S8E113: Reading Dante’s “Divine Comedy” with Dr. Jason Baxter
[T]he Commedia [is] the epic poem of Christianity, the fountain of art, poetry and thought in every Christian land. Strike but below the surface, reach but beyond the difficulties which crop up in every canto, read on and let nothing tempt you to say “this is too hard for me,” and there will blaze before you the beauty of Christianity; and when once you have seen this vision of the unseen world, it will become a parcel of your mind, a gem set in your thoughts, a constant reminder of the Christian answer to the great questions:–Why? Because He calls us. How? By faith in Christ. To what end? To bring our manhood to perfection.
W. Osborne Brigstocke, The Parents’ Review, Vol. 14, 1903, “The Educational Value of Great Books: Dante” pgs. 258-267
Show Summary:
- This week on The New Mason Jar, Dr. Jason Baxter returns to the podcast to talk with Cindy and Dawn about Dante as part of a new series of Mothers Education Course episodes
- When Dr. Baxter was first introduced to Dante’s Divine Comedy
- Why Dr. Baxter thinks Dante wrote this work in the form of epic poetry?
- How this translation is different than other modern English translations
- Does the language and mood of Inferno feel different from that in the Purgatorio?
- Why Jason chose the artwork he did for the covers of his translations
- Jason’s encouragement for the busy homeschool mom in approaching Dante
- Hear more from Dr. Baxter in Cindy’s summer discipleship which you can still register for here: Morning Time for Moms 2025 Summer Discipleship: Life Together
- You can also sign up for Jason’s summer class at TheHouseofHumaneLetters.com
Listen Now:
Books and Links Mentioned:
The Medieval Mind of C. S. Lewis by Jason M. Baxter
A Beginner’s Guide to Dante’s Divine Comedy by Jason M. Baxter
The Divine Comedy: Inferno trans. by Jason M. Baxter
The Divine Comedy: Purgatorio trans. by Jason M. Baxter
Why Literature Still Matters by Jason M. Baxter
Dr. Baxter’s podcast episodes on The Literary Life
Find Cindy and Jason:
Cindy’s Patreon Discipleship Group
Mere Motherhood Facebook Group
Subscribe:
[T]o most, the first perusal of the Comedy must be absolutely devoid of [pleasure]. It seems so obscure, so full of startling incongruities, so liable to shock all our ideas of fitness, that we are tempted to reject it altogether. But there are certain passages which at once catch eye and ear; so beautiful are they that they seem sufficient to compensate all the rest. One is surprised to find the poem, which lays claim to being one to which both heaven and earth have set their hand, filling the mind with a sense of the beauty of Christianity, and of the spiritual significance of earthly loveliness.
W. Osborne Brigstocke, The Parents’ Review, Vol. 14, 1903, “The Educational Value of Great Books: Dante” pgs. 258-267
