English
Dutch
French
Italian
Spanish
Here Dr. White instructs the listener on how to approach literature. He advises a reader of Dante to first gain some background knowledge about the poet, who was born in 1265 and died in 1321, making him a true mediaeval writer. The significance of this, according to White, is that modern man sees a scientific universe, while mediaeval man saw God’s order; and Dante even defined hell as an ordered place. The Divine Comedy, according to Dr. White, takes the reader on a spiritual journey.