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Faith and Salvation. Predestination.

CANTo XXI: Ascent to the Heaven of Saturn. Spirits of those who had given themselves to devout contemplation. The Golden Stairway. St. Peter Damian. Predestination. The luxury of modern Prelates. Dante alarmed by a cry of the spirits.

Appendix B 389

CANTo XXII: Beatrice reassures Dante. St. Benedict appears.

He tells of the founding of his Order, and of the falling away of its brethren. Beatrice and Dante ascend to the Starry Heaven. The constellation of the Twins. Sight of the Earth.

CANTo XXIII: The Triumph of Christ.

CANTO XXIV: St. Peter examines Dante concerning Faith, and approves his answer.

CANTO XXV: St. James examines Dante concerning Hope. St.

John appears, with a brightness so dazzling as to deprive Dante, for the time, of sight.

CANTO XXVI: St. John examines Dante concerning Love.

Dante's sight restored. Adam appears, and answers questions put to him by Dante.

CANTO XXVII: Denunciation by St. Peter of his degenerate successors. Dante gazes upon the Earth. Ascent of Beatrice and Dante to the Crystalline Heaven. Its nature. Beatrice rebukes the covetousness of mortals.

CANTO XXVIII: The Heavenly Hierarchy.

CANTO XXIX: Discourse of Beatrice concerning the creation and nature of the Angels. She reproves the presumption and foolishness of preachers.

CANTO XXX: Ascent to the Empyrean. The River of Light.

The celestial Rose. The seat of Henry VII. The last words of Beatrice.

CANTo XXXI: The Rose of Paradise. St. Bernard. Prayer to Beatrice. The glory of the Blessed Virgin.

CANTO XXXII: St. Bernard describes the order of the Rose, and points out many of the Saints. The children in Paradise. The angelic festival. The patricians of the Court of Heaven.

CANTo XXXIII: Prayer to the Virgin. The Beatific Vision. The Ultimate Salvation.

Test C : First series of questions

about the Divine Comedy of Dante

1. Dante divides his work into ( a ) three ( b ) four ( c ) six major parts.

2. The major parts are titled ( a ) Earth, Moon, Heaven, Angelic Circles ( b ) Hell, Purgatory, Paradise ( c ) Inferno, Purgatorio, Paradiso.

390 HOW TO READ A BOOK

3. The major parts are subdivided into ( a ) cantos ( b) chapters ( c ) sections.

4. The number of subdivisions in each of the major parts (a ) are approximately equal ( b ) are either 33 or 34 ( c ) range between 23 and 44.

5. The total number of subdivisions in the work is ( a ) 99

(b ) 100 ( c ) 101.

6. The main division of Hell seems to be into ( a ) circles (b) ledges ( c ) pouches.

7. The main division of Purgatory seems to be into ( a ) circles ( b ) ledges ( c) pouches.

8. The main division of Paradise seems to be according to ( a ) the order of the virtues and vices ( b ) the order of the angelic hierarchy ( c ) the order of the planets of the solar system.

9. In Hell, the movement is ( a ) downwards ( b ) upwards.

In Purgatory the movement is ( a ) downwards (b) upwards.

10. The Earthly Paradise is found by Dante ( a ) in the part of the poem titled Purgatory ( b ) in the part of the poem titled Paradise.

Turn to p. 414 for the answers to Test C.

Now, having skimmed the table of contents of the Divine Comedy and answered this first series of questions, take twenty minutes to read the table of contents superficially.

Test D : Further questions about

Dante's Divine Comedy

1. Dante is guided through Hell by ( a ) Beatrice ( b ) Virgil ( c ) Lucifer.

2. Virgil is sent to help Dante by ( a ) Beatrice ( b ) God (c ) St. Bernard.

3. Dante's main concern is to describe ( a ) life after death (b ) the kinds of lives men live on earth.

Appendix B 391

4. The Divine Comedy is ( a ) essentially a comic poem (b ) a poetic treatment of selected theses in moral theology ( c) an imaginative construct of the entire universe.

5. On which of the following ideologies and teachings does the poem seem to be most dependent? ( a ) Humanistic ( b) Greek and Latin ( c ) Christian.

6. The Slothful are punished on the Fourth Ledge