Evening star., 1928-04-01

In his property at Florence. He refused
with the pride Of q poet
Is such an invitation to return to
his country glorious to Dante ALI
ghieri. after suffering in exile al
most IS years? Far from
the man who Is familiar with
philosophy be the senseless, base
ness Of a heart OF earth that could
offer itself up, as 1t were, in
chains. NO, this is not the
way that shall lead me back to my
country: ] will return with hasty
steps, II you or any other can open
from the fame and honor OF Dante,
but II by no such way Florence can
be entered. then Florence shall
never enter again. What? Shall
not everywhere enjoy the light
Of the sun and stars? And may /
not seek and contemplate, In every
corner of the earth under the
canopy Of heaven, consoling and
delightful truth?
The Florcntines, instead Of being
touched with this message. decrced
that wherever caught he should be
burned alive. He was not caught. but
at least spiritually he was burned alive:
he could describe hell later because he
went through every realm Of 1t on
earth. He passed from city to city.
hunted and friendless time and again
near to starvation His solace was the
memory Of Beatrice: he could think OF
her now with less distraction, having
been separated so long from family
and home. Once he had written SON.
nets to her, which he had collected
under the title Of Vita Nouva"--"The
New Life"--now he found somber
pleasure In reinterpretIng those sensu-
Gus lyrics into allegory, identifying
Beatrice with Truth and his love for
her with Philosophy. the love of wis
dom, so he conquered his despair and
prepared the way for the symbolism OF
his masterpiece.
Perhaps the poem he had now begun
to write saved him from madness and
suicide. Nothing so cleanses the dross
out of man as the creation of beauty
or the pursuit Of truth; and If the two
are merged In one in him. as they were
in Dante, he must be purified This
bitter world was unbearable except as
Nietzsche would phrase 1t. to the eye
that considered 1t as dramatic and
esthetic spectacle; TO look at 1t as a
scene to be pictured would take some
Of Its sting away. SO Dante resolved to
write: he would tell, In terrible allegory,
how he had gone through hell. how he
had been cleansed through the purga-
tory OF suffering and how now he sought
heaven under the guidance OF wisdom
and Beatrice.
But in what language Latin was
unknown to the people, known only to
the clergy, whom he hated and de-
spised; 1t was an artificial medium now
and diStasteful TO nature passionately
direct and sincere. Yet how would the
learned greet work In the new Lam
guage Of the people? Would they even
think Of looking upon 1t as literature?
Well he had taken other risks and
fought other battles. he would take this
risk and fight this battle to create a
language. And SO. aged As. old enough
to be matured with trial and suffering,
young enough yet to feel the passion
that makes poetry. he set his hand to
the composition of The Divine Come
dy." the greatest poem OF modern times.
1t was hard labor. for almost every
sentence of 1t Is sculptured into beauty.
and to make a good sentence Is as la
borious as chiseling stone. And because
IL Is less physical IL Is less healthy. MY
book" says Dante. has made me lean
for many years" No wonder; tor not
only was every sentence carved with
care love. but the conception was as
complete and orderly and profound as
In some masterpiece of philosophy: and
the detail was wrought as delicately as
In a cathedral that has felt the devo-