The Semantic Value of "Ingegno" and Dante's "Ulysses" in the Light of the "Metalogicon"

Author(s): Mario Trovato

Source: Modern Philology, Vol. 84, No. 3 (Feb., 1987), pp. 258-266
Published by: University of Chicago Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/437202
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The Semantic Value of Ingegno and Dante's Ulysses
in the Lightof the Metalogicon

Mario Trovato

Dante's interpretationofthesemanticvalue ofingegnohas beenseriouslyexamined,

as far as I know, by only one scholar,Vincenzo Valente.' His studywill remain
fundamental, butto hissourcesI wouldliketo add one I believeto be essential,John
of Salisbury'sMetalogicon,whichwas widelyreadduringtheMiddle Ages. It is not
improbablethatDante utilizedthiswork,whichmediatestheteachingoftheauthors
withwhomthetheoryof ingeniumoriginated.2
In thisstudyI would like to propose,in a morepreciseperspective,the limits
and scope assignedbyDante to ingegnoand to demonstrate thatthecantoofUlysses
is a poetic synthesisdesignedto representthe various aspects of misusedgenius
describedby Johnof Salisbury.

I
From an analysisofthetextand contextofthepassagesin whichingegnois the
keyword,we findthat,accordingto Dante, theconstituent elementsof thishuman
facultyare (1) an instinctproduced by nature; (2) an intuitivefacultyused to
investigatereality,to perceive sense impressions(positive or negative),and to
transmitthemto the memory;and (3) if not controlledby reason,like any other
instinctit maydeterminethe directionof our mindstowarda distortedobjectwith
subsequentethical,moral,and spiritualimplications.
As a naturalgift,genius may be sharperin one individualthan in another.
Accordingto Dante, thisdependson thenatural(spatial and temporal)predisposi-
tionsof thematterat thatverymomentin whichthe"divineseal" stampedit:
Thewaxofthesethings, andpowersthatpress
andshapeit,vary;thustheidealseal
shines
through themsometimes moresometimes
less.
So treesofthesamespeciesmaybring forth
fruit orworse;so menareborn
thatis better
differentin native talent (ingegno) and native worth.
[Paradiso13.67-72;emphasis
mine]3

1/Dizionario Dantesco (Rome, 1971),3:441-43, s.v. "ingegno."

2/On the authorsdealing withgenius,see Theodore Silverstein,"The Fabulous Cosmologyof Bernardus
Silvestris,"Modern Philology46 (1948-49): 98, n. 34; RobertW. Hanning,"Engin in Twelfth-Century
Romance: An Examinationof the Roman d'Endas and Hue de Rotelande's Ipomedon," Yale French
Studies 51 (1974): 82-101, and The Individual in the Twelfth-Century
Romance (New Haven, Conn.,
1977);JaneChance Nitzsche,The GeniusFigurein Antiquityand theMiddle Ages (New York, 1975).On
theimpactofJohnof Salisburyon medievalliterature, see WinthropWetherbee,Platonismand Poetryin
the TwelfthCentury(Princeton,N.J., 1972), pp. 94-104, whichcontainsan extensiveexaminationof
ingenium,and "The Theme of Imaginationin Medieval Poetryand the AllegoricalFigure 'Genius,"'
Medievalia et Humanistica7 (1976): 45-64, which,analyzingseveral textsof twelfth-centurywriters,
clarifiesthemeaningofvisimaginativa(orphantasiaand ingenium)and itsrelationshipwithpoetryofthat
same period. This articlehas benefitedgreatlyfromWetherbee'sresearchas well as fromhis personal
advice and suggestions.I would likealso to acknowledgethehelpofmyfriendsWilliamPaden and Paolo
Cherchi.
3/Dante Alighieri,Divina commedia,trans.JohnCiardi (New York, 1961). Subsequentquotationswillbe
notedby sectiontitlein parenthesesin thetext.

@1987byTheUniversity
ofChicago.Allrights
reserved.
0026-8232/87/8403-0002$01.00
258

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 Trovato/Ingegnoin Dante's Ulysses 259

In Aristotle,the giftof geniuswas integraland perfect(" .. throughthe genius,

almost divine which Nature had put into Aristotle..." [II convivio 4.6.15]).4
Nature'spurpose in grantingthisgiftis to engravein humannaturean irresistible
desirefor knowledge,throughwhichall rationalbeingsmay actualize themselves
(II convivio1.1).
We musttherefore establishwhatis forDante the specificfunctionof ingegno
withinthe processof humanknowledge.Is geniusidenticalto commonsense or to
the facultyof evaluation and cogitation?"Do both of these facultiesconstitute
integralpartsofthesameconceptofgenius?Finally,whatis therelationship between
geniusand fantasy?
For Dante, the functionof the genius withinthe gnoseological process is
determinant.Both commonsense and the facultyof evaluationand cogitationare
identicalto genius:
Theyshowed themselvesherenotbecausethispost
hasbeenassignedthem, buttosymbolize
thattheystandlowestto theHeavenlyhost.
So mustonespeaktomortal imperfection,
whichonlyfrom thesensibleapprehends
whateveritthenmakesfitforintellection.
[Paradiso4.37]
In theselines,thepoetgivesa descriptive ofthespecificnatureofingegno.
definition
He writesthattheobjectofgeniusis thesensato,or a concreteobjectperceivedbythe
externalorgans.Fromthesensato,geniusabstractstheinorganicor insensataimage,
whichis an intelligible,thoughparticular,signof knowledgefromwhichthe agent
intellectdrawstheidea or theuniversalform,theobject"worthyof our intellect."
This theoryadheresto thatexpoundedbyJohnofSalisburyin his Metalogicon.
In chapter11, he considersthenatureof therelationship betweeningeniumand ars,
attempting to establishtheextentto whichthiscognitivefacultycontributes to the
qualitativevalues of art. He proposes two of
definitions one
ingenium, descriptive,
theotherformal.In theformer,6 ingeniumis describedas a giftgivento man to help
himstartthegnoseologicalprocessleadingto art,thesupremeexpressionofhuman
activity.The role of ingeniumis to serve ratio by transforming the external
perceptionsof the sensesinto distinctimagesand transmitthemto the thesaurum

4/Quotationsin ItalianfromDante Alighieri,II convivio,ed. G. Busnelliand G. Vandelli(Florence,1968),

and in EnglishfromConvivio,trans.WilliamW. Jackson(Oxford,1909). Subsequentquotationswillbe
notedin parenthesesin thetext.
5/Accordingto Thomas Aquinas,commonsense perceivesand distinguishes thedifferences
among images
comingfromthe externalorgans,like color fromtaste ("Sed discernerealbum a dulci non potestneque
visus neque gustus.... Unde oportetad sensumcommunempertinerediscretionisiudiciumad quem
referantur ... omnesapprehensiones sensuum"[Summa theologiae1.78.4cad 2]). The facultyofevaluation
(vis aestimativaor cogitativaifit belongsto humanbeings)has thepowerto apprehendthe"intentiones
quae per sensumnon accipiuntur,"i.e., the purposesand the goals of thoseimagesas convenientor not
convenientto nature:"A sheepseeinga wolfcomingescapesnotbecause ofthewolf'scolorand figure;but
ratherbecause of thesheep'sinstinctive intuitionof itsdangerousness"(1.78.4c.5).
6/"Naturaenim,quamvis vivida,nisi erudiatur,ad artisfacilitatemnon pervenit,artiumtamenomnium
parensest,eisque,quo proficiant et perficiantur,
dat nutriculamrationem.Excitatenimprimoingeniumad
res aliquas percipiendas;et cum eas perceperit,deponitquasi in custodiaet thesauromemorie;ratioque
perceptaet commendandavel commendatasunt,studio diligentiexaminat,et ex naturasingulorumde
singulis(nisifortelabaturin aliquo) verumprofertincorruptumque iudicium"(JohnofSalisbury,loannis
SaresberiensisEpiscopi CarnotensisMetalogicon,ed. ClemensC. I. Webb [Oxford,1929],p. 28).

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260 ModernPhilology(February1987)

memoriae.Reason examinesand judges theseimagessaved in thispreciousstorage

of memory,apprehending and declaringtheirnature.
John attributesthe formaldefinitionof ingeniumto Isidorus:7"Est autem
ingenium... vis quaedam animo naturaliter insita,per se valens"(Genius is a kind
of forceinbornin our mind; it is a value in itself).Analyzingthisdefinition, the
philosopherfocuseson twokeysyntagmas:vis andper se valens.Ingenium,as a vis,
is an immanent humanpower,theinstinctive forcepropellingmantowardknowledge;
as a vis per se valens,8 ingenium,on the epistemologicallevel, has the privilege
of primacyin respectto memoryand reason,the activitiesof whichit causes and
conditions.Scienceand artare thefinalproductsofour knowledge,therootofwhich
is theactionof genius:theintuitionand interpretation of externalreality.
Indeed, achievement and perfectionin scienceand artdependon thecapability
of each individualgenius. Like William of Conches, as we will see later,John
classifiesgeniusaccordingto the capacityforperceptionand apprehension.Genius
capax is thatwhichhas thevirtueto discernand singleout whatis eitherconvenient
or not convenientto humannature;it is "commonsense" in practicalactivityand
"good taste"withinthe sphereof art. These instinctive qualitiesare of undeniable
value if we considerthem withinthe perspectiveof finalchoices of reason: the
evaluationand judgmentin whichoriginatetheprinciplesof art.
In hisexpositionoftheepistemological process,SaintThomasdoes notmention
thetermingenium.9 It is obviousthatin thethirteenth century, undertheinfluence of
Aristotelianpsychology, thegnoseologicalfunctionattributed to geniusby previous
philosopherswas splitin two: commonsense(sensuscommunis)and thefacultyof
evaluationand cogitation(virtusaestimativaet cogitativa).
Dante's theory,similarto John's,considersgeniusas boththeabilityto discern
the particularpurposesand goals of existentialand politicallife,and the poetical
sourceand originof theimaginativeand aestheticalworld.Dante ascribestheterm
ingegnoto bothscholarsand politicians,who mustputtheir"geniusand care intothe
effortto make them(good gifts)as usefulas possible to the receiver"(II convivio
4.22.1). The capacitas or bontade d'ingegno(II convivio4.7.7), in Dante's perspec-
tive,is thetalentfordistinguishing, withinthepracticallife,betweenwhatis harmful
and whatis good forhumannature.To misuseor constrainingegnoforour selfish
goals is to crippleits nature.Hence, the ironicquestionasked by Dante of Ciacco
(Inferno4.81):
FarinataandTegghiaio,
menofgoodblood,
JacopoRusticucci,
Arrigo,Mosca

7/As Webb (see n. 6 above) observes,thisdefinitionis not fromIsidorus's Etimologiaebut, rather,from

Hugh of Saint Victor,EruditionisDidascalicae III, 8, PatrologiaLatina, 176.771,p. 28.
8/"Unde et per se diciturvalens eo quod nulliusprecedentisopem expectat,et omnes prevenitet iuvat
subsequentes;precediteniminvestigatio comprehensionem, examinationem, et custodiamomniumscien-
dorum"(Johnof Salisbury,p. 29).
9/Thomas describesthis process in his Quaestiones de anima, ed. James H. Robb (Toronto, 1968),
pp. 190-91, as developingthroughfiveessentialsteps:(1) theencounterof theexternalorganswiththeir
respectiveobjects,whichbecome transformed by the senses into sensitiveimages;(2) the perceptionof
commonsense (sensus communis);(3) phantasia or imaginationreceivingand savingthe images;(4) the
facultyof evaluation or cogitation(vis aestimativaet cogitativa),definedas the collativa intentionum
particulariumor thecollectorofthepurposesof all things;(5) memory,whichis thetreasuryrecordingall
thesepurposes(thesaurusintentionum particularium).The agentintellectdrawstheuniversalpurposesof
realityby comparingand measuringtheseparticularimpressionstransmitted by thefacultyof evaluation
or cogitation.

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 Trovato/Ingegnoin Dante's Ulysses 261

andtheothers
whosettheir
hearts ondoinggood
[ingegni]
wherearethey... ?
[Emphasis
mine]
Ciacco's answer,"Theylie below in a blackerlair,"is an unequivocalcondemnation
of thosewho used theiringegnoto achieveselfishpersonalgoals.
As a poeticalfaculty,ingegnois understoodbyDante as theinstinctive
abilityto
evaluate and choose a suitable inventivematerialand transformit into artistic
images:
Forbetter nowthelittlebark
waters
ofmyindwelling
powers[ingegno] raiseshersails
thatseaso cruelanddark:...
andleavesbehind
[Purgatorio1.1-3]
However,Dante assignslimitsto thecreativeactivityofgenius.Geniusis an intuitive
instrument to perceiveartisticbeauty.Because of itsinstrumental
nature,itschoices
are not absolute; it mustsubmitthem,as Johnof Salisburywrites,to the courtof
ratio, the finaljudgmentof which takes into account the suggestionsgiven by
experience,memory,and culture.Dante warnsall poets to be cautious in dealing
withthe"tragicstyle,"repeatingthatifpoets use it,theymustbe neithernaive nor
presumptuousin restingonly on geniusand puttingaside the principlesof art and
culture.'oDante insiststhat the finestartisticconceptionscame into being only
throughthe combinationof scientiaand ingenium;however,he ascribesonly to
geniusthepowerof expressingthemin a perfectverbalstyle("optimeconceptiones
non possuntesse nisiubi scientiaet ingeniumest:ergo optimaloquela non convenit
nisi illis in quibus ingeniumest" [De vulgarieloquentia 1.1]). Clearly,Dante is
concernedwithbothcontentand poeticform:thefirstoriginatesinscientia,whereas
the lattercomes fromingegno,whichmustbe controlledby ratio like any other
human instinct.At thispoint,one wondersabout the relationshipbetweengenius
and form.To answerthisquestion,we mustfirstexaminethe relationshipbetween
geniusand phantasia or imagination.
As bothTheodoreSilverstein and WinthropWetherbeehavenoted,prescholastic
psychology used genium,phantasia,and imaginatioas identicaland interchangeable
terms."The authoroftheMetalogiconhimself,althoughhe expoundsthetheoryof

10/"Sedcautionematque discretionem hanc accipere,sicutdecet,hoc opus et labor est,quoniam nunquam

sinestrenuitate ingeniiet artisassiduitatescientiarumque habitufieripotest. . . et ideo confutetur
illorum
stultitiaqui, arte scientiaqueimmunes,de solo ingenioconfidentes, ad summasummecanenda prorum-
punt; et a tantapresumptuositate et
desistant, si anseresnaturavel desidiasunt,nolintastripetamaquilam
imitari"(Dante Alighieri,De vulgarieloquentia,ed. Albertodel Monte[Milan, 1966],pp. 580-81).
11/Silverstein 2 n.
(n. above), p. 98, 34; Wetherbee,Platonismand Poetry(n. 2 above), p. 94, and "The
Themeof Imagination"(n. 2 above). WilliamofConchesdeals withingeniumand imaginatioin hisworks.
In Glosae superplatonem,ed. Edouard Jeauneau(Paris, 1965),he definesingeniumas "vis naturalisad
aliquid cito intelligendum: unde dicituringeniumquasi 'intusgenitum.'"Williamseems to distinguish
ingeniumfromimaginatioin that the latteris considereda componentof the gnoseologicalsystem,
whereastheformeris onlya specialpowerdesignedto augmentthedynamismof knowledge:"Preterhas
virtutes(sensus, imaginatio,ratio, intellectus),sunt alie rationiet intellectuiservientes,ut ingenium,
memoria,opinio" (pp. 101-2). However,whenWilliamliststhe facultiesleadingto the perfectscience,
ingenium,or visad aliquid citointelligendum, becomesconditiosinequa non to acquireit:"Tria suntque
faciuntperfectesapientem:viscitointelligendi, vis discernendiintellecta,
vis retinendi in memoria"(p. 74).
Moreover,he identifies thisvis cito intelligendiwiththeorganof phantasy:"Item,in capitehominissunt
tresventriculi:in proraunus,in puppealius, in mediotercius.In primohorumestvis intelligendi" (p. 74).
AlbertusMagnus,wellknownby Dante, does notmentioningenium,buthe does pointout thedistinction
betweenimaginatioand phantasia. Albert'sdistinctionis identicalto that made by Johnof Salisbury

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262 ModernPhilology(February1987)

geniusin uncloudedtermsin the firstbook, does not mentionit in thefourthbook,

wherehe discusses the originand natureof imaginatio.He describesa cognitive
procedurein whichtheessentialtermsare sensus,imaginatio,memoria,and ratio.It
is importantto note thatJohnof Salisburydistinguishes imaginatiofromiudicium
imaginationis.The formeris the passive faculty,the receptorof sensoryimages,
whereasthe iudiciumimaginationishas the same functionas ingenium,examining
and judgingtheimagesand transmitting itsjudgmentto memory.12
Dante perceivesphantasia as botha passiveand activefaculty,theactivepower
of phantasia being identical,as we have seen, to ingegno(Paradiso 4.40). If the
externalobjectsof thesensesare "sealed in theimaginativepart"(II convivio2.9.4),
the active part of phantasia has the power to transfigure these into recognizable
images(intenzioni, Purgatorio14.23)and transmit themto theintellect. In theprocess
of understanding, theminddependscompletelyon this"organicpower."Hence the
limitof our intellect,which"is not able to ascend to certainthings,because the
imaginationcannothelp it and has not thewherewithal, such as are the substances
apartfrommatter,which. . we cannotfullycomprehend"(II convivio3.4.9).
In the Purgatorioand moreparticularly in the Paradiso,thecognitiveobjectis
supernatural in itsnature.Hencethegnoseologicaldevelopment ofDante's character,
as wellas hispotentialto understandand expressa supernatural reality,is actualized
through the "vision" of imagespioventi,fallingdown likerain,into "hishighfantasy"
(Purgatorio7.25):
whichcanentrance
O Fantasy, us so
thatweattimesstandandarenotaware
thoughinourearsa thousandtrumpets blow!-
Whatmovesyousinceoursensesliedeadthen?
-A lightthatforms in Heavenofitself
orofHis willwhosendsitsraysto men.
[Purgatorio
17.13]
The dynamismof theimaginationremainsunchangedsincetheingegnofromthese
celestialimages"apprehends/ whateverit thenmakesfitforintellection" (Paradiso
4.40). The relationshipbetweeningegnoandformis based on thefactthatingegno,
in cooperationwith intellect,produces intelligiblesigns,the orderlycombination
of whichgeneratesthebeautyof an aestheticform.
As faras therelationshipbetweenscientiaand ingeniumis concerned,we must
point out the importanceDante attributesto the elementof doubt withinthe

between imaginatioet iudicium imaginationisor "ingenium:Dicimus imaginativamesse potentiam

apprehensivam,in qua imaginessensibiliumrebus sensibilibusabsentibusreservantur" (De anima, ed.
ClemensStroick[Westphalen,1968],p. 166). "De phantasiapost hoc determinantes dicimusipsam esse
potentiamcomponentemimaginescum intentionibuset intentionescum imaginibuset imaginescum
imaginibuset intentiones cum intentionibus ad duplicemfinem,qui est in particularibus.Unus autemfinis
est cognitioparticulariummaior,quae in sensibilianima haberipotest,et illiusfinisest sententiade hoc,
quod sit illud, et de alio, quod sit aliud; et sic de omni eo de quo sententiaproferturper modum
affirmationisvel negationis.Secundus autem finisest opus, quo intenditur ex huiusmodiparticularibus,
sicutopus in habentibusrationemest finisartis"(Albert,p. 168).
12/"Estigiturimaginatioprimus motus anime extrinsecus pulsate,quo secundumexerceturiudiciumaut per
recordationemreditprimum.Primumenimiudiciumvigetin sensu,dum aliquid album aut nigrumaut
aut esse
calidum frigidum pronuntiat." (Scholasticphilosopherswillnameitsensuscommunis.)"Secundum
veroimaginationis est;utcumaliquid perceptorum, retentaimagine,talevel taleasserit,de futuroiudicans
vel remoto(vis aestimativa)"(Johnof Salisbury,p. 177).

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 Trovato/Ingegnoin Dante's Ulysses 263

gnoseologicalprocessof apprehending
and transformingexternalrealityintointelli-
gibleimagesby or throughwhichtheintellectreachestruth,thatis scientia:
Likea newtendril yearningfromman'swill
doubtsprouts tothefootoftruth.
Itisthat(nature)inus
thatdrivesus tothesummit fromhillto hill.
[Paradiso4.130]
In canto 5, Dante givesus the keyto understanding
the exact meaningof "nature"
drivingus "to thesummit."Speakingof Beatrice,thepoet writes:
Hersilence,
hertransfigured
faceablaze
mademefallstillalthough
myeagermind[cupidoingegno]
wasteemingwithnewquestions I wishedtoraise.
[Paradiso5.88]
The originof methodologicaldoubt is cupido ingegno,which is identicalto the
instinctof knowledge(il desideriodella scienza).

II
The questionis, What are the limitsof cupido ingegno?Is it possible to satisfyits
thirstfor knowledge?Dante's answerseems to agree withthe traditionaldoctrine
referred to byJohnofSalisbury,accordingto whichanyscientific and artisticsuccess
depends on the capacitas or abilityof each individualgenius. The author of the
Metalogicon,reportingwhat he learnedfromMaster Bernardde Chartres,distin-
guishesthreedifferent categoriesof ingenium:advolans,or fleeing;infimum, or very
low, and mediocre,or medium." Accordingto John of Salisbury'sdefinitions,
ingeniumadvolans belongsto those who avoid going deeplyinto the natureof a
perception.Theyseek onlyimmediateand superficialvision,movingquicklyto the
nextexperience.Ingeniuminfimumbelongsto thosewho are unable to rise above
theirsensesand who rejectanyrationalvisionoftheworld.Onlyingeniummediocre,
so calledforitspositionbetweentherestlessand curiousingeniumand thepedestrian
one, has the abilityto graspand offercognitivematerialfromwhichratio or mind
drawstheuniversalprinciplesof art.
Althoughnatureis theauthorof a kindof geniusthatis qualitatively different,
Johnmakesclear thatthe successof ingeniummediocreis assuredonlyifit mates
withstudium,14whichconnotesan affective inclinationtowardintelligibleobjects
and an innerdesireto knowtheirnature.In hisconclusion,Johnstatesthatingenium
will help in the establishment of art and in findingnew ways to reachinaccessible
goals, providedit is used in a "moderate"and "balanced"way."

13/"Horumtriasuntgenera,sicutCarnotensissenex Bernardusfrequenti colloquio suis auditoribustradere

consuevit.Aliudenimadvolans,aliud infimum, aliud mediocreest.Advolansquidemeademfacilitate, qua
percepit,recedita perceptis,nec in aliqua sede invenitrequiem.Infimumautem sublimarinon potest,
ideoque profectumnescit;at mediocre,et quia habet in quo sedeat, et quia sublimaripotest,nec de
profectudesperat,et philosophantisexercitioaccommodissimum est. Et in hac quidemspecie naturam,
opinor,artiumfundamentaiecisse"(Johnof Salisbury,p. 29).
14/The success of ingeniummediocrewill materializeonlyifit isjoined withstudium,as definedbyCiceroin
De inventionerhetorica1.15.36:a lovingtendency,as a desireto knowthenatureofanyobject("Studium
est autemanimiassidua et vehemensad aliquam remapplicatamagnacum voluntateoccupatio").
15/"Ingeniuma natura proficiscitur, usu iuvatur,immoderatolabore retuniditur, et temperatoacuitur
exercitio.Si enimcompositumfuerit, et legitimeexerceatur,non modo ad artiumcapacitatemsufficiet, sed

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264 ModernPhilology(February1987)

Inferno 26 contains Dante's poetic representationof the limits of cupido

ingegno.Onlywithintheperspectiveof theabove theorycan thecompletestructure
of the canto be understoodand justified,particularly
the relationshipbetweenthe
introductory similesand theepisodeitself.
The introductionto the canto, dealing withthe nobili thievesand the poet's
reflectionon his fearof misusinghis ingegno,clearlysignalsDante's message:the
tragedyof thosewho vilifytheirnaturalgift.
I mournedabovethoserocks, andI mournagain
whenthememory returns
towhatI saw:
andmorethanusuallyI curbthestrain
ofmygenius, lestitstray
fromVirtue'scourse;
so ifsomestar,ora better grantmemerit,
thing,
mayI notfindthegiftcauseforremorse.
[Inferno26.19]
The sinnersofthisBolgia are abductedbya flamesymbolizing boththeirgeniusand
itsperverseactivity:subtracting
from,ratherthangenerating, thegood of others.16
The two similesare not only luminousvehiclesof the poet's thoughtbut also
miniaturestructures designedto pinpointthe different
categoriesof humangenius
punishedin thisBolgia:
As manyfireflies
as thepeasantsees
whenherestson a hillandlooksintothevalley
(wherehetillsorgathers grapesorpruneshistrees)
inthatsweetseasonwhenthefaceofhim
wholightstheworldridesnorth, andat thehour
whentheflyyieldstothegnatandtheairgrowsdim
suchmyriads offlames I sawshinethrough
thegloomoftheeighth abysswhenI arrived
attherimfromwhichitsbedcomesintoview.
[Inferno
26.25]
This firstsimileintroducesa temporaldimension,presentedin two different time
periods:a summermiddayand earlyevening,whichare expressedbya metonymy of
threecharacteristic insects:"thefly,""thegnat,"and "thefireflies."
I believethatthe
presenceofthesevolatileinsectsis meaningful. We remember theadjectiveadvolans
referred to by Johnof Salisbury.It is worthwhile to add thatDante contrasts"the
gnat"and "thefireflies" withthe"fly,"themiddaydiptychsymbolizing hygienicand
moral impurity.It is not improbablethat "the fly,"in this context,stands for
ingeniuminfimumrepresenting thosewho surrendered theirreasonto low instincts.
The specificcharacteristicofthegnatis thatitsucksblood, whilethefirefly generates
and consumesits own light;thustheseinsectsdesignatethe sinnerswho used their
advolans or superficialgeniusfor parasiticalself-gratificationratherthan for the
politicaland intellectual
betterment ofthecommunity as a whole.
The second simileis a vehicledesignedto definethe thirdcategoryof sinners,
thoseendowedwithingeniummediocre:

ad res quodammodo naturaliterinaccessibiles,rectamet expeditaminvenietviam; et ad discendumaut

docendumquicquid oportetaut expedit,fidelissimum erit"(Johnof Salisbury,p. 30).
16/Thetraditionalassociationbetweeningeniumand fire(ingenium-igniculi/ ingenium-vis
ignea / ingenium-
ignisartifex),as pointedout byWetherbee("The ThemeofImagination"[ n. 2 above],pp. 47-49), explains
whyDante used theflameas thepunishment forthosesinners.

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 Trovato/Ingegnoin Dante's Ulysses 265

As thebearsavenged so fearfully
beheldElijah'schariotdepart-
thehorsesrisetowardheaven-butcouldnotsee
morethantheflame, a cloudletinthesky,
onceithadrisen-sowithin thefosse
onlythoseflames,forever passingby
werevisible,
ahead,to right,toleft;
forthough eachstealsa sinner'ssoulfromview
notoneamongthemleavesa traceofthetheft.
[Inferno
26.34-42]
The similerepresents thevaineffort ofa seer(Elisha) to pursue,usinghisownsight,a
transcendent object(Elijah). The verticallineofthisimagereproducespoeticallythe
definitionof ingeniummediocre,whose natureit is to pursue res inaccessibiles.
However,as JohnofSalisburypointedout,thispursuitis legitimate (legitime)onlyif
it is orderly(compositum). Elisha's effortis justifiableas long as the object is
proportionate to hisvisualpower.He becomesvain and presumptuous ifhe attempts
to see beyondthenuvolettaor thelimitof humanknowledge.
Withinthisperspective, thetwo similesdescribingthethreedifferent aspectsof
human geniusconstitutea suitableprologueto the Ulyssesepisode. The prologue
anticipatesthe threemain structuresof the narrationrepresenting the attitudeof
Ulysses' genius in threedifferent stages of his existentiallife. (1) In lines 84-85:
"When I leftCirce,"he said, "who morethana year/ detainedme nearGaeta," the
poet portraystheingeniuminfimumas thecaptiveofworldlymatter.(2) Lines88-99
describeUlysses'ingeniumadvolans (notice thatthe verbconnotes"goingthrough
thesea") at theserviceof a selfishand indulgentquest forknowledge:
notfondnessformyson,norreverence
formyagedfather, norPenelope'sclaim
tothejoysoflove,coulddriveoutofmymind
thelusttoexperiencethefar-flung
world
andfailings
andfelicities
ofmankind.
(3) Lines 100-120depictthenegativeaspectofingeniummediocre.The semiological
structure ofintellectual
limits,figuredabove as a nuvolettaor cloudlet,is represented
hereby"Hercule'sPillars":
I andmymenwerestiff andslowwithage
whenwesailedatlastintothenarrow pass
where,
warning allmenbackfrom further
voyage,
Hercule's
Pillarsroseuponoursight.
"Illegitimate"and "unorderly"activityis a factualconsequenceof Ulysses'daringto
stretchbeyondthese"Pillars" of his humanlimits." In thatsame moment,Ulysses
exhibitsthegnat'sexploitive,bloodsuckingqualities:
Shipmates,I said,whothrougha hundred
thousand
perilshavereached theWest,do notdeny
tothebriefremaining watchoursensesstand
experienceoftheworldbeyondthesun.

17/"And,in fact,humandesireis proportionedin thislifeto thatknowledgewhichitis possibleto have here.

One cannotpass thatpointexceptthrougherror,whichis outsidethenaturalintention"(II convivio[n. 4
above], p. 154).

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266 ModernPhilology(February1987)

The epilogue, lines 121-31, underlinesthe tragic error perpetratedby a man

venturingto trespassbeyondthe point fixedby naturebecause of man's desirefor
knowledge.
Johnof Salisburywas "one of themostprominentand widelyread of twelfth-
centuryauthors."" His Metalogicon was consideredan encyclopedicsource of
traditionalknowledgeand culture.19 The theoryof ingenium,as we have said, was
not John'soriginalcreation;he acquiredit fromotherauthorsfamiliarto him.The
AristotelianDante, whoseconcernwiththegnoseologicalsystemand itsmediateand
immediategoals is well known,could not help but become acquainted withthe
doctrineof ingegnoand its role withinthissystem.His doctrine,as we have shown,
concordswiththeanalysissetforthby John.
The strongestevidencesupportingthisviewis theUlyssesepisode. As Richard
Lansing points out, "Despite the numerousstudiesdevotedto an analysisof the
thefunctionof
figureof Ulysses,criticshave not been able to explainconvincingly
thetwosimilesused to describetheappearanceoftheFalse Counselorsto Dante...
None has proffered a welldevelopedand cogentexegesisofthesimileswithrespectto
the surroundingnarrative."20 I am confidentthatJohnof Salisbury'sMetalogicon
providesus withthe keyto understanding Dante's view of ingegno,whichin turn
explainsthe relationshipbetweenthe similesintroducing Inferno26 and the poet's
handlingof theUlyssesepisode.

Northwestern
University

18/ErnstR. Curtius,European Literatureand theLatin Middle Ages, trans.WillardR. Trask (Princeton,

N.J., 1973),p. 364.
19/Ibid.,p. 51.
20/Richard Lansing,From Image to Idea: A Studyof the Simile in Dante's Commedia(Ravenna, 1977),
p. 112.

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