Finishing a book like Lord of the Silent Kingdom causes some problems.
- Reading the book is exhilarating; finishing the book is depressing! No more pages to flip to!
- What to read next? What could match the experience?
Fortunately The Inferno is a worthy followup! I read John Ciardi's translation before, but this translation is the classic Longfellow one, and plus, this is an oversize hardback edition with Gustave Dore's woodcuts! Truly a visual treat.
A few nights ago I read the famous first canto. Dante finds himself midway through his life's journey (35 of his Biblical 3-score-and-10), lost in a dark and thorny wood, with no recollection how he got there... just exactly like I found myself some 15 years ago, mired in sin. He sees a mountainous slope ahead - a way out! He starts climbing eagerly - just like I eagerly latched back onto the Faith. He finds himself trapped by his own sinful past! Try as he might he cannot escape. A trustworthy guide appears to show him the way - for Dante it is Virgil, the icon of human reason, who promises to guide him through Hell and Purgatory; but Virgil is not able to guide Dante through Paradise; a full understanding of revelation is beyond the reach of human reason. Needless to say, my trustworthy guide is the Holy Catholic Church!
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