The glory of Him who moves all things
pervades the universe and shines
in one part more and in another less.
vv. 1-3
Proem [Introduction]. – Invocation. – Beatrice and Dante ascend to the Sphere of Fire. – Beatrice explains the cause of their ascent.
Before resuming his narrative from Purgatory, Dante invokes the Greek god Apollo to bless his poem. He then picks up where the previous volume left off: it is noon, and Dante stands with his beloved Beatrice in the Earthly Paradise atop Mount Purgatory. Beatrice turns her eyes toward the sun, and the two begin to rise into the sky. Dante, awestruck, wonders whether he is having an out-of-body experience. As they ascend through the atmosphere, he and Beatrice pass through a layer of fiery light.
Sensing Dante’s curiosity about all that is happening, Beatrice offers an explanation. Human souls, she says, have an innate tendency to rise toward God when they are not deluded into shunning Him. Since Dante has been purified of his sins in Purgatory, he is now subject to this force of attraction. God draws him upward through the heavens as naturally and unresistingly as flames rise or water flows downhill. The real marvel, she says, would be if Dante were “free of all impediment”—as he is now—but somehow remained on Earth.
Riassunto in inglese tratto da https://www.coursehero.com/lit/Paradise/
Canto adopted by Cristina Mazzavillani Muti.
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