The Doctrine of Purgatory and its Interpretation by Dante Alighieri
"The Ascent of Purgatory is the journey to the emancipation from sin. Only after total recognition and total emancipation may the final sublime ascent to the presence of God Begin."
(John Ciardi)
The tradition of praying for the dead is a practice held by many respective faiths throughout the world, and goes back thousands of years. From ancient Egyptians, to modern day Catholics, a middle state between this temporal life and the sanctified life has been thought to exist. With specific attention given to Roman Catholicism, it can be seen that a consistency has been maintained in the teaching of the existence of the state of Purgatory:
"A place of temporary punishment for those who have died in the state of grace, but have not fully satisfied God’s justice for all punishment due their sins."
The teachings of the Church, including the input of Church Fathers such as St.’s Cyril and Augustine, and biblical references are the backing for this belief. When Dante Alighieri wrote his Divine Comedy, then, the existence of Purgatory was a well-established Christian Doctrine. Dante took this doctrine and expounded upon it in ingenious poetic fashion to create a believable world for this doctrinal “middle state” to latch on to. Dante’s Purgatorio gave the actual state of cleansing a face and an essence, allowing the reader or audience to easily comprehend a matter of faith. It is important to remember that Dante’s Purgatorio is just that: Dante’s purgatory. Each physical aspect of this land of purgation is Dante’s creation, though their moral underpinnings are clearly doctrinal. Dante’s Purgatorio reflects a personal poetic interpretation of the theological premise of Purgatory in the Catholic Church while maintaining and bolstering Catholic Doctrine.
To fully grasp the doctrine of Purgatory, one must first understand the foundation on which it is established. There are two parts to this foundation within the Catholic Church. The first part is the teachings of the Church Fathers and Doctors. One of the earliest Fathers to speak specifically regarding the purgation of souls was St. Cyril of Jerusalem. In his
Catechetical Lectures, Cyril described the importance of praying for the dead by linking their fate to that of the entire Communion of Saints:
"Let us not … be weary in giving aid to the departed, both by offering on their behalf and obtaining prayers for them: for the common Expiation of the world is even before us. Therefore with boldness do we then entreat for the whole world, and name their names with those of martyrs, of confessors, of priests. For in truth one body are we all, though some members are more glorious than others; and it is possible from every source to gather pardon for them, from our prayers, from our gifts in their behalf, from those whose names are named with theirs."
In this same lecture, Cyril gives an allegory to give clarity to his speech:
"If a king were to banish certain who had given him offence, and then those who belong to them would weave a crown and offer it to him on behalf of those under punishment, would he not grant a remission of their penalties? In the same way we, when we offer to Him our supplications for those who have fallen asleep, though they be sinners, weave no crown, but offer up Christ sacrificed for our sins, propitiating our merciful God for them as well as for ourselves."
This thought process was expounded upon by one of the most renowned Church Fathers, St. Augustine. He reiterated the efficacy of prayers for the dead on many occasions, asking: “When … works of mercy are performed for their sakes, who can doubt that this benefits those for whom prayers are not sent up to God in vain?”
In his famous
City of God, St. Augustine goes on to give a logical reasoning for belief in Purgatory:
"[T]emporary punishments are suffered by some in this life, only, by others after death, by others both now and then; but all of them before that last and strictest judgment. But of those who suffer temporary punishments after death, all are not doomed to those everlasting pains which are to follow that judgment."
The most important theologian of the Catholic Church, St. Thomas Aquinas, condensed the teachings of the Church Fathers in his renowned scholastic works. In the
Summa Contra Gentiles, this Doctor of the Church felt compelled to write with regard to the purgative state. He gives logical conclusions to logical tracts of thought:
"[Sin] is purified in this life by penance and other sacraments... It happens sometimes that this process … is not entirely accomplished in this life; and the offender remains still a debtor with a debt of punishment upon him… Not for this does he deserve to be entirely shut out from reward… Such persons must be cleansed in the next life, before entering upon their eternal reward. This cleansing is done by penal inflictions, as even in this life it might have been completed by penal works of satisfaction: otherwise the negligent would be better off then the careful, if the penalty that men do not pay here for their sins is not to be undergone by them in the life to come... And this is the reason why we posit a purgatory, or place of cleansing."
These great men of faith did not merely state this premise without due cause. Their belief in Purgatory sprung from the Jewish tradition of praying for the dead, as well as Scriptural references of the said practice. The most straightforward passage of Holy Writ concerning penal atonement after death is found in the second book of Maccabees. In the twelfth chapter, the book recalls that after a fierce battle, Judas Maccabeus rallied his army at the city of Adullam. He sent men out to recover the bodies of those who had been slain, to give them proper burial. When they went to reclaim the bodies, they discovered that the dead had amulets of “the idols of Jamnia” underneath their coats. Seeing this, the men new that this was the reason God had allowed them to die. They then “prayed that the sinful deed might be fully blotted out” and returned to camp with the bodies. Judas immediately took up a collection of silver from his soldiers and sent it to Jerusalem to make “atonement for the dead that they might be freed from their sin.”
With this understanding, one can fully appreciate the literary actions of Dante in his
Divine Comedy. As Francis Fergusson stated in a speech entitled
The Divine Comedy as a “Bridge Across Time:” “Dante intended the commedia to answer practically all the questions that a puzzled human being may ask.”
The most important themes that Dante picks up from the theological idea of Purgatory are penance and restoration. This is in stark contrast to the Inferno, the first article of Dante’ comedy. In the Inferno, all is despair; there is no hope of fulfilling ones punishments, for they are eternal.
When he first reaches Purgatory, Dante sees before him a great mountain. Upon the mountain is “a winding ascent … that straightens souls whom the world has made crooked.” This passage is very important in understanding the allegorical habits of Dante. Referring back to the Inferno, this “winding ascent” in many ways parallels Minos’ serpent-like tale that rapt around a pole to signify the depth of Hell a sinner was to descend. As a microcosm of Hell, Minos showed the ringed structure of the infernal abyss. These rings were divided and subdivided by the nature of the sin committed differentiating the punishments to particular categories. In the same manner, Purgatory reflects this structure in its antithetical correlation with the
Inferno, having ascending rings and means of purification. This mirrored resemblance is where the correlation ceases, however. Those in the Inferno never experience any joy, contentment, or rest, whereas in
Purgatorio:
"During the daylight hours the pilgrim climbs, sees, talks, thinks, and learns from Virgil’s explanations; during the 3 nights of the journey he must pause, rest, sleep, and dream, in the hope of new inspirations to help him on his way."
Another allegory, and probably the most important to remember, is the placing of the sin of pride at the base of Mount Purgatory. As John Ciardi related in a speech on the relevance of Dante’s writings to the modern day:
"In the Purgatorio, Dante reaches the ledge on which the proud are crushed into the dust under the enormous weights, he leaves no doubt of his inner feelings. Here is a sin for which he knows he must himself answer. He has achieved a recognition of his failing and he has begun his soul’s expiation in dread of the greater expiation he must endure when his soul returns to that painful ledge after death."
It is implied that Dante was aware of the fact the pride is the root of all sin. Pride is shown to be the foundation for the mountain of sinful acts, be it gluttony, avarice, lust, etc. Thus, the place of satisfaction for pride is the foundation for penance. Dante grasps that all sinners endure this aspect of
Purgatory for some time, before moving on to other parts of the realm of cleansing.
This is the first of many realizations for Dante throughout this poem of repentance and restoration to the fullness of God’s love. It all culminates with the entrance into earthly paradise at the pinnacle of Mount Purgatory. Here, Dante’s trusted guide, Virgil, states the aim of all Christians in their striving for perfection:
"Behold the sun which gleams upon your brow,
Behold the grass, the flowers, and the young trees
Which this land, of its own, brings forth to grow…
Your judgment now is free and whole and true;
To fail to follow its will would be to stray.
Lord of yourself, I crown and miter you. "
With this, Dante closes his splendid second article of the
Divina Commedia, leaving the audience prepared to enter the realm of the Blessed: Paradise.
From the earliest times of Christianity, the belief in a purging state between this life and the glorified life has existed. This “Church Suffering” awaits its final reward, and atones for its transgressions against the Perfection of God. Until the writing of the
Divine Comedy, however, the Christian faithful was not unified in a physical idea of this state. Dante Alighieri, through is impressive command of verse, was able to give a personal interpretation on this realm of the afterlife, allowing for the strengthening of this doctrine of the Church. The words of John Demaray, author of
The Invention of Dante’s Commedia, sum up the worth of Dante’s
Purgatorio to the promulgation of this great doctrine of the Catholic Church:
"In the Purgatorio as in collectible pilgrimage upon earth, man in fellowship and song, repentance and hope, is able to confess and be forgiven his sins while progressing up the steep path to salvation."
Bibliography
• Alighieri, Dante. Divina Commedia. Trans. and ed. Anthony Elosen. New York: Random House, Inc., 2003.
• Aquinas, Thomas. Summa Contra Gentiles. London: Burns and Oates, 1905.
• Augustine. The City of God. New York: Random House, Inc., 1996.
• Augustine. Sermons. Trans. Edmund Hill, O.P. New Rochelle, NY: New City Press, 1992.
• Ciardi, John. The Relevance of the Inferno. Washington: Gertrude Clarke Whitthall Poetry and Literature Fund, 1965.
• Cyril of Jerusalem. Catechetical Lecture. New York: Random House, Inc., 1996.
• Demaray, John G. The Invention of Dante’s Commedia. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1974.
• Fergusson, Francis. The Divine Comedy as a “Bridge Across Time”. Washington: Gertrude Clarke Whitthall Poetry and Literature Fund, 1965.
• Morrow, Most Reverend Louis LaRavoire. My Catholic Faith. Kansas City: Sarto House Publishing, 1954.
• The New American Bible: St. Joseph Edition. New York: Catholic Book Publishing Co., 1992.
• Smith, George D., D.D., Ph.D., Canon. The Teaching of the Catholic Church: A Summary of Catholic Doctrine. New York: The MacMillan Company, 1959.
