Thank you Professor Ross Brooke Watts for this insightful presentation and especially in regard to the three ways of knowing. This Christmas Eve as I am visited by the ghost Christmas past and peer into the reflection in the mirror of my life there suddenly appears a plethora of ashen blue-black bruises that bear to witness my sins of disregard for the commandment "Thou shalt not covet." Today of all days, it is most appropriate to be mindful of the sin of envy and be grateful for the things that we have and not to be bitter about what others have that we do not. When Dante asks "Is anybody here Italian?," it made me smile. It reminded me of the same question has echoed down through the years in the ubiquitous "Is there anybody here from Texas?"
Thank you, Professor Watts, for your dive into Envy with us! This Canto is striking in how well it poetically presents the Poet's message on envy. While reading, I was impressed with how much we could see but how little the terrace was designed for sight lessons. Perhaps a play or film adaptation would make much of this scene with close attention to the faces present. The way the "training hawks" motif was used repeatedly made the message clear: contrapasso in Purgatory is to allow the soul to fly in a correct, ordered love way. Specifically, Prof. Watts' focus on the regionalism was very helpful. Envy is contagious, and a whole city can commit this kind of sin over history. By poking critique at Siena, Dante can critique the specific sin in our own lives as well, making the lesson concrete while still in the realm of ideas and commonality. Thank you!
Canto 13: On the previous Cornice, Dante saw depictions of exhortations to give up the sin of pride and accept the virtue of humility. Since the sinners he encounters on the Second Terrace have been blinded by Envy and their eyes have not yet been opened by Love or Charity, visual exhortations are useless. Instead, they are given orally. The first voice cries out: “They have no more wine,” a reminder of the wedding feast at Cana where Christ turned water into wine so that the groom would not be ridiculed for this deficiency. Ridicule is a response made by the envious, who look with joy upon the failure of others. The poet Dante uses “invidia” or “to look with hostile manner” as the name of this sin which usually involves seeing what is possessed by another and desiring it. Penitents, with their eyelids sewn together by iron wires, sit against livid rocks, as groups of beggars, clothed in bruise-colored garments made of coarse haircloth. The blinded participate in an intercessory litany of the saints, who had been led by “caritas,” (love, charity or desire for the well-being of the other) throughout their lives. Rather than as envious individuals, the penitents now communally respond: “Pray for us.” When Dante inquires who among them lived in Italy, they respond they no longer identify with former country or city-state but rather inhabit a single City, thereby forgoing envy because of their origins. Dante, the pilgrim, admits he is still concerned about his own sin of pride, which is related to envy, but desires more information about these penitents so that he can, once again, request prayers for them from the living.
What an excellent speaker!
Thank you Professor Ross Brooke Watts for this insightful presentation and especially in regard to the three ways of knowing. This Christmas Eve as I am visited by the ghost Christmas past and peer into the reflection in the mirror of my life there suddenly appears a plethora of ashen blue-black bruises that bear to witness my sins of disregard for the commandment "Thou shalt not covet." Today of all days, it is most appropriate to be mindful of the sin of envy and be grateful for the things that we have and not to be bitter about what others have that we do not. When Dante asks "Is anybody here Italian?," it made me smile. It reminded me of the same question has echoed down through the years in the ubiquitous "Is there anybody here from Texas?"
How apt that Professor Watts wears a blue-black blouse (with a touch of even more appropriate green).
@@terrylindvall9379 You are right Terry. It is a subtle sign of excellence in preparation.
Thank you, Professor Watts, for your dive into Envy with us! This Canto is striking in how well it poetically presents the Poet's message on envy. While reading, I was impressed with how much we could see but how little the terrace was designed for sight lessons. Perhaps a play or film adaptation would make much of this scene with close attention to the faces present.
The way the "training hawks" motif was used repeatedly made the message clear: contrapasso in Purgatory is to allow the soul to fly in a correct, ordered love way.
Specifically, Prof. Watts' focus on the regionalism was very helpful. Envy is contagious, and a whole city can commit this kind of sin over history. By poking critique at Siena, Dante can critique the specific sin in our own lives as well, making the lesson concrete while still in the realm of ideas and commonality.
Thank you!
I love the clarity of her presentation.
A wonderfully presented set of insights. Thank you.
Very interesting. Thank you for your clear and insightful commentary.
This is so helpful, Professor Watts, thank you! I enjoyed reading this canto and feel now even more how profound it is.
Very enjoyable presentation. Thank you Prof Ross.
Canto 13: On the previous Cornice, Dante saw depictions of exhortations to give up the sin of pride and accept the virtue of humility. Since the sinners he encounters on the Second Terrace have been blinded by Envy and their eyes have not yet been opened by Love or Charity, visual exhortations are useless. Instead, they are given orally. The first voice cries out: “They have no more wine,” a reminder of the wedding feast at Cana where Christ turned water into wine so that the groom would not be ridiculed for this deficiency. Ridicule is a response made by the envious, who look with joy upon the failure of others. The poet Dante uses “invidia” or “to look with hostile manner” as the name of this sin which usually involves seeing what is possessed by another and desiring it. Penitents, with their eyelids sewn together by iron wires, sit against livid rocks, as groups of beggars, clothed in bruise-colored garments made of coarse haircloth. The blinded participate in an intercessory litany of the saints, who had been led by “caritas,” (love, charity or desire for the well-being of the other) throughout their lives. Rather than as envious individuals, the penitents now communally respond: “Pray for us.” When Dante inquires who among them lived in Italy, they respond they no longer identify with former country or city-state but rather inhabit a single City, thereby forgoing envy because of their origins. Dante, the pilgrim, admits he is still concerned about his own sin of pride, which is related to envy, but desires more information about these penitents so that he can, once again, request prayers for them from the living.
Read Inferno XIII again. Compare the behavior of Virgil and Dante there with their behavior here.
Which is mainly about the suicides, and a bit about the squanderers. Your point?