To my honoured Friend The Rev. EDWARD MOORE, D.D., Hon. D. Litt. Dubl. PRINCIPAL OF ST. EDMUND HALL, AND HON. FELLOW OF Pembroke College, Oxford, WHOSE ORIGINAL RESEARCHES IN THE TEXT AND LITERATURE OF DANTE HAVE CAUSED HIM TO BE ACKNOWLEDGED AS THE LEADING AUTHORITY IN ENGLAND, THESE READINGS ON THE PARADISO, WHICH OWE MUCH TO HIS UNWEARIED ADVICE AND ASSISTANCE, ARE DEDICATED AS A SMALL TOKEN OF GRATEFUL AND AFFECTIONATE RECOGNITION BY WILLIAM WARREN VERNON. October, 1900. vii INTRODUCTION BY THE BISHOP OF RIPON PRELIMINARY CHAPTER: (i) THE COSMOGRAPHY OF DANTE. (ii) CLASSIFICATION OF THE SPIRITS IN DANTE'S PARADISE. (iii) THE IMMEASUR- ABLE EXTENT OF PARADISE. (iv) Date when THE PARADISO WAS WRITTEN. (v) THE BEAUTIES OF THE PARADISO. (vi) TIME- DANTE'S ITINERARY THROUGH PARADISE LIST OF AUTHORS AND OF EDITIONS QUOTED 17 PREFACE. N the preface to my two volumes on the Inferno, published in 1894, I expressed the hope that life and ability might be vouchsafed to me to cope with the mystic beauties of the Paradiso, and to complete the attempt made in these Readings to make plain to a beginner the difficulties of the three immortal cantiche. Life has been spared to me, and with great diffidence I now present the completion of my work. It has been thoughtlessly said that there is a falling away of human interest in the Paradiso, as if humanity were only interested in the weaknesses and vices of our race, but nowhere else, throughout the Divina Commedia, can be found such pictures of great and good men made perfect, nowhere can the gentlest, as well as the noblest, of human aspirations be seen in so many and so varied forms. Perfect love, in its highest and purest manifestation, is here pictured by a pencil wielded with exquisite grace and power. But the great and good actions of man are not forgotten. The majestic summary of Roman history, placed in the mouth of Justinian, seems to be spoken to the sound of the marching feet of triumphant legions. Civic life in its b simple primitive condition is represented in Cacciaguida's story of old Florentine days-a gem of description of the unworldly life of olden time. The metaphysics and theology may seem tedious to modern unbelievers, but they were stern realities to Dante, and it is from his point of view that I have regarded those lofty subjects, which take up so large a space in the following pages. These volumes, like their predecessors, are based upon the famous Latin Commentary of Benvenuto da Imola, first delivered as lectures, at Bologna, in 1375, and follow the same order and plan, which has been to take the text verse by verse, to give a faithful translation, to connect the narrative with a running commentary, to explain all difficulties as they arise, and to supply in numerous footnotes a key to philological, literary, and historical doubts. This, apart from the notes, is very much the system of Benvenuto, although he goes somewhat further and construes the text almost word by word. It is the usual method of oral teaching, and is sufficiently expressed by the title of "Readings." I have again adopted Dr. Moore's Oxford text, to which I have added the accentuation of Fraticelli, welcome, I believe, to Italian eyes. I take this opportunity of expressing my great obligations to Dr. Moore for the generous and unwearied assistance he has given me during the last four years. It is with deep gratitude that I have been permitted to dedicate these volumes to our most distinguished English Dantist Again must I record my heart-felt thanks to my friend Mr. H. R. Tedder, the Secretary and Librarian of the Athenæum, who has revised my work from first to last. It |