The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-11-17
The Three Descents to the Cover 6Oorid.
BY HUBERT NJ. SKINNER.

Where is the abode of departed souls?
The Greeks believed it to be an island
far off, beyond the place where the dome
of the sky came down, and in a region
where perpetual darkness reigned In
the days of the Roman empire, and all
through the Middle Ages, it was sup
posed to be far below the fiat surface OF
the earth. The craters of volcanoes were
suggestive of terrible fires for the punish
ment of the wicked down below. 1t is not
strange that there came to be theory
among the explorers of caverns that
some cave might be found to contain a
passage to the neither world through
which a man could descend without TAX
ing the trouble to die; and as the idea
spread the people were ready to- receive
q story of such q transition as reason
able enough in itself.
There have been in fact three accounts
of descelts made by men to the lower
world with descriptions of what they be-
held there, for in all three of the mar
ratives the men return to the surface to
tell the tale of their strange experiences
One of the accounts is avoWedly a York
of the imagination; another was built
upon a supposed fact in it's general out
line; while the third was intended and
supposed to relate an actual occurrence,
with strict regard for truth. The stories
of the three descents are of Importance
at the present in three of the great lit
erary masterpieces Of the world. They
have been the delight of the learned for
ages. Yet. singularly enough, they have
not all been frequently known to the
same persons. The student of Virgil has
been charmed by the account contained
in the sixth book of the Aeneid. The stu
dent of Italian has read with feeling
Dante'S divine drama of purgatory, hell
FIyl~
dwelt with wonder upon the, descriptions
of Calderon. But seldom if ever, has
the same person made a correlated study
of the three great authors who have de-
picted the journey to the lower regions.
cannot rind evidence that it has ever been
done. The time has come, however, for
the correlated study of literature; and
the materials for such study are increaS-
ing.
Virgil is becoming familiar to an ever
eniarging army of high school pupils
TRANSACTIONS Of Dante are somewhat nu-
merous. and are, as "a rule, fairly good
Moreover, the genius of Gustave Dore,
whose graphic pictures are severyWhere
known in America, has populariZed the
subject of Dantes work throughout our
nation. As for Calderon, the day is dawn
ing in which we shall awaken to an APP
probation Of the great literature Of
spain, Stf0 Will II VIII COiiiC u dirANtiOAio
which will rival Bavard Taylor's rem
dering of Goethe's Faust" and Long
fellows version of the @'Divina Connie
dia" of Dante.
VirgRs account of the descent of
Aeneas is the ablest of the three narra-
tives, and was written in and for the
heather world. Dante and Cal7eron
were both Christian writer's, and wrote
with pious fervor from the Christian
&c Str
not intended to be taken for fact. His
gate is a gate of sleep through which
Aeneas masses Aeneas meets purely al
Ieeorial characters. such as Old Age,
Disease Famine, Fear, etc. When
he essays to draw his spear at
one of the animal monsters
which he beholds. he is cautioned that
the spear could move only through air
since the monster exists as shade, and
fs Intangible. When he would clasp the
form of his departed father to his breast,
he finds that form Intangible, like the
rest.
Dante-s descriptions are real and SO
are those of Caldefon. Both have their
basis apparently. in the same story of
experience which belongs to the folk
lore of ireland and which for ages was
read and accepted as literal truth. IT is
a singular story, and is related with cir
cumstantial detail in an old English his
tory and elsewhere
King Stephen of England. who wrench
ed the scepter from the hands of his
fair cousin, Queen Matilda. and reigned
as a usurper from 1875 to 1l54. had at his
court wicked knight. Sir 0wain. who
had committed an appalling array Of
crimes Stephen visited Ireland on the
same business which had drawn his sue
cessors, from time to time. to that UNI
happy island An English monk, named
Gilbert, accompanied him. and formed
the design of erecting in Ireland great
monastery. King Stephen. like many an
ether usurper, was willing to favor the
pious scheme as an Offset to his many
crimes. He gave permission. land and
money: and when Gilbert desired the
further favor of an interpreter. SO that
he could converse with the Celtic men,
whose aid he needed, the king, with grim
humor. appointed to the post the wicked
Sir Owaill It would seem from the
tame (which corresponds with the mod
ern Owent that the knight must have
heen a Welshman, rather than an Irish !
man; but the Welsh and the Irish wece
kindred tongues, and Sir Owain, at all