St. John's College (Santa Fe) Lectures

Parody in Paradise: Dante Takes on Thomas Aquinas (John Cornell)


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Audio recording of a lecture given by Tutor Emeritus John Cornell on September 12, 2025 as part of the Dean’s Lecture & Concert Series. The Dean’s Office has provided this description of the event: "Dante’s Comedy is widely assumed to champion the teachings of Thomas Aquinas. Surely the test case for this conventional view is the episode in Paradiso where Dante imagines meeting up with the great defender of the faith. There, to our surprise, Thomas offers an extravagant tribute to the wisdom of Solomon, wisdom that he says has never been surpassed. Really? Not even by Christ? Thomas had better explain his accidental heresy. Does his apologetic performance succeed? Or is it part of the comedy of the Comedy?"

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St. John's College (Santa Fe) LecturesBy Meem Library