Paradiso, Canto 13

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Summary

The double circle, composed of twenty-four lights, again revolves round Dante and Beatrice, singing of the Three Persons in the one nature of God and of the two natures in the one Person of Christ. They pause again and St Thomas resolves the second perplexity to which his previous words (in Canto x) gave rise in Dante’s mind. He concludes with a warning against making hasty judgements, whether intellectual or moral.

The Prepatory Lecture

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Questions for Reflection

• Why depict this heaven primarily as a dance? How does that fit the themes of harmony and reconciliation and difference that have emerged throughout these cantos of the sun?
• To whom do the souls of the theologians offer praise (13.25-27)? Why does Dante draw the contrast between the theologians praising the Trinity rather than the praises of Bacchus or Paean? Why are the souls of the wise so preoccupied with the Trinity and the Incarnation of Christ?
• What makes both Adam and Christ different from every other human person (13.52-87)? How might Dante’s understanding here help us interpret St. Paul’s argument about Adam and Christ in Romans 5-8?
• Why does St. Thomas urge Dante not to be rash in making judgments (13.130-142)? How might this be an important part of wisdom?

Paradiso, Canto 13 © Jan Hearn

The Images

The Heaven of the Sun: see Canto x, under Images.

The Wisdom of Solomon: In the story, St Thomas’s discourse on the peerless wisdom of Solomon arises from the need to distinguish between the wisdom of kings and the wisdom of all men. This is preceded by a preliminary discourse on direct and indirect creation, in which the wisdom of Solomon is seen as a reflection of the Word of God. In the allegory, God’s gift of kingly wisdom to Solomon is an instance of the specific qualities (and limitations) of all men, resulting from the varying dispositions and influences of the heavens at the time of their birth and from the imperfect nature of the material of which they are made. The legend of Solomon’s wisdom is divested by St Thomas of all mystery and set coherently within the rational structure of logic and orthodoxy. Yet, in the process, a far greater mystery is seen to emerge: the mystery as to how an imperfect world can be produced from the operations of nature on primal matter, both themselves direct creations of God.

St Thomas Aquinas: In this canto, St Thomas, firmly guiding Dante away from undefined and ambiguous terms along the disciplined path of intellectual deliberation and distinctions, warning him, too, against unreasoned and hasty judgements, is a natural symbol of the influence which his writings had on Dante’s mental growth. From no one, as from Aquinas, had Dante learnt intellectual integrity, and, more than any other Christian teacher, he summed up for Dante the doctrine of God. It is fitting, therefore, that for three cantos Aquinas should be his mentor, playing in this capacity (in Paradise) the longest role after Beatrice.

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