  It is basic to Dante's method to accept the good which may be found
in those he cannot place in Paradise.  I don't know that Dante the character
was surprised as much as overcome with emotion when he met his old mentor
Brunetto in such a state.
Jim Miller


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[I subscribe to this daily from Merriam-Webster. Today's word seemed
apropos of CW. /DDD ]

The Word of the Day for April 12 is:

simulacrum   \sim-yuh-LAK-rum\   noun
      1 : image, representation
    *2 : an insubstantial form or semblance of something : trace

Example sentence:
      After the numerous changes put in place by his editor, the
final piece seemed to be a mere simulacrum of the essay Daniel
had submitted.

Did you know?
      It's not a figment of your imagination; there is a
similarity between "simulacrum" and "simulate." Both of those
English words derive from "simulare," a Latin verb meaning "to
imitate." In its earliest English uses, "simulacrum" named
something that provided an image or representation (as, for
instance, a portrait, marble statue, or wax figure representing
a person). Perhaps because a simulacrum, no matter how
skillfully done, is not the real thing, the word gained an
extended sense emphasizing the superficiality or
insubstantiality of a thing. Today, the word is used as a
synonym of "counterfeit" or "fake," but to be fair,
a "simulacrum" is generally not intended to deceive or defraud;
rather, the word implies that something completely lacks
substance or reality.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

Suggestions of Dante's drawing on Islamic sources or of Brunetto Latini possibly
providing a link may appear far-fetched to us at first. We have, for example,
noted the burning mosques in the circle of the heretics.  Indeed, as
award-winning Dante biographer William Anderson declares in his Dante the Maker,
(London: Hutchinson, 1983), p25:

"The great debt the Commedia owes to Islam is not acknowledged in the poem; the
extent of the debt is a discovery only made in this century (see Chapter 16),
and the Prophet appears in the Inferno as a 'seminator di scandolo e di
scisma'..."

Yet, as Anderson relates, after an examination of non-Islamic sources:

   'Of all the writings more or less contemporary with the Commedia, the fullest
resemblance comes from Islam. There was a widely diffused legend in Islam based
on Sura XVII of the Koran which begins:

Glorified be He Who carried His servant by night from the Inviolable Place of
Worship to the Far Distant Place of Worship the neighbourhood whereof We have
blessed, that We might show him of Our tokens! Lo He, only He, is the Hearer,
the Seer.

In the development of this story, Mohammed was transported one night from Mecca
to the site of the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem by the archangel Gabriel.
Thence, on his mare Buraq, he mounted to Heaven and Gabriel instructed him in
the course of his journey. The Spanish Arabist, Father M. Asin Palacios, in a
work published in 1919, came to the conclusion, after collating parallels
between Islamic descriptions of journeys to the Other World with the Commedia,
that Dante's subject-matter was drawn to a great extent from Islamic sources. He
found these parallels in works by Abu' l-'Ala al-Ma'arri (973-1058) and Ibn
al-'Arabi, especially the latter's Meccan Revelations. What was most remarkable
was not only the similarities between the cosmological features, which were, in
any case, the common property of intellectuals of both faiths, but also the
ethical and moral parallels in the systems of both Dante and Ibn al-'Arabi.
Asin's great problem in answering those who remained sceptical was to show how
Dante could have gained the detailed knowledge of these works on which Asin's
theory depended. He suggested that Brunetto Latini could have provided the link,
following his embassy in 1260 to Alfonso X of Castile, whose court was a
meeting-place for the two faiths. Some years later an unsuspected key to the
link was found in the translation made by an Italian, Bonaventura da Siena, into
Latin and Old French of a lost Castilian version of an Arabic mi'raj - a popular
text describing this very journey of the Prophet to the Other World. Enrico
Cerulli, the scholar who found and published the translations, was able to prove
that the work was current in early fourteenth-century Italy and was mentioned by
followers and imitators of Dante as the Libro della Scalar. This work, with its
fascinating series of bold and almost primitive images, including a giant
cockerel which crows at the throne of God and an angel of ice, provided
remarkable confirmation of Asin's basic theory, although it turned attention
away from Ibn al-'Arabi as a possible source, to Muslim popular literature.
Cerulli also suggested that Dante was impelled to create his own poem because
he responded to the legend of the mi'raj as a challenge to Christianity, a great
conception that the West was honour bound to excel. The parallels with Ibn
al-'Arabi, which also concern the Vita Nuova and the Convivio, still remain
largely unexplained and probably always will if a direct link is searched for
though there are two possible links, both closely concerned with the site of the
Dome of the Rock, from which the Prophet made his ascent and on which the Temple
of Jerusalem was built.
These two links are, first, the experiences of pilgrims returning from the Holy
Land and, second, the influence of the Templar order which, until the final loss
of Jerusalem in 1244, shared the duty of guarding the Temple site. Pilgrims from
the West to the site of the Temple would have heard of the Prophet's ascent from
the Muslim guides taking them round, and such a connexion brings us to yet
another strand of the multitudinous journeys synthesized into the Commedia. This
is the pilgrimage of the Great Circle, the journey that took hundreds of
pilgrims from all parts of Western Europe every year by way of Crete to Egypt,
across the desert to Mount Sinai, then to Jerusalem for the visits to the Holy
Places, and back across the Mediterranean for the final stage of veneration in
the basilicas of Rome. Written accounts of the Holy Land and the places of
pilgrimage were popular and many survive. It would appear that Dante was
thoroughly familiar with the main stages of this pilgrimage and made his own
journey in the poem the figural interpretation of the actual pilgrimage that so
many of his contemporaries and acquaintances must be made. The Inferno begins
with the Exodus theme of the escape from the dark wood and, though Dante cannot
climb the delectable mountain, which seem to be Mount Sion, he eventually
arrives at the antipodes of Jerusalem to ascend a mountain at whose foot
arriving souls sing the Exodus psalm, whose opening phrase is the one which he
used twice in his explanations of the fourfold method of interpretation. The
mountain of Purgatory is ascended by cornices similar to those of Mount Sinai
and it also has marked similarities to other mythical mountains, including Mount
Eden, described in reports from pilgrims. Another Jerusalem is entered in the
Earthly Paradise, which is itself a figural presentation of the Temple
enclosure, whose dimensions and proportions had been copied by the Templar order
in their houses throughout Europe, including Florence, and thus would have been
familiar to Dante. From that Temple of flowers and trees he continues to the
eternal Rome of the celestial Paradise.
This raises once more the question of Dante's possible affiliation to the
Templar order, or, at least, of Templar influence on him. The Templars, as a
great institution with the need for an international and supranational policy,
with their control of banking in the Near East, with an intelligence service
that necessitated the deepest knowledge of Islamic society and thought in their
long fight to preserve the Latin kingdom, provide one of the best explanations
of the line of transmission that could have informed Dante not only of the
association of the mi'raj legend with the site of the Temple, but also of the
myths of world renewal that underlie his prophecies of the veltro and the DXV.
Many of the most obscure allegorical passages receive their most coherent
explanation when related to the crisis of the Templar order. That they are
couched in such obscure images, when Dante felt free to denounce the corruption
of the Church itself in open and uncompromising terms, can be explained by the
final suppression of the order in May 1312, after which any attempt to defend
them could be seized upon as heresy. The chief evidence for his affiliation lies
in the imagery of the poem (see Chapter 19). The order had been founded in 1118,
soon winning the guidance and blessing of St Bernard, the sixth guide of the
Commedia, to guard the Holy Places in Jerusalem, to protect the pilgrim routes,
and to fight the infidel. Through long years of proximity with the rival
civilization of Islam, the Templars and their adversaries won very high opinions
of each other. As was said in Chapter 6, it is possible that, through this
proximity, Sufi ideas and practices, founded as they were on many of the same
Neoplatonic traditions that nourished Christian mysticism, and with the added
appeal of the Perennial Philosophy, infiltrated among the members of the order
and thence to the lay members of the confraternity of the order known as La Fede
Santa, to which Dante is supposed by supporters of the Templar theory to have
belonged. This possibility is, of course, highly conjectural, and if there was a
Sufi influence, it would have been confined to small groups within the order -
and their beliefs would have borne no relation to the farrago of superstitions
devised by Philip the Fair's investigators to which they forced their Templar
prisoners to confess. The open aim of the order was still the same in 1300 as in
1118: to contest the infidel; and the connexion may help to explain how Dante
could exhibit such a wide knowledge of Islamic lore and tradition and at the
same time express such an antipathy to them.'

Anderson promises the reader that

'More will be said in this and later chapters about the Templar connexion,
notably in dealing with Dante's symbolism of the cross and the eagle in his
historiography, with the significance of Lucia, the problems of the veltro, the
old man of Crete, and the prophecy of the DXV, and in discussing the imagery of
the Earthly Paradise.'


William Anderson, Dante the Maker, (London: Hutchinson, 1983), pp277-279.

'There is a tale which creeps into the Dante commentaries', writes Holloway in
his "Chancery And Comedy:
Brunetto Latini And Dante Alighieri", 'that Brunetto may have made a mistake in
a notarial document'... ' and so chose to go into exile rather than to admit his
fault.'

Holloway also reports that

  '... two documents in Bologna show Brunetto not as a diplomat but trafficking
in money loans at interest through members of the Ardinghelli family, also
involved in banking in England during Brunetto's time of exile in France.'

http://www.brown.edu/Departments/Italian_Studies/LD/numbers/03/holloway.html

In Nevin, Thomas, "Ser Brunetto's Immortality: Inferno XV," in Dante Studies,
XCVI, 21-37, [1978], the theme of sterility is picked up again as Nevin
'contends that in his works Dante's old teacher manifests a vision limited to
philosophical allegory and lacks the eschatological imperative of his Christian
faith. Lacking in Spiritual vision and guilty of cupidity, his will could never
be consonant with the will of God. His condition is set in relief by Dante's own
confession of errancy in Purgatorio XXX-XXXI. In sum, Brunetto manifestly was
not intellectually a Christian poet, for all the words of his prophecy to the
Pilgrim and the poet's imagery in the canto point to a man of circumscribed
vision that conceived of immortality in time- and earth-bound terms. A man of
intellect, his is the sterility of a mind misdirected away from its only
possible fruition in its natural home in God. Hence his location among the
blasphemers and usurers.'

www.brandeis.edu/library/dante/adb1978.htm






[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

It is not so strange that Dante might have drawn of Islamic sources.
There was some Islamic influence on the Middle Ages. Especially the
medieval philosophy - and theology - was influenced by Islamic thinkers.
Examples are Avicenna and Averroes. Their works were translated into
Latin and so they influenced many Christian european thinkers.

Thomas
www.quod-est-dicendum.org <http://www.quod-est-dicendum.org>

Allan Dewar schrieb:

>Suggestions of Dante's drawing on Islamic sources or of Brunetto Latini
possibly providing a link may appear far-fetched to us at first. We have, for
example, noted the burning mosques in the circle of the heretics.  Indeed, as
award-winning Dante biographer William Anderson declares in his Dante the Maker,
(London: Hutchinson, 1983), p25:
>
>"The great debt the Commedia owes to Islam is not acknowledged in the poem; the
extent of the debt is a discovery only made in this century (see Chapter 16),
and the Prophet appears in the Inferno as a 'seminator di scandolo e di
scisma'..."
>
>Yet, as Anderson relates, after an examination of non-Islamic sources:
>
>  'Of all the writings more or less contemporary with the Commedia, the fullest
resemblance comes from Islam. There was a widely diffused legend in Islam based
on Sura XVII of the Koran which begins:
>
>Glorified be He Who carried His servant by night from the Inviolable Place of
Worship to the Far Distant Place of Worship the neighbourhood whereof We have
blessed, that We might show him of Our tokens! Lo He, only He, is the Hearer,
the Seer.
>
>In the development of this story, Mohammed was transported one night from Mecca
to the site of the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem by the archangel Gabriel.
Thence, on his mare Buraq, he mounted to Heaven and Gabriel instructed him in
the course of his journey. The Spanish Arabist, Father M. Asin Palacios, in a
work published in 1919, came to the conclusion, after collating parallels
between Islamic descriptions of journeys to the Other World with the Commedia,
that Dante's subject-matter was drawn to a great extent from Islamic sources. He
found these parallels in works by Abu' l-'Ala al-Ma'arri (973-1058) and Ibn
al-'Arabi, especially the latter's Meccan Revelations. What was most remarkable
was not only the similarities between the cosmological features, which were, in
any case, the common property of intellectuals of both faiths, but also the
ethical and moral parallels in the systems of both Dante and Ibn al-'Arabi.
Asin's great problem in answering those who remained sceptical was to show how
Dante could have gained the detailed knowledge of these works on which Asin's
theory depended. He suggested that Brunetto Latini could have provided the link,
following his embassy in 1260 to Alfonso X of Castile, whose court was a
meeting-place for the two faiths. Some years later an unsuspected key to the
link was found in the translation made by an Italian, Bonaventura da Siena, into
Latin and Old French of a lost Castilian version of an Arabic mi'raj - a popular
text describing this very journey of the Prophet to the Other World. Enrico
Cerulli, the scholar who found and published the translations, was able to prove
that the work was current in early fourteenth-century Italy and was mentioned by
followers and imitators of Dante as the Libro della Scalar. This work, with its
fascinating series of bold and almost primitive images, including a giant
cockerel which crows at the throne of God and an angel of ice, provided
remarkable confirmation of Asin's basic theory, although it turned attention
away from Ibn al-'Arabi as a possible source, to Muslim popular literature.
Cerulli also suggested that Dante was impelled to create his own poem because
>he responded to the legend of the mi'raj as a challenge to Christianity, a
great conception that the West was honour bound to excel. The parallels with Ibn
al-'Arabi, which also concern the Vita Nuova and the Convivio, still remain
largely unexplained and probably always will if a direct link is searched for
though there are two possible links, both closely concerned with the site of the
Dome of the Rock, from which the Prophet made his ascent and on which the Temple
of Jerusalem was built.
>These two links are, first, the experiences of pilgrims returning from the Holy
Land and, second, the influence of the Templar order which, until the final loss
of Jerusalem in 1244, shared the duty of guarding the Temple site. Pilgrims from
the West to the site of the Temple would have heard of the Prophet's ascent from
the Muslim guides taking them round, and such a connexion brings us to yet
another strand of the multitudinous journeys synthesized into the Commedia. This
is the pilgrimage of the Great Circle, the journey that took hundreds of
pilgrims from all parts of Western Europe every year by way of Crete to Egypt,
across the desert to Mount Sinai, then to Jerusalem for the visits to the Holy
Places, and back across the Mediterranean for the final stage of veneration in
the basilicas of Rome. Written accounts of the Holy Land and the places of
pilgrimage were popular and many survive. It would appear that Dante was
thoroughly familiar with the main stages of this pilgrimage and made his own
journey in the poem the figural interpretation of the actual pilgrimage that so
many of his contemporaries and acquaintances must be made. The Inferno begins
with the Exodus theme of the escape from the dark wood and, though Dante cannot
climb the delectable mountain, which seem to be Mount Sion, he eventually
arrives at the antipodes of Jerusalem to ascend a mountain at whose foot
arriving souls sing the Exodus psalm, whose opening phrase is the one which he
used twice in his explanations of the fourfold method of interpretation. The
mountain of Purgatory is ascended by cornices similar to those of Mount Sinai
and it also has marked similarities to other mythical mountains, including Mount
Eden, described in reports from pilgrims. Another Jerusalem is entered in the
Earthly Paradise, which is itself a figural presentation of the Temple
enclosure, whose dimensions and proportions had been copied by the Templar order
in their houses throughout Europe, including Florence, and thus would have been
familiar to Dante. From that Temple of flowers and trees he continues to the
eternal Rome of the celestial Paradise.
>This raises once more the question of Dante's possible affiliation to the
Templar order, or, at least, of Templar influence on him. The Templars, as a
great institution with the need for an international and supranational policy,
with their control of banking in the Near East, with an intelligence service
that necessitated the deepest knowledge of Islamic society and thought in their
long fight to preserve the Latin kingdom, provide one of the best explanations
of the line of transmission that could have informed Dante not only of the
association of the mi'raj legend with the site of the Temple, but also of the
myths of world renewal that underlie his prophecies of the veltro and the DXV.
Many of the most obscure allegorical passages receive their most coherent
explanation when related to the crisis of the Templar order. That they are
couched in such obscure images, when Dante felt free to denounce the corruption
of the Church itself in open and uncompromising terms, can be explained by the
final suppression of the order in May 1312, after which any attempt to defend
them could be seized upon as heresy. The chief evidence for his affiliation lies
in the imagery of the poem (see Chapter 19). The order had been founded in 1118,
soon winning the guidance and blessing of St Bernard, the sixth guide of the
Commedia, to guard the Holy Places in Jerusalem, to protect the pilgrim routes,
and to fight the infidel. Through long years of proximity with the rival
civilization of Islam, the Templars and their adversaries won very high opinions
of each other. As was said in Chapter 6, it is possible that, through this
proximity, Sufi ideas and practices, founded as they were on many of the same
Neoplatonic traditions that nourished Christian mysticism, and with the added
appeal of the Perennial Philosophy, infiltrated among the members of the order
and thence to the lay members of the confraternity of the order known as La Fede
Santa, to which Dante is supposed by supporters of the Templar theory to have
belonged. This possibility is, of course, highly conjectural, and if there was a
Sufi influence, it would have been confined to small groups within the order -
and their beliefs would have borne no relation to the farrago of superstitions
devised by Philip the Fair's investigators to which they forced their Templar
prisoners to confess. The open aim of the order was still the same in 1300 as in
1118: to contest the infidel; and the connexion may help to explain how Dante
could exhibit such a wide knowledge of Islamic lore and tradition and at the
same time express such an antipathy to them.'
>
>Anderson promises the reader that
>
>'More will be said in this and later chapters about the Templar connexion,
notably in dealing with Dante's symbolism of the cross and the eagle in his
historiography, with the significance of Lucia, the problems of the veltro, the
old man of Crete, and the prophecy of the DXV, and in discussing the imagery of
the Earthly Paradise.'
>
>
>William Anderson, Dante the Maker, (London: Hutchinson, 1983), pp277-279.
>
>'There is a tale which creeps into the Dante commentaries', writes Holloway in
his "Chancery And Comedy:
>Brunetto Latini And Dante Alighieri", 'that Brunetto may have made a mistake in
a notarial document'... ' and so chose to go into exile rather than to admit his
fault.'
>
>Holloway also reports that
>
> '... two documents in Bologna show Brunetto not as a diplomat but trafficking
in money loans at interest through members of the Ardinghelli family, also
involved in banking in England during Brunetto's time of exile in France.'
>
>http://www.brown.edu/Departments/Italian_Studies/LD/numbers/03/holloway.html
>
>In Nevin, Thomas, "Ser Brunetto's Immortality: Inferno XV," in Dante Studies,
XCVI, 21-37, [1978], the theme of sterility is picked up again as Nevin
'contends that in his works Dante's old teacher manifests a vision limited to
philosophical allegory and lacks the eschatological imperative of his Christian
faith. Lacking in Spiritual vision and guilty of cupidity, his will could never
be consonant with the will of God. His condition is set in relief by Dante's own
confession of errancy in Purgatorio XXX-XXXI. In sum, Brunetto manifestly was
not intellectually a Christian poet, for all the words of his prophecy to the
Pilgrim and the poet's imagery in the canto point to a man of circumscribed
vision that conceived of immortality in time- and earth-bound terms. A man of
intellect, his is the sterility of a mind misdirected away from its only
possible fruition in its natural home in God. Hence his location among the
blasphemers and usurers.'
>
>www.brandeis.edu/library/dante/adb1978.htm
>
>
>
>
>
>
>[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>
>
>
>Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Dante put Muhammad himself (and his son-in-law Ali) among the Schismatics;
but Averroes and Saldin are among the Virtuous Heathen in the topmost
circle. But this suggests to me that Dante knew of Islam chiefly through
philosophy and the Crusades. The Night Journey would not figure in these!
Indeed, the inclusion of Ali as a schismatic suggests that Dante was not
well up in Islamic  h i s t o r y; if my memory serves me rightly, Ali was
assassinated because he was willing even to abdicate as Caliph if that
would avoid schism!
         Richard Sturch.

I have read in one of the commentaries on the Divine Comedy that Dante
might have seen only Ali as one of the close supporters of Muhammad. So
he might have seen him as a schismatic because he supported Muhammad and
not because he was - or was not - responsible for the schism inside of
Islam.

I don't know whether that is the right explanation, but it might be an
answer.

Thomas
www.quod-est-dicendum.org <http://www.quod-est-dicendum.org>

R. Sturch schrieb:

>Dante put Muhammad himself (and his son-in-law Ali) among the Schismatics;
>but Averroes and Saldin are among the Virtuous Heathen in the topmost
>circle. But this suggests to me that Dante knew of Islam chiefly through
>philosophy and the Crusades. The Night Journey would not figure in these!
>Indeed, the inclusion of Ali as a schismatic suggests that Dante was not
>well up in Islamic  h i s t o r y; if my memory serves me rightly, Ali was
>assassinated because he was willing even to abdicate as Caliph if that
>would avoid schism!
>        Richard Sturch.
>
>
>
>Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Did Dante follow Aquinas in seeing Islam as a heresy (or schism) of
Judaism? Is that even right about Aquinas? Does anyone has a cite?

DDD

On 25 Apr 2004 at 10:50, stagh0rn wrote:

> Did Dante follow Aquinas in seeing Islam as a heresy (or schism) of
> Judaism? Is that even right about Aquinas? Does anyone has a cite?

I don't know about Aquinas, but St John of Damascus certainly saw Islam as a
Christian heresy, and he lived among Muslims, whom he called Ishmaelites.

--
Steve Hayes
E-mail: shayes@...
    Web: http://www.geocities.com/Athens/7734/stevesig.htm
  Phone: 083-342-3563 or 012-333-6727

>On 25 Apr 2004 at 10:50, stagh0rn wrote:
>
>>  Did Dante follow Aquinas in seeing Islam as a heresy (or schism) of
>>  Judaism? Is that even right about Aquinas? Does anyone has a cite?
>
>I don't know about Aquinas, but St John of Damascus certainly saw Islam as a
>Christian heresy, and he lived among Muslims, whom he called Ishmaelites.
>
>--
If I remember correctly the heresy is Nestorian. The Nestorian church
was active and influential in Arab areas and had an influence on the
development of Islam. Jesus is seen as a prophet, but not the Son of
God and whose crucifixion was only apparent. I've checked through my
copies of Aquinas' Summas and find no reference to Islam. There may
be reference in some of his other works.

Donne

In http://www.diafrica.org/nigeriaop/kenny/ThoArabs.htm Joseph Kenny OP
refers to exp[licit references to Islam by St Thomas at the beginning of
Summa Contra Gentiles and in De rationibus fidei contra Saracenos, Graecos
et Armenos ad Cantorem Antiochenum.


  -----Original Message-----
From: Donne Puckle [mailto:dpuckle@...]
Sent: Wednesday, 28 April 2004 4:12 a.m.
To: coinherence-l@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [coinherence-l] Re: Dante & Islam


   >On 25 Apr 2004 at 10:50, stagh0rn wrote:
   >
   >>  Did Dante follow Aquinas in seeing Islam as a heresy (or schism) of
   >>  Judaism? Is that even right about Aquinas? Does anyone has a cite?
   >
   >I don't know about Aquinas, but St John of Damascus certainly saw Islam
as a
   >Christian heresy, and he lived among Muslims, whom he called Ishmaelites.
   >
   >--
   If I remember correctly the heresy is Nestorian. The Nestorian church
   was active and influential in Arab areas and had an influence on the
   development of Islam. Jesus is seen as a prophet, but not the Son of
   God and whose crucifixion was only apparent. I've checked through my
   copies of Aquinas' Summas and find no reference to Islam. There may
   be reference in some of his other works.

   Donne


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The Figure of Beatrice: A Study in Dante pp131-132


The poets come to a new depth - and we to an odd incident. They look over the
edge. 'Io aveva una corda intorno cinta', says Dante suddenly, 'I had a cord
girt about me',
e con essa pensai alcuna volta prender la lonza alla pelle dipinta . ..

'and with it I had thought at another time to catch the Leopard of the painted
skin' (XVI, 106-8). He has said nothing of this previously; there was not a hint
of it when we were, in the poem, meeting the Leopard. It is true that poets do
behave so; their inventions are sudden. Shakespeare did a similar thing; we had
heard nothing of the handkerchief in Othello until he needed and chose to make
it of such intense importance. Dante now takes off the girdle, rolls it up, and
passes it over. Virgil throws it into the abyss. Presently there floats up
another of those organisms of hell, one who is called by Virgil 'he who defiles
the whole world'. It has a benign face, as of a just man - the rest is serpent,
with two shaggy paws and arms. Its body is brightly coloured - painted
diversely; the tail, as it ends, still reaches into the abyss - the 'vano', the
void - with a forked and poisonous point like a scorpion. This is Geryon, or
Fraud. But why is Fraud summoned up by the girdle that was to bind the Leopard?
Dante does not explain. We have only the coincidence of the Leopard and the
parti-coloured Image of Fraud. The bright coat is common to both. The Leopard
was not only lechery, it was also the gay beauty of youth - it comes with dawn
and spring. It has seemed to Dante a hopeful sign, and (now we are told) he had
a girdle which could catch it. But it did not; what it now does is to bring up
the treachery of a similar fairness and brightness, which pollutes the whole
world. It is perhaps the real deceit of the Leopard, the falsehood in that early
romanticism, the fraud within the gaiety, the deliberate perversity within the
natural behaviour. In this sense Dante has indeed now caught the Leopard - or,
at least, caught this essence of it. The union of the two organisms is the
exhibition of the romanticism of youth as what it must become in Dis, an
internalized romanticism, a fraudulent pseudo-romanticism, appearing at the
moment when the lowest places of hell begin to be opened, the circles of
deepening Malice. The moment of Paolo and Francesca has deepened to this.
Beatrice herself has now become this. But not Beatrice alone, Geryon has the
face 'of a just man'; all the City is here internalized. The place of the
heretics has been passed; obduracy has been passed; now the full evil comes, the
universalized and infernalized person of Fraud, the Leopard hiding the Wolf.
-----------------------------------------------------


'But why is Fraud summoned up by the girdle that was to bind the Leopard?'

There has been endless critical speculation on the symbolic meanings of Geryon
and of the cord, and it is characteristic of Williams to intuit a fine
interpretation of the significance of the incident: one which has lasting value
whatever other layers of meaning one may wish to attach. Gilson delivers a most
amusing rebuttal of what he holds to be a weak suggestion that the cord
corresponded to a clerical vocation, in his section "Beatrice Metamorphosed into
A Cord" in his Dante the Philosopher.

Etienne Gilson, Dante the Philosopher, (London: Sheed & Ward, 1952), pp31-36.

  'We have only the coincidence of the Leopard and the parti-coloured Image of
Fraud. The bright coat is common to both. The Leopard was not only lechery, it
was also the gay beauty of youth - it comes with dawn and spring.'

Williams means by 'coincidence' things co-inciding or occurring or happening
together and not 'accident'. 'Parti-coloured' means 'partly of one colour and
partly of another; diversicoloured' (Shorter Oxford).

'It is true that poets do behave so; their inventions are sudden. Shakespeare
did a similar thing; we had heard nothing of the handkerchief in Othello until
he needed and chose to make it of such intense importance.'

C.S. Lewis's pupil Martin Lings explains the importance of the handkerchief in
Othello in his The Sacred Art of Shakespeare, (Rochester, Vermont: Inner
Traditions pbk, 1998), pp64-76, illuminating as he does so not only the main
characters but Emilia as well:


'As to what calls for expiation, it is true that Emilia, like Laertes, has
certain excuses: her desire to please her husband is natural and her fear of him
is understandable. Nonetheless, the incident of the handkerchief that Desdemona
accidentally drops, shows in Emilia a lack of principles and of scruples that
needs to be overcome. She well knows how upset Desdemona will be when in vain
she searches high and low for her missing treasure, and she knows that she
herself will presumably have to make a show of joining in the search. But
instead of immediately giving it back to her, she says:
I am glad I have found this napkin:
This was her first remembrance from the Moor
My wayward husband hath a hundred times
Woo'd me to steal it; but she so loves the token,
For he conjured her she should ever keep it,
That she reserves it evermore about her To kiss and talk to. (III, 3,291-7)
Then when lago comes in and takes it from her she says:

If it be not for some purpose of import,
Give't me again; poor lady, she'll run mad
When she shall lack it.
He replies:

Be not acknown on't4;
I have use for it.
Go, leave me.

4 Do not admit to knowing anything about it.

She goes out and he continues:

I will in Cassio's lodging lose this napkin, And let him find it. Trifles light
as air Are, to the jealous, confirmations strong As proofs of holy writ: this
may do something. The Moor already changes with my poison ...

Look where he comes! Not poppy, nor mandragora,
Nor all the drowsy syrops of the world, Shall ever medicine thee to that sweet
sleep Which thou owedst yesterday. (III, 317-34)

'We are told by Othello', continues Lings, 'that the fatal handkerchief has
certain powers, and it may be wondered whether these include the safeguard that
it cannot be mishandled with impunity. To this we shall never know the answer,
but it is certainly not without irony that lago should gloat over it as he holds
it in his hand, for it is precisely this trifle "light as air" that is destined,
when the time comes, to unmask his villainy totally and in an instant, with
confirmation "strong as proofs of holy writ."'
(p63).


Lings later shows how the handkerchief plays this destined role, with Emilia
dominating the scene:




'Othello: 'Tis pitiful; but yet lago knows
That she with Cassio hath the act of shame A thousand times committed; Cassio
confess'd it:
And she did gratify his amorous works With that recognizance and pledge of love
Which I first gave her; I saw it in his hand;
It was a handkerchief, an antique token
My father gave my mother.
Emilia: O heaven! O heavenly powers!
Iago:   Come, hold your peace.
Emilia: 'Twill out, 'twill out. I peace!
No, I will speak as liberal as the north:
Let heaven and men and devils, let them all, All, all, cry shame against me, yet
I'll speak.
Iago:   Be wise, and get you home.
Emilia:       I will not.
Iago draws his sword in order to silence Emilia forever, but Gratiano stops him.
Emilia:  O thou dull Moor, that handkerchief thou speak'st of
I found by fortune and did give my husband,
For often with a solemn earnestness,
More than indeed belonged to such a trifle,
He begg'd of me to steal it.
Iago:               Villanous whore!
Emilia: She give it Cassio? No alas, I found it,
And I did give's my husband.
Iago:               Filh, thou liest!
Emilia: By heaven, I do not, I do not, gentlemen.
0 murderous coxcomb what should such a fool
Do with so good a wife?
Othello: Are there no stones in heaven
But what serve for the thunder?

He draws his sword to kill lago, but lago is too quick for him and runs out,
stabbing Emilia on the way. She falls to the ground, and asks them to lay her on
the bed beside her mistress, which they do. Then they go out, Gratiano to stand
guard at the door, and Montano with the others to arrest lago. Emilia, left
alone with Othello, speaks her last words:

Moor, she was chaste; she loved thee, cruel Moor, So come my soul to bliss, as 1
speak true;
So speaking as I think, I die, I die. (V, 2,167-249)'

Lings remarks: 'To be gripped by a work of sacred art does not mean
concentration on the literal meaning to the exclusion of everything else, for
that meaning is already well on its way to all that transcends it, and it takes
us with it in the same direction.'

It is particularly fitting for Williams to draw a parallel with Othello, for, as
Lings explains, Othello speaks to us of the theme of the union of soul and
Spirit:

'In The Divine Comedy, when Dante reaches the Garden of Eden on the top of the
Mountain of Purgatory, Beatrice his beloved, personifying spiritual wisdom,
descends from Heaven and the two meet in the terrestrial Paradise; and in the
Faerie Queene, the sequel to the Red Crosse Knight's victory over the dragon is
his marriage to the Lady Una.
In Othello the black Moor and his white lady are soul and Spirit. Like Cordelia,
Desdemona is "the pearl of great price" that was wantonly thrown away.'

(p57)

  'In Othello, unlike Hamlet and King Lear, Hell and Purgatory are treated
separately and successively, at least as far as the protagonist is concerned.
Almost the whole play is taken up with his descent into Hell: the soul,
personified by the Moor, gradually plumbs the very depth of error, that is, of
thinking that black is white, and white is black, that falsehood is truth and
truth falsehood. But although the descent is gradual, there is no
correspondingly gradual development of soul. The first stage of the journey only
becomes spiritually effective when, at the bottom of Hell, the truth suddenly
breaks in upon Othello like a flash of lightning that lights up in retrospect
the whole descent that he had made in darkness, and he is transformed in an
instant from a dupe to a wise man. Then follows Purgatory, with an equally
concentrated brevity. Although compressed into only a few lines, its anguish is
so intense that it altogether convinces us of expiation and purification. He
anticipates, and thus wears out to nothing, all that would have separated him
from Desdemona, "this heavenly sight", on the Day of Judgement:
No, how cost thou look now? O ill-starr'd wench,
Pale as thy smock, when we shall meet at compt,
This look of shine will hurl my soul from heaven
And friends will snatch at it.
Cold, cold, my girl,
Even like thy chastity.
O cursed, cursed slave! Whip me, ye devils,
From the possession of this heavenly sight!
Blow me about in winds! Roast me in sulphur!'
Wash me in steep-down gulfs of liquid fire! O Desdemona! Desdemona! Dead! (V,
2,270-9)
Then, as it were in token that his expiation is complete, a deep calm settles
upon his sadness.
The everlasting union of soul and spirit after death is indicated by his dying
"upon a kiss" and also by the "marriage sheets" on the bed of his death, a
detail that Shakespeare stresses just as much as he stresses the fact of Henry
IV's death in the Jerusalem Chamber.
The bed is thus the gate of entry from the Lesser Mysteries to the Greater
Mysteries, and through this gate Emilia likewise enters. But the truth dawns
more gradually on her than on Othello, and this allows her a certain purgatorial
development during the descent. There are three stages in her perception of the
truth: firstly, her brushed-aside suspicion; secondly, Iago's admission that he
had in fact spoken ill of Desdemona to Othello, presumably, as she then no doubt
supposes, by way of repeating what others had said or because he was himself of
a monstrously suspicious nature; thirdly and finally, the knowledge that he had
deliberately devised the whole slander himself from start to finish, knowing it
to be totally untrue. As to her purgatory, it could be said to begin with her
grief at the death of her mistress, for sorrow can be a deep-reaching purifier,
and there is a wonderful expression of a newfound sensitivity in her already
quoted words to the Moor:
Thou hast not half the power to do me harm As I have to be hurt.
Then comes her realization that she might have saved her mistress's life in the
light of her own too easily extinguished suspicion:
I thought so then: I'll kill myself for grief.
Lastly there is her realization that the handkerchief, supplied by her, had been
the only tangible evidence for Othello that his wife had been unfaithful to him.
She herself, Emilia, had thus been lago's accomplice, whence her cry of
inexpressible anguish:
O heaven! O heavenly powers!
Her confession of everything, for which she dies, is her expiation.'
(p74)

'The case of Othello might be described', concludes Lings, 'by saying that when
he reaches the bottom of Hell he finds a hitherto unknown blind eye, namely the
lost element of vision, lying in the depths of his soul. Corruptio optimi
pessima and since this eye, as well as being virtually the most precious, is
also the most powerful of the psychic elements, it is able to transmit its
blindness to the rest of the soul, and he throws away "the pearl of great
price." Then dawns the truth. Shakespeare achieves here an overwhelming impact
of a kind that drama alone, of all the arts, makes possible. Emilia's revelation
of the innocence of Desdemona and the villainy of lago, her instantaneous and
dazzlingly clear proof that white is white and black is black, comes as a fiat
lux, an irresistible Divine command: "Let there be light." The blind eye is
filled with light and takes its rightful place at the summit of the soul. "The
stone which the builders rejected is become the head of the corner." (Mark,
7:10)'

Martin Lings, The Sacred Art of Shakespeare, (Rochester, Vermont: Inner
Traditions pbk, 1998), pp75-76.



'Dis' is, as earlier noted, in mythology, Hades or the Underworld; and in
Dante's epic the 'fortified city moated by the river Styx and enclosing the
whole of Nether Hell'. To avoid possible confusion, we should note also,
following Sayers, that in Dante's Divine Comedy 'the classical name "Dis" is
used by Virgil for Satan. (XI. 65; XII. 39; XXXIV. 20.)'

Dante, The Divine Comedy: Hell, trans Dorothy L. Sayers, (London: Penguin
Classics pbk, 1973), p318.

'The moment of Paolo and Francesca has deepened to this.'

'Though Paolo and Francesca, the lovers of romance, are left in Hell,' writes
the great Catholic historian Christopher Dawson, in his Mediaeval Religion, 'the
art of the troubadours, purified and transformed, is admitted into new life. The
beautiful and peaceful words of Arnaut Daniel with their echo of his own verse
mark the final reconciliation of the art of the troubadours with the classical
and the Christian ideals....'

Dawson praises Dante:

'It is one of the greatest of Dante's achievements that he succeeded in
reconciling the two great currents of European literature before they had even
attained to self-consciousness. Unfortunately he found no successors capable of
carrying on his achievement, with the partial exception of Petrarch and Chaucer.
Otherwise we might have been saved alike from the narrow rationalism of
eighteenth-century Classicism and from the emotional debauches of
nineteenth-century Romanticism.'

Christopher Dawson, Mediaeval Religion, (London: Sheed & Ward, 1934), pp153-154.

Like C.S. Lewis, Williams is alert to both errors and particularly and topically
warns us of 'a fraudulent pseudo-romanticism'.


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

I should imagine that Dante saw Muhammad as a  C h r i s t i a n
schismatic, not a Jewish one. Aquinas' awareness  of Islam is of course
undisputed; no educated person in his day could have failed to know that it
existed, and no theologian or philosopher could have been ignorant of its
general teachings. Indeed, the "Summa Contra Gentiles" is often thought to
have been written with apologetics against Islam in mind. He knew the main
Muslim philosophers well (e.g. Avicenna and Averroes) and also was aware of
the "kalam" theologians, "loquentes in lege Maurorum", though I suspect
only at second-hand. There were gaps in his knowledge, naturally. (For
instance, he quotes Algazel as holding opiunions which Algazel was only
describing as held by others, and he evidently thought ibn Gabirol was a
Muslim, when in fact he was a Jew.) But these are minor points.
         Richard sturch.

Geetings!
         Just to say (or remind you) that the Charles Williams Society is
holding its triennial RESIDENTIAL CONFERENCE from June 18th to 20th (Friday
afternoon to Sunday afternoon) at the Royal Foundation of St Katharine in
east London. It is open to non-members of the Society (though naturally we
hope you will join!).
         The cost for full residence is £100  (accommodation is mostly
single "en suite" rooms); day visitors are also welcome at £20 per day to
include morning coffee, lunch and afternoon tea (£7.50 for the evening
meal).
         Speakers will be Dr Suzanne Bray (well known to members of this
Group) on "Between Death and Paradise ; CW and the Intermediate State";
Grevel Lindop, poet and biographer of Williams, on Williams as seen through
the papers of his son Michael; Dr Brian Horne, Librarian of the Society, on
CW and Dorothy Sayers as letter-writers; and Michael Hampel, of St Chad's
College, Durham University, on CW in the Second World War. There will also
be a recital of songs from the Masques (and a performance of "The Moon",
with words by Williams to music by Purcell); a reading of some of
Williams's unpublished letters; a seminar on the Arthurian poems; and at
least one bookstall.
         Please contact Dr Hor ne if you'd like to come: postal address
"Flat 8,   65 Cadogan Gardens,   London,  SW3 2RA", email address
"Brian.Horne@...". Applications have to be in by May 22nd.
         See you there!
                 Richard Sturch.

Great find, Allan!

Thanks

DDD

--- In coinherence-l@yahoogroups.com, "Allan Dewar" <AMDewar@x> wrote:
> In http://www.diafrica.org/nigeriaop/kenny/ThoArabs.htm

Having looked through the reference, and the translation, Allan
pointed us to, I'm still not sure I can accept this, for Dante or for
Aquinas. (I should go and review what D. actually says about M.)

Abstractly speaking, M. held that Jesus was a prophet, yet one whose
msg. was misunderstood by the early church. (I believe the Koran also
suggests that parts of the NT were fictionalized). Biographically,
since M. never was an Xtian, I don't see how he could accurately be
described as a schismatic.

On the other hand, M. never attended at synagogue, either. AFAIK.

Historically, there was much interaction with Arabian Jews within the
young movement until M.'s death in 632, but, again, AFAIK, no recorded
intereaction with the Orthodox (who must have had some communities in
the area, and were certainly dominant a few miles away, outside of the
Arabian desert.

Theologically, M.s emphasis on the Oneness of God- with the attendant
'human prophet' status of Jesus - sounds closer to Judaism than to 7th
century Xtianity to me.

DDD


--- In coinherence-l@yahoogroups.com, "R. Sturch" <rsturch@c...> wrote:
> I should imagine that Dante saw Muhammad as a  C h r i s t i a n
> schismatic, not a Jewish one.

On 27 Apr 2004 at 9:11, Donne Puckle wrote:

> >On 25 Apr 2004 at 10:50, stagh0rn wrote:
> >
> >>  Did Dante follow Aquinas in seeing Islam as a heresy (or schism) of
> >>  Judaism? Is that even right about Aquinas? Does anyone has a cite?
> >
> >I don't know about Aquinas, but St John of Damascus certainly saw Islam as a
> >Christian heresy, and he lived among Muslims, whom he called Ishmaelites.
> >
> >--
> If I remember correctly the heresy is Nestorian. The Nestorian church
> was active and influential in Arab areas and had an influence on the
> development of Islam. Jesus is seen as a prophet, but not the Son of
> God and whose crucifixion was only apparent. I've checked through my
> copies of Aquinas' Summas and find no reference to Islam. There may
> be reference in some of his other works.

No, that is a different heresy.

St John of Damascas dealt with it too, of course, but under another heading.

--
Steve Hayes
E-mail: shayes@...
Literary pages: http://www.geocities.com/hayesstw/litmain.htm
Book discussions: http://www.geocities.com/hayesstw/books.htm

Interesting. I wonder if Nestorian thinking was known to Mohammed? Has
anyone traced this development?

DDD

>The Nestorian church
> was active and influential in Arab areas and had an influence on the
> development of Islam. Jesus is seen as a prophet,
> but not the Son of  God and whose crucifixion was only apparent.

Sorry the spam got through.

Mr. Moderator Person cannot locate the spammer in order smack them
upside the head; he has, however, banned that address.

DDD

I certainly empathize with Mr. Moderator Person's desire to smack them
upside the head, and congratulate him on his generosity.  I can think of a
LOT of things I would like to do to those spammers that are a lot less
pacifist than that.
         Christine
----- Original Message -----
From: "stagh0rn" <stagh0rn@...>
To: <coinherence-l@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Thursday, May 06, 2004 12:20 PM
Subject: [coinherence-l] [ADMIN] Spam


> Sorry the spam got through.
>
> Mr. Moderator Person cannot locate the spammer in order smack them
> upside the head; he has, however, banned that address.
>
> DDD
>
>
>
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
>
>

[A few notes I wrote on this book. Not strictly on-topic for
coinherence-L, but of possible interest. /DDD ]

--The book is pretty good, the chapters read like individual articles
(which they probably saw birth as.) .

-- There is a chapter on the Lady Chatterly obscenity trial (early
60's) in the UK which is fun to read. His takeaway was that no one
could agree on what makes a text 'literary'. (A reverse Potter
Stewart? "I don't know what literature is, but I know it when I see
it." ? )

-- the 2 chapters touching on copyright and plagarism are also good
brain food. Kernan is not sure that plagarism means anything anymore,
and he argues that copyright (as a control mechanism, for instance
the Joyce people re-issuing a new Ulysses to keep it in (C) ) is
silly.

--  A word of caution - Kernan does NOT believe that,
quote, "Literature is dead." He does, as I read him, think that older
views of literature are dead and that new ones are need to replace
them-- "...we are watching the complex transformations of a social
institution in a time of radical political, technological, and social
change."

I take another his other key points as stressing that literature
(and, by extension, all art) is not a primary source of meaning. It
is a dependent source, taking its cues from the larger culture (even
when in rebellion against it). This contrasts with earlier views,
such as many of the Romantics held.



http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0300052383/103-6932806-
2699061?v=glance  (Includes the 'Look Inside This Book' feature)

http://www.nybooks.com/articles/318

http://mtprof.msun.edu/Spr1992/trtrev.html  (Decent synopsis)

Sorry folks. Mr. Moderator Person is casting about for his beatin'
stick  again....

>I almost lost my home.

Did you check at the original address? It may still be there. Houses
sometimes return to their original site (except in California), like
dogs do.

>I am self employed and I was able to refinance.

Did your boss give you a loan? Good thought!

DDD

On Tue, May 11, 2004 at 08:42:37PM -0000, stagh0rn wrote:
> Sorry folks. Mr. Moderator Person is casting about for his beatin'
> stick  again....
>
> >I almost lost my home.
>
> Did you check at the original address? It may still be there. Houses
> sometimes return to their original site (except in California), like
> dogs do.

Even in California, you're usually OK as long as you don't hire one
of those pan-dimensional architects (cf. Heinlein's "And He Built A
Crooked House.")


Tony Z
--
Once more we hear the word / That sickened earth of old:
"No law except the sword / Unsheathed and uncontrolled,"
Once more it knits mankind, / Once more the nations go
To meet and break and bind / A crazed and driven foe.
      --Rudyard Kipling, "For All We Have and Are"

Hi,
  I'm just a lurker but was wondering, are others getting spam through the group
lately?

  John G

[Yes, there appears to be new spam technique that is being used on
Yahoogroups. /DDD ]

--- In coinherence-l@yahoogroups.com, PhydeauxVvvvV1@a... wrote:
>
>
> Hi,
>  I'm just a lurker but was wondering, are others getting spam
through the group lately?
>
>  John G

>    From: "stagh0rn" <stagh0rn@...>
> Subject: Recent Spams (Re: Important Info for coinherence-l Members)
>
> [Yes, there appears to be new spam technique that is being used on
> Yahoogroups. /DDD ]

I can't say I've noticed it on the other Yahoogroups that I'm on, though.

--- Peter T. Chattaway --------------------------- peter@... ---
Nothing tells memories from ordinary moments; only afterwards do they
    claim remembrance, on account of their scars. -- Chris Marker, La Jetee

Other Yahoo groups I belong to don't get these spams, and they're not
screened either.  Perhaps we're missing something.  Could our moderator
discuss this with the Yahoo groups administration?

I suspect that CW would have advocated great patience with spam.

- David Bratman