The Divine Comedy

Chapter 1 Page 3 The Divine Comedy 1 - Transcript

Image: The opened title page of a book.

Narration: "The Divine Comedy. Dante got the title right. It's another way of saying that life is one big cosmic joke."
"They say you can't have a watch without a watchmaker, but if my wristwatch were as broken as this world, I'd take it back to the shop where I bought it and demand a refund."

Book text:
THE
VISION OF HELL.

BY

DANTE ALIGHIERI

TRANSLATED BY

THE REV. HENRY FRANCIS CARY, M.A.

AND ILLUSTRATED WITH THE SEVENTY -FIVE DESIGNS OF

GUSTAVE DORÉ.

Popular Edition.

With Critical and Explanatory Notes, Life of Dante, and Chronology.

CASSELL & COMPANY, LIMITED:

LONDON, PARIS & MELBOURNE

1892.

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Chapter 1 Page 3 The Divine Comedy 1 - Notes

Joe doesn't know this, but Dante Alighieri didn't call his epic poem The Divine Comedy. It was originally called Comedia, which means a narrative with a happy ending, rather than a narrative with humorous content. The Divine part was added to the name over 200 years later.

The title page of the book is a replication of the public domain book available at Project Gutenberg.

Joe's commentary includes references to the Watchmaker analogy and theodicy.