A passage from Divina Commedia (Purgatorio XXV, vv. 37-78) is analyzed that presents different reading problems, especially those related to doctrinal and medical aspects of medieval thought. ...Doctrinal problems are connected with the reception of the three animae (vegetative, sensitive and intellective souls) in the womb, and with the consequences derived from this fact. Medical problems are related to foetus’ formation, development and evolution, and to the adquisition of certain characteristics that determine its nature. This paper analyzes these problems, by comparing some relevant elements to fundamental texts of medieval medical knowledge, general science, Christian doctrine and other works by the same author.
Medical Concepts in Purgatorio XXV, vv. 37-78 Virtues and Foetus'Vital Development ABSTRACT A passage from Divina Commedia (Purgatorio XXV, vv. 37-78) is analyzed that presents different reading ...problems, especially those related to doctrinal and medical aspects of medieval thought. Medical problems are related to foetus' formation, development and evolution, and to the adquisition of certain characteristics that determine its nature. Características Apri a la verità che viene il petto; e sappi che, sì tosto come al feto l'articular del cerebro è perfetto, lo motor primo a lui si volge lieto sovra tant' arte di natura, e spira spirito novo, di vertù repleto, che ciò che trova attivo quivi, tira in sua sustanzia, e fassi un'alma sola, che vive e sente e sé in sé rigira. GARCÍA-BALLESTER, L. (ed.) (1994): Practical medicine from Salerno to the Black Death, New York, Cambridge University Press.
This dissertation explores the role of the theological virtues—faith, hope, and charity—in Dante Alighieri's Paradiso and Monarchia within the context of the medieval tradition. Focusing on close ...readings of Dante's texts and possible connections with different authors, I argue that the theological virtues relate to Dante's two major concerns throughout his works: life's ethical dimension and the function of language. The first part includes two chapters in which I trace a history of the virtues, from St. Paul to Remigio dei Girolami, one of the most influential thinkers in Dante's Florence. In the first chapter I analyze the notion of the theological virtues and their implications in St. Paul's epistles and in some representative figures of the Patristic tradition: St. Augustine and St. Gregory the Great. In the second chapter, I focus on Scholasticism and its influence on Florentine thought. In doing this, I take into account other three authors: St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Bonaventure, and the aforementioned Remigio dei Girolami. I argue that all these authors had a decisive impact on Dante's understanding of the virtues. The second part is undoubtedly the kernel of this dissertation. It is comprised of three chapters, respectively, on faith, hope, and charity in Paradiso. The main texts discussed in this part are Paradiso 24, 25, and 26, although I also point to other cantos and medieval texts that help us to grasp Dante's complex theological discourse. In Chapter Three, "The Dialectics of Faith," I argue that Dante presents the theological virtue of faith within the context of "wrong interpretative choices"—heresy—and a highly rational language of dialectics. In Chapter Four, "The Rain of Hope," I link Dante's understanding of hope to the question of exile—individual and communitarian—and a language of nature. Additionally, I mention some aspects of the modern movement of a "philosophy of hope" in which I observe some seeds of Dante's notion of this virtue, with authors such as Pieper, Guardini, Moltmann, Laín Entralgo, Marcel, Bloch, among others. Lastly, in Chapter Five, "The Language of Charity," I explore the multiple facets of Dante's perfect love in Paradiso. Particularly central to this chapter is the relationship of caritas and ethics, as well as the interaction between interior and exterior languages. I place those elements in a general medieval context by referring to authors such as Arnaldus de Villanova, Uguccione da Pisa, Johannes de Hauvilla, Geoffrey of Vinsauf, among others. The third and final part deals with the relationship between political and theological virtues in the political treatise Monarchia and in Paradiso. In Chapter Six, I argue that Dante's system of virtues in Monarchia supports the main thesis of the text, the coordination of Church and State. The dual interaction of the virtues that Dante proposes—namely, separation in matters of government and subordination of political virtues to theological virtues in ethics—is typical of the so-called via media which was endorsed by an important tradition of medieval thinkers. Those thinkers maintained the idea of a potestas indirecta, in opposition to the supporters of a potestas directa of the Church in temporal matters. I claim that Dante enters that debate in Monarchia by establishing an intellectual dialogue with authors such as Aristotle, Macrobius, Giles of Rome, William of Auxerre, St. Albert the Great, Boniface VIII, St. Thomas Aquinas, Ptolomy of Lucca, James of Viterbo, Augustinus Triumphus, Remigio dei Girolami, John of Paris, and certain anonymous sources. The end of the chapter explores the relationship between the virtues in Paradiso, which is defined by the notions of harmony and ethical perfection. I conclude the dissertation with an appendix that explores some examples of the visual representation of the virtues during the Middle Ages. Besides a general overview of the different kinds of representations, I closely analyze the image of the virtues in three Fourteenth-century Italian manuscripts of the Commedia which present similar features.
Quest articolo rappresenta un esercizio di analisi critica e di ricerca di
un passo della Commedia (Inferno VII, vv. 100-124), il quale offre certi
interessanti problemi di esegesi. Tradizionalmente ...interpretato da un punto
di vista dottrinale, il passo dantesco si centra nella natura dei vizi
dell accidia e dell ira, e nella loro relazione di dipendenza. In questa sede
tento di rilevare la possibile influenza della cosiddetta teoria degli umori
(sistema fondamentale nella medicina e scienza medievali) sul testo di
Dante. This article intends to be an exercise of critical analysis and research,
which is focused on a controversial passage from Dante s Divina Commedia
(Inferno VII, vv. 100-124). That excerpt presents some questions related to
its correct interpretation, specially those aspects connected with doctrinal
issues on vices of Sloth and Anger. Our particular analysis tries to explore
possible echoes of the theory of humors (fundamental system in Medieval
medicine and science) that may appear in this text.
