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Dante and the Blessed Virgin is distinguished philosopher Ralph McInerny's eloquent reading of one of western literature's most famous works by a Catholic writer. The book provides Catholic readers new to Dante's The Divine Comedy (or Commedia) with a concise companion volume. McInerny argues that the Blessed Virgin Mary is the key to Dante. She is behind the scenes at the very beginning of the Commedia, and she is found at the end in the magnificent closing cantos of the Paradiso. McInerny also discusses Dante's Vita Nuova, where Mary is present as the object of the young Beatrice's devotion.
McInerny draws from a diverse group of writers throughout this book, including Plato, Aristotle, St. Bernard, St. Bonaventure, St. Thomas Aquinas, and George Santayana, among others. It is St. Thomas, however, to whom McInerny most often turns, and this book also provides an accessible introduction to Thomistic moral philosophy focusing on the appetites, the ordering of goods, the distinction between the natural and the supernatural orders, the classification of capital vices and virtues, and the nature of the theological virtues. This engagingly written book will serve as a source of inspiration and devotion for anyone approaching Dante's work for the first time as well as those who value the work of Ralph McInerny.
“This is a joyful and moving book, highly readable and recommendable to all of Dante’s readers, from the beginner to the most sophisticated ones, who sometimes get lost in their own dark wood. McInerny shows a clear, meaningful path to the ascension of the mountain. The epilogue adds a note of intellectual, spiritual, and earthly joy all at once.” —Sixteenth Century Journal
Ralph McInerny is professor of philosophy and the Michael P. Grace Professor of Medieval Studies at the University of Notre Dame. He is author and editor of numerous books, including his autobiography, I Alone Have Escaped to Tell You (University of Notre Dame Press, 2006), and the first two volumes of The Writings of Charles De Koninck (University of Notre Dame Press, 2008, 2009).