Saturday, June 20 10AM

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0:03Okay. Are we ready? Okay. Okay. Um, good morning. We are live. So, today is a special day because this is a day when we meet God. And we are now in the last four kantos um 31 32 33 and we are in the imperium which is a seat of God. Um so we'll be doing a lot today but I just want to first make sure there are no questions issues from the previous four days. Are there any questions you have about uh what what we've learned so far? Anyone? Yes. Um so I remember last time we were talking about how the angels existence are really not that admirable. Like you don't want to be an angel. But uh when I went back and when I read the part about describing angels, I think Dante was uh actually trying to be a little bit tongue and cheek here. Like he was trying to that it's not great to be an angel without saying that being without explicitly saying that being an angel is not that desirable. Is that is that what he's trying to do? Yeah. So, the thing about divine comedy that's very important to appreciate is that it's all very subtle. Um, and there's a really important reason for the subtlety. So how so do you guys know how people learned divine comedy or how they transmitted the divine comedy back then for hund hundreds of years? Like if you were in school and we had to learn Divine Comedy, how would we learn it? So according to what I remember, like the teacher will have one book and he would he would read it uh and he would read on the podium and you listen and you copy it down and then what would you do?

2:05you you memorized it. Do you understand? Okay. So, remember how before we said that divine comedy is meant to be read aloud and and listen to what's also meant to be memorized. And what's happening is that divine comedy is designed to expand your imagination. And obviously as you memorize divine comedy, it's like Shakespeare, right? If you memorize Shakespeare, your fluidity in English language increases, but so does your imagination. And what increases the imagination is the subtlety embedded within divine comedy because you actually don't know what you've memorized. But over time because it is implanted in your brain almost as an operating software the more experiences you have uh the more questions you have the poem expands in your imagination it's infinite um and then it drives you into um greater imagination yourself and that's why I say that divine harmony is really the basis of the uh renaissance because you just look at any renaissance uh painting, you can trace it back to the to a line or a tursid in the vine comedy, right? And what's what's happened is that line has expanded itself inside uh the brain and it's almost like seeds taking root and just growing into into trees and and so that's um that's what the effect of divine harmony is. Um and it works because of paradox and subtlety. If it's too blatant, it's if it's too in your face, then your mind doesn't focus it on as much. Okay? But because it's so subtle, you you feel as though there's some stuff I have not yet discovered, right? It's like a puzzle you're trying to assemble together. Your brain keep on working subconsciously on it for like 40, 50 years. And and that's really the power of divine comedy. And that's why it's really hard for people

4:05to express the impact of divine caring because it works at a subconscious level. And this is what Cory Young would call refer to as the collective unconscious. Okay? It's really the very basis of our journey. Look, the reality, look, if you think about it, the reason why we're able to sit down together and have these very rich discussions about the um divine comedy uh what enables this discussion is the fact that Donnie created modernity itself, right? Create the idea of individuality, create the idea of debate, uh dialogue. Okay? So we are living in Donniey's world and we all basically have minds that are shaped by by Donnie himself. All right. Does that make sense? Okay. Any more questions before we continue before we begin? All right. So now what I want to do is I want to look at a comment from YouTube that I found very interesting. Okay. And it's it's from YouTube. It's just a comment. It's a very long comment. So here it is. Um uh Carol, could you do me a favor and and read the comment and and this goes back to um discussion from last class which is the coin. What's the coin doing in in heaven? What is its purpose? Right? The coin is meant to be a metaphor for faith but that doesn't really make sense because the coin represents something material but and and this person um has a very interesting explanation. Okay. Can you read um Carol? Yeah. In Pariso KTO 24 right at line number 24 Beatatric officially hands Dante over to St. Peter to initiate the examination. In Alan Mandelbal's translation that exact line reads and tests him as he please on matter's grave. Dante deliberately places the word tested at line 24 inside KTO 24

6:07inside the sphere of the 24 elders the traditional symbol of the codified closed scriptural cannon. He is screaming to the reader that he's stepping into an institutional trap. This directly mirrors the structural constraints found in the original four gospels. The Peter paradigm. The entire miracle of the coin in the fish's mouth begins precisely at verse 24. Here the establishment corners Peter to demand an institutional tax. Dante mirrors this textually. The exact disciple who watched Jesus bypass human currency by extracting it from nature is transformed in Kanto 24 into the ultimate papal gatekeeper demanding a standardized church coin from Dante's purse. The interrogation blueprint. This verse establishes the scriptural president for institutional authorities demanding official credentials from a wild spiritual force, stating that the Pharisees questioned him. Dante uses his own line 24 to step into this exact role. Submitting to Peter's interrogation on paper to satisfy the religious empire. The illusion of the purse. Here Jesus stuns the disciple by declaring how difficult it is for those relying on physical coins and institutional currency to enter the kingdom. Dante plays on this irony by using purse imagery to satisfy Peter knowing full well that in the infernal purses are the exact symbols used to damn corrupt popes. the trap of power. At the last supper, a dispute arises among the disciples as to which of them was considered to be the greatest. The disciples were were already craving an earthly hierarchy. By looking at the textual architecture of the comedy, we can see Dante play was playing a master level game. He knew that physical

8:08institutions and dogmatic checklists were destined to crumble. By using the stamped coin at line 24, Dante wasn't blindly submitting to church church dogma. He was using the empire's own currency to smuggle his formless cosmic fire past the medieval gatekeepers. Okay. Yeah. So this is brilliant. Okay. And it shows you the level of complexity of the divine comedy. All right. So let me make certain points. Point number one is last class we appreciated how the analysis of divine common how how deep it is at a literary level and you can only understand that if you understand the Italian right um here this person is pointing out to the numerology of the divine comedy the numerological structure of it 24 you may not know this but 24 is a very important number for a variety of reasons but 24 doesn't just refer to the Bible what it really is referring to is the classic epic poems of the world at this time which are Homer, the Iliad, the Odyssey and Inads and and Virgil's Iniad. These are all written in 24 books. Okay, so 24 is almost like a divine mystical number at this point. So that's why it's important. Um so the numerology is something that you can spend decades examining and obviously um he's doing that. Second point is how subversive divine comedy is. The point so we look at divine comedy at a pretty simplistic level. But if you just go line by line, you can see how divine comedy is constantly subverting itself. How your interpretation is breaking down if you do more and more analysis. And that's intentional. And the reason why he does that is to make divine comedy infinite universe where you can go back and explore um uh uh forever. And the third

10:10point um that's very important to appreciate is that ultimately what Dante wants is for us to always question authority, right? to question not just Peter to not only question uh the church but to also question Dante and ultimately to question ourselves to create a constant almost an infinite process of self- inquiry self-debate and self-discovery and that's why you can spend your entire life just reading my comedy at multiple uh angles and it's never never enough so the ultimate goal of our seminar is just to introduce you divine comedy. Do not believe that this is that like I'm giving you the final interpretation. Okay, that that's silly. This comment shows you how complicated uh the divine comedy is. Okay, but I'm providing you a framework in order for you to engage your own process of self-creation, self-discovery when you journey into the vine comedy, right? Because once once you have the framework allows you to better understand and journey through the mind comedy but once but but then as you journey some more you will break down this framework and create your own framework. Okay. This is a process that um Harold Bloom the great Yale literary scholar refers to as um as um creative self-destruction. Okay. Right. Uh yes. Um, so after you read the you read the comment about uh St. Peter, I'm actually inspired to ask a question. So yesterday we talked about how uh Peter was pointing at the Vatican on earth and he was going ah these guys are nasty. Uh but Peter here himself by asking uh Dante the pilgrim about the coin is also complicit in what the church is doing. So what what point is Dante trying to make here? Is he trying to say that St. Peter is criticizing the church. Is he trying to say that St.

12:10Peter is the church? Or is he saying that St. Peter is a mix of the two? Okay. What makes Dante um very hard for people to understand is at the heart of Dante is his democratic spirit. Okay. He is absolutely anti- power, anti- hierarchy, anti- status. Right? So the idea that after Jesus died uh Peter will then become the first pope, Dante finds this um perverting Jesus' legacy because Jesus came to our world um and sacrifice himself in order to free us to free to liberate us from power itself. Right? And then for Peter to say, well, I was closest to Jesus because remember after he died, the apostles fought over his legacy. Um, finally felt this is a perversion of the message of Jesus. Okay, the message of Jesus is that there's divinity within us and we look into us, we can liberate ourselves. We don't need God. We don't need hierarchy. We don't need the church anymore. Okay, that was the ultimate message of Jesus and and that and that's what Don is trying to do in divine comedy as well, right? Um I learned from a Yale scholar. Great question, Renee. Um so, um I was looking back at um Yale professor Mazafa's um interpretation of this Kanto and um there are tons of paradoxes um including the coin. And so on verse 38 um at 37 38 of Kanto 24 do test this man concerning the faith by which you walked upon the sea ask him points light and grave da da da da so um I don't know if you remember from the bible that um Peter was actually quite doubtful when Jesus asked

14:11him to walk upon the sea he actually didn't have sufficient faith until you know Jesus is like why aren't you going there um and and then he ended up doing that but I think Um, it's also very human. It's also very human. Um, and and and I think that's one of the paradoxes things. And and it's ironic that Peter is the one who asked about faith because if you read the Gospels, Peter is the one who has the least faith in Jesus, right? And that's what Jesus tells Peter. And uh so so there's so much irony uh uh embedded in divine harmony. Okay. Um Any more comments or questions before we move on? Okay. So, something really interesting happened yesterday while you guys were on a break and one of you wrote a poem. Okay. And I don't want to put you and you in the spot, but uh um I asked for permission and we're going to read the poem uh together. Okay. So, can you come please and and help us read read read the poem? Well, first of all, introduce yourself and tell us the background as to how you came to write this poem. Yeah, my name is uh Jay. Um uh how I came to write this poem, I had some time to kill in my hotel room yesterday and um I uh you know obviously being away from family it's it's uh and you know it's Father's Day weekend it's kind of difficult. So um you know decided to make something in the spirit of Dante in a spirit of hope uh for you know for my kids. Yeah. So that's where this comes from. Okay. So, can you just read us a poem tonight or uh far in the glass room? No hujang. No hunching rain. No hunching rain on the stones. No green.

16:11Just quiet. Uh sorry, [clears throat] [laughter] just quiet. and a week in the in the old poets's country of light. Learning the sea between ush nervous. Uh learning the sea between us is a is a sorry is a um what was that? Sorry, I couldn't read my one right. Okay. There's a trick we keep playing. Uh the souls that looks look scattered each each one on its own not split at all. One light. This is in the lay too. So So you are you are near though the south seas between us far light and still the jalan pulan and love. The poet says, moves the sun and stars and binds the loose pages of life into one. From a hawken mountain to green water, the long climb came only to stand up in you. Uh, three of you each holding a different measure, none holding half, each of you home. The way a man once crossed this dark sea to his son with nothing to give but I see you climb Jangan hila. That's all. That's all from the far edge of of it all. Um as we turn through the dark up the long climb hope. Great. Thank you so much. That that was beautiful. Okay. All right. So, um can you tell us what the poem is

18:11about? Um it's about for me it's about um um being away and I'm trying to convey uh to my kids why I'm away and uh yeah. Okay. So, you see what's happened is that he could only write this poem because of his love for his children, right? this this cosmic connection with his children. And that's why we need to recognize that for Dante, Beatatrice is a real person. Okay? We know historically they didn't know each other that that well. They met when when they were eight or nine, spent a few years together, then they they they went apart, they they were apart, and then Peter died when she was like 24. Okay. So, the time they actually spent together was not that much. But when we divine comedy, she comes across as a real person. And for Donna, she was a real person. Uh she was in con constant communication with her soul. It is possible to do this like where you're not even together. May she she may not even be alive. She she was not alive, but with your imagination, with your love, you can be in communication with her across dimensions. Okay? And that's what drives the poetry. All right? That's why love has to be between two people. It can't be between you and God. It can't be between between you and money or anything mature. It has to be between two people. Okay? And and uh you focus your love in a way to direct a person, your imagination just explodes. Okay? That's what drives your imagination. All right? So, this is a testament to that. So, thank you very much. Bye. Okay. So, we are now in heaven. And when we're in heaven, there's a problem because in heaven, there's no time and space. Which means that you can't

20:11actually perceive anything. Okay? But if you can't perceive, what's the only way that you can see then? You can't perceive. Excuse me. Imagine. No, you don't. No, not not the imagination, right? What? Um, you can use your spiritual spidey senses. Okay. Well, there's actually a word for spiritual spidey sense. It's called what? H intuition or what? Uh, well, what's behind your intuition? Come on, guys. Like your your your intuition, your spidey sense. What do we call that? How how do you see if you can't see? You feel. Yeah. Exactly. Thank you. Yes. Your emotions, right? Okay. This this is this is why it's important not to go to school because then you can actually, you know, use use your intuition, your emotions. It's your emotions. Okay. So, in other words, when he goes to heaven, he can't actually see anything but because it's so blinding. It's so beautiful. Okay. But he can feel it. And so, what he's trying to do is convey uh heaven to us through his poetry. And um so what heaven is is our happiest moment. It is pure bliss, pure joy, pure happiness. Okay. So to start the class, I want us to think of our happiest memory. A memory that brings constant delight to us as we think more and more about it. And then that helps us better understand the architecture of heaven. Okay. So I'm going to write this down. All right. And like again uh I just want happy memories. Your happiest memory. Okay. Anyone? Yes. Uh I remember that one time when I was Okay, this sounds silly, but I was in primary school and the teacher was about to punish someone unjustly for something

22:12that he wasn't really at fault for doing and I stood up to the teacher and I told her that's that's stupid and everyone in the class cheered for me and in the end the guy didn't get punished. Okay. Yes. That's a great memory. Yes. Thank you. Right. Your selfless generosity. Okay. Selfless sacrifice. That's rewarded. Okay. All right. That's one good memory. Yes. That's a great memory by the way. Beautiful. Yes. Yes. Uh I remember when I was first time in New York, I I think everything is new. Everything is different. This is a different world. It's quite different from China. So that make really making me feel shocked and make me feel amazed and uh yeah. Wait. Right. So novelty. Okay. Novelty, surprise, shock. Yes. What else? Yes. For me, it was um after the IB exams, I finally got to sleep for 12 hours and when I woke up, it was the happiest feeling I've ever felt. Okay. We call this relief and release, right? Relieve and release. So the idea is, you know, for quite a few months you were nervous and all this tension build up in in you, right? And then you were able to release it. Good. What else? Yes. Um, so I would like to share my experience of getting my my dog because it was really special for me. I had been like basically begging my parents to have a dog for such a long time and we were going to adopt but there were always always things in the way so we couldn't get a dog and finally I did um during my first year in middle school and that was really my happiest memory. I'm so glad that I have my dog right now. Great. Yeah. So it's idea of wish fulfillment, right? You have a wish. This is something that you always wanted and it fulfills itself. So wish fulfillment. Good. What else? Yes.

24:12To return home after a year of studying abroad and stuff. Like the minute I hit the airport, I'm like, "Yeah, I'm back." Exactly. Right. Returning home, right? I would say returning home. Yeah. Exactly. What else? Yes. Uh when I first met my um jazz piano hero for the first time uh in his live show, I was transcended with his art. Okay. Right. So um um so there there's a concept called flow, right? Which is this intense focus or devotion to your passion. Okay. Yes. So flow. Yes. Yes. If I may, I think this count counts inside of really being in the flow, but especially um I'm really into mathematics and when I understand a really difficult mathematics concept, I feel really happy and because I have a lot of friends around me that I can really talk talk about this kind of stuff with them. Um, it makes me feel uh makes me feel very good that I'm actually able to understand all of this and be able to talk to people about it that really understand what I Yeah. I wouldn't say this is flow. I would say this is more like self creation. Okay. Or self-discovery, right? When you discover something new about the world and share with others, okay? But but what what makes it really I think happy for you is the sharing aspect, right? you've you you discovered something new and share ser other people that helps them learn more. Right. So, it's really a sharing of the knowledge. Right. Sharing knowledge. Good. Right. Yes. Anyone else? I'm curious about what's your happiest memory. Well, well, obviously my my children.

26:13Yeah. When when I'm with my children. Yes. Anyone else? Yes. I remember like back then um I met this girl online and I just I just and I feel like um like my soul was in ecstasy and my soul funos and back then we we we didn't even met each other yet, right? And but just knowing that uh there's a such existence another human being that is so imaginative and um so poetic and it makes me like like like for for several days I feel like I'm a psychedatic you know so I understand thank you okay this is a connection right connection right or we can also say community all right yes thank Thank you. Anyone else? Yes. I I was uh born and raised in a culture uh where uh you know it's this uh feel duty for um for somebody to study really hard to make uh achievement in in in his life and to bring honor to the family and to the neighborhood and to the community. So I felt most uh uh excited and most happy when I won those uh you know awards and uh in those competitions uh in my hometown and bring honor to my family and my school and the whole city. So uh I couldn't imagine something even greater than that. So for me it's uh to be in the right community and to be supported and to to lead that community and to bring honor to that community. Great. Yeah. So this we will call this recognition and validation, right? You are recognized for your achievements and you're validated for them. Good. Okay. Great. This is a lot. Anyone else?

28:19Okay. Yeah. Like sometime in art museum I can experience kind of transcendental and mysterious uh aesthetic experience. Yeah. Beauty, right? When you get something beautiful, you are very happy. Okay. So, yeah, we can keep on going. Okay. But you you get the sense of what happiness is, right? And what heaven is is just every second there's just continuous happiness, right? So just think of your happiest moment and then um um just think that this goes on forever. Okay? So that's what that's what heaven is. All right. Let me ask you the question. Let me now ask you a question. Are there any songs or poems or artwork that triggers your happiness? Okay. Like what are they? Yes. Uh hypers specific uh uh medieval illuminated manuscripts. Okay. Sure. Okay. Manuscripts. Okay. Sure. Okay. What else? Yes. Uh, I would say house music. House music. Okay. All right. Yes. I like to say some like really classical music like really in the middle ages but maybe not that. Yeah. What else? for me as a novel when it has really beautiful pros and it's it it the words are used in a way that are so unique and creative that it it shocks you. Good. Okay. So guys, it's going to be music. Okay. Music is a thing that's going to trigger your happiest memories and pro probably also your other memories as well. But so that's what

30:20Donn is going to do. He's going to construct because he does he doesn't remember anything. Okay, God is going to keep on saying about this how he goes to the imperium and he's going to meet God. He doesn't remember anything because it is so blinding because it is so beyond time and space. Okay? But what he has is the is the emotions with it and from these emotions he's going to reconstruct reimagine his experience in Imperium in a way that we can appreciate. and he's going to design the poem with the music in a way that triggers our happiest memories so that we can experience with him uh the imperium. Okay. Does that make sense? Okay. All right. So, we now move towards Kanto uh 30, the imperium. Okay. again. We saw the angels. Uh we've we've journeying a long way through the cosmos and now we are finally in the imperium. Um and again what is paradoxical about heaven is that there is in fact a hierarchy right just because you go to heaven doesn't mean that you've succeeded because there are some really dumb kids in heaven okay like Picarda um and the hierarchy of the of the heavens also suggests that there are certain things that that you have to doubt. for example, why is Peter right um why is he outside the imperium right that that makes you question a lot of things he says so again there's so much subtlety there's so much nuance there's so much paradox to the mind comedy it forces in you into a lifetime of self inquiry okay all right so so let's read read um paradise 30 kto 30 perhaps 6,000 miles away from us, the sixth hour

32:23burns. And now our world's inclines, shadowed to an almost level bed, so that the span of heaven high above begins to alter so that some stars are no longer to be seen from our deep earth. And as the brightest handmade of the sun advances, heaven shuts off one by one its lights until the lovely loveliest is gone. So did the triumph that forever plays around the point that overcame me. Point that seems enclosed by that which it encloses. Uh the point of course refers to God. Okay. And what's really important to understand is that God is both being and becoming. Okay. So God is a source the big bang but also God is the perimeter okay of the universe right and how do we expand the perimeter of the universe? The imagination. Do you understand? Okay. So we humans and this is what's really um shocking about Donnie is that he's saying that we humans participate in the creation process ourselves whenever we use our imagination. And what he's going to say that's even more controversial is that only we can do this. Okay? Not the angels, not God, nothing else but humans. Okay? All right. Uh keep on going. fade gradually from my sight, so that my seeing nothing else, and love compelled my eyes to turn again to Beatress. If that which has been said of her so far, were all contained within a single praise, it would be much too scant to serve me now. The loveliness I saw surpassed not only our human measure, and I think that surely only its maker can enjoy fully. I yield. I'm defeated at this passage more than a comic or tragic poet has ever been by a barrier in his theme. For like the sun that strikes the frailst eyes, so does the

34:23memory of her sweet smile deprived me of the use of my mind. From that first day when in this life I saw her face until I had this vision, no thing ever cut the sequence of my song. But now I must assist from this pursuit in verses of her loveliness just as each artist who has reached his limit must. Okay. So Beatatrice and Dante have reached the imperium. This is Journey's end. And it is Bonnie's love for Beatatrice that has carried him so far up into the cosmos. Um, and being here, what does he want to do above all else? What does he want to do? This is Dante, right? What does he want to do? Anyone? describe Beatatrice or is that what he wants to do? He wants to write poetry to Beatatric, right? You understand? For him, your fullest expression of your love someone is to use your imagination to express the poetry because what? Because why would you want to do that? Why would you want to write the poetry? Because you can't help but to express how much love you have. this person or how awesome wonderful this person is. Right? So poetry is the highest expression of your love for someone. But why is that the case? Yes. To connect to unify with those who you love to connect with those who you love and also to show your love and brings others into this love as well. You understand? That's what poetry is doing. Yeah. Yeah. Of course. It immortalizes love. Um kind of like

36:25the dishonest. That's right. Right. To share your love across time and space. Okay. So, that's what he wants to do. What's his problem? It's a problem. What's the problem? He spent his entire life writing love poetry to Beatric in order to immortalize her. In order immortalize her love, their love. But what's the problem now? Um, I'm not sure if his wife is okay with this, but he has a wife. [laughter] What? Uh, you know, I I got a wife. I I I know wife is kind of responsibility but not love. You know, I'm sorry to tell her that. All people know that love is not for a wife. But, you know, the love is something that you cannot you cannot you cannot touch. You really want it but you cannot touch. That is love. You can touch it. This is not love. this kind of responsibility and have to pay everything for her. My my point being that uh ideally you want to marry someone you love and if you break the vows of marriage which by the way you made to God because you met your soulmate then you're also betraying God in the process. Okay, [laughter] sorry. Um, okay. Ideally, okay, but in the real world, there are things such as class hierarchies. There are lots of constraints, right? So, appar So, um, Petus and Donnie came from different class backgrounds. And in this culture, all marriages are arranged, right? There's no dating market. It's like you don't go online and says, "Hm, I'm going to look for, you know, my deal." That doesn't No, no. It's like you're assigned someone to marry. And so in this in this culture, marriage and love are not the same thing. Marriage is just for convenience. Um and love is the expression of beauty and truth. Okay.

38:27All right. Okay. So the question is what's the problem here? He wants to write a poem to Beatatric. He wants to write a verse. But there's a problem. What's the problem? I I mean in in the poem he he does say right I must desist from this pursuit in verses of her loveliness just as each artist has reached he's he's reached his limit. Yeah. But why is he has he reach his limit? Because she's heavenly and he's earthly and he can't like fully express how good she is. He ran out of words for it maybe. Okay. Well that's true. But it's not because he's earthly and she's heavenly, right? It's because in their ascent, Petrius has become more beautiful over time, right? And so once we reach this point, he now has reached the limit of his imagination. He's now reached the limit of his poetry. Okay? Right? So there's a limit here. Um, why should we not believe him? Why should we not believe him? Cuz there's no real like limitation for the imagination. Exactly. First of all, there's no limitation. Also, he's not modest, man. Donnie is not a modest guy. If he's telling you, "Oh, you know what? I can't really do this." He's He's trying to trick you into something. Okay. So, so this is a paradox. All right. Uh let's keep on reading. Um Carol verse verse 34. So she in beauty as I leave her to a herald that is greater than my trumpet which nears the end of its heartbeat with voice and bearing of a guide whose

40:28work is done. Again, from matter's largest fear, we now have reached the heaven of pure light, light of the intellect, life filled with love, love of true good, love filled with happiness, a happiness surpassing every sweetness. Here you will see both ranks of paradise and see one of them wearing the same aspect which you will see again at judgment day. Okay, so here it would be very nice to have the Italian, okay? and to be read aloud in Italian because I think with these words um this marks a very distinct um use of language and light of the intellect light filled with love of true good love filled with happiness a happiness surpassing every sweetness it's like a song okay it's a very um lyrical song that conjures up our our best memories okay again We don't have the Italian, but if we did, I think that's what that that's what would happen. Okay, it's it's like the highest possible um vibration. Okay, it's very light, very lovely, pure joy. So, imagine angels singing. Okay, this poetry is really angels singing together. Hey, um keep on going. Verse 46. Yeah, 46. Okay. like sudden lightning scattering the spirits of sight so that the eye is then too weak to act on other things it would perceive. Such was the living light encircling me leaving me so enveloped by its veil of radiance that I could see no thing love that calms this heaven always welcomes into itself such a salutation to make the candle ready for its flame. No sooner had these few words entered me then, I became aware that I was rising beyond the power that was mine. And such new vision kindled me again, that even

42:28the purest light would not have been so bright as to defeat my eyes, deny my sight. And I saw light that took a river's form, light flashing reddish go reddish gold between two banks painted with wonderful spring flowerings. Out of that stream there issued living sparks which settled on the flowers on all sides. Like Ruby said in gold and then as intoxicated with the olders, with the odors, they again plunged into the amazing flood. As one spark sank, another spa spark emerged. The high desire that now inflames incites you to grasp mentally the things you see pleases me more as it swells more. But first, that you may satisfy your mighty thirst, you must drink of these waters. So did she, who is the son of my eyes, speak to me. She added this. The river and the gems of topaz entering and leaving, and the grass is laughter. These are shadow shadowy prefaces of their truth. Not that these things are lacking in themselves. The defect lies in you, whose sight is not yet that sublime. Okay. So [clears throat] he says this he's reached the limit of his imagination. He can't describe Petri's beauty anymore. And now what uh Beatrice is saying to him is that to truly experience God you need your imagination to be limitless. Right. And so drink from the light. Do you have a question? Yeah, I have a question like uh personally I find this thematically a little bit weird. So earlier on he was talking about circles of angels and about light and about Beatress being so great that he can't describe her. And we have to notice that these are all very abstract things like he literally cannot conceptualize them in physical manner anymore. However, here he can suddenly conceptualize things again. He's suddenly talking about the river and about the flower

44:28banks. So what prompted this shift and what place does it have here? Um, I I don't I don't agree with you. I I think he's always been able to visualize this. I think this is a very visual poem, right? I mean, like, just look at the artwork from here. I mean, it's it's pretty visual. So, at at no point did he actually lose his imagination when when he's saying I've reached a limit of my imagination, it's just it's just telling u us and him we need to work harder, guys. This is a co this is a co-creation process. Not only do I have to like work harder to create the words to describe my experience, but you have to devote yourself further and invest your imagination further to really truly appreciate what I'm saying. Okay. All right. So, the idea here is that he's reach the limits of his imagination. And so, what does Beatric tell him to do? Not the water. What does what what must he drink the light? Okay. And it is but it is metaphor described as water because why would he do that? What is he what is he really describing here? Um I remember in the Bible in the New Testament the Samaritan woman and Jesus Jesus said if you follow me I will give you the living water. So maybe it's a metaphor for that. Yeah. It's it's a baptism, right? It's an initiation into faith. Okay. Right. Does that make sense? Like when you when you absorb this light, it is giving you a new faith, a new light to truly activate your imagination because that's what you'll need if you're truly to meet God. Does that make sense? Okay. Let's let's keep going. Verse 82.

46:28Yep. No infant who wakes long after his usual hour would turn his face toward milk as quickly as I hurried toward that stream to make still finer mirrors of my eyes. I bent out toward the waters which flow there that we in them may find our betterment. But as my eyelids eaves drank of that wave, it seemed to me that it had changed its shape, no longer straight, that flow now formed around. Then, just as maskers, when they set aside the borrowed likeness in which they hide, seemed to be other than they were before, so were the flowers and the sparks transformed, changing to such festivity before me that I saw clearly both of heaven's courts. Okay? So, as he's drinking the light, his very perception of the heavens are changing. Okay? So, this is extending his imagination. And this is transcending his imagination. So now he can he he can actually see heaven. Okay. And when he sees heaven, he can now describe heaven to us. 97. Oh radiance of God through which I saw the noble triumph of the true realm. Give to me the power to speak of what I saw. Above on high there's a light that makes apparent the creator to the creature whose only peace lies in his seeing him. The shape which that light takes as it expands is circular and its circumference would be too great a girdle for the sun. All that one sees of it derives from one light ray reflected from the summit of the primum mobile which from it draws power and life and as a hill is mirrored in waters at its base as if to see itself when rich which with grass and flowers grazed so in a thousand tears that towered above the light and circling it I saw mirrored all of us who have one return above. And if

48:29the lowest rank and gathers such vast light, and what must be the measure of this rose, where it has reached its highest leaves, within that breath and height, I did not find my vision gone astray. For it took in that joy in all its quality and kind there, near and far, do not subtract or add. For where God governs with no mediator, no thing depends upon the laws of nature. into the yellow of the eternal rose that slopes and stretches and diffuses fragrance of praise unto the son of endless spring. Now Beatatric drew me as one who though he would speak out it's silent. And he and she said, "See how great is this council of white robes. See how much space our city's circuit spans. See how our seated ranks are now so full that little room is left for anymore. And in that seat on which your eyes are fixed, because a crown already waits above it before you join this wedding feast shall sit the soul of noble Henry. He who is on earth to be imperial, he shall show Italy the righteous way. But when she's unready, the blind greediness bewitching you has made you like the child who dies of hunger and dries off his nurse. and in the holy form such shall be the prefect then that either openly or secretly he will not walk with Henry but God will not endure him long within the holy ministry he shall be cast down there where Simon may major pace he shall force the the ancer into his hole okay all right so again um now Dante is able to see imp its entirety and it's basically like two roses and then the rows are seated um those who are closest to God and we'll we'll see their ranks uh later on and

50:31this is this will be the last time that Beatatric will speak and again they're in the imperium and what Beatric is talking about is a prophecy okay so this is again the year 1300 uh Donnie Wolf finishes in 1321, but he's right running right in the near 1300. A few years from now, uh Henry VIII, the Holy Roman Emperor will invade Italy and try to unify uh Italy and then he will be betrayed by the Pope Hemmed. Okay. So, what what um uh Peter is saying is that Noel Henry has this divine mission. Okay. He's almost like sent by God to lead Italy in a righteous way. But unfortunately Italy was not yet ready for the grace of God. And so he was betrayed and he failed in his mission. And so uh the person who will who is responsible for this failure is Clement and and God will punish Clement as Simon Magus was um punished as well. If you know Catholic theology, you know that Simon Magnus is a heretic, right? The first great heretic of the Catholic faith. And so it's it's troubling because we are now in heaven, right? And heaven is supposed to be the happiest memories, right? Just pure uph. And Beatrice is being angry. She She's clearly angry about what's going to transpire. And so what's going on here? What? How? How can we explain or reconcile this paradox where she's in heaven and this is the happiest memories of the happiest people? There should be no hatred. There should be no anger. Yet in her final words to Dante, she tells him a prophecy of betrayal,

52:33of hatred. What's going on here? Yes. Um, so like like I said last time, I think maybe it's because Dante isn't here to stay. Like he isn't here to bathe in happiness uh and to stay an angel or whatever he's doing. He is here to carry a message back to earth. And that's why she's telling him all this. This this is like the secrets. This is like the top the pentagon secrets. And they're telling them this in front of God like at at the preus of God because that's the most secret layer. And he's she's telling them this so that he can carry the message back to her. And what is his message? The message that uh all this is going to go is going to go down and Henry is actually a nice guy and all that. Well, Dunning knows that. Well, he knows that. But the people, right? He's doing this in 1321. He's seen everything that transpired. He was the one who wrote letters to Henry praising him for his efforts. But but again, it's like we're we're in heaven and we're taught that in heaven, you're able to let go of your bad memories, right? You'll be able to embrace your good memories. This is clearly a bad memory. What what's going on here? Uh yes, I think maybe also Dante is trying to weave his own political views into this uh this story just because I'm not sure since this is after all his imagination. So So this is what most scholars believe. Okay, most scholars believe that Donnie has this political vendetta and he's trying to settle scores. But for the past week, I've been telling you guys that we let's work the assumption. Let's work with the faith that this poem is perfect and that everything in it makes sense. And as long as we're able to imagine hard enough, have enough faith and hope and love, we can make sense of what's really going on. Okay? And to say, well, you know, he was just angry and his

54:33political band vendetta. Yeah, it does make sense, but I want to try harder. Okay? I want us to use our imagination and figure out what's really going on here. Why is Petra's last words to Dante full both anger and hatred? I guess so. This is probably a really far off explanation, but uh I can remember like both in my life and in the Bible some cases when your anger is so righteous like sometimes it's the anger of God and it's so righteous that it feels like joy. It feels like you're ex It feels like you're reing in your anger and you know that what you're angry towards is right. Um yeah. So you you're saying that Beatric is um anger makes her happy. Huh. Um yeah, that's a possibility. Uh but let's keep on using our imagination, right? And Okay. All right. So let's go to the year 1300. Okay. and you are a Catholic believer. What do the church fathers teach you about evil in this world? Uh yes, there are 1300 guys. Not not today. Okay. Catholic church is very different. Yes. Evil comes from Satan, right? But what do you do about evil in this world? The seven deadly sins. No, no, I'm saying like if you see evil, if evil happens to you in this world, what do you do? There there will be just retribution, but you may not need to do it. There would be a divine plan for it. Um, okay. There's actually much simpler explanation. What What have people literally taught at this time in history about evil and injustice?

56:33I think people just been taught do not just against the god not against the church but he just I think the dentist is against church so maybe he's saying this is quite evil uh yes maybe just accept it like accept it why because persecution is the way to make you grow and like do not take things into your own hands like it's God's job yes it's all part of God's Uh no, no, no, no. There's a really simple logic at work here. Okay. Yes. Just like evil is within us, so it's normal to occur. But where does evil come from? From the first uh sin like Adam eating the apple. I understand that was like 10,000 years ago. So why is it still evil? Okay. So this is hard. Okay. But at this time in history, what the people were taught is this. We are all born in sin because of the original sin because and that is transmitted to us through our bodies. Right. Right. What do our bodies want? Our bodies want sex. They want money. Right. Okay. But our bodies are just temporal things. We'll have our bodies for 50 years, 100 years at most. basically 40 years. Okay? 40 years in the grand scheme of things is nothing, right? So, put up with this persecution, put up with this evil, put up with this injustice for 40 years, you die, you go to heaven, and all you do is experience pure bliss. Pretty simple deal. It's a pretty good deal, right guys? You see evil around you, you see injustice, you see sin. Don't worry about it. It doesn't matter. What matters is your salvation. And your salvation

58:35demands that you keep yourself free of sin. Okay. Uh yes. So what you're saying is basically Dante doesn't agree with that. Exactly. He completely disagrees with that. What's he really saying? when you see evil, you should do something about it. No, no, no. But, but I'm trying to explain why Peaches is like in her title words to Dante cursing uh like these people, right? Saying Clement, he's going to burn in hell and like uh the people in Italy are uh in great fall. Why is she doing that? Yes. So, um I'm confused about something you just said. So you said that Dante is against the uh keep yourself pure uh doctrine of the church and he's against pass pacitivity like not doing nothing. Yeah. Yeah. That's what you said. But a couple of classes ago you told us about all that hope and light stuff. And when I asked you why Dante wasn't proactively trying to do some things and you said, "Oh, he's acting in hope and light." And when I asked you what that means, you said that it means that he's acting inwards and he's not acting outwards. So I want to ask you how to reconcile this like he's both doing something and he's against doing nothing. Okay. So first of all you need to appreciate um in our world the greatest action you can take is to use your imagination. Okay? That's what he's going to reveal to us. The greatest act you can take okay is to use your imagination. Which means that being a poet is the greatest thing you could possibly ever aspire to. There is no greater people than poets in this world. Okay? Not prophets, not Jesus, not conquerors, not Napoleon, not Charlemagne, not Julius Caesar. Poets. Okay? That's what living a life of

60:37faith, hope, and love and love is really about to write poetry that expands the human imagination. Okay. All right. So, let's go back to the original question. Why is Beatric bitching about the world in heaven? Yes. Maybe he's mad like this is saying that some people are so heavenly bound that they are not of no earthly good. So, it's like people he's criticizing people who are like thinking about heaven but not doing anything about the earth. Exactly. Yes. Exactly. What what D is trying to say is that guys, it's not that earth is a prison and once we do our time, we can go to heaven. That's not how it works. It's all connected. Okay? What happens on heaven happens on earth. What happens on earth happens in heaven. As above, so below. As above, so below. Does that make sense? As below, so above. It's all intertwined together. just Beatric cannot be happy in heaven because we're so screwed up on earth. You understand? And because we're so screwed up on earth, we screw everything up. So don't be like, you know what? Um, I see evil, but I'll just go lie in my bed for the next 40 years and then when I die, I'll experience bliss in heaven. That's not how it works, man. That isn't If there's evil on earth, there has to be evil on in heaven. And that's why she's angry. Does that make sense? Okay. That's a message Dante has for us. As above, so below. As below, so above. It's all intertwined together. So Dante is trying to destroy the escapist mentality, the defeetist, escapist, pessimistic mentality of the people at this time. Right? You have to do something. Yes.

62:38Does that mean does does that mean the earth, heaven, and hell is all connected? Yes. It's all intertwined together. Yes. So So there must be um sins in hell and evil in hell, right? Yeah. Then therefore there there will be sin and evil in earth and there will be sin and evil in heaven. I I don't understand. So, so there must be sins and uh evil in hell, right? But they are all connected. So, do do you get what what I'm saying? But I think it's connected in emotional way, not in like the sin in uh hell transcends to heaven like you're saying, but it's a sins in hell and on earth that upsets heaven maybe, right? Like emotionally, Beatress is mad, but mad is not. Okay. Yes. Yeah. Like professor maybe I have a question that I may need you help me to clarify some concept about the difference between like what we have happens on earth and what has happened on the heaven because if you're seeing that like uh we no matter where we are we can all feel or perceive uh there's good in there's kind of or there's evil on both earth and heaven. How could the heaven and uh we live in the real world different? Or in other words like um if we can feel we can have the we can both feel the same thing on earth and heaven then how could those parts uh essentially different from each other? Okay. So the difference between earth and heaven is that heaven is spiritual. Okay. So we are souls right? Earth we have bodies. Do you understand? That's the difference. Okay. So what we experience in on earth is different from what we experience in in heaven. Um and and what

64:40D is going to discuss is okay why does there have to be this distinction right? Why is it that we're given bodies? And if you and again in the year 1300 the Catholic Church teaches you that um we have bodies because we are a failed science experiment. Okay, you understand? All right. What Augustine writes is that what are we made of? What are we made of? No, that's not what the Bible says. What does the Bible say? We are made of what? We're made of dirt. Dirt, man. We are pieces of dirt. That's what we are. So, how can we do anything right? That's like literally what the Bible says. We are made of dirt. Oxin says that then if we are made of dirt, that just means that we are a fail science experiment. Okay? God didn't mean to create us like this, but he did. And now we're completely screwed up. He has to put up with us. Okay? And so, we just have to like endure. We just have to like be patient. And then once our bodies wither away, we our souls can now escape to heaven. We'll have eternal bliss. Yes. Uh but that makes very little sense given that first uh dirt was created by God. So technically it's also a creation of him. And second, God kind of molded the first man himself. So if it's God doing the creating even if it's from dirt, then how could it be wrong, man? [laughter] Look look look look. Okay. I do not want this to like be a theological class. Okay? What I'm telling you is what people in this time believed and what I'm trying to tell you is how Dante responds to this. You understand? I don't want to have this argument. Okay? You have this argument. Go back in time and go argue with Arinstein. Okay? All right. Let's uh let's continue, please.

66:40KTO 31. So in the shape of that white rose, the holy legion was shown to me. The host that Christ with his own blood had taken as his bride. The other host which flying sees and sings the glory of the one who draws his draws its love and that goodness which granted it such glory. Just like a swarm of bees that at one moment enters the flowers and at another turns back to that labor which yields such sweet savor descended into that vast flower grazed with many petals then again rose up to the eternal dwelling of its love. Okay. So there are two roses and these two rows are like stadiums where all the best people are placed and again this creates a paradox because why do the people of the Catholic church why are they in one rose and then everyone else is in another rose? Okay. Um so there are these paradoxes that make you question the orthodoxy at this time. Uh keep on going. Uh Carol verse 13. Their faces were all living flame. Their wings were gold, and for the rest their white was so intense, no snow can match the white they showed. When they climbed down into that flowering rose, from rank to rank they shared that peace and aror which they had gained with wings that fanned their sides, nor did so vast a throng in flight, although it interposed between the candid rose and light above obstruct the sight or splendor because the light of God so penetrates the universe according to the worth of every part that no thing can impede it. This confident and joyous kingdom thronged with people of both new and ancient times turned all its sight and order to one mark. Oh three-fold light that in a single star sparkling into their eyes contents them so look down and see our tempest here below. at the barbarians

68:40when when they came from a region that is covered every day by Helis who wheels with her loved son were seeing Rome and her vast works struck dumb when of all mortal things the latter was the most eminent. Then what amazement must be filled me when I to the divine came from the human to eternity from time and to a people just insane from Florence came. And certainly between the wonder and the joy it must have been welcome to me to hear and speak nothing. And as a pilgrim in the temple he had vowed to reach renews himself. He looks and hopes he can describe what it was like. So did I journey through the living light, guiding my eyes from rank to rank, along a path now up, now down, now circling round. There I saw faces given up to love, grazed with another's light and their own smile, and movements grazed with every dignity. By now my gaze had taken in the whole of paradise, its form in general, but without looking hard at any part, and I, my will rekindled, turning toward my lady, was prepared to ask about those matters that inclined my mind to doubt. Okay, so Darthy now has the vision to see the entirety of Imperium, the seat of God. And he is the wilder. He is amazed. He is stunned by what he has seen. and he he's filled with tremendous joy and happiness. And so what he wants to do is share with Beatatrice, right? He's turning to Beatatrice. He wants to lock eyes with her and they want to smile together in order to share this greatest of joys of being in the Imperium. But she's now disappeared. Okay, keep on going. Verse 58 where I expected her. Another answered, "I thought I should see Beatrice, and saw an elder dressed like those who were

70:41in glory. His gracious gladness filled his eyes, suffused his cheeks. His manner had that kindliness which suits a tender father." "Where is she?" I asked him instantly, and Hube replied, "That all your longings may be satisfied." Beatrice urged me from my place. If you look up into the circle that is third, from that rank which is highest, you will see her on the throne. her merits have assigned her. I without answering then looked on high and saw that round her now a crown took shape as she reflected the eternal rays. No mortal eye, not even one that plunged into deep seas would be so distant from that region where the highest thunder forms. As there my sight was far from beaches, but distance was no hindrance, for her semblance reached me undimemed by anything between. Oh Lady, you in whom I hope gains strength. You who for my salvation have allowed your footsteps to be left in hell. In all the things that I have seen, I recognize the grace and benefit that I depending upon your power and goodness have received. You drew me out of out from slavery to freedom. By all those paths, by all those means that were within your power. do in me. Preserve your generosity so that my soul which you have healed when it is set loose from my body be a soul that you will welcome. Okay. So what's happening is that Dante has reached Imperial. He is about to meet God which will be his happiest moment and obviously he wants to share it with Beatatrice. He's also grateful for be for Beatatrice who has taken him from hell all the way up to heaven. Okay. Is Beatrice, his love for Beatric that has guided him throughout all this um time, his journey for the cosmos, his journey from hell to purgatory to heaven, it's all because of Beatrice. And at this moment when he is about to meet God, something has happened. She's

72:41been switched. Okay? She's returned to her seat in the rose and she's been replaced by another guide, Bernard. Okay? And Bernard is the one who will take Dante to meet God. This is like really really confusing. Like who first of all, who the hell is Bernard? Okay, we know who Virgil is. We know who Beatric is. We don't even know who Bernard is. And like why make this switch at this crucial time when when we are at the climax when we are at journeys end right what would this happen any theories before we continue yes so first I have a question so when we're talking about Bernard I'm pretty sure it's okay to assume that they're a saint right okay so some background Okay, Bernard [clears throat] is a saint of the Catholic Church and what makes him important is he's almost like the first love poet of the Catholic Church in the Catholic tradition. Okay, does that make sense? He is one of the co-founders of the Knights Templar. Um so there's a lot of romantic um stories behind him. He what makes him interesting is that he love he wrote love poetry to Mary not Jesus not God but to Mary. Okay. And I mean [clears throat] the standard explanation for why Bernard is a guide is because Mary is the queen of heaven. There's God but the queen of heaven is Mary. Okay. So basically um Bernard is Mary's servant and Bernard will will use Mary's power in order to help Dante see God completely. Do you

74:43have a question or my theory is like that Dante is very modest. So he he um wants you No, no. Dante is not modest. They're arrogant. Dant is the opposite of modest. Okay. You will not need a less modest person than Dante. But but keep on going. So he wants he's he's trying to show that he's joining the ranks with the most famous poets in the world. But Bernard's well not one of the most famous poets in the world. The first love poet in like in the church. Okay. Right. So yeah. Right. So first of all, he's paying homage to Bernard, right? He's saying like you c I come from this legacy which you started which is love poetry. The difference is like I'm not I I'm actually loving a real person and you and you you you love you know someone else. Yes. Um so I think something that's important to realize here is actually something I learned in medievalism. So during the middle ages even the late middle ages um love when used in this context is not always about sexual sexuality. It's not always about husband and wife. It's actually the opposite. This is the courtly love tradition, right? And but like the courtly love tradition is one part of the middle ages. It's not all Middle Ages. The whole idea of a feudal structure is founded upon the fact that you love your feudal lege like you love your wife and you love your parents. It's like fidop uh feudal version. Uh that's the first point and the second point is that Wikipedia says here that uh Bernard is also a reformer of the Benedictings. Uh and I'm thinking maybe Dante could be hinting at the fact that uh he is that he is advocating for a type of reform. These are two points I'm just going to make. No, but but but but I understand that there's lots of reasons, but I'm saying like the the main reason that most people agree on is first of all, Donna is paying homage to Bernard. Um the other reason is that like the queen of heaven is Mary and Bernard is considered

76:45uh her greatest earthly servant. Okay. Uh those are the most two accepted reasons but again I'm having problems understanding why is he making this transition. You have Beatrice. Yes. Sorry. Sorry. Um at the back and then you uh probably because uh his love for Beatatric has reached his peak and so he cannot use love as a force to ascend. So they need to switch person for him to love someone else and then ascend. Could you explain try try to explain this? Okay, elaborate on on this idea. Basically, we were in heaven and he was saying all great things about Beatatrice and idolizing her. And so, it seems like it reached a peak and it cannot be better. And so, as we said, love was the force guiding him. And because it's a peak to meet God, he would need like another like more of this force. So switching the person could be a way to ascend. Okay. So that's interesting. Okay. So let me add to what what you're saying. Okay. To make sure I'm following your logic. So love is the force that got him to this point. But love can take him further. Is that is that right? Okay. So he needs another force to take him to God. Okay. And what do you think this force will be? We just said not reason, not desire, what? Huh? What? Imagination. Yeah. Okay. So, he wasn't even here. He he knows the answer. Okay. Love can only take you so far, but if you really want to transcend, it has to be the imagination. Okay. So, that's a force that's going to take him to the highest heights. Okay. Love got him this far, but to go even further, you need imagination. Does that make sense? Okay. Yes. I was going to say exactly that because also in the text uh he replied that all your longings may be satisfied. So I

78:46think that like Beatatric has sort of like satisfied all his like you know love towards her already. So that's why she has to return. And also I have a theory that like because he's going to meet God and meet Mary, right? And he is essentially a poet and he wants to share this with the world. So he needs to consult with like a poet like Bernard sort of like draw from him to expand his imagination to be able to describe the following process if that makes sense. And has Bonnie does doesn't like this before where he's considered a poet in order to increase his imagination. Yeah. So he kind of like so that's why Bernard appears to him because he's like this great uh love poet. So yes, he had Virgil before in hell. Um well we we we'll discuss this starting tomorrow. Okay. But but he he actually doesn't consult Virgil for his or Okay. Um anyone else? Okay. So So I I want you us to think about this. Okay. This is like really hard, but I want us to think about this. Okay. Imagine you have the world's greatest mother. Okay, which is like Carol, right? Obviously. But She's been with you all this time and she's taking care of all your needs. If you are true to and like like you know like just she's fed you the best food, she's taught you the best poetry, she's loved you throughout. Okay. If you are tr to truly grow as a person, what must you do eventually? You have excuse me, you have to like leave, man. You have to like tell her to go away. Leave me alone, mom. Okay. That's that's what Bonnie is doing right now, right? He's saying, "But you've taken me

80:47so far. And I can't do this without you. I couldn't have reached this point without you, but now I must do this myself." Okay. So, this is a really hard question, but I'm saying like, okay, so so let's try to connect everything together. Um, you have to leave your mother at some point. You have to leave someone you love at some point. And we've reached a point where love can only takes us so far. And now the imagination must take over. Okay. Why? What allows for the imagination that created conflict with love? This is a hard question. Okay, but think about this. Okay, when you love someone and when you imagine there has to be a it's it's there there's contradiction. Okay, and how and so why how can this contradiction be resolved by switching Beatric with Bernard? Love is focused on one person and imaginations more diverse. And switching with Bernard because Bernard is a poet. So what is love? What is love? It's an action and it has to be directed towards a person, a real thing, object. When you love a child, what are you doing? You hug him, kiss him, feed him good food. Yes. Okay. Okay. So, so, so, sorry, but like when you wrote the poem, when you wrote the poem. Okay. Yep. How do you feel about yourself while you you were writing the poem? I wasn't thinking of myself. I was Exactly. I was not thinking of myself. You understand? That's the trick, guys. I was not thinking of myself.

82:49That's what love is. I don't think about myself. I give myself. I think of the other person and I become nothing. I lose my ego. Right. What's the imagination? Exactly. You're expressing yourself. Okay. That is the contradiction. Right. So when D is with Beatrice, he cannot think of himself. Has to think of Beatatric. He's giving himself because he's so much in love with Beatric. And that's what allows him to climb to heaven. He that's what allows him to leave hell journey from purgatory and climb heaven. But now that you must meet God, now that you must fully exercise your imagination, you must retain your ego. You must express your ego. You must manifest your ego, right? And and why would this be a problem if you are a priest or you know you're a Catholic priest at this time in Issue? Yes. Because people were taught to um lose your ego and be humble like Jesus was. Yes. Yes. Um because you're not allowed to marry and you're definitely not allowed to express your love towards a soulmate. We don't know that. Okay. But but yes, what the church tells us is that you must be humble because your ego is a source of all evil in this world. Does it make sense? And what is like no guys? That's not how it works. Your ego is a source of your imagination. And you can imagine good or you can imagine evil. You imagine evil, there's going to be evil. But if you imagine good, there's mean good. Okay? You understand? But if you want want to truly meet God, you truly want to understand the world, you must use your imagination. All right, that's the logic here. Okay, again, he

84:50now must switch to Bernard. So the the so the pl I mean it doesn't really matter who Bernard is, but he must make the switch if he is truly to meet God. Yes. So this is something I didn't get. So earlier you said that Dante believes that uh people can only love other people. They can't love concepts like God and when they love other people their love excites their imagination and their imagination brings him closer to God. So why is Dante right now replacing the person he loves with this crusty old guy he has no feelings towards? Like how is he trying to excite his imagination to meet God here? There's no love here. Okay. So what love does is expand your capacity to use your imagination. Right? But now you must use your imagination. Therefore you must focus on your ego. You understand? The only way to obtain love, okay, as a fuel for your imagination is by being selfless, by giving yourself, right? To not think of yourself, to think of others. Now, now you have all this fuel inside of you, right? Now you're going to use this fuel in order to project your imagination to understand God. But to do that you have to embrace your ego. Okay? You and what D is going to do is in the final KTO he's going to show that he's better than God. He's superior to God because God does not have imagination. He does. Okay. All right. Okay. So are we clear about this? Okay. So again, there's a scholar scholarly explanation, but then uh there's my explanation. So do as you will. Okay. All right. Let's let's keep on going. Verse 91. So did I pray and she however far away she seemed smiled and she looked at looked at me. Then she turned back to the eternal fountain. Okay. So this is almost like a graduation, right? where you know like

86:51you're you're maybe the school valadictorian and you just have this entire speech saying you like I love you mother and everything I am I am because of you but what what you're really saying is like I've grown up now I'm going to leave you mother okay that that sorry all right yeah let yeah okay yeah let's keep on reading um verse 94 Four. And he, the holy elder, said that you may consummate your journey perfectly. For this, both prayer and holy love had sent me to help you. Let your sight fly around this garden by gazing. So your vision will be made more ready to ascend through God's own ray. The queen of heaven, for whom I am all flame with love, will grant us every grace. I am her faithful Bernard. The queen of heaven is Mary. Okay. Um [laughter] Why is this a paradox or a problem in the Catholic church? Yes. Um Mary is the Virgin Mary and uh she is kind of she carried God's son. Okay. He carried God's son and she's the Virgin Mary. She's a virgin forever. And right here, Bernard, you're here writing love poetry about her. Um yes. Because what we supposed to believe in is the Holy Trinity, not Mary. Yes, exactly. Because the King of heaven, it's Jesus, not Mary. Okay. But Jesus Jesus isn't even here. It's Mary that's here. This is a paradox. Why aren't why isn't Bernard invoking Jesus, right? No, no, no. She He's invoking Mary, the queen of heaven. Okay, let's keep on going. Verse 102 to 103.

88:53Just as one who from Croatia perhaps has come to visit our Veronica, one whose old hunger is not sad, who as long as it is shown, repeats these words in thought. Oh my Lord Jesus Christ, true God, was then your image like the image I see now. Such was I as I watched the living love of him who in this world in contemplation tasted that peace. And he said, "Son of grace, you will not come to know this joyous state if your eyes only look down at the base. But look upon the circles. Look at those that sit in a position more remote until you see upon her seat the queen to whom this realm is subject and devoted." I lifted up my eyes and as at morning the eastern side of the horizon shows more splendor than the side where the sun sets. So as of climbing with my eyes from valley to summit, I saw one part of the farthest rank of the rose more bright than all the rest. And as on earth the point where we await the shaft that had misguided glows brightest, while to each side the light shades off, so did the peaceful aura flame appear brightest at its midpoint. So did its flame on each side taper off at equal pace. I saw around that midpoint fest of angels, more than a thousand, with their wings outspread. Each was distinct in splendor and in skill. And there I saw a loveliness that when it smiled at the angelic songs and games, made glad the eyes of all the the other saints. And even if my speech were rich as my imagination is, I should not try to tell the very least of her delights. Bernard, when he had seen my eyes, tent fixed on the object of his burning fervor, burnt his own eyes to her with such affection that he made mine gaze still more ardently. Okay, let's keep on going. Okay, 32.

90:59Kanto 32. Though he had been absorbed in his delight, that contemplator freely undertook the task of teaching, and his holy words began. The wound that Mary closed and then anointed was the wound that Eve, so lovely at Mary's feet, had opened and had pierced. Oh wow. Okay. Okay. [clears throat] Let's these three lines are really important. Okay. Let's try to figure this out. Where we we met Adam, right? met Adam in heaven. Where is Eve? Where is Eve right now? No, but I'm saying where is she right now? At Mary's feet. Do you understand? Mary is a queen of heaven and Eve is right beside her. So lovely at Mary's feet next to the queen of heaven. Okay. Right. The wound that Mary closed and then anointed was a wound that Eve had opened and had pierced. What does this mean? Yes. The wound at Mary's feet I think is sin because e is responsible for the original sin and um so basically Mary used to have sin but since Mary's purified u Mary closed the wound. Yeah, this is really hard. Okay, this but but like it's actually telling you exactly what's going on. Okay, it's hard because of cognitive dissonance. It goes against everything you've been taught, right? We know that Eve was responsible for the original sin, which was disobedience, which was pride, which is eating the fruit. Okay? What did Mary do

93:01to me? Mary gave birth to Jesus and Jesus died for the original sin to be forgiven. So, who's responsible for redeeming us? Mary. This is what she's saying here. No, I'm sorry. This is what D is saying here. Okay. This is Mary that redeemed us, not Jesus. Yes. Why isn't it Jesus? Well, that's what we have to figure out. Okay. Why is it Mary and not Jesus? Yes. Um, I also wonder what Eve had open and had pierced um is some veil and that is a continuum between um God and human that he pierced by partaking that fruit. Yeah. He she broke the love and the bond between God and us. Right. And Mary closed it. Mary Mary repaired the bond. So she redeemed us. But how does it make any sense? Because it was Jesus that redeemed us, right? It was Jesus that repaired the bond. Not that we were taught. What what God is saying is like, "Nope, it was Mary, guys. It was Mary that did this." So I'm going to try a rudimentary understanding here. So uh Mary gave birth to Jesus. So basically what Dante is trying to say here is that uh Mary is the ultimate source of Jesus who saved us. That's the first part and the second part is that uh Jesus is uh a man and he cannot be a mother and so his love his love towards everyone his love towards his believers is abstract like it's not visceral it's not visceral like a

95:02mother's love towards her children and what Dant is trying to invoke here is Mary's love the motherly love the purest love that God has given us okay what is the greatest miracle in human history. What is the greatest miracle? What defies our explanation? Um, so much people believing in Christianity. Um, well, I mean, if you're Christian, you don't think that's a miracle. You can just natural, right? Because we're the true. And so, yeah, of course, everyone should should believe us. Could Could you repeat? Yes. Okay. The incarnation, the virgin birth. Okay guys, there are two miracles, right? First of all, Jesus sacrificed himself for us. Okay, a god killed himself for us. Then you had a woman give birth to a god, which which is a great miracle. I'm the second one, man. Right. Like, how is it possible for like a mortal woman to give birth to a god? Right. How is it possible then? What enabled Eve to give birth? Yes. So, for Mary's case, maybe it was her faith, her willingness to be a vessel for God that has showed her from the initial sin. Exactly. Do you understand? Eve um was proud and she disobeyed. She lacked faith in God. Mary had complete faith in God. And that's what redeemed us. The complete another faith in God is what

97:02redeemed us. Not the sacrifice of Jesus, but the complete another faith of Mary. That's what he's studying is saying here. Okay. Which means what? Which means that we redeem ourselves. We have the power to redeem ourselves. We don't we never needed Jesus. We just have to believe in Jesus and Jesus would come to redeem us. But first you have to believe we could redeem then we could be redeemed. Okay? So you see what's happening where before you were taught to be passive, to be humble, to accept the will of God. And now you're being taught no, you have to be active. You have to use your imagination. You have to use your faith if you are to better the world. And the example is Mary. That's why she's the queen of heaven because she was the most virtuous of all of us. And if she were not that virtuous, she she She she could have possibly given birth to Jesus. Okay. This is pretty mind-blowing, right? I mean, like what do you think as Yeah, I think later the Catholic um reforms and everything do bring um Mary to a higher point like Dante has. That's why we see a lot of paintings where Mary is holding baby Jesus and Mary is more exhaust exalted in a way than Jesus in a lot of these uh religious paintings is because of the fact that the Catholic Church also sort of um agree well later on with this idea that she's the new Eve. Yeah. She's quite elevated. Exactly. Jesus is the new Adam. Exactly. So rather than just say this is all heresy, this is let's just burn all this. Right. It's like no, he's right. Okay. That's a power of poetry,

99:03right? That's the power of art because it shocks you into a new tool that you must accept. It might take time, but it will work, right? So, um this is why starting tomorrow, we will recattle is actually between the Catholic Church and Dante. It's actually between Virgil and Dante. Okay. But first, we want to learn about the cosmology of Dante. Okay. Starting tomorrow, we will go into the final war between Virgil and Dante. And what we'll show you is that this war continues even to today. Okay. All right. Let's let's keep on going. Verse seven. Below her in the seats of the third rank, Rachel and Beatus as you see sit. Sarah, Rebecca, Judith, and the one who was the great grandmother of the singer who as he sorrowed for his sinfulness cried Miss May. These you can see from rank to rank as I in moving through the rose from petal unto petal give to each her name. Okay. All right. So again, [clears throat] Mary is the queen. Eve is beside her. And then as we move forward, as we move outwards, obviously the people closest to her, the people who are the most uh virtuous, right? Rachel, Beat Rachel and Beatric, Sarah, Rebecca, Judith, if you were like a practicing Christian, you're kind of shocked by this. Why are you shocked by by this? I'm talking about the year 1300. Okay. Why would you be shocked by by by this? Yes, because they're all women. First of all, they're all women. And also, they're only they're many Jews, man. Right. These aren't Jews. Uh Rachel, Sarah, Rebecca, I actually don't know don't know who Judah is. And then you have Ruth, the great grandmother of King David, right? Why do you have these people and not like David, Moses,

101:05Abraham, right? The patriarch is you have the matriarchs. Okay. So again this reveals the revolutionary nature of Dante. Okay. Let's keep on going. Verse 13. From rank to rank as I and moving through the rose from petal into petal give to each her name. And from the seventh rank, just as they did within the rank above, the Hebrew women follow, ranging downward, dividing all the treses of the rose. They're the wall by which the sacred stairs divide, depending on the view of Christ, with which their faith aligned. Upon one side there, where the rose is ripe, with all its petals are those whose faith was in the Christ to come. And on the other side, that semiircle whose space is broken up by vacant places, sit those whose sight was set upon the Christ who had already come. And just as on the side to serve as such a great partition, there's a throne in glory of the Lady of Heaven and the seats that range below it. So opposite the seat of the great John who always saintly suffered both the desert and martyrdom and then two years of hell serves to divide below him sit assigned to this partition Francis Benedict and Augustine and others rank on rank down to the center of the rose. Now see how deep is God's foresight. Both aspects of the faith shall fill this garden equally. Okay, so this is really the first time that we see Augustine reference. Okay. And he's clearly in heaven. And we talk about Augustine a lot in this class because Augustine is really is really the major theologian of the Catholic Church at this time in history. Um what is the paradox here? There's a paradox in the N comedy.

103:08How many times is Augustine bolted in the divine comedy? Never. Right. This is the major theologian of the Catholic Church. His book City of God and Confessions are read by everyone uh within the hierarchy of the Catholic Church if you're you're forced to read them actually if you are to join the Catholic Church. And Don never actually quotes him. Okay. And this is actually the first time that we see Augustine appear. So again, this is a very subtle uh tongue and cheek um very paradoxical um place to put August. Okay, let's let's verse 40. And know that there below the traverse transverse row that cuts across the two divisions sit souls who are there for merits not their own but with certain conditions, others merits. For all of these are souls who left their bodies before they had the power of true choice. Indeed, you may perceive this by yourself. Their faces childlike voices are enough. If you look well at them and hear them sing, but now you doubt and doubting do not speak, yet I shall lose that knot. I can release you from the bonds of subtle reasoning. Within the ample breadth of this domain, no point can find its place by chance, just as there is no place for sorrow, thirst, or hunger. Whatever you may see has been ordained by everlasting law, so that the fit of ring and finger here must be exact. And thus these souls who have precociously reached the true life do not among themselves find places high or low without some cause. The king through whom this kingdom finds content and so much love and so much joyousness that no desire would dare to ask for more. Creating every mind in his glad sight bestows his grace diversely at his pleasure. And here the fact alone must

105:10be enough. And this is clearly and expressly noted for you in holy scripture in those twins who in their mother's womb were moved to anger. Thus it is just for the celestial light to grace their heads with a becoming crown according to the color of their hair without then any merit in their works. These infants are assigned to different ranks. Proclivity at birth the only difference. In early centuries, their parents' faith alone and their own innocence sufficed for the salvation of the children. When those early times had reached completion, then each male child had to find through circumcision the power needed by its innocent member. But then the age of grace arrived, and without perfect baptism in Christ, such innocence was kept below, in limbo. Look now upon the face that is most like the face of Christ, for only brightness. Can you prepare your vision to see him? Okay, so um what Bernard is doing is listing the ranks of the most beloved, right? Starting from Mary and keep on going. Okay. Um so at this time in history, there's a major debate in the Catholic Church about children, right? If you're an infant and you die before you are baptized, what happens to you? Yes. You ascend into heaven because you didn't do anything wrong. So, you are technically perfect. Um, that that that might be logical, but that's not what what what they thought. Yes. Anyone else? Um, because you weren't baptized yet and you don't and you still have the original sit on you. You kind of burn in hell. Yeah. You go to purgatory.

107:10Yeah. You're limbo. You don't understand. Limbo because it's it's a more dilemma for the church, right? Because um you didn't become a Christian, so you can't go to heaven, but you did nothing wrong. You are free of sin. So, it's wrong to put you in hell. So, they just put you, okay, let's make up a new place called limbo, okay? Or purgatory, and we'll put you there. Okay? Okay. Like we don't know what else to do with you, right? And what is and so in this heaven uh what does Bernard say about this? This this actually a huge issue by non Catholic church. Okay. Like like because it creates such a paradox, right? So what does Bernard say? Yes. Salvation decides where they go. Well, that makes no sense at all. Right. Right. Who like why should it matter what your parents do? That's even more than just what does Bernard say? The age of grace has arrived. So you guys can now go to heaven now or actually no. Yeah. So before you can go to heaven. I mean like before you couldn't go to heaven, now you can. Well, the age of grace is the coming of Christianity and Jesus, right? anyone. Okay, let's let's read it again, okay? Because this is very perplexing.

109:11starting from 19. Uh yeah. Oh no, sorry. Um 40 40. Okay. Verse 40. And know that there below the first row that cuts across the two divisions sit souls who are there for merits not their own but with certain conditions others merits for all of these are souls who left their bodies before they had the power of true choice. Okay, so these are children. Okay, and these children, these babies are actually in the roles as well. Okay, and this goes against Catholic doctrine because you have to first be baptized in order to ascend to heaven. Okay, so these are babies. Um, and so they are in heaven. Okay, keep on going. Verse 46. Indeed, you may perceive this by yourself. Their faces, childlike voices are enough. If you look well at them, and hear them sing. But now you doubt, and doubting do not speak, yet I shall lose that nod. I can release you from the bonds of subtle reasoning. Within the ample breadth of this domain, no point can find its place by chance. Just as there's no place for sorrow, thirst, or hunger. Whatever you may see has been ordained by everlasting law, so that the fit of ring and finger here must be exact. And thus these souls who have precociously reached the true life do not amongst themselves find places high or low without some cause. Okay. All right. So, so what are saying

111:11is that everything happens for a reason. Okay. There is perfect justice in the world, especially up in heaven. So these babies are here for a reason, for a cause. Okay. Uh keep going. Verse 61. The king through whom this kingdom finds content and so much love and so much joyousness that no desire would dare to ask for more. Creating every mind in his glad sight, bestows his diversely at his pleasure. And here the fact alone must be enough. And this is clearly and expressly noted for you in holy scripture in those twins who in their mother's womb were moved to anger. Uh who are those twins? Cain and right. Esau and Jacob. Yeah. Can can you explain? Uh because their twins were conceived and they were fighting inside the One is hairy and one is smooth beautiful and they fought ever since they were in the tomb till the very end their lives. Okay, so it's Jacob and Esol. Yes. Okay, let's keep on going. Verse 70. Thus it is just for the celestial light to graze their heads with a becoming crown according to the color of their hair. Without then any merit in their works, these infants are assigned to different ranks. Proclivity at birth the only difference. In early centuries, their parents' faith alone and their own innocence sufficed for the salvation of the children. When those early times had reached completion, then each male child had to find through circumcision the power needed by his innocent member. But then the age of grace arrived and without perfect

113:11perfect baptism in Christ such innocence was kept below in limbo. Look now upon the face that is most like the face of Christ. For only through it its brightness can you prepare your vision to see him. Right? So how does he resolve this contradiction paradox? I have a question. Why does Cain get to be in heaven? I be because I remember it's chicken. Oh, anyone? Yes. So, I guess he's saying that even in your womb, in the womb you have a soul and your soul is different. Like this uh liberty at birth is the only difference. So like if you're inclined to be good or evil, it's already decided when you are at point zero. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. So what do you make of this explanation? Right. This creates even more problems. Right. What he's saying is that Jacob and Esso, well, they were always going to be enemies and that was that was determined at the point of birth, right? So again this is what makes divine comedy so revelatory because paradox leads to more paradoxes. Okay we resolve one paradox which creates even more paradoxes which is like uh wait a minute here what's going on the merit was always was determined at before verb. Okay. So God can know where you belong the moment you were born. Yes.

115:14But I thought uh God gave us free will. So God can't really predict any. Exactly. Okay. So this is really problematic. Okay. This is a paradox. Now God give us free will. We can be anything we want. We can do whatever we want. But at our burr, we have our own inclinations. What's going on here? Yes, I am doesn't really exist. So even So as humans right we cannot really predict the future but be god but because like god is all knowing he kind of like sees everything happening but it's like different for him because there's no concept of death right but but but again this is a problem because what you're saying is that well god knows what would happen if you didn't die for and he would know what kind of person you became but in that case there's no free will then it's all be predetermined right this is a huge problem I don't think we should think of this just being like predetermined. I think we should just think of it as like God can God can know what whatever we're doing like throughout the expanse of time. So he doesn't like make he doesn't like force you into a certain ending. It just happens and he knows it from wherever he he knows it then it's not free will. Do you understand? He knows but he doesn't intervene though. Yeah. So why does that like conflict with free will? I'm I guess I'm confused here. So why does he knowing everything that has happened conflict with free will? Like you can still accurately Okay. Yeah. Okay. So I understand. But like what we will Okay, I Okay, that does make sense,

117:15right? He knows everything that has that will happen, right? Because he is God. So yes. Or is it also an inversion of Christianity because Could it be that the proclivity at birth we have is actually positive not negative. So we all like all children who die at birth would go to heaven. Yeah. Okay. That makes a lot more sense. Right. That makes a lot more sense. I I I don't see how we can be born evil. Right. But if but if that's a case that creates even more problems because then like every child goes to heaven, right? And then like you just run out of space eventually. Yes. How do you run out of space if heaven is infinite? Um well I mean in order for free will to happen, okay, you have to have heaven and hell, right? Because I mean like just think about this more dilemma where now you're incentivized to kill your kid, right? Just kill them at birth. Then you be ensure them they go to heaven. Yeah. Right. Um because they haven't because they have free will. They haven't decided that they believe in God yet. So the children um the children don't have faith yet because when they are born they don't believe in God yet. Yeah. They have not made their choice. That's correct. Yes. So they go to um purgatory and they're in limbo. That's right. That is how what the Catholic Church teaches you. Right. But I'm just saying like but we have a situation where there are children babies who are among the blessed who are among the elect. And Johnny's like wait a minute here. How do they get there? Right. And what Bernard's saying is like

119:15God knows everything. God is perfect. God knows exactly where you belong. He also said that your merit is determined at birth. Okay? So without knowing how you live your life, God can determine what your propensity is. This is all very confusing, right? Yes. Um the babies are in heaven because as you said like if you're a parent the happiest moment of your life is when your child is born. So when that child was born they gave joy and love to their parents so they can go to heaven. Okay. But like that creates even more problems because first of all like which parent is not happy to see their child? Second of all, if that's the criteria, then it's a parent who determine who which child goes to heaven, right? It could be like, you know, the mother's having a bad day. He's really she's really unhappy, right? Well, then now your child's screwed for all of eternity. That kind of sucks. Okay. So, what I want to do is this, okay? Um, it's amazing to think about. We're we're like 32. We are in heaven and all that's happened is we're even more confused. All right. So I I during lunch I want you guys to talk talk some yourself do research and figure out this problem for me. Okay. When I come back give me the answer. All right. When we come back at 1:00 give me the answer as to how to resolve this paradox. Okay. I'll see you guys I'll see you guys after lunch. Okay. Oh, Carol, could you tell not to raise this? I I'll need this for this afternoon. Okay. He will have exams next week. So, but he's like, "Thank you." And he's really enjoying. He'll be back. He'll be back. All right. Good. [laughter] Thank you.

121:15Okay. Um, so we have a lot to do today. Okay. So, let's start class. What is the answer, guys? Tell me what the solution is. Okay. So this is the hardest theological problem in the the universe. It is almost impossible to solve. Okay. And um why this is put why this paradox or conundrum is put before we meet God is the only way to solve this problem is through your through love and imagination. Okay. So there's almost like a warm up before our meeting with God which is which is going to really test our love and imagination. So let's try to figure out what's going on. Okay. So uh let's go back and figure out first of all who is with Mary. Okay. So there's a hierarchy, right? So Marius is at the top. Eve is with her. Um and then below her are Rachel and Beatatrice. Okay. Then below them are Sarah, Rebecca, and Judah. Who is Rachel? Tell me the story of Rachel. Yes. One of the most beautiful wives of Isaac or Jacob. Jacob. Okay. All right. Okay. No. No. No. That's Sarah. Okay. Okay. So, we need to figure out first of all, why are they where they are? They're the closest to God. So, why are they where they are? Yes. Because they didn't have free will. No, they didn't have the option to choose. So therefore, they did not have free will. Is it because they are ancestors married? No. Well, I mean, okay. All right. Okay. So, let let me tell the story of Rachel. Okay. So, Jacob is exiled from his homeland and he goes and finds shelter and refuge with his uncle uh Lhan. They

123:19make a deal where Jacob works for Lhan for seven years and then uh Lhan will give him Rachel. Seven years later um they get married and on the wedding night they have sex. When Jacob wakes up he finds the woman he's had sex with is not Rachel but Leah who is Rachel's older sister. Jacob says to Lakhan, "You've cheated me." And Lan says, "It's not our custom to first marry the the younger sister before the elder sister. So we are forced to give you Leah. But if you work for me for seven more years, I will give you Rachel." At this point, if you're Rachel, what are you going to do? I'd be pissed, right? I'd be like, "Screw you all. I'm going to go find someone else." Okay. What does Rachel do instead? She sticks around. Okay. And that demonstrates her love and devotion to Jacob. It is an example of the beauty and power of love. That's why where she is, she is where she is. Okay? Because of her of her self-dedication to love because of her faith in God. Because of her love for Jacob, because everyone else would be like, "Screw this. I'm going somewhere else." Okay? Because I've been cheated. But because of her love for Jacob, because her favor in God, she stuck around and endured uh uh being married to Jacob while also Leah being married to Jacob. Okay, so that's a example of selfless love. What is Beatric doing in heaven? What does she do to warrant her next to God? We know Rachel. Yeah, good example. Um and Sarah who is the wife of Abraham she prayed and prayed for 80 years before she was actually granted an only son Isaac. Okay. So we so yeah these are

125:19examples but but what's Beatric doing here? What is Beatric's accomplishment? Yes. So um Beatatric kind of uh she was dead already. So Beatric kind of gave up temporarily her place in heaven to do the great labor of guiding Dante from uh hell to heaven. Yeah, but I mean how did she get where she is in the first place? She died at child birth. She gave she died giving birth. But that's not an accomplishment, right? That's because like think about the millions of mothers who given child birth. There's like literally billions of them. Okay. But she uh Yes. Um, she inspired Dante. Uh, yeah. Or Yes. She made a devotion or covenant with God that she at least she had the will to be devoted to God. Okay. So, there's only one reason why she's she she is where she is. Yes. Could it be arrogance from Dante because he puts Mary at the top of heaven and that's because there would be no Jesus without Mary and he thinks obviously he's divinely inspired and but there would be no Dante without Beatric. Exactly. Yeah. Thank you very much. Okay. They put her there. You understand? So, so think about this. Okay. We have Rachel who is the perfect example of love and devotion. We have Beatrice who is there because she put because D put her there. Okay. So now we have to use our love and imagination figure out how these infant got to this rose so that they're beside God. Yes. Dante put them there. Dante puts them there. Not Dante. Dante doesn't even know them. He doesn't even name them. Right. Who put them there? Maybe that that is Dante's own interpretation like they deserve to be there. Okay. All right. So again, what's hard about Dante is that you are forced to

127:20use your love and imagination, but once you do, the universe opens itself to you and it reveals itself to you. Okay. Um you're a parent. Okay. Let's all imagine we are parents, right? and we have our first child and for a reason at one or two years old the child dies maybe at six months who knows okay now at this point in our lives we can make a choice right most of us will choose to despair some of us may choose to have another one but then there are certain individuals who because of their faith, hope, and love. They say to themselves, I'm going to dedicate the rest of my life to celebrating the legacy of my child. I'm gonna put all the love that I have for my child and devoted to others, devote to the world, to celebrate my child. Obviously, this person would would deserve to be next to God, right? But what's the paradox? What's the problem with that? Huh? Yes. Why is the child there instead of the mother who um Well, yeah, that that's what I'm saying. I'm saying the parent did all the work. So why is the child there not not the parent who did all the work? Because the kid inspires their parent and so that so it's it's so it's the death of the the child enables them to share the love with the world. Sure. But but I mean like so right it's a parent who did all the work. It's starting the world of the poetry. Yes. Uh in the same way Beatatrice inspired Dante death of a child can inspire his parents. I I know but but it's a parent who did all the work,

129:21right? So why is the child there, not the parent, right? Why is Beatric in heaven and and not Dante? Because he decided that Beatrice would be in heaven. Right. So the child is in heaven because their mother decided that they would be in heaven. Exactly. You understand? Okay. Like if you're God, right, and you and and and like you talk to someone says, "Wow, your the life you led was so exemplary. I have to put you beside me because I am so bedazzled by your example because the world is shine is shining so much brighter because of your sacrifice." Okay? But the mother's like, "Don't put me next to you. Put my child next to you." Right? You understand? So that's why the children are in heaven. Excuse me. Yeah, the parents put them there, right? And if you think about logically, this resolves a lot of the paradoxes, right? Because again, if you are a if you are a uh parent and your child dies, you have a hard time explaining yourself why the child died, okay? Or or like why is my child not in heaven? Okay. So this is the hardest problem for uh theologians to solve. I don't think anyone has solved this satisfac satisfactory. Okay. But Dante provides a solution. Does it make sense to you guys? Do you do you understand how how this logic works? By the same token, we can also imagine certain examples where um a child's death warrants him or her in heaven immediately. Okay. So,

131:21let's think think like what 13 or 12. The guy fights Goliath, right? If he lost to Goliath, where should he be? He should be next to God, right? In fact, if he were to die, he'd be more worthy of God than if he defeated Goliath. Does that make sense? Excuse me. So, why would he be more worthy to God than if he defeated Goliath? Yeah. He had complete faith in God even without having the results he had expected. Exactly. Right. So, so why they're put in heaven is not necessarily because of their actions alone. It's because of the of their the effect of their actions on the people around them. Does that make sense? Oh, if so by that logic then he is no more worthy if he died than he was if he was if he actually defeated Goliath because uh if he actually defeated Goliath then the net effect upon the people next to him is better. [laughter] Okay, again use your imagination. My son David went to fight Goliath. Okay, and before I was fighting, I was afraid of these Philistines. My son goes and fights Goliath and he dies. What are the rest of the Israelites going to do? They will avenge David and fight back to death. If a child has the courage to fight a giant, then I would be ashamed to not take up arms and avenge him. I couldn't live myself, right? So just use your imagination and use your sense of love. If you were a parent and you saw your son made this ultimate sacrifice, you would be compelled. You could be the biggest coward in the world, right? You could be afraid to die. You could have absolutely no faith. But to see your son die

133:21against a giant, he had actually no chance anyway. But for him to take up arms and to fight into fight with faith that compels you into action. Do you understand? And therefore David even though he's a Israelite and not a Christian, he would have and even though he didn't really accomplish that much, he just died in battle like you know he would have been he would have been right next to God. Uh yes. Uh my imagination is telling me that the death of a child will be incredibly disheartening and if he defeated Goliath then a child defeating a giant will be a sign of the glory and the power of God and I think that would be more inspirational. Okay. Then your imagination doesn't come from a place of love. Okay. All right. Okay. Does it make sense to to to you guys? All right. We can also imagine let's just say that Mary before she gives birth to Jesus she has a child and a child dies right where would the child go? Exactly right because if you the Mary have all the virtue to give birth to Jesus then your child must be virtuous as well. Does that make sense? Okay. So um this is a way to resolve the paradox and again um what Dante is doing is he's he's presenting to you the most the most the hardest theological problem in order to excite your love and imagination and and because only with that can you actually meet God. All right. So does that make sense guys? Any questions? Yes. Um I'm a quite confused about why uh if the mother is virtuous then the son is also virtuous automatic why like uh like born with

135:21okay yeah I'll I'll try um he he did not say that what he said was um for the unborn child the mother is the one whose belief has put the baby into heaven. um you know just just a personal sharing um before having three beautiful children I h in on earth I have two children in heaven and it's because I believe that they're in heaven I haven't had them that they're in heaven but it's not because I'm virtuous it's because I believe they're in heaven and that propelled them to heaven and and and I mean this is a beautiful story so thanks thanks for sharing ing such a personal detail. Um, but if you're a parent, you understand. But if you're not a parent, then it's hard to understand. You can't actually reason this this out. Okay? That's why, you know, Divine Comedy, it has to be read over a lifetime. And it has to be read from a place of love. And it's only after you experience love for yourself could you truly appreciate Divine Comedy. Right? Um, okay. So, this is not to criticize you. This is to say that this is a life lifelong journey. And again, this is the hardest question in theology. What what happens to infants who are not baptized? Are they ultimately condemned to hell and limbo? And what Donna says is that you have to just trust in the infinite justice and wisdom of God. Okay? There are going to be these cases that are impossible for us to reason out. But God knows the answer. God knows that your sacrifice is meant to put the infinite in heaven and not yourself in heaven. And so that God is going to honor your request. You know it was you who did all the virtue in the world. Okay.

137:22So um in a case where the child is relatively young but the parent and the child dies and for whatever reason someone else thinks that child should not be in heaven and the parent thinks the child should be in heaven. In that case what happens? Oh my god. This is not um okay. All right. Can someone answer this question? You just have to believe that God is the ultimate judge and God will you know consider every cases every possible scenario every hidden thoughts of that child's heart and then okay look God is love okay so when you truly love God responds to you when you hate God turns away from you does that make sense if you're like you know I want the shot to burn in hell why would God honor your request That makes no sense. Not saying they should burn in hell. I just say someone believes that they shouldn't be in heaven. Then then where should the child be? Pugat, right? That's well limbo is in hell. Okay. All right. [clears throat] Okay. And again, like it's not everyone who gets to heaven. It's it's those people those individuals whose stories are so exemplary that they inspire the world to greater love. Okay, does that make sense? All right, so now we are moving towards well this is the very last candle. Okay, candle 33 and this is the greatest kanto of the entire divine comedy. I don't know why people just read inferno actually. Um if you really want to understand Dante, you really need to read the last kanto. Okay, so let's read it. Here we go. Do we not finish? Oh, I I apologize. Yeah, let's just finish. Okay, let's let's make sure we we we Okay, but but but we understand the infinite problem, right? Okay.

139:23Um verse 88. I saw such joy ridden down upon her. Joy carried by holy intellects created to fly at such a height that all which I had seen before did not transfix me with amazement so intense, nor show to me a semblance that was so akin to God. And the angelic love who had descended earlier now spread his wings before her saying a Maria Guratia Plenna. On every side, the blessed court replied, singing responses to his godly song, so that each spirit there grew more serene. Oh, holy father, who for me endure your being here below, leaving the sweet place where eternal lot assigns your seat. Who is that angel who with such delight looks into our queen's eyes, he who is so enraptured that he seems to be a flame? So once again, I called upon the teaching of him who drew from Mary beauty. As the morning star draws beauty from the sun, and he to me all of the gallantry and confidence that there can be an angel or blessed soul are found in him, and we would have it so, for it was he who carried the palm below to Mary, when God's son wanted to bear our flesh as his own burden. But follow with your eyes even as I proceed to speak and note the great petricians of this most just and merciful empire. Those two who there above seated most happy to be so near the empress may be likened to the two roots of this rose. The one who on her left sits closest is the father whose presumptuous tasting caused humankind to taste such bitterness. And on the right you see that ancient father of holy church into whose care the keys of this fair flower were consigned by Christ. And he who saw before he died all of the troubled era of the lovely bride whom lands the nails had won sits at his side. And at the side of Adam sits that guide under whose rule the people

141:23thankless fickle and stubborn left on mana facing Peter Anna is seated so content to see her daughter that as Anna sings hosanis she does not move her eyes. Okay so we have Adam and Peter and Anna okay Anna is Mary's mother. Mary is so virtuous that even her mother is able to obtain a seat um next to God. Line 135. And opposite the greatest father of a family, Lucia sits, she who urged on your lady when you bent your brows downward to your ruin. Okay, we don't have time to discuss this, but Lucia would be the inverse of Picardia. Okay, whereas Picarda lacks will. Lucia is the total representative of will. Okay, St. Lucy of the Catholic Church. um who basically um would rather die than to abandon her faith. Okay. Um keep going. Verse 139. But time which brings you sleep takes flight. And now we shall sto stop here even as a good tailor who cuts the garment as his cloth allows and turn our vision to the primal love that gazing at him you may penetrate as far as that can be his radiance. But lest you now fall back when even as you move your wings you think that you advance imploring grace through prayer you must beseech grace from that one who has the power to help you. And do you follow me with your affection? So may my words and your heart share one way and he began this holy supplication. Okay. So again Dante is using Bernard as a model as a model. Right. So Bernard is first going to worship Mary to u uh humble himself before Mary and this will give him the power to humble for Donnie to humble humble himself before God.

143:23Okay. This is the very last kto. Okay. We have come to the end. Okay. We are we have come to God himself. All right, here we go. KTO 33. Virgin mother, daughter of your son, more humble and sublime than any creature, fixed gold decreed from all eternity. You're the one who gave to human nature so much nobility that its creator did not disdain his being made its creature. Okay. So again, it's trying to emphasize that Mary is uh more noble because she was able to give birth to Jesus. She she was able to be the portal for God to manifest himself in this world, which has never been done before. Okay, we're going verse seven. That love whose warmth allowed this flower to bloom within the everlasting peace was love rekindled in your womb for us above. You're the noonday torch of charity. And there below on earth among the mortals, you are a living spring of hope. Lady, you're so high you can so intercede that he who would have grace but does not seek your aid may long to fly but has no wings. Your loving kindness does not only answer the one who asks, but it is often ready to answer freely long before the asking. And your compa in you compassion is you pity and you is generosity. In you is every goodness found in any creature. This man who from the deepest hollow in the universe up to this height has seen the lives of spirits one by one now pleads with you through grace to grant him so much virtue that he may lift his vision higher still may lift it toward the ultimate salvation. And I who never burned for my own vision more than I burned for his do offer you all of my prayers and pray that they may

145:23not fall short. That with your prayers you may disperse all of the clouds of his mortality so that the highest joy be his to see. This too, O queen who can do what you would. I ask of you that after such a vision his sentiments preserve their perseverance. May your protection curb his mortal passion. see how many saints with her they join my prayers they clasp their hands to you. Okay so again this is such a revolutionary um passage. Okay so Bernard is praying to Mary and says Mary please lend Dante some of your virtue so that he may see um God. And first of all, what does it mean to say he may lift his vision higher still? May lift it toward the ultimate salvation. How can Dante see God by having faith? Not faith. Feel you can't feel it. What what does higher vision mean? The imagination. Okay. So, this is really interesting that he's saying that Dante when he stares at God, you can't look at with your eyes. You have to look at with your imagination. Okay. Question. What? What does Bernard mean by? He says, "I never burned for my own vision more than I burned for his." What does he mean by this? I never burned for my own vision more than I burned for his. He hopes that go Dante sees God more

147:25than he hopes he will see God. Okay, basically he loves Dante. Okay, that's a good try, but that doesn't really make any sense, right? Because Bernard is with God every single day, all the time for all eternity. So how can he So how can Donnie know God more more than Bernard? I never burn for my own vision when I burn for for his. What does this mean? Does he realize that Dante's going to go back to Earth and he have to take the word of God back with him? Yeah, that's what Donnie is here for. But it's not the word, right? It's his vision. Yeah. So, uh earlier you told us that in heaven it's just constant joy of all kind on the whiteboard. And I'm just reminded of the old and tired argument if everything is joy then how do you tell joy from sadness? So maybe Dante is able to perceive God's joy more because he has experienced sorrow in the human realm for so long while Bernard has been here for a while. I guess. Yeah. But I I understand that. But I'm like, would Donnie know God better than Bernard? Yes. Uh he's being able to imagine more. Yeah. So what is going on here is that what Bernard is saying is like the only way to see God is through the imagination. Guess what? We angels, we souls, we don't have an imagination. Why not? Excuse me. No, no, no, no. There's

149:25actually a very good reason why they lack an imagination. It's they don't have a body. Okay. Okay. This is like Don explained to us, you need a body to have emotions and emotions is what gives you memory which allows for the imagination. Okay. Um so that's what Bernard is saying. He's saying like yes, we've been with God for all eternity, but we don't really know God. Only Dante with his imagination can truly understand God. Okay, that's literally what he's saying. All right. Uh let's keep on going. Verse 40. The eyes that are revered and loved by God now fixed upon the supplicant showed us how welcome such devotions are to her. Then her eyes turned to the eternal light. There do not think that any creature's eye can find its way as clearly as her sight. And I, who now was nearing him who is the end of all desires as I ought, lifted my longing to its ardent limit. Bernard was signaling. He smiled to me to turn my eyes on high. But I already was doing what he wanted me to do. Because my sight, becoming pure, was able to penetrate the ray of light more deeply. That light sublime, which in itself is true. From that point on, what I could see was greater than speech can show. At such a sight, it fails. A memory fails when faced with such excess. Okay, so what D is doing, he's staring at God and it really, really sucks. Okay, it's burning his eyes so much that it's destroying it. That's almost like causing his brain to be on fire and he's losing control and it's so powerful the site that he's also losing his memory. Okay, he's basically lost his memory. It's so traumatic that he can't

151:26process what he's seeing. Okay. Uh, keep on going. Verse 58. As one who sees within a dream and later the passion that had been imprinted days, but nothing of the rest returns to mind. Such am I, for my vision almost fades completely, yet it still distills within my heart the sweetness that was born of it. Okay, so he can't see anything. He can't remember anything. What what is left? The emotion of it, right? Okay, that's the only thing that's left. The sweetness of it, the emotion of it. And from this he's he has to construct before his imagination the divine comedy. Okay, keep on going. Line 64. So as the snow beneath the sun unsealed and so on the light leaves beneath the wind, the oracles of civil wrote were lost. Oh highest light, you raise so far above the minds of mortals to my memory give back something of your epiphany and make my tongue so powerful that I may leave to people of the future one gleam of the glory that is yours. For by returning somewhat to my memory and echoing a while within these lines, your victory will be more understood. Where is Dante now? Where is he? What? Yeah, he's home. Okay, this is like 20 years afterwards. Okay. So he was he met God in the year 1300 during the Easter weekend. Now 20 years later uh he is now trying to remember what he saw through his imagination. Okay. He's trying to reimagine what he saw. Do you have a question? Okay. All right. Keep on going. Verse 76.

153:26The loving ray that I endured was so acute that I believe I should have gone astray had my eyes turned away from it. I can recall that I because of this was bolder in sustaining it until my vision reached the infinite goodness. Oh grace abounding through which I presumed to set my eyes on the eternal light so long that I spent all my sight on it. In its profound profoundity I saw and gathered and bound by love into one single volume. What in the universe seems separate, scattered, substances, accidents and dispositions as if conjoined in such a way that what I tell is only rudimentary. Okay. So what is able to reimagine is the totality of the universe. Okay. All everything is connected together. All right. Keep on going. Verse 91. I think I saw the universal uh I think I saw the universal shape which that not takes for speaking this I feel a joy that is more ample at one moment brings more forgetfulness to me than 25 centuries have brought to the endeavor that startled Neptune with the Argo shadow. So was my mind completely wrapped in tent steadfast and motionless gazing and it grew even more enkindled as it watched. Whoever sees that light is soon made such that it would be impossible for him to set that light aside for other sight. Because the good, the object of the will is fully gathered in that light. Outside that light, what there is perfect is defective. What little I recall is to be told from this point on in words more weak than those of one whose infant tongue still bathes at the breast. And not because more than one simple semblance was in the living light at which I gaze. For it is always what it was before, but through my sight which as I gaze grew strong grew stronger. That soul appearance even as I altered seemed to be changing. Okay. So what he's staring at, okay,

155:26what he's recognizing he's staring at is the big bang. Do you understand the universe in its totality before it became the universe? He's also staring at the universe after the big bang. Okay. So this is beyond time and space. This is both nothing and everything. Okay. This is both the beginning and the end. The alpha and the omega. This is everything and nothing. Okay. Keep on going. Line 114. Okay. And this is what God is. He's he's try he's tried for 20 years to figure out what he saw. And he's he's searched through the universe. He's used his imagination and now he comes to the fundamental understanding of what God really is. Okay. Line 114. In the deep and bright essence of that exalted light, three circles appeared to me. They had three different colors, but all of them were of the same dimension. One circle seemed reflected by the second, as rainbow is by rainbow, and the third seemed fire breathed equally by those two circles. Okay. So, what is God exactly? There you go. Problem solved. Holy Trinity. We can now go home. Okay. What the church has taught us for the past 2,000 years is true. It is in fact the Holy Trinity. And that's what you're taught usually. Okay. But you keep on reading and it's a problem. Okay, keep on going. Verse one, two, one. How incomplete a speech, how weak when set against my thought. And this to what I saw is such to call it little is too too much. Eternal light. You only dwell within yourself. And only you know you self- knowing, self- known. You love and smile upon yourself. That circle which begotten so appeared in you was light reflected when my eyes had watched it with attention for some time within itself and colored like itself to me

157:27seemed painted with our effigy. so that my sight was set on it completely. Okay. What's the problem with with with this? There's a problem here. It's the Holy Trinity, but it's not the Holy Trinity. Why? What's inside the circle? What What's effigy mean? It's us. Yeah. Okay. There's three circles as a Holy Trinity. And um we're inside each circle. Yeah. Huh. Oh. Well, huh. All right. Let's keep on going. Verse 133. As the geometer intently seeks to square the circle, but he cannot reach through thought on thought the principle he needs. So I searched that strange sight. I wish to see the way in which our human effigy suited the circle and found place in it. So he's trying to figure out why we're in the circle. Why are we in God? Okay, keep on going. Verse 139. And my own wings were far too weak for that. But then my mind was struck by a light that flashed and with this light received what it had asked. Here of course failed my high fantasy, but my desire and will were moved already like a wheel revolving uniformly by the love that moves the sun and the other stars. And so he figures it out and when he the moment he figures it out he is completely connected to the universe. He becomes one with God. Okay. So, and this is how divine comedy ends. Okay. Um, and so the question for us is what did

159:31he see? Okay. And again, to solve this mystery, to solve this paradox, you have to use your love and imagination. Okay. So, all right, let's try to figure it out. All right, first thing I want to do is look at happiness. We are in heaven. We are beside with God, which is the purest happiness, his eternal bliss, the greatest joy. Okay? And we have examples of joy and happiness on this board. Okay. So let's just see these things are in heaven to make to to make sure we understand what heaven is. Selfless sacrifice. Is that in heaven? How how do you sacrifice yourself in heaven? Well, sure. But what was sacrifice? Yeah. So sacrifice is not here. You can't sacrifice yourself in heaven, right? Because nothing sacrifice for. It's already perfection. Uh novelty, surprise, shock. Yes or no? Definitely no. Because it's perfection, right? It's eternal. You already know what's there. No. Relieve and release. No, cuz you need tension for that, right? You need evil, you need hatred, you need conflict, you need agony for there to be reflect, relief, and release. Nope. Wish fulfillment, is it there? Uh, no. Because Yeah, exactly. Right. There's nothing to fulfill. Returning home. Well, maybe. I mean, you you can say it's home. Okay. Um, low. Yeah, probably. self-creation,

161:32self-discovery, sharing knowledge is is not there. No, Bernard doesn't even know anything. Okay, it's not there. Connection, community, probably. Uh recognition, validation, probably beauty. Okay. All right. So, half the things on the list are there. The other half are not. All right. So, where can where's the only thing where we can find the rest? here, right? Okay. On earth. So, some of the happiness is on heaven, some is on earth. Okay. But the problem is the problem is you're in heaven and you're experiencing the perfect joy, the perfect happiness. We already said there's lots of happiness that are not in heaven. So, how does heaven compensate? How does he heaven resolve this problem? As some people just don't have such kind of desire. So no need to point. No, no, no. We just said heaven is the greatest bliss. It is perfection. Is the greatest joy. Every single moment is pure bliss. But we already said a lot of the bliss can't be found in heaven. So how does heaven resolve this paradox? Anyone? Exactly. Okay. Earth and heaven have to be combined together. You understand? God and men have to have have to be combined together in order to create perfect happiness. Otherwise, it can't be done. Right? Okay. So, we have to be inside God. Okay. And what allows us to be inside God? faith, hope, and love. Okay. Well, let's just use imagination.

163:33Okay. The imagination. Okay. Okay. So, it's the imagination that allows us to be inside God. Do you understand? Yes. I just I have a question about the first thing. So this idea that in order for heaven to compensate for not having some happiness, it needs to combine heaven and earth. Um well, you need to have earth. Like what do you mean by compensate? Is it do you mean like for like a person to experience all the happiness, they have to both experience earth and heaven? Okay, you're beatric, you're Rachel, right? You're experiencing all happiness, right? Where's this happiness coming from? By you seeing what is happening on Earth. Yeah, because we generate this happiness on earth. And then because earth and heaven correspond, they experience this happiness. When we experience happiness, they do as well. But the happiness we experience, they can't possibly experience up there. So we have to create it for them here. That's why people like Rachel and Beatatrice are celebrated in heaven because they created so much happiness that not only do they shine on earth, they also shine in heaven. Okay. Does that make sense? So the idea is if you create happiness on earth, you're also helping create happiness on heaven. Exactly. Okay. Because it is not possible for heaven to create certain forms of happiness. Okay. Yes. And I think that also relate to like previously in the morning we discussed like why uh Beatric is angry even in heaven. Right. Exactly. Like like so uh as above so below, right? Exactly. Yes. Where there's injustice in on earth, there must be heaven can feel it as well. Okay? It's it's calling for us to create happiness and justice. Okay? Do you understand? And this again is shocking for people at this time

165:33because before they thought that her earth and heaven were separated, right? Earth is imperfect, heaven is perfect. Earth is flat, heaven is spherical. Okay? So this is a revolution in mentality. All right. Okay. Does it make sense guys? All right. So we are in God. Okay. But at the same time God is in us. How? Why? How is God able to manifest himself in us? So in sort of in some of my research about this um then like a scholar had said that objective and subjective start to converge and they were dealing with this with sight. So like the sear what is seen in the act of seeing all converge into one. So I wonder if maybe if God is love, maybe this is the moment where my love, love itself and the person or the God being loved all converge into one because there's no time and space, right? Okay. So exactly. So God manifests itself in us through love. Do you understand? So God is in us through love. We are in God for our imagination. And this is inseparable. This is what is the trinity. Okay? Does it make sense? Right? And there are two instances when Dante lets us know that God is love. Right? The first is when he reconciles the Holy Trinity. Remember when Peter is testing Dante? And Peter asks Dante, "What is God?" And God says, "What?" Do you remember?

167:33Yeah. What does Dante say about what God is? God is love. Yeah. For first of all, God is the Holy Trinity, right? Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and God, the Father, these are separate but equal. And so, how how do you reconcile this this this paradox? because all three represent love. You understand? So God is love. Okay. So that's the first instance, right? The second instance is the idea of the mirrored flame. So we are just a mirror that reflects God and God is love. Okay? As represented by a flame. Does that make sense? Okay. So we are just a reflection of God in the universe. So the way to appreciate God is that God is in us through the force of love and we are inside God through our imagination. Another way of understanding this is that God is perfection. So therefore God cannot extend the perimeters of perfection. Right? To extend perfection is to say it's imperfect. So the only way to resolve this paradox is through us because we are imperfect and through our imagination we extend the boundaries of the universe. Therefore we let God know itself more. Right? So it it's only Dante in his with his body with his imperfect body that's able to imagine what God is. Not Bernard, not any angels, not even Mary. Okay. And certainly God, not God itself. God doesn't even know what it is. It's Dante that's able to explain to us what God is. Okay. But you're not saying that God only exists because of man.

169:34Uh no, I didn't say that. Okay. Yeah. I just wanted to make sure. Okay. Yeah. Yes. And it reminds me of languages. Like uh yesterday we heard Italian and I'm pretty sure none of us here speak Italian fluently. So if you speak a language fluently then all it sounds to you all it sounds to you is like information. It's a information and that's the state that Bernard and Mary and every every angel is in. But if you don't understand a language and you listen to it and you can hear the cadence and you can hear the rhythm and that's where Dante is at. Okay. I didn't really understand the the point. Can you rephrase? So if you understand the language then people are speaking information to you. If you don't if you do not understand the language, then people are speaking a song to you. I I I didn't understand that. Okay. All right. Um Sorry. Okay. Um Okay. So, what Dante is saying ultimately is that the imagination is the animating force of the universe. Okay. So rather than see heaven as separate he rather than seeing God as separate see us as humans as part of the divine creation process. And so you have a responsibility to imagine. Okay. Does that make sense? All right. So um you're like okay well I understand because that's what Disney movies teach me or whatever. You know it's what's a big deal here? It's a big deal because what the context is the year 1300. All right. So what I want to do now is I want to com contrast this with another um passage from the Bible. Okay. So this is what what's called part of the apocalyptic tradition. Okay. Apocalypse. Apocalypse is Greek for revelation.

171:34All right. what is revealed to you. And of course, there are in the Bible, three really famous apocalyptic um books. There is the book of Revelation, the the book of Revelation of John. There is the book of Daniel Daniel. There's the book of Ezekiel. Ezekiel. Okay. And in actually in Ezekiel, we have a situation where um also Ezekiel visits God. Okay. Okay. And we're going to contrast what that experience is like. So, so, so, so can we read Ezekiel 1:3? 1:3. So, just just say one and and and then you know. Okay. So, so, so we're going to compare contrast what Dante experienced and what Ezekiel experienced. Ezekiel Ezekiel 1. In my 30th year, in the fourth month of the fifth day, while I was among the exiles of the Kabar River, the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God. On the fifth of the month, it was the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoakin. The word of the Lord came to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Boozie, by the Kabar River in the land of the Babylonians. He there the hand of the Lord was on him. I looked and I saw a windstorm coming out of the north, an immense cloud with flashing lightning and surrounded by brilliant light. The center of the fire looked like glowing metal, and in the fire was what looked like four living creatures. In appearance, their form was human, but each of them had four faces and four wings. Their legs were straight, their feet were like those of a calf and gleamed like burnished bronze. under their wings. On their four sides, they had human hands. All four of them had faces and wings, and the wings of one touched the wings of another. Each one went straight ahead. They did not turn as they moved. Their faces

173:35looked like this. Each of the four had the face of a human being, and on the right side, each had the face of a lion, and on the left the face of an ox. Each also had the face of an eagle. Such were their faces. They each had two wings spreading out upward. Each wing touching that of the creature on Whoops. What? Um, it was just on either side, and each had two other wings covering its body. Each one went straight ahead. Wherever the spirit would go, they would go without turning as they went. The the appearance of the living creatures was like burning coals of fire and like torches. Fire moved back and forth among the creatures. It was bright and lightning flashed out of it. The creatures sped back and forth like flashes of lightning. As I looked at the living creatures, I saw a wheel on the ground beside each creature with its four faces. This was the appearance and structure of the wheels. They sparkled like topaz, and all four looked alike. Each appeared to be made like a wheel intersecting a wheel. As they moved, they would go in any one of the four directions the creatures faced. The wheels did not change direction as the creatures went. Their rims were high and awesome, and all four rims were full of eyes all around. When the living creatures moved, the wheels beside them moved. And when the living creatures rose from the ground, the wheels also rose. Wherever the spirit would go, they would go, and the wheels would rise along with them, because the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels. When the creatures moved, they also moved. When the creatures stood still, they also stood still. And when the creatures rose from the ground, the wheels rose along with them because the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels. Spread out above the heads of the living creatures was what looked something like a vault, sparkling like crystal and awesome. Under the vault, their wings were stretched out one toward the other, and each had two wings covering its body. When the creatures moved, I heard the sound of their wings like the roar of rushing water, like the

175:36voice of the Almighty, like the tumult of an army. When they stood still, they lowered their wings. Then there came a voice from above the vault, over their heads that they stood with their lowered wings. Above the vault, over their heads was what looked like a throne of lapis leily, and high above on the throne was a figure like that of a man. I saw that from what appeared to be his waist up, he looked like glowing metal, as a full of life, and that from there down he looked like fire and brilliant light surrounded him. Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. When I saw it, I fell face down and I heard the voice of one speaking. Okay, let let's go on to number two. Okay, so you guys understand what's going on, right? I want you to compare and contrast this with Dante's meeting with God because this is another meeting of God, right? Ezekiel 2, he said to me, "Son of man, stand up on your feet and I will speak to you." As he spoke, the spirit came unto me and raised me to my feet and I heard him speaking to me. He said, "Son of man, I'm sending you to the Israelites, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against me. They and their ancestors have been involved against me to this very day. The people to whom I'm sending you are obstinate and stubborn. Say to them, "This is what the sovereign Lord says." And whether they listen or fail to listen, for they a rebellious people, they will know that a prophet has been among them. And you, son of man, do not be afraid of them or their words. Do not be afraid through briars and thorns are all around you and live among scorpions. Do not be afraid of what they say, or be terrified by them, though they are a rebellious people. You must speak my words to them, whether they listen or fail to listen, for they are rebellious. But you, son of man, listen to what I say to you. Do not rebel like that rebellious people. Open your mouth and eat what I give you."

177:36Then I looked, and I saw a hand stretched out to me, and it was a scroll, which he unrolled before me. On both sides of it were written words of lament and mourning and woe. Okay. And we'll we'll do Ezekiel 3. Okay. And then we'll we'll stop. Ezekiel 3. And he said to me, "Son of man, eat what is before you. Eat this scroll. Then go and speak to the people of Israel." So I opened my mouth and he gave me the scroll to eat. Then he said to me, "Son of man, eat this scroll I'm giving you and fill your stomach with it." So I ate it and it tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth. He then said to me, "Son of man, go now to the people of Israel and speak my words to them. You're not being sent to people of obscure speech and strange language, but to the people of Israel, not to many peoples of obscure speech and strange language whose words you cannot understand. Surely if I had sent you to them, they would have listened to you. But the people of Israel are not willing to listen to you because they're not willing to listen to me. For all the Israelites are hardened and obstinate. But I will make you as unyielding and hardened as they are. I will make your forehead like the heart of stone, harder than flint. Do not be afraid of them or terrified by them, though they are a rebellious people. And he said to me, "Son of man, listen carefully and take to heart all the words I speak to you. Go now to your people in exile and speak to them. Say to them, "This is what the sovereign Lord says, whether they listen or fail to listen." Then the spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me a loud rumbling sound as the glory of the Lord rose from the place where it was standing. It was the sound of the wings of the living creatures rushing against each other, and the sound of the wheels beside them, a loud rumbling sound. The spirit then lifted me up and took me away and I went in bitterness and the anger of my spirit with the strong hand of the Lord on me. Stop. Okay. All right. Okay. So, you guys there's this major difference

179:36between Dante and Ezekiel. Okay. Ezekiel is very much part of the biblical apocalyptic the apocalyptic tradition. Okay. So, we have Ezekiel and we have Dante. I want to compare and contrast these two. All right. What what are the differences you see? Let's let's just name them. Anyone? Yes. Ezekiel thinks h uh humans and people are bad and you don't it doesn't matter what they do. Just be good yourself. Okay. So, Ezekiel says that the Israelites are bad. Okay. Yes. Yes. So God is judgmental. Is God judgmental in Dante? Okay. So God is love. That's a major difference. First God is judgmental in Ezekiel, but in Dante, God is love. Okay. He's not doesn't judge you. Yes. And Dante feels like he's is more general. and Ezekiel um describes a lots of details. Okay. All right. So, another big difference is that Ezekiel is explicit. Okay? You cannot possibly misinterpret his message. He tells you the Israelites suck. Go tell me they suck. Okay? Whereas Dante, he is much more ambiguous. Okay? Why would Dante be much more ambiguous? Why is he not explicit? Yes. Because he wants um the readers to um there's just multiple ways to imp interpreted his words. Yeah. Free will, right? He wants you to make a decision as to how to interpret his poetry. Right? God has given him

181:38free will to to interpret what he wants to interpret. Right? Donnie was invited to meet God. But God didn't actually say Donnie go do this, right? Donnie could interpret the meaning any way he wanted. Right? So yeah, what else? What are some other differences? Okay. Um, so in Ezek in Ezekiel there's a commandment. Okay. There's an order from God, right? Whereas in Donna, it's more about vision and imagination. Okay. Vision is up to your interpretation. But with a commandment or squirrel, it's very written. Exactly. Yes. Okay. What are some other differences? Just to add on that I mean just going back to uh P show 33 Dante mentioned that the reason for the ambiguity and the vision is because God to him keeps changing and it's all it's it's amorphic what's the what's the right word for it? It shape shifts right versus Ezekiel who is I know God is like a general like tells you ABC if you if you don't do ABC that's it. Yeah. Look, if you read Ezekiel closely, there's almost like a mechanical language to it, okay? It's mechanical. Uh whereas with Dante, it's more spiritual, organic. Okay. Right. What are some other differences? Dante had to go through hell and purgatory to see God. Exactly. Okay. So, for Dante, it was a journey, right? It was a journey, a

183:39process. And Ezekiel, it's a destination. He was just he was just shown these visions. He never choice in the matter. There was no journey. Good. What else? Okay, we can go on and on. Okay, but the major difference of course is that whereas Ezekiel it is a revelation. It is something that is shown to you. Dante is an act of imagination. Okay? It is something that you must imagine yourself. Okay? It is something that you must actively create yourself. There's a creative process. Okay? Does that make sense? All right. So again, the purpose of divine comedy is to change the world. And so if you are um you're 13 1300 and you grow up in the Ezekiel tradition where God is angry, God is scary, God wants you to be afraid of him. Donnie is trying to change that and make you um less afraid so you can be much more imaginative. Right? So how does Donnie accomplish this? Yes. But but what is it about divine comedy that that allows people to lose their fear in God and allows me much more imaginative? Yes. By saying that God is love. So and God will grant those who turn towards him. So in in perfect love there's no fear. Oh in in the scriptures says perfect love drives out fear. So right but is singing enough? Yes. I think it's because he's making the unknown unknown. So like uh people are scared burning hell. People scared of what's waiting for them after they die. And exactly that's it. Do you understand? Every all fear is just based on mystery on what you don't know. What Donnie has

185:40done is show you the completeness of the universe from hell all the way up to heaven. Every aspect of the cosmos he's revealed to you. Right. Okay. So um let's do Shakespeare Hamlet the famous Hamlet. Okay. To be or not to be. All right. So where's we'll read this together. Okay. To be or not to be, that is the question. Whether it is nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or to take arms against the sea of troubles, and by opposing end them, to die, to sleep no more, and by asleep to say, we end the heartache and the thousand natural shocks that fleshes heir to. To summation, devoutly to be wished, to die, to sleep, to sleep per chance to dream. I there's the rub. For in that sleep of death, what dreams may come. What we have shuffled off this mortal coil must give us pause. There's the respect that makes calamity of so long life. For who would bear the whips and scorns of time, the oppressors wrong, the proud man's contumly, the pangs of despised love, the laws delay, the insolence of office, and the spurns that patient merit of the unworthy takes. when he himself might this quietest make with a bare bodkin who would fartle spare to grunt and sweat under a weary life. But that the dread of something after death, the undiscovered country from whose bore no traveler returns puzzles the will, and makes us rather bear those wills we have than fly to others that we know not of. Thus conscious death does make cowards of us all and thus the native hue of

187:41resolution is sickly over with the pale cast of thought and enterprises of great pith and moment with this regard their currents turn arry and lose the name of action. So there is at Yale or he was at Yale but Harold Bloom was the greatest American literary critic. He's a huge fan of William Shakespeare. Uh in fact he argued that it was Shakespeare that created mjourney created war was human. Um but you know I I mean it's been a while since I read Shakespeare but just putting Dante side by said with Shakespeare I am not that impressed with Shakespeare anymore. Okay. I mean like it took a long time for him to say what Dante would have said in one or two lines. Seriously. What what what is Shakespeare's point here? Why what? Yes. People don't die because they're afraid of Exactly. It's that simple. Okay. There's really no like great truth to what to what Shakespeare is saying here. All Shakespeare is saying is that people don't act because they're afraid of death. Why are they afraid of death? Because they don't know what death is. It's that simple. Okay. So, um maybe someone can convince me that this is great literature, but having read Dante, I am not as impressed. But yeah. So, so, so this is the basic premise here. Okay. It is because of the unknown that uh people are afraid and what Don has done with the divine comedy is revealed the entire cosmos to the world and but then you're like wait a minute here he just made all this up right he's like why why would people believe this and the answer is let's look at some pictures. Okay, let's look at some pictures. Do you guys what know what nearev experiences are near neardev experiences. Okay. So, there's this guy

189:42uh the the the the pictures that that we have, right? Okay. So, uh the first picture. Okay. Yeah. Here. Exactly. Okay. Okay. Guys, look look at the picture picture on the screen. Okay. So, there are people who have these near-death experiences. And first of all, what they describe is remarkably consistent. Okay. They talk about how when they die they enter this realm which is beyond time and space which is complete unity and they meet God and God is pure love, pure forgiveness, non-judgmental, all generosity. Okay, it is remarkably consistent. And one of these people actually remembered um the visions from his or her near-death experiences. And look at the picture. It's pretty similar to how Donnie described heaven, right? Where God and the angels are this huge spear of luminous light and everyone is surrounding them. It's pretty similar to what Donnie is describing. Okay. Uh let's go on to image two. This is a uh AI rendering. Okay. This is like again just exactly how Donnie described paradise. You you see at the top all these angels flying around, right? And you see at the core is God itself. It's pretty similar. And there's a hierarchy as well. Okay, let's um this is an artist rendition of Dante and Beatrius staring at the Imperium, the angels surrounding it and God. It's similar.

191:42All right, let's go to the last picture. And this is Dante constructing the hierarchy of paradise. So, not only did Dante um give people a glimpse of heaven, but it attunes to what people instinctively believe about heaven. Okay. Does anyone know about near-death experiences? What happens to people with near-death experiences? Do you guys know? Their life flashes before their eyes. But what what happens afterwards? They live. Yeah. Okay. No. No. I mean, yeah, I understand. Okay. Yes. That's why they're called near-death experiences. Okay. Rather than death experiences. Yeah. But but it's interesting because like um they might be in a car crash or they might have had a heart attack. Okay. and they meet God and go God always asks them do you want to stay here which is pure happiness pure bliss or do you want to go back home and they always choose to go back home okay and I'm saying saying like why do they go back home and what happens to them after they go back home uh yes um it sounds really weird like how how does God even determine this like uh at which point do God stop asking if you want to go home because I feel like if he asked every time then there would be a lot more people going home but why does God ask. Come on, guys. Do you want to go home? But why does God My bad. Free will. Free will. Come on. We've been saying this for the past five classes. Okay. Free will is the fundamental law of the universe. God can never force you to do anything. God must always ask you. So, everyone chooses to go back home. And what happens to this person to me? Uh they go they go back to the secular world to spread a message. What message is this? That God is love. Okay. But what happens to the people who don't turn out to be big uh YouTubers who

193:44talking about their near-death experiences? Maybe they just pack up and go on with their lives. Have you have you been on YouTube? Have you looked at how many death experience videos are on YouTube? There's like millions of them. Yeah. Yeah. Millions of them. And there's way more people who don't talk about it. Um Okay. Look, there's lot Okay. Why would you want to talk about it? Why? I think because that's everybody's question since like Shakespeare said like no where no travelers return and then you're like wait I'm that traveler they return. Yeah. So I have the you know I'm the chosen messenger or something to tell people about what the ultimate philosophical question like oh where do we come from? Well the Bible tells us that but well we're going to heaven but nobody knows what it's like so I can kind of be the messenger. What is the main message of these people with narrative experiences? What do they tell others? um that God is grace and God is love. Death is not the end. Yes. Okay. Don't fear death. Don't lose your fear of death. It is nothing. It's only just another beginning. Uh yes. Does that mean that if you refuse to die, you could technically live to live forever? What? [laughter] Wait, wait. Um, okay. All right. Okay. Repeat that. Okay. Wait, wait. Because you said that when you die, people say that God asked them, "Do you want to uh go to heaven or do you want to go home?" And then if you just always say go home, can you technically live forever like that? I think only in near death experiences where you you are like be between this gap of whether you can be saved or not by medical um intervention then God asks

195:44you to pick but if you're like dead dead like stone dead by car accident then you're just you into after that's actually that's actually a huge gap between like uh uh near death and death and that's actually a huge gap. So how does God determine this? You just have to trust him, right? No, like what I mean like like if medical means cannot save you like you are like stone dead like super like if you are squeezed by a rock and you're like your brain shattered right then there's no way but if you are like kind of in a car concussion car accident you have concussion your brain's a bit shaken but not like crushed then maybe you know you got a choice. I'm saying there's a spectrum of there's a there's a spectrum of things here and I don't know at which point is the cut off point like there I guess God knows so if you see God ask you the question then you you you know you have a choice but if not uh yes uh I still have a question because the physic keeps telling us that nobody can die because we're just energy right energy will be forever in the universe but what if we don't feel fear of death but what fear which level we will be because after we die uh we have to go to some some heaven some we go to go to hell. So if in that case we don't we don't care about death but we care about in which level we will be in after death uh after you know uh okay so let me ask you this question okay let's just say we lose our fear of death how would you live your life if you lost your fear of death what would you do you may want to do whatever you want because if you don't fear of death you can't what would you do suicide What? Explain the logic here. Why would you Why would you commit suicide if you if you lose your fear of death? I mean, you don't really care about living anymore, so you might Okay. Okay, that's a possibility. Like, well, you know, like, well, fear of death. Um, I don't like my life, so I'll

197:46just kill myself. Yes. Did What would you No. No. Like imagine this okay use your love use your use your intuition use your imagination what would you do if you completely lost your fear of death uh yet you then than you well that is expiration right that means the time you have you don't have any more time left so if you have infinite time then you would no no that's not what I said I said you lose your fear of death I didn't say you live forever I said you lose your fear of death say say you you don't have this sense don't have this fear of death then you would procrastinate there would be no motivation to imagine to generate. Okay. So, so you so you maybe live your life to the fullest because now you don't fear uh too much anymore and you want to live your life to the best of your ability so that you can get more better place in heaven. What would you do? Maybe get closer to God I guess like to to learn more about him so that you know I can end up in a higher sphere of heaven I guess. Okay. You would you would go and learn more, right? Yeah. Okay. Yes. Um, I once met this guy. He told me he had a near-death experience when he was like 20 or in very young and then afterward he felt that his life was on um was was on more was on extra time. So, his life has already ended. He is on extra time and this time has just been gifted to him. So he he's now like I think 80 something, but he spent his whole life pursuing um sustainability and working in NGO and not making any money. Yeah, that's what the majority of people will do. May maybe not everyone, okay? Maybe maybe some people just kill themselves, but the majority of people will just live the life to the fullest. We'll just do whatever you want to do now. Okay? Because you're not afraid of death anymore. You're like, I don't care. I'm just going to I have free will. I have free choice. Okay? Uh yes.

199:48So uh I think it's more of uh no one else gets to tell me how to live my life anymore. So the whole the whole thing of the Catholic Church is that if you don't let us tell you you what to do with your life, then you're going to hell and it's going to be horrible. But uh not being afraid of death anymore, not being afraid of this Catholic help anymore means that you're free to do what you want deep down. Exactly. That that's why Donnie wrote Divine Comedy to free people of the fear of death because as you point out the real power of the Catholic Church is they make people afraid of death, right? If you don't obey us, we'll send you to to hell, right? If you don't obey us, you won't get into heaven. So the what what the real purpose of the divine comedy is to expand your imagination by uh liberating you from your fear of death. And they and it does that by providing an imaginative universe that is complete, that is detailed, and which is all loving. There's no fear in heaven, right? These angels aren't meant to scare you. Like in Ezekiel, they're meant to scare you. Uh God is meant to scare you. But in Divine Comedy, it's in in heaven, it's all embracing. It's all forgiving. It's all welcoming. Does that make sense? Okay. Any questions? Okay. So, um, as I pointed out, there's a reason why we did Paradise first, and it's to really understand the cosmology of Dante, understand why he's doing what he's doing. But ultimately um Don is not working in a vacuum, right? It's not like he can just present this poetry and it'll be accepted because in this time of history there's a greater power than the Catholic Church

201:48and it's Virgil. Okay? You think it's the Catholic Church that has all the power, but it's Virgil, the poet who has all the power because as as we said, what poetry does is that it embeds itself into the collective unconscious. And the language and the beauty shapes the way you see the world. So Donniey's real conflict, his real enemy is not the Catholic Church, it is Virgil. Okay. So now what we'll do for the rest of this um rest of our time together is explore this cosmic conflict between Virgil and Dante and not only that but we will apply it to our world and see how this conflict is shaping our world. Okay, does it make sense? Okay, so now uh we are done with paradise. We're leaving paradise and we're going to go to hell. Okay. So this is counter one inferno. This is a great website, right? It's so easy to navigate. Yeah. Go ahead. Does being in vegetative state um in include as part of near-death experiences? Because technically I know a lot of people like once like people can kind of like know what you're thinking of their first thought is like to kill me. But we literally just said that if you're in near-death situation, God will ask you whether you want to live or not. So is this kind of like an exception to this concept? Like I'm just a little bit confused. I'm sorry. Okay. So the idea is uh what happens if you're in a coma? Well, if you're in a coma, it's also very much like a near-death experience. And again, God asks you, do you want to live or not, right? Because there are people who wake up from a coma and there are people who

203:49don't wake up from a coma. And I think a lot of it has to do with your will to live. Okay? Does that make sense? Okay. All right. So, this is counter one of inferno. Okay. All right. Um, the very beginning. Okay. When I had journeyied half of my our lives way, I found myself within a shadowed forest. For I had lost the path that does not stray. Ah, it is hard to speak of what it was, that savage forest, dense and difficult, which even in recall renews my fear, so bitter, death is hardly more severe. But to retell the good discovered there, I'll also tell the other things I saw. I cannot clearly say how I had entered the wood. I was so full of sleep just at the point where I abandoned the true path. But when I'd reached the bottom of a hill, it rose along the boundary of the valley that had harassed my heart with so much fear. I looked on high and saw its shoulders clothed already by the rays of that same planet which serves to lead men straight along all roads. At this my fear was somewhat quieted. For through the night of sorrow I had spent the lake within my heartfelt terror present. And just as he who with exhausted breath having escaped from sea to shore, turns back to watch the dangerous waters he has quit, so did my spirit, still a fugitive, turn back to look intently at the past that never has let any man survive. I let my tired body rest a while. moving again. I tried the lonely slope. My firm foot always was the one below. And almost where the hillside starts to rise, look there, a leopard very quick in life. A leopard covered with a spotted hide. He did not disappear from sight, but stayed. Indeed, he so impeded my ascent that I had often to turn back

205:50again. The time was the beginning of the morning. The sun was rising now in fellowship with the same stars that had escorted it when divine love first moved those things of beauty so that the hour and the gentle season gave me good cause for hopefulness hopefulness on seeing the beast before me with his speckled skin. But hope was hardly able to prevent the fear I felt when I beheld a lion. His head his head held high and ravenous with hunger. Even the air around him seemed to shudder. This lion seemed to make his way against me. And then as she woof showed herself, she seemed to carry every craving in her leanness. She had already brought despair to many. The very sight of hers waited me with fearfulness that abandoned hope of ever climbing up that mountain slope. Even as he who glories while he gains will when the time has come to tally loss. Lament with every thought and turn despondent. So was I when I faced that restless beast which even as he she stopped me step by step had thrust me back to where the sun is speechless. While I retreated down to lower ground before my eyes there suddenly appeared one who seemed faint because of the long silence. When I saw him in that vast wilderness, have pity on me were the words I cried. Whatever you may be, a shade a man. He answered me, not man. I once was man. Both of my parents came from Lombardi and both claimed Manua as native city. And I was born though late S Julio and lived in Rome under the good Augustus, the season of the false and lying gods. I was a poet and I sang the righteous son of Ankases who had come from joy Troy when flames destroyed the pride of Ilia. And why do you return to wretchedness? Why not climb up the mountain of delight, the origin and cause of every

207:52joy? And are you then that vigil? You the fountain that really pours so rich a stream of speech? I answered him with shame upon my brow. Oh, light and honor of all other poets. May my long study and the intense love that made me search your volume serve me now. You're my master and my author. You the only one from whom my writing drew the noble style from which I have been honored. You see the beast that made me turn aside. Help me, oh famous sage, to stand against her, for she has made my blood and pulses shudder. It is another path that you must take, he answered when he saw my fearfulness. If you would leave the savage wilderness, the beast that is the cause of your outcry allows no man to pass along her track, but blocks him even to the point of death. Her nature is so squalid, so malicious that she can never sate her greedy will. When she has fed, she's hungrier than ever. She mates with many living souls and shall yet mate with many more until the greyhound arrives inflicting painful death on her. That hound will never feed on land or pewtor but find his fair and wisdom, love, and virtue. His place of birth shall be between two felts. He will restore lowlying Italy for which the maid Camila died of wounds and Nissus Turnis and Urealis. and he will hunt that beast through every city until he thrusts her back to hell, for which she was first sent above by envy. Therefore, I think and judge it best for you to follow me, and I shall guide you, taking you from this place through an internal place, where you shall hear the house of desperation, and see the ancient spirits in their pain, as each of them laments his second death. And you shall see these souls who are content within the fire, for they hope to reach whenever that may be the

209:52blessed people. If you would then ascend as high as these, a soul more worthy than I am, will guide you. I'll leave you in her care when I depart. Because that emperor who reigns above, since I have been rebellious to his law, will not allow me entry to his city. He governs everywhere, but rules from there. There is his city, his high capital. Oh happy those he chooses to be there. And I replied, "Oh poet, by that God whom you had never come to know, I beg you that I may flee this evil and worse evils to lead me to the place of which you spoke, that I may see the gateway of St. Peter and those whom you describe as sorrowful." Then he set out and I moved on behind him. Okay, so this is the very beginning of Divine Comedy. And again, we've been to paradise. So, we know exactly what this cosmology is. Um, this is the year 1300 and Donna is like the middle age, right? So, 35 or 40. And he is in a shadow forest and he has absolutely no idea where he's going. Okay? So, he's basically in a midlife crisis. And when he walks around, he sees these beasts, right? and these beasts block his way forward and he's looking for escape. And so Virgil shows up and says, "Let me guide you." And then Donnie's like, "You're my hero. You're you are the person who I've worshiped all my life and um how can we bypass these beasts?" Uh, yes. I have a question which is why is Dante being so modest right now? Being so what? Modest. Being so modest. Okay. That's because he's lost.

211:53He's scared. He's hungry. If someone's gonna come and give you some food, you you better be modest, right? Right. But also, um, does Dante respect Virgil? Yeah, a lot. Right. Because at this time in history, if you are, um, an educated person, you all read Virgil. And how do you read Virgil? Do you guys know? No, but like like like how do you study Virgil? You have to memorize Virgil. Okay. Like like you don't actually sit down and analyze Virgil. You just memorize it word for word. And that's just how you learn Latin. And if you were educated, you had to speak Latin the way that Virgil spoke Latin. That's how you prove your eloquence. Okay? So Dante's is in awe of Virgil. Dante sees Virgil as a father figure. Does that make sense? So you have to appreciate that at this time in history uh Dante is worships Virgil and Virgil is going to be his guide. Okay. So so let's let's continue the story where Virgil shows up and Don is like how do we get past the beast and Virgil says you can't get past through the beast. You have to go through another way. You have to go through hell. Okay. So C can someone explain to me what this is a metaphor for? First of all, why is Dante in the forest? Why is he lost? And what do the bees represent? And why does St. Virgil says you can actually you cannot actually defeat the beast. You cannot actually confront the bees. You just have to avoid the beast. What is this a metaphor for? Yes. Uh actually I think beast is just kind of anger, fear or some kind of you know which is not so good character in his mind. And the fur is it means that he just get lost. So he just be exiled, you

213:55know. Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. That's that's exactly correct. Right. Where he is middle-aged and his life sucked. His life is falling apart. Uh he's been exiled from he's about to be exiled from Florence. His political faction. Uh the white gels are in conflict and losing to the black wealth. Okay. So he's completely lost as to like how do they get to this point? I see no possible path forward. And he is consumed by anger, by hatred, by fear. And that confuses you. That that blinds you from seeing any possible path. And what Virgil was saying to him is like you cannot actually confront your anger. You can't confront your hatred. You can't confront your fear. The only thing you can do is learn more, open your mind, develop your imagination, and then these beasts will naturally go away. Does that make sense, guys? Never ever try to confront your anger. Uh never try to confront your fear, your doubts. That doesn't get you anywhere. Develop more experiences. Right? So, let's just say that uh you have problems with your parents, okay? You really really hate your parents. You go to a therapist and your therapist tells you, "Well, we need to talk to talk to you about your parents, okay? So, talk about all these memories you have as your uh as a child, right? And we will through talk therapy uh reimagine your childhood." Okay. Is that a good idea? Would they agree to to to to this? Why why not? What why not? What's the problem with that? Uh because like just uh like the metaphor like facing the beast and uh I don't think like by by confronting with your anger you can like uh like you can find like

215:56resolutions through throughout that. That's what D says. But why? What happens when you confront the beast? Uh yes, you get more tangled up in it. You get more angry, relieving or remembering. You feed the beast, right? When you confront the beast, you feed the bees. So the more you talk about how angry you are, you become more angry. So what's the solution? Okay, like you know, you're like, you know, you're you're you don't really don't like your parents. It's bothering you. And so how can you get over this? So you go out and have life experiences yourself. You go out, fall in love, become a parent yourself, and then your parents. Exly. Okay. Exactly. Okay. Okay. That's the better path. And and and that's what Virgil's saying like let's not do talk therapy. Let's not go to therapy, guys, because because all that's going to do is feed the beast. It'll just make you more trapped in this forest. Let us go through hell. And then if you see what anger, fear, and hatred does to people, this will help you elevate or or help you alleiate reduce your anger, fear. Uh yes. Um to me it seems a lot like you're it seems like uh what they're suggesting is more like ignoring stuff and distracting yourself from stuff rather than confronting stuff. Okay. What? What's your response? It seems like Don is running away, right? What What's your response? Anyone? Yeah. Yeah. Well, I mean, that's the point of what he's saying. It's not to confront, is to find a new way. Yeah. You don't have to confront something to defeat something. Okay. You can go around that that thing. Why do you need to to run into a wall? Why can you just walk around the wall? Yeah. Yeah. It's kind of like the Chinese

217:56wisdom, I guess. It's like you kind of go around it. You don't have to go straight to show that you defeated it or confronted directly. You can still solve the problem in many different ways. Right. What I'm what I'm trying to say is that yeah, you can go around it and you can ignore it and for the time being and that's going to be way better than if you do talk therapy, if you dive deep down into it. But the point is that it's still there and it might ambush you every single day. Like when you're angry, truly angry about something, it might ambush you every single day and it might ruin everything else. So why not confront it? You are confronting it by going to hell already. So you're still taking active action to get rid of it by going to hell. So you solve it. It won't ambition you anymore. And so just going to hell solves me all my problems. Like I take Yeah. like I take a round trip to hell and it solves the problems. Uh yes. Uh maybe because you know uh all of this anger fear it cannot be distinguished. It cannot be destroyed. It just always may exist in your mind. So the better way you just not just to kill them or or unless you kill yourself, right? So you have better to avoid it maybe. Okay. Yeah. So something I struggled with personally is we just finished the Paradisio and so he was a was arrogant and enlightened person there and so it's it's struggling for me to then go back to the inferno where he's a flawed sinful person without all the answers and he's got to go through the next three books to get most of the answers. So maybe he is making some mistakes. Maybe he's not perfect right this moment. Yeah. Right. Okay. So he has to go through this journey if he's if he's descend to heaven if he's trying if he's to find his true self. Okay. All right. Uh let's keep on reading.

219:58KTO 2. The day was now departing. The dark air released the living beings of the earth from work and weariness. And I myself alone prepared to undergo the battle both of the journeying and of the pity. Which memory mistaken not shall show. Oh muses, oh high genius, help me now. Oh memory that set down what I saw. Here shall your excellence reveal itself. I started. Poet, you who are my guides, see if the force in me is strong enough before you let me face that rugged past. You say that he who fathered Sylvius, while he was still corruptible, had journeyied into the deathless world with his live body. For if the enemy of every evil was courteous to him, considering all he would cause and who and what he was, that does not seem incomprehensible since in the imperion heaven he was chosen to father honored Rome and her empire. And if the truth be told, Rome and her realm were destined to become the sacred place, the seat of the successor of great Peter. And through the journey you ascribed to him, he came to learn of things that were to bring his victory into the papal mantle. Later, the chosen vessel traveled there to bring us back assurance of that faith with which the way to our salvation starts. But why should I go there? Who sanctions it? For I'm not Anias. I'm not Paul, nor I, nor others. myself so worthy. Okay. So again, um he's being really really modest here, right? He's saying um Virgil says like we have to go into hell and uh Don is saying it's like I'm not worthy at all because you think of all these major figures who's been to hell. Um I'm not worth worthy, right? Because who who's who's been to hell? You have Inas who's the hero of the uh Iniad. You have Paul and who else do you

221:58have? Jesus went to hell. Jesus. Yes. The chosen vessel. Jesus has been to hell. Okay. So, it's almost like a special privilege where you don't die, but you still still go to hell. It's a It's only if you're a really really special person would you have that access. Okay. Uh, so D is like, I'm not worthy, Virgo. I can't go into hell. And uh, verse 34. Therefore, if I consent to start this journey, I fear my venture may be wild and empty. You're wise. You know far more than what I say. And just as he who unwills what he wills and shifts what he intends to seek new so that he's drawn from what he had begun, so was I in the midst of that dark land because with all my thinking I enold the task I had so quickly undertaken. If I have understood what you have said, replied the shade of that greathearted one, your soul has been assailed by cowardice which often weigh so heavily on a man, distracting him from honorable trials as phantoms frighten beasts when shadows fall. That you may be delivered from this fear. I'll tell you why I came and what I heard when I first felt compassion for your pain. Okay. So, do you understand like Donnie right now in his middle age, he has lost the force because of his fear. Okay. Has been seized by fear. Um uh can you keep up? Verse 52. I was among those souls who are suspended. A lady called to me so blessed, so lovely that I implored to serve at her command. Her eyes surpassed the splendor of the stars and she began to speak to me so gently and softly with angelic voice. She said, "Oh spirit of the courteous manuan, whose fame is still a presence in the world and shall endure as long as the world lasts. My

223:59friend, who has not been the friend of fortune, is hindered in his path along that lonely hillside. He has been turned aside by terror. From all that I have heard of him in heaven, he is, I fear, already so astray that I have to come to help him much too late. Go now with your persuasive word, with all that is require to see that he escapes. Bring help to him that I may be consoled. For I am Beatrice who sends you on. I come from where I most long to return. Love prompted me. That love which makes me speak. When once again I stand before my lord. Then I shall often let him hear your praises. Now Beatatrice was silent. I began. Okay. Stop. Okay. All right. So Virgil is telling Dante how Virgil came to him. Right. So Dante is lost in the forest and Beatric up in heaven hears Dante's pain, fear, agony, and Beatrice uh with permission from God descends to hell where Virgil is and says, "Virgil, please help my friend Dante. You help my friend Dante. God will give you a special consideration." Okay. Why is Dante being helped by God? Why would God care? Yes. Because Beatatrice wants him to be helped and to lift him out of hell. Okay. So, so let's think about this. Okay. All right. Um, so why would God care about Dante? Wants him to write. He wants him to be a

226:00poet and write record see and record all these things. And how would God know that Dante is a chosen one? Like there's a lot of people in the world. Why Dante? Yes. because of his love for Beatric. Yes. Okay. Do you understand the logic of this? Okay. Regardless of Dante's fear, anger, and hatred, regardless of the fact that he's lost in the forest, he still has this passion for Beatatrice that has allowed Beatatrice to ascend to heaven. Okay. God's like, "Hey, Beatric, what are you doing here?" And is like, "Well, D loves me a lot, so I'm here." And and then God's like, "Wait, wait, who is this Donnie guy?" Right? So Donnie is special because he for his poetry is able to elevate Beatric to heaven. And now that Dante is lost in the woods, um Beatric will not reciprocate, right? Says, "Well, you know, you you are the special person who put me here. You're lost." And so we're going to help you find your way because your true mission is to ascend to heaven and write the divine comedy. Okay. Does that make sense? Okay. All right. But you appreciate why I I had to teach paradise first, right? Because if I had to if I if I taught this taught this first, we'd just be confused. Okay. But now that we know what the ending is, we can go back and see how it was constructed. But another way of saying this is like think of think about the year 1300 you didn't have a computer right how you how you able to do this can see the entire thing in its totality even before you wrote anything down right you saw you see how the beginning connects so well to the ending doesn't make sense like how are you going to do this it's like basically um

228:01um you know being able to write the entire TV series, all 10 seasons, um, even before you begin to write episode one. Uh, yes. Do we know for sure Dante wrote the Inferno first? Yes. Yes. Because he published Inferno first. Yes. Right. So, so, so, um, he had patrons and he would write these manuscript forms for his patrons. So, he first published the Inferno, then published Purgatory, then published uh, Paradiso. But like what is shocking is that there are no inconsistencies. Do you understand? There are actually no inconsistencies between the paradise and in between inferno. How is he able to do this? Does anyone know? I mean he has to have a preconception. Either it's divine or he has to have a preconception of the structure that he's going to use for all of this. Right. Right. Right. But but I'm saying like how he's able to do this, right? Do do you guys know? Okay. So, um let me explain how how he's able to do this. And again, I'm not him. I don't know. Okay. But for Dante, the world of um Inferno, Purgatory, and Paradiso are real worlds with real people. Does that make sense? they're more real to him than his own world. And so when he traveled in these worlds, he was meeting these people. And these people were separate from him and they were real people. So he was actually meeting Virgil and talking to Virgil. And Virgil was talking to him not as a figment of Donny's imagination, but as Virgil, the real person who wrote the INIA ad. Does that make sense?

230:02Okay. It's like there's no other way to do this. How else could you construct something so vast, so complete, and so consistent, so coherent, unless it was a real world to you? And you wonder this world meeting real people with real psychology, real motivations. Does that make sense? All right, let's keep on going. Verse 76. And and again again like we have already read paradise so we know exactly what happens. So we can spot any inconsistencies right in inferno. And I'm telling you right now, there is none. There definitely no inconsistencies in um the um in any of the divine comedy. And again, if you if you if you are able to use your imagination, you can resell everything within it. It's all logically coherent and consistent. This is pretty amazing. Okay? Okay, because you can't do actually do this with any other text. Actually, sorry, homework. You you you can do this with homework. Okay, keep on going. Line 76. Oh Lady of virtue, the sole reason why the human race surpasses all that lies beneath the heaven with the smallest spheres. So welcome is your wish that even if it were already done, it would seem tardy. All you need to do is let me know your will. But tell me why you have not been more prudent descending to the center, moving from that spacious place where you long to return. Because you want to fathom things so deeply, and as I now shall tell you promptly, she replied. Why, I'm not afraid to enter here. One ought to be afraid of nothing other than things possessed of power to do us harm. But things inocuous need not be feared. God and his graciousness have made me so that this your misery cannot touch me. I can withstand the fires flaming here in

232:02heaven. There's a gentle lady, one who weeps for the distress toward which I send you, so that stern judgment up above is shattered. And it was she who called upon Lucia, requesting of her, "Now your faithful one has need of you, and I commend him to you." Lucia, enemy of every cruelty, arose and made her way to where I was, sitting beside the venerable Rachel. Again, remember, okay, we've been in paradise. We know exactly where where Beatrice is, right? Beatric is sitting next to Rachel. And it says it here as well. Okay, there's actually no inconsistency in divine comedy. Uh, keep on going. Verse 103. She said, "You beat true praise of God. Why have you not helped him who loves you so that for your sake he's left the vulgar crowd? Do you not hear the anguish and his cry? Do you not see the death he wars against upon that river ruthless as the sea? No one within this world has ever been so quick to seek as good or flee as harm as I when she had finished speaking thus to come below. Why doesn't Beatus know about Donniey's agony? Why? So Donnie is in agony and someone else um had to tell Beatatrice. But why didn't Beatrice know for herself? They're all in heaven. They can say everything together. Why didn't Beatrice know for herself? Why did someone have to tell her Dante is in pain? He's in pure agony. He's he's he is u he has become overwhelmed with fear, doubt, anger, hatred. And Beatatrice is the last to know,

234:02right? Even though they have this cosmic divine connection together. Why? Because you love this person so much, you don't want that person. Exactly. Okay. You understand? It's because Donnie loves her so much. He does not want her to know he is in pain. Okay. Again, the consistency here, right? Think about how consistent this is. All right. Uh let's keep on going. Line 112. To come below down from my blessed station, I trusted in your honest utterance. She honors you and those who have listened to you." When she had finished with her words to me, she turned aside her gleaming, tearful eyes, which only made me hurry all the more. And just as she had wished, I came to you. I snatched you from the path of the fierce beast that barred the shortest way up the fair mountain. What is it then? Why? Why do you resist? Why does your heart host so much cowardice? where your daring and your openness as long as there are three such blessed women concerned for you within the court of heaven and my words promise you so great a good as little flowers which this chill of night has bent and huddled when the white sun strikes grow straight and open fully on their stems so did I too with my exhausted force and such warm daring rushed into my heart that I as one who has been freed again began oh she compassionate has helped me. And you who courteous obeyed so quickly the true words that she had addressed to you. You with your words have so disposed my heart to longing for this journey. I returned to what I was at first prepared to do. Now go. A single will fills both of us. You're my guide, my governor, my master. These were my words to him when he advanced. I entered on the steep and savage path.

236:03Okay. So uh to summarize Dante is lost he's afraid and he's confused and he doubts everything right so Virgil comes to him and says Dante let us I will guide you forward and Dante is so consumed with fear that he does everyone he says Virgil um I don't really belong in hell I really don't believe we can journey this way and Virgil says I see your fear. I see your doubt. But let me assure you that the person who who is really helping you is not me but Beatatrice. At the mention of the name Beatatrice, Dante is able to fully trust Virgil now and fully trust himself. Okay. So um not not so by um helping Beatric ascend to heaven basically Dante has imagined his own salvation right okay so that's it uh for today any questions about today yes why did Virgil agree to about uh Dante. What What does Virgil say? Virgil said um Beatatric sent him. No, no, but I'm saying what what why did Virgil What did Virgil tell Dante? Did Did you guys remember? It's actually why most guys do do stuff, by the way. Yeah. Like the three ladies asked the Virgil to help. Not the three ladies, one lady. Right. Is it's actually the reason why most guys do stuff in life. Okay. Seriously. Right. Why? Why? Why? God will reconsider to put him. No. No. It's not like guys do stuff in

238:03life. Okay. Why? Some ladies asked them to do some beautiful lady asked him to go do it, right? You understand? It's because she's beautiful. She's like, "Ah, she's really hot. I'll I'll go do it." It's really that simple. Okay? Don't overthink guys, right? Men are men are not that complicated. If a beautiful woman comes to me and says, "Hey, I need you to go do something." I'll go do it. I I don't care what it is, right? Is this a re revelation to you? Did you not know this before? Just didn't expect it to be this. Okay. So the divine comedy the what the reason why it's so powerful and the reason why it's lasted even to today is its truth and beauty right because it's able to resonate with you because the people inside the divine company are real people right virology it is what a real person would do a real guy if a really hot lady said go help my friend the guy would go do it okay he's not think oh well maybe maybe I should give me a million bucks or maybe oh hey maybe you she'll get me in heaven. He doesn't care. Okay. All right. So again, uh this is a remarkable achievement. And by the way, this this is your 1300, right? So this is before Mars psychology, right? This is before we know so much about human emotions. Uh yes, on top of um the reason why we started with paradigio on top of the structure, are there any other reasons that you started with paradigio? Yeah. So the main reason is that and this is like really hard for people to appreciate because they only read the inferno but Virgil is an unreliable narrator. Do you understand? So everything that Virgil tells Dante is not true and it's really strange and this is this is why um people don't really understand Divine Comedy because they take Virgil's words as Dante's

240:03words and it's not true. If you read Paradiso and you hear what Virgil says about God, about uh hell, about love, it's all in contradiction with paradise. Okay, do you understand? And like once you understand that, then you understand what what's really motivating Dante. Dante's real mission is to displace Virgil as the poet of the universe and replace him with his poetry. Okay, does that make sense? That's what his real mission is. That's what the real battle is. Is is Dant Dante in his puris form whereas uh uh inferno starting from inferno he's kind of learning how he wants to write the divine comp or rather it's the beginning of his connection. No. So so what what Donnie believes is the road to truth you must first pass through untruth. You understand? You must learn what's wrong and figure out why it's wrong for yourself before you can actually access the truth. That's why you have to go through hell, right? In hell, everything's going to lie to you and everything you believe is going to be wrong. But then you through purgatory, you slowly begin to reveal the truth to yourself. Okay? But you have to pass through that path of miseducation in order to receive education. You must embrace the lie before you can actually seek the truth. Okay? So, so again um um something that that you will notice is that what Virgil will say throughout the inferno is completely contradictory to what we will know in paradise. Okay? And unfortunately again uh the way that divine comedy is taught is wrong. You're just taught inferno and that's it. Without actually knowing and fully experiencing this journey from inferno to paradise, you can't actually appreciate Donniey's message. All right. Okay. So that's it for today. I will see you guys tomorrow. Okay? And please, please review everything that we've learned just so that you can test what I've been teaching. Okay? Make sure that what I've been teaching conforms to

242:05actual text. And if it doesn't, then bring this up, okay? Because because then you'll be helping me learn as well. All right. Okay. I'll see you guys tomorrow. Excuse me. What are we talking? Like we're going to go straight through now. Okay. Right. So So if you read the next five panels, you'll be fine. Okay. All right. Thanks, Carol.