Paradiso: Canto XXVIII -- The Angelic Hierarchy
Aristotle describes the brave man as "fearless in face of a noble death, and of all emergencies that involve death" as St. George was when facing the chimeric dragon, and this definition of bravery as fearlessness is useful to those who believe in the eschatological banquet, for it proves their faith, hope, and love. Dante's flight toward the angel hierarchy in which that proof is being made is not through space, we have learned, so much as it is through the state of God's being, a state replete with angelic guards who are beings entirely oriented to God's will, their zeal having been tested in the furnace of the great rebellion. On seeing them, Dante attempts an image no other poet had ever attempted, to describe the hierarchies as revolving around God in a pattern where it seems to Dante that the greater angels are further away than the lesser. This is an optic illusion, Beatrice notes, in the same way that a building will appear on one side of the highway until the car draws near and that objects in the mirror will seem closer than they are. While God is but a point in the middle of these angelic spheres, he contains all of them, and the greater spheres, which are larger, seem further away because of their size, but that size is merely an image of their capacity, and inversely reflects their proximity to God. So much for Ciardi, who missed that entirely.
Verily, it is Thomas of Aquinas who has interpreted these angels for us, as he writes:
THE ANGELS (SPIRIT) SUBSTANCE: Their substance considered
absolutely (50), and in
relation to corporeal things, such as
bodies (51) and
locations (52). Their
local movement (53).
INTELLECT: His power
(54) and medium (55)
of knowledge. The immaterial
(56) and material (57)
objects known. The manner
(58) whereby he knows them.
WILL: The will itself
(59) and its movement, which is
love (60).
ORIGIN: How they were brought into
natural existence (61)
and perfected in grace (62).
How some of them became wicked: Their
sins (63) and
punishment (64).
S.
Verily, it is Thomas of Aquinas who has interpreted these angels for us, as he writes:
absolutely (50), and in
relation to corporeal things, such as
bodies (51) and
locations (52). Their
local movement (53).
INTELLECT: His power
(54) and medium (55)
of knowledge. The immaterial
(56) and material (57)
objects known. The manner
(58) whereby he knows them.
WILL: The will itself
(59) and its movement, which is
love (60).
ORIGIN: How they were brought into
natural existence (61)
and perfected in grace (62).
How some of them became wicked: Their
sins (63) and
punishment (64).
S.
posted by Sebastian Mahfood at 9:06 PM
8 Comments:
Out of curiosity I checked biblical references and learned that the nine choirs of angels are mentioned in the Bible here and there but never all together in one place. St. Paul names five of them. Our traditional composite systematic order comes from Dionysius and Aquinas.
If there is a hierarchy in heaven among the angelic choirs, a hierarchy on earth cannot be such a bad idea. Paradise is not a democracy - democracy does not create a paradise.
To all the Jesuits, Dominicans, Benedictans, etc. out there: please note that the angels closest to God are the Seraphim; "The Seraphic Doctor" is St. Bonaventure; and the Franciscan Order is known as the Seraphic Order. Had to get that in.
Well done, Fr. Earl! I now turn your attention to the list of postings for this canticle in which you've made an appearance in 27 of the 28 we've read so far, a record of unparalled achievement and worthy of the erudition modeled by the canonized Franciscan Bonaventure. The one canto in which you did not post, in which, in fact, no one posted, was Canto 12 (click for access), the canto of the very St. Bonaventure, Seraphic Doctor, that you have here cited. In the words of the young fellows for whom I volunteer at the St. Vincent Gray Alternative High School in E. St. Louis, "What up wid that, homes?"
S.
Sebastian,
This may sound like "The dog ate my homework," but I did post on Canto XII, twice. I have had trouble posting at times. My message just disappears and is not confirmed as posted, although it may have been! So I have had to double post. I will revisit Canto XII, retrive my comments, and try again.
That makes sense -- blogger.com hasn't been the most friendly blogging service, but it was the most convenient at the time I selected it. I plan to look for a different blogging service for the next online class I teach. I have to say, though, that you've overcome a lot of technological adversity in having made as many postings as you have this semester in addition to the inability of your computer to see some of the video postings. A special reward awaits you at our farewell luncheon.
Odd that the one canto on which the computer refused to accept your posting was the very one that concerned the Franciscans most. Coincidence, or something of greater eschatological significance . . . and remember, there are no coincidences in Dante . . .
S.
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