Dante on Faith, Hope, and Love
Dante's Paradiso has a section of three Cantos on the subjects of
Faith, Hope, and Love. In the story, Dante is examined by St. Peter, St.
James, and St. John, respectively. Dante must first define to them the
virtue as according to the church. He is then examined on the orthodoxy
of his personal relationship to the virtue. This is an important side of
the examination, as Barbara Reynolds points out in the commentary.
"Man's soul cannot progress by understanding and knowledge alone."
Faith
"Speak, as thou art a Christian, make confession: What is faith?" So opens Peter's examination. Dante, still portraying that childlike image he has throughout the Comedy, looks to Beatrice before answering. However, his theology is sound, and he quotes Paul, saying that faith is the substance of things hoped for, and the argument for things invisible. Here he uses the word 'substance' not as Aquinas did, but meaning a foundation, that which stands beneath. (Sub-stance). Barbara Reynolds explains that the hope of future bliss is something which we have no 'proof' of, and this is why hope springs from faith. We take the things we hope for on faith. It is important to point out that the modern usage of 'hope' can be very different than the biblical one. As opposed to "I hope it doesn't rain," the biblical definition of hope is "confident expectation." Hope is a firm assurance regarding things that are unclear and unknown.
St. Peter, satisfied with this answer, proceeds to ask Dante where his personal faith comes from. Dante answers that his faith comes from the scriptures, inspired by God. He defends the scriptures validity to Peter, arguing from the scriptures themselves that relate Jesus's miracles. Peter requires a further proof, however, for to argue for scripture from scripture is not proof of them. Dante follows Augustine in saying that the tremendous spread of Christianity is a miracle in itself, and Peter, satisfied with the foundation of Dante's faith, sings with the rest of the souls a hymn of praise, written by St. Ambrose as a response to the conversion of St. Augustine.
Hope
St. James approaches and asks Dante what hope is, and where his personal hope comes from. Dante replies that hope is the certainty of bliss to come, conceded to us through grace and our previous merits. His own hope is inspired by David and James himself. Again, the souls of heaven burst into a psalm of hope.
Love
St. John approaches. Dante, having heard that John did not die, but was taken up to heaven, looks long and hard into the light that is John, trying to discern a human figure. This, however, blinds him temporarily. Barbara Reynolds says, "The mystical significance which seems to adumbrated here is that vision and love of God are interrelated in a way that the soul cannot apprehend without experience. Vision, in the Thomist system, precedes love, but without love there can be no vision." Dante tells St. John,
"The Good which in this Court all longing sates
Alpha and Omega is of every text
Which love in accents soft or loud dictates." Canto XXVI, Line 16
(God is the beginning and end of my loves; love for Him tells me how to love His creations.) Dante further explains that reason and the scriptures were what guided his intellect and heart to make this truth a reality in his own life. He says that we are made to love goodness, and the greater the good, the greater the love, therefore the ultimate Good must be our highest love. John wants to dig deeper into what makes God the highest love for Dante, however, and Dante responds with this incredible passage:
"The being of the world and my own state,
The death He died that I might live the more
The hope in which I, by faith, participate,
The living truth which I conveyed before,
Have dredged me from the sea of wrongful love,
And of the right have set me on the shore.
And through the garden of the world I rove,
Enamored of its leaves in measure solely
As God the Gardener nurtures them above." Canto XXVI, Line 58
In other words, the fallen state of the world and our own sin nature, the death Christ died so we can live, and live abundantly, the hope which we participate in through faith, and the scriptures, work together to call us from the things that we love wrongly, to love God most and learn to order our loves rightly. We can love the things of this world greatly if we love God more, and if we love their beauty as a reflection of God's own beauty.
These three attributes are a critical part of the Christian life. Barbara Reynolds comments on them thus. "According to the teaching of Aquinas, three qualifications are essential before the soul can attain to participation in the Beatific Vision, namely, faith, hope, and love. These are the three theological principles or virtues which direct the soul aright to God."
-Shaina, GB3 Paper 3
Faith
"Speak, as thou art a Christian, make confession: What is faith?" So opens Peter's examination. Dante, still portraying that childlike image he has throughout the Comedy, looks to Beatrice before answering. However, his theology is sound, and he quotes Paul, saying that faith is the substance of things hoped for, and the argument for things invisible. Here he uses the word 'substance' not as Aquinas did, but meaning a foundation, that which stands beneath. (Sub-stance). Barbara Reynolds explains that the hope of future bliss is something which we have no 'proof' of, and this is why hope springs from faith. We take the things we hope for on faith. It is important to point out that the modern usage of 'hope' can be very different than the biblical one. As opposed to "I hope it doesn't rain," the biblical definition of hope is "confident expectation." Hope is a firm assurance regarding things that are unclear and unknown.
St. Peter, satisfied with this answer, proceeds to ask Dante where his personal faith comes from. Dante answers that his faith comes from the scriptures, inspired by God. He defends the scriptures validity to Peter, arguing from the scriptures themselves that relate Jesus's miracles. Peter requires a further proof, however, for to argue for scripture from scripture is not proof of them. Dante follows Augustine in saying that the tremendous spread of Christianity is a miracle in itself, and Peter, satisfied with the foundation of Dante's faith, sings with the rest of the souls a hymn of praise, written by St. Ambrose as a response to the conversion of St. Augustine.
Hope
St. James approaches and asks Dante what hope is, and where his personal hope comes from. Dante replies that hope is the certainty of bliss to come, conceded to us through grace and our previous merits. His own hope is inspired by David and James himself. Again, the souls of heaven burst into a psalm of hope.
Love
St. John approaches. Dante, having heard that John did not die, but was taken up to heaven, looks long and hard into the light that is John, trying to discern a human figure. This, however, blinds him temporarily. Barbara Reynolds says, "The mystical significance which seems to adumbrated here is that vision and love of God are interrelated in a way that the soul cannot apprehend without experience. Vision, in the Thomist system, precedes love, but without love there can be no vision." Dante tells St. John,
"The Good which in this Court all longing sates
Alpha and Omega is of every text
Which love in accents soft or loud dictates." Canto XXVI, Line 16
(God is the beginning and end of my loves; love for Him tells me how to love His creations.) Dante further explains that reason and the scriptures were what guided his intellect and heart to make this truth a reality in his own life. He says that we are made to love goodness, and the greater the good, the greater the love, therefore the ultimate Good must be our highest love. John wants to dig deeper into what makes God the highest love for Dante, however, and Dante responds with this incredible passage:
"The being of the world and my own state,
The death He died that I might live the more
The hope in which I, by faith, participate,
The living truth which I conveyed before,
Have dredged me from the sea of wrongful love,
And of the right have set me on the shore.
And through the garden of the world I rove,
Enamored of its leaves in measure solely
As God the Gardener nurtures them above." Canto XXVI, Line 58
In other words, the fallen state of the world and our own sin nature, the death Christ died so we can live, and live abundantly, the hope which we participate in through faith, and the scriptures, work together to call us from the things that we love wrongly, to love God most and learn to order our loves rightly. We can love the things of this world greatly if we love God more, and if we love their beauty as a reflection of God's own beauty.
These three attributes are a critical part of the Christian life. Barbara Reynolds comments on them thus. "According to the teaching of Aquinas, three qualifications are essential before the soul can attain to participation in the Beatific Vision, namely, faith, hope, and love. These are the three theological principles or virtues which direct the soul aright to God."
-Shaina, GB3 Paper 3
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