Welcome to Dante’s Paradiso with Robert Royal

Thank you for enrolling in this course on Dante’s Paradiso. Paradiso tells of how after passing through Inferno and then climbing the mountain of Purgatorio, Dante and his Lady, Beatrice, ascend through the various planetary spheres, transcend the furthest boundary of the universe, and reach Heaven and the Beatific Vision.

In this course we’ll see how Dante’s vision has to expand to be capable of all that he experiences. He’ll meet famous figure such as St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Bonaventure, King Solomon, Sts. Peter, James, and John, and St. Bernard of Clairvaux, who is his guided to the ultimate reality, Go. Along the way, we’ll learn many things about Dante’s view of philosophy, the moral life, history, politics, and the soul’s mystical ascent.

Dante is a whole universe. He’s a writer you’ll want to read and reread, wholly or in part, and Paradiso must count as one of the greatest poems ever produced.

Sincerely,

Robert Royal