The Theme in the Work
Faith in Paradise is not a state, it is an object under examination. The poem defines it, subjects it to objection and reply, and measures it by a coin. This happens in Saturn and the fixed stars, but faith appears earlier, in another form, in fidelity to the vow. In canto V, Beatrice warns that mortals should not take the vow as a joke, and should be faithful without bending their will:
Non prendan li mortali il voto a ciancia; / siate fedeli, e a ciò far non bieci, / come Ieptè a la sua prima mancia, that mortals should not take the vow lightly; be faithful, and not crooked in doing so, like Jephthah in his first offering.
In canto XIX, the Eagle turns the question against the Christians in name, because crying Christ does not bring one near him, and whoever does not know Christ may be nearer at judgment:
Ma vedi: molti gridan “Cristo, Cristo!”, / che saranno in giudicio assai men prope / a lui, che tal che non conosce Cristo, but see: many cry "Christ, Christ!" who will be at judgment far less near to him than one who does not know Christ.
In XX, the faith of Rhipeus and Trajan resolves the case of those whom the rule would leave out, and living hope overcomes the divine will because it wants to be overcome.
Regnum celorum vïolenza pate / da caldo amore e da viva speranza, / che vince la divina volontate: / non a guisa che l’omo a l’om sobranza, / ma vince lei perché vuole esser vinta, / e, vinta, vince con sua beninanza., the kingdom of heaven suffers violence from ardent love and living hope, which overcomes the divine will: not as man overcomes man, but it overcomes it because it wants to be overcome, and, overcome, it conquers with its kindness.
Then comes the examination proper. In XXIV, Saint Peter asks Dante what faith is, and the answer comes from the Epistle to the Hebrews:
fede è sustanza di cose sperate / e argomento de le non parventi; / e questa pare a me sua quiditateFaith is substance of things hoped for and argument of things not seen, and this seems to me its essence. Saint Peter approves the answer and still asks why Paul placed faith among the substances and then among the arguments, which Dante also knows how to answer.
Peter approves and moves on to the trial of the coin, in which the alloy and the weight have already been checked, and it remains to know whether Dante has it in his purse:
indi soggiunse: «Assai bene è trascorsa / d’esta moneta già la lega e ’l peso; / ma dimmi se tu l’hai ne la tua borsa». / Ond’ io: «Sì ho, sì lucida e sì tonda, / che nel suo conio nulla mi s’inforsa»., then he added: the alloy and the weight of this coin have already been well tested; but tell me whether you have it in your purse. To which I: yes, I have it, so bright and so round that in its stamp nothing is doubtful to me.
Dante explains where it came from, and the answer joins the rain of the Spirit and the syllogism:
onde ti venne?». E io: «La larga ploia / de lo Spirito Santo, ch’è diffusa / in su le vecchie e ’n su le nuove cuoia, / è silogismo che la m’ha conchiusa / acutamente sì, che ’nverso d’ella / ogne dimostrazion mi pare ottusa»., whence did it come to you? And I: the broad rain of the Holy Spirit, which is poured over the old and the new parchments, is the syllogism that concluded it in me so acutely that, beside it, every demonstration seems obtuse to me.
The examination closes with the profession, which Dante recites as one who knows it by heart and understands it:
E io rispondo: Io credo in uno Dio / solo ed etterno, che tutto ’l ciel move, / non moto, con amore e con disio, and I answer: I believe in one God, alone and eternal, who moves the whole heaven, unmoved, with love and with desire.
In XXV, hope, and in XXVI, charity complete the triad, and each virtue comes from a different apostle: Peter examines faith, James hope, John charity. The order of the examination is the order in which virtue becomes act, and at each stage the pilgrim answers with a definition and with the story of how he received it. Faith is the substance of what is hoped for, hope is a certain expectation of future glory, charity is the love that drew him out of the sea of crooked love. The poem still has to explain what faith is for one who does not see: not a lack of sight, but the way of having what does not appear. And the poet who writes after saying the pen leaps fulfills the faith he speaks of: he writes what is not seen, saying that he cannot.
Who Embodies It
Dante is the examinee who defines, proves and recites. Saint Peter is the examiner who approves and then bids him speak. Piccarda Donati and Constance are fidelity to the vow under violence. Saint Bernard is faith turned into prayer.
Where It Appears
- Canto V: Beatrice teaches that the pact of the vow is canceled only when fulfilled, and that the matter may be exchanged only if it contains the old one, as six contains four.
- Canto XIV: Dante sees the cross of Mars flash Christ and hears a hymn that he understands only in the words rise again and conquer.
- Canto XIX: The Eagle denies that anyone rises to the kingdom without believing in Christ, and accuses the Christians who only shout the name.
- Canto XX: The Eagle shows Rhipeus and Trajan in the eye and in the eyebrow, saved by living hope and by a baptism before the sacrament.
- Canto XXIV: Peter examines Dante on faith, approves the definition, tests the coin and hears the creed.
- Canto XXV: Dante defines hope as a certain expectation of future glory before James, and sees John arrive.
- Canto XXVI: Dante proves charity to John with the living knowledge that drew him from the sea of crooked love.
- Canto XXXII: Bernard explains how faith in Christ to come and in Christ come divides the seats of the rose.
Where the Readings Diverge
The text supports two readings of Dante's faith in XXIV. In the first, it is the virtue of one who knows: the pilgrim cites the source from memory, discusses the formulation with the examiner, and answers every objection. In the second, it is proof that faith and reason are not opposed, because Dante gives reason a place inside faith, and declares that before the conclusion every other demonstration seems obtuse. Peter's objection, the one about circularity, has an answer that the poem leaves open: the greatest miracle would be the conversion of the world without miracles, and that presupposes what was to be proved.