Beata Beatrix. Dante Gabriel Rossetti Oil on Canvas. 1864-1870.
This has already proven to be a long, tough week but I have been elevated by reading Dante’s Paradise. My favorite experience in reading this final book in the Divine Comedy has been the interaction between Dante and Beatrice as they journey through heaven. The respect and awe the poet has for Beatrice, his muse and inspiration, even when she is scolding him, is moving. One of my favorite passages of Paradise is Canto XXI where Beatrice explains to him that she can’t smile at Dante because he would burst into flames, like Semele did when she looks at the god Jupiter in all of his celestial splendor (trans. Mandelbaum):
By now my eyes were set again upon
my lady’s face, and with my eyes, my mind:
from every other thought, it was withdrawn.
She did not smile. Instead her speech to me
began: “Were I to smile, then you would be
like Semele when she was turned to ashes,
because, as you have seen, my loveliness—
which, even as we climb the steps of this
eternal palace, blazes with more brightness—
were it not tempered here, would be so brilliant
that, as it flashed, your mortal faculty
would see a branch a lightning bolt has cracked.
Dante follows Beatrice’s guidance through one stage after the next of heaven and takes her chiding seriously because he knows it is for his benefit. His reward is that, in a few spheres later, he is able, through his ordeal and his learning, to bear her smile:
Open your eyes and see what I now am;
the things you witnessed will have made you strong
enough to bear the power of my smile.
That spine tingling, lover’s gaze which occurs over and over; a lover who not only teaches, but challenges you to become a better person. How could this not be a love story? It is, I think, an ideal love towards which it is nice to aspire.
thebookbindersdaughter.com 
I’m sorry you’re having a tough week: hang in there and remember that you have friends around the world even if you’ve never met them:)
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks so much, Lisa, for your very kind message. A few long nights and admin meetings. Hopefully next week will be easier.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Literature, music and art can be such a solace when times are tough. I hope things get a little easier soon, Melissa,
LikeLiked by 1 person
I find all three very soothing. Thanks so much for your good wishes, Susan!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Lovely post, Melissa and I do empathise. Going back to work under a slightly new regime is proving challenging for me, but culture is most definitely a compensation. Hang in there, and I hope things improve…. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks so much, Karen. The beginning of the year is full of long days! I hope you have a great year and good luck with the new regime. That kind of a transition is tough on a school.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s certainly been a bit of a wake-up call! =:o
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks for being there, Melissa. Beatrice and Dante save the day for me. Keep the faith.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks for reading.
LikeLike