Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1897-05-13

only watched by Dante but also par
ticipated in by him, and his character
was broadened by learning and expe-
rience. His genius was but the express
sion OF his character II Is Dante the
man which makes Dante the most in
teresting of poets. In the treatise
which he wrote during his exile he
limits the highest poetry to that which
treats of the useful, the delightful and
the good, and he declared learning to
be the thing essential to the produc-
tion of such poetry. There was a period
IN Dante's life when he fell into a way
OF living OF which he afterward repent
ed. From the expression Of repentance
OF this undetermined man, made In his
writings, many differences disparaging
to him have been wrongly drawn.
There are interesting passages in his
"Purgatory" in which the poet refers
to sins to which he was himself espe-
rially exposed, Among such he men
lions the sins of pride, anger and SEN
malism. Pride, in his view, was the
FOOT of all sin. Through pride the
angels fell. After the death of Beatrice
Dante married and had children, and
became more and more prominent in
public affairs. Florence at that time
was given over to revolutions, aad
Dante, involved in the general confu-
sion, saw his ideas of order overthPown.
"Of all things ordained for our well
being peace is the BEST" he says. But
peace was far from Florence and was
not to be found in all italy.
The pope and the emperor were
Contending against each other,
| and Dante lifts up his voice
as one crying in the wilderness with an
appeal for peace. In his treatise ode
Monarchia" he discussed the relative
authority Of the monarch and the head
Of the church, saying that both de-
rived their power from God and that
both were necessary to the world. His
work was not the deductions of mere
dry logic, but the expression of the
heart of the man in behalf of his fell
lows. He desired not only to bud but
to bear fruit for the public good. In
these modern days, when the doctrine
Of the brotherhood of man is so thor
oughly preached, 1t is hard to realize
how novel such opinions were at the
time when Dante expressed them. II
was dangerous to speak the truth in
Florence when party spirit was ram
pant, but the poet spoke the truth as he
saw 1t, regardless of possible conse-
quences to himself. He drove out OF
the lists the impious and the liar. u
Nor is it to be believed that there was
exaggeration in the expression of his
thought, for In the thirteenth century
less restraint was put on the feelings
than is now the case. Dantes integ-
rity and courage may not be doubted
In the absence of knowledge as to the
dates Of many of the poets writings
it is difficult to trace fully his spiritual
development, but whether as poet OF
philosopher, his one aim was the wei.
fare of man. To this task he brought
all his gifts, his learning, his expert.
ence, his inspiration. Dante has beer
too often regarded exclusively as a poet
Yet he wrote his poems not to gain the
praise of men, but to arouse them to &
sense of the errors of their way, tC
make them better and nobler. Into ev.
cry work of art enters a moral element
The beauty which an artist gives tC
his work takes from his spirit. 1t Is
remarkable that Dante, while constant
ly in pursuit of a moral purpose, die
not lose anything of beauty. The pro
lessor then spoke of the Divine Com
edy," which was written while Dante
was in exile, from 1902 to 1921. 1t was
too, during this period that the poe
drank large draughts from the classic
writer's, and from Aristotle in particu
lar. Dante was also indebted to the
medieval philosophers, and, first Of all
to st. Thomas Aquinas.
A Queer Fact About Vision.