Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book considers Dante Alighieri's reception of Epicureanism and the implications of Epicureanism for his dualistic theory in comparison and contrast to medieval intellectual and popular traditions. It focuses on the treatment of Epicureanism in the Commedia. The book presents a close study of the limbo of the virtuous pagans and Ante-Purgatory. It highlights the persistence of Dante's dualistic theory in the Commedia. The book argues that Epicureanism allowed Dante to delineate the central dualism in his thought between man's secular felicity and his spiritual beatitude. It addresses the theological dimension of the canto and shows that the dramatic encounter between Dante-character and Cavalcante dei Cavalcanti is its true thematic as well as its structural centre. The book proposes a possible critical solution to the Cavalcante episode, which Natalino Sapegno called one of 'the most difficult and discusses passages of the poem'.