Franklin Library: DANTE: DIVINE COMEDY: JOHN CIARDI, TRANS: ILLUS GUSTAVE DORE

Description: Franklin Library leather spine edition of Dante Alighieri's "The Divine Comedy," a Limited edition, one of the 100 GREATEST BOOKS OF ALL TIME series, Translated by John Ciardi, Illustrated by Gustave Dore, published in 1977. Bound in burgundy leather spine, the book has marbled paper end leaves, hubbed spine, Symth-sewn binding, acid-free paper, satin book marker, gold gilding on all three edge---in near FINE condition---except for 'very bump' on lower board on front cover. Dante Alighieri, who lived from 1265 – 1321, was a major Italian poet of the late Middle Ages. "Divine Comedy" is widely considered the greatest literary work composed in the Italian language and a masterpiece of World Literature. Dante's significance also extends past his home country; his depictions of HELL, PURGATORY, and HEAVEN have provided inspiration for a large body of Western art. The Divine Comedy has 100 cantos. The number "three" is prominent in the work, which was written using the terza rima verse scheme. Written in the first person, the poem tells of Dante's journey through the three realms of the dead, lasting from the night before GOOD FRIDAY to the Wednesday after EASTER in the spring of 1300. The Roman poet VIRGIL guides him through Hell and Purgatory; BEATRICE, Dante's ideal woman, guides him through Heaven. Beatrice was a Florentine woman whom he had met in childhood and admired from afar in the mode of the then-fashionable courtly love tradition. The structure of the three realms follows a common numerical pattern of 9 plus 1, for a total of 10: 9 circles of the Inferno, followed by Lucifer contained at its bottom; 9 rings of Mount Purgatory, followed by the GARDEN OF EDEN crowning its summit; and the 9 celestial bodies of Paradiso, followed by the EMPYREAN containing the very essence of God. Within each group of 9, 7 elements correspond to a specific moral scheme, subdivided into three subcategories, while 2 others of greater particularity are added to total nine. For example, the seven deadly sins of the Catholic Church that are cleansed in Purgatory are joined by special realms for the Late repentant and the excommunicated by the church. The core seven sins within Purgatory correspond to a moral scheme of love perverted, subdivided into three groups corresponding to excessive love (Lust, Gluttony, Greed), deficient love (Sloth), and malicious love (Wrath, Envy, Pride.) Dante was exiled in 1302 at the request of POPE BONIFACE VIII. 791 pages---a RARE and GORGEOUS edition in this series! I offer Combined shipping.

Price: 94.95 USD

Location: Walnut Ridge, Arkansas

End Time: 2024-12-06T21:11:27.000Z

Shipping Cost: 8 USD