
The Divine Comedy (The Heritage Press)
New York: The Heritage Press, 1944. Blake, William. Hard Cover. Very Good / No Jacket. Item #2334285
Lacks Sandglass insert. A near fine copy in a good slipcase. One joint of slipcase starting but still holding, slipcase edges rubbed.
xxii, 491 pp. Translated into English verse by Melville Best Anderson. Notes and elucidations by the translator. Introduction by Arthur Livingston. 32 drawings by William Blake. The Divine Comedy, Italian La divina commedia, original name La commedia, long narrative poem written in Italian circa 1308–21 by Dante. It is usually held to be one of the world’s great works of literature. Divided into three major sections—Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso—the narrative traces the journey of Dante from darkness and error to the revelation of the divine light, culminating in the Beatific Vision of God. Dante is guided by the Roman poet Virgil, who represents the epitome of human knowledge, from the dark wood through the descending circles of the pit of Hell (Inferno). Passing Lucifer at the pit’s bottom, at the dead centre of the world, Dante and Virgil emerge on the beach of the island mountain of Purgatory. At the summit of Purgatory, where repentant sinners are purged of their sins, Virgil departs, having led Dante as far as human knowledge is able, to the threshold of Paradise. There Dante is met by Beatrice, embodying the knowledge of divine mysteries bestowed by Grace, who leads him through the successive ascending levels of heaven to the Empyrean, where he is allowed to glimpse, for a moment, the glory of God. - Britannica
Price: $30.00