The Inferno: Canto 2
Created .For Lent, I'm reading The Inferno, part one of The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri. As I make my way through this classic work, I'll journal my experience. I'm using Anthony Esolen's translation, and will supplement my reading by listening to Ascend: The Great Books Podcast.
The plan is to read one Canto each day, once through on my own, then once with the notes in the back of the book, and journal my thoughts here.
2/19/2026: Canto 2
Synopsis:
Dante's courage fails him. Virgil recounts how he came to help Dante---the Blessed Virgin saw his trouble, informed St. Lucy, who went to Beatrice as she reclined with Rachel (Jacob's wife). Beatrice flew to Virgil, who she knew would be the best guide for Dante.
Thoughts:
For some reason, the passage where the Blessed Virgin sees Dante's distress, and the following passage where Beatrice is talking with Virgil brought tears to my eyes. It just reminded me that the Cloud of Witnesses is constantly rooting for us, looking for ways to intercede on our behalf, and come to our aid.
I read through the Canto once without notes, but after seeing the richness of Esolen's notes last night, I immediately went back for a second pass with the notes. It's occurring to me that each Canto isn't a very large chunk of story, in the literal sense, but the symbolism and descriptive richness is saying volumes, only a little of which I'm picking up on.