Building on recent scholarship, this essay reconsiders Dante’s description of the Empyrean and of divine science in his Convivio (II.iii, 8-11 and xiv, 19-20), by emphasising their deep connection and profound otherness in comparison with physical reality and human knowledge. First, it is argued that, in his treatise, Dante describes the Empyrean as a non-material sky. Second, a new appraisal of Dante’s definition of divine science is offered, one which stresses the author’s reference to the words uttered by Christ during the Last Supper, and the role that the whole passage and its medieval exegesis ascribe to the Holy Spirit in clarifying the divine teachings conveyed by the Gospels.
Pegoretti, A. (2018). L’Empireo in Dante e la «divina scienza» del “Convivio”. In Luca Lombardo, Diego Parisi, Anna Pegoretti (a cura di), ‘Theologus Dantes’: tematiche teologiche nelle opere e nei primi commenti. Atti del convegno (Venezia, 14-15 settembre 2017) (pp. 161-188). Venezia : Edizioni Ca' Foscari [10.30687/978-88-6969-298-7/007].
L’Empireo in Dante e la «divina scienza» del “Convivio”
Pegoretti, Anna
2018-01-01
Abstract
Building on recent scholarship, this essay reconsiders Dante’s description of the Empyrean and of divine science in his Convivio (II.iii, 8-11 and xiv, 19-20), by emphasising their deep connection and profound otherness in comparison with physical reality and human knowledge. First, it is argued that, in his treatise, Dante describes the Empyrean as a non-material sky. Second, a new appraisal of Dante’s definition of divine science is offered, one which stresses the author’s reference to the words uttered by Christ during the Last Supper, and the role that the whole passage and its medieval exegesis ascribe to the Holy Spirit in clarifying the divine teachings conveyed by the Gospels.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
