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Work #1044 · Mature

Purgatorio

Dante Alighieri
c. 1314-19 · Italian (Florentine vernacular)
Epic poem in 33 cantos of terza rima · Late medieval Italian Catholic poetry

The ascent of Mount Purgatory through the seven terraces of capital vice — Dante's most theologically careful cantica

Attribute Fingerprint

Rows where works disagree are highlighted in gold. The full ontology grid is shown.

Attribute Purgatorio (Mature)
Time · Extent Infinite
Time · Ontological Status Substantival
Time · Grain Continuous
Time · Freedom Non-Deterministic
Time · Traversability Linear
Time · Dimensionality One
Time · Direction Uni-directional
Space · Extent Infinite
Space · Ontological Status Substantival
Space · Curvature Curved
Space · Dimensionality Three
Space · Locality Local
Matter · Extent Infinite
Matter · Ontological Status Substantival
Matter · Conservation Conserved
Matter · Dimensionality Three
Matter · Locality Local
Observer · Time Instance Single
Observer · Space Instance Single
Observer · Knowledge Extent Partial
Observer · Knowledge Retainment Total
Observer · Physicality Embodied
Observer · Agency Both
Observer · Number Plural
Observer · Metaphysical Agency Personal
Observer · Moral Authority Scripture
Observer · Theological Method
Energy · Extent Infinite
Energy · Ontological Status Substantival
Energy · Conservation Conserved
Energy · Dispersibility Irreversible
Information · Ontological Status Substantival
Information · Cosmic Conservation Conserved
Information · Personal Conservation Conserved
Information · Granularity Discrete

Dimension-by-Dimension Evidence

What each work's passages reveal about its stance on each of the six dimensions.

Time

Purgatorio

Four days of the ascent; longer purgatorial time of souls being purified.

Space

Purgatorio

Mount Purgatory rising from Southern Hemisphere ocean.

Matter

Purgatorio

Embodied pilgrim; disembodied-yet-corporeally-figured souls.

Observer

Purgatorio

Dante under Virgil's guidance; later Beatrice.

Energy

Purgatorio

Proper-and-improper love organising moral framework.

Information

Purgatorio

Systematic terraced structure; catalogue of capital vices.

Internal Tensions

Where each work's argument pulls against itself.

Purgatorio

Sometimes treated as most accessible cantica, sometimes as most theologically demanding. Modern Dante scholarship has restored Purgatorio to philosophical-theological centrality.