Nearing the end of his journey through Paradise, Dante has seen and learned much. From the depths of Hell, he learned of the retribution for sin. On Mount Purgatory, he saw those Christian souls striving to prepare themselves for Paradise. Now, in Paradise, the pilgrim has seen almost all the spheres of the blessed and heard their stories. He has experienced what few other human being have been privileged to experience.
Within the sphere of Saturn of the contemplatives, Dante is greeted by Peter Damian and asks him why he should be the one pre-ordained to come and speak to the traveler. The blessed spirit replies, “Not even the heavenly soul of clearest gleam / could satisfy your question, not the most / God-contemplating of the Seraphim, / For what you’ve asked so fathoms the abyss / of law established from eternity, / it is cut off from all created eyes. / . . . / Here you mind shines, there it is smoke and gloom,” (21.91-96, 100). There is no way that anyone could fully answer Dante’s question, not even one of those beings closest to God. The only possible reason why Dante might understand Peter Damian’s feeble answer is because he is in Paradise. But once back on earth, his mind will once again cloud.
This reference to cloudiness of mind on earth I found interesting as it seemed to echo a Biblical passage. Paul states something similar in I Corinthians 13:12, “For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.” Here, the apostle is referencing the difference between our time on earth and once we reach Heaven. While on earth, we see everything through the murkiness of this world. However, in Paradise, all those things will be stripped away and we will be able to see and understand things that were once too lofty for our once feeble comprehension.
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