Paradiso, Canto 24

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Summary

Beatrice entreats the souls assembled in the eighth Heaven to allow Dante to partake of their joy. In response to her appeal, St Peter approaches and examines Dante in the Christian faith.

The Prepatory Lecture

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Questions for Reflection

• In cantos 24-26, Dante stands for his final bachelorette exam before entering into the highest heavens. After everything that Dante has learned over the course of his journey, why do you think he is tested on the theological virtues of faith, hope, and love?
• Why does Beatrice recommend that Dante “praise” faith rather than, say, defend his position on the nature of faith? Why use the language of celebration and praise rather than logic and argumentation (24.43-45)?
• What is Dante’s faith (24.61-81)? Who examines Dante on faith and why might Dante have selected this figure?
• Why is it so important for Dante to have faith rather than just have a definition of it (24.85-93)? How can we understand the entire journey of the Comedy as contributing to Dante’s possession of faith? How do you think Dante means to shape his readers’ faith?
• How is Dante’s faith connected to the Scriptures? How does Dante understand the way that the Scriptures give rise to and shape faith?

Paradiso, Canto 24 © Jan Hearn

The Images

The Heaven of the Fixed Stars: See Canto xxii, under Images.

Dante’s Examination in Faith, Hope, and Love: According to the teaching of Aquinas, three qualifications are essential before the soul can attain to participation in the Beatific Vision, namely, faith, hope, and love. These are the three theological principles or virtues which direct the soul aright to God. They cannot be acquired by human acts but only by grace operating through revelation. In the story, Dante actually undergoes examination in these three virtues and, on satisfying his examiners, is allowed to proceed on his journey. On the mystical level of the allegory, man’s soul cannot progress by understanding and knowledge alone. In the Monarchia, III, xvi, 43–63, Dante has already expressed in abstract terms the teaching which he here presents in allegorical form. Man by his proper power may not ascend to the blessedness of eternal life unless assisted by the divine light. This light is mediated to us by spiritual teachings which transcend human reason, as we follow them by acting according to the theological virtues, faith, hope, and charity.

​It is interesting to consider also the personal implications of the allegory. There is an early tradition that Dante was at one time brought under suspicion and enquiry by the Inquisition for heresy. If this is so, or if the tradition merely represents misgivings as to Dante’s orthodoxy, the examination in faith may have been intended as an apologia. It is said that Dante had had personal experience of such formal examinations as he here undergoes during his time as a student at the University of Paris (if he went there), some commentators even going so far as to maintain that he underwent the preparation for a doctorate in theology. 

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