Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Dante's Paradise: A Study on Part III of The Divine Comedy
    Dante's Paradise: A Study on Part III of The Divine Comedy
    Dante's Paradise: A Study on Part III of The Divine Comedy
    Audiobook4 hours

    Dante's Paradise: A Study on Part III of The Divine Comedy

    Written by Anthony Esolen, Ph.D.

    Narrated by Anthony Esolen, Ph.D.

    5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    You've followed Dante through the dreaded gates of Hell, to the arduous slopes of Mount Purgatory, and now, finally, to the transcendence of the Heavenly Court.


    With Dr. Anthony Esolen, you've travelled into the depths of the Inferno. You've witnessed the terrible hopelessness of Hell and the bitter punishments for sinners there. You've accompanied Dante and Virgil through the mysteries of Mount Purgatory where sinners are purged of all attachment to sin. Finally, together with blessed Beatrice, enter into the indescribable glory of Heaven.


    The Beatific Vision


    Dante imagines that Paradise consists of nine celestial spheres which surround the very Throne of God at the center. It is like a blossoming rose, each petal reveals further splendor and glory the nearer we come to the center. Yet, in a way, Dante's journey to God reads something like science fiction - after all, he and Beatrice travel through:


    • The Moon, Mercury, Venus, the Sun, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn
    • The "Fixed Stars" - a region medievals imagined to contain all stars except the Sun
    • And finally, through the "Primum Mobile" - the sphere which causes the motion of all other spheres within it because it is moved directly by God

    In each astral location, Dante and Beatrice meet the blessed souls who enjoy the bliss of Heaven.


    Unlike Purgatory and the Inferno, which are arranged by different types of sin, Paradise is structured according to virtue. Each sphere is associated with one of the cardinal virtues - prudence, fortitude, justice, and temperance - or one of the theological virtues - faith, hope, and charity.


    Poetry of the Highest Order


    Professor Esolen who has served as your guide through both the Inferno and Purgatory will guide you through the profound and elevated poetry of Paradise. An expert who has taught Dante to college students for more than twenty years, Professor Esolen is also the preeminent modern translator of the entire Divine Comedy from the original Italian.


    Dante can rightly be called the greatest poet who ever lived, because he chose for the subject of his epic poem the greatest subject ever conceived - namely, the whole purpose and end of man. Dante's imaginative genius gave us both astonishing human and theological insights and perhaps the most beautiful verse describing Heaven ever written.


    Discover the ineffable majesty of Paradise with Professor Esolen and complete the journey of all men who have conquered the self through the sufferings of Purgatory.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherCatholic Courses
    Release dateApr 1, 2014
    ISBN9781505114096
    Dante's Paradise: A Study on Part III of The Divine Comedy

    More audiobooks from Anthony Esolen, Ph.D.

    Related to Dante's Paradise

    Related audiobooks

    New Age & Spirituality For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Radiance

      Dec 30, 2022

      Radiance
      7 min read

    • Article

      Everything Is Enlightenment

      Nov 3, 2020

      Everything Is Enlightenment
      14 min read

    • Article

      The River Of Life

      Mar 8, 2024

      I love standing on a bridge, staring into the fast-moving waters of a river, on their way to the sea from their source in distant hills. The length of a river is like the span of a human life. Some lives are long, but others, sadly, can be much short

      5 min read

    • Article

      All Beings Liberating, Together, At Once

      Jun 5, 2020

      All Beings Liberating, Together, At Once
      6 min read

    • Article

      Thoughts On Prayer

      Jun 27, 2018

      Thoughts On Prayer
      5 min read

    • Article

      The Charmed Life of Frank Wilczek

      Mar 17, 2021

      Nobel laureate Frank Wilczek’s new book, Fundamentals: Ten Keys to Reality, is both a way of thinking about the abundance that characterizes our exterior and interior worlds, and a kind of alternative to traditional religion, a way of being “born aga

      13 min read

    • Article

      Meet the Blue Dragon

      Jan 22, 2019

      For twenty years I struggled fiercely—How many times have I gone down to the Blue Dragon’s cave for you? —XUEDOU IN FORTY YEARS will we be on a spaceship under Elon Musk’s conductor’s baton? What teachings and practices are suitable for those on a sp

      4 min read

    • Article

      Confession

      Sep 25, 2017

      Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned. To such an extent I can't even remember when, where or if I last made confession. The truth is, Father, I don't want to be human any more. The only feeling I have left is pain. Of course you understand, for that

      3 min read

    • Article

      The Spiritual Materialist

      Mar 30, 2023

      The Spiritual Materialist
      11 min read

    • Article

      Absolute Mystery

      Sep 22, 2017

      I HEAR THE WORD, of course. I go to Mass some Sundays, listen to Al Green’s Greatest Gospel Hits, and have lived in or near the Bible Belt for the better part of the past decade. Even still, the word God has never quite fitted itself to my ears. And

      7 min read

    • Article

      Here At The End Of The World

      Aug 13, 2019

      Here At The End Of The World
      6 min read

    • Article

      Beyond Birth and Death

      Nov 19, 2019

      Beyond Birth and Death
      7 min read

    • Article

      The Honeycake Horse

      Mar 7, 2022

      The Honeycake Horse
      5 min read

    • Article

      Let’s Get Philosophical

      Jun 24, 2022

      Let’s Get Philosophical
      8 min read

    • Article

      Two Poems

      Sep 1, 2023

      This poem is for everyperson who will neverread it either by choiceor circumstance I writeit in silence wherethe most realparts of our liveslive like a shoe lostin an alley or an emptyboat in a black sea butmore like the fallenleaf on the other sideo

      2 min read

    • Article

      The Natural World Is a Powerful Teacher

      Feb 5, 2019

      The Natural World Is a Powerful Teacher
      4 min read

    • Article

      Jamie Wheal Meaning 3.0

      Jul 17, 2022

      Jamie Wheal Meaning 3.0
      18 min read

    • Article

      Waking Up in Dark Times

      Aug 4, 2020

      Waking Up in Dark Times
      9 min read

    • Article

      The Journey to Where We Already Are

      Mar 7, 2023

      The Journey to Where We Already Are
      10 min read

    • Article

      Your Enlightened Nature

      Sep 19, 2023

      Your Enlightened Nature
      6 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Dante's Paradise

    5/5

    11 ratings3 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      No way I could have fully appreciated the Divine Comedy without Professor Esolen’s commentary.
    • 5/5
      Brilliant. Glad I listened. Far more edifying than the popular Inferno!
    • 5/5
      Great, I highly recommend these lectures. I listened to all of them and learned a lot.

      I do wish Dr. Esolen had elucidated the end of the Paradise a bit more. He is probably at his weakest when he just reads from the text, but he rarely does this.