Charles: Did EP believe in "the eternal laws of justice", and what might that phrase mean? Would anybody who believes in the "eternal laws of justice" be considered as a mystic (given the lack of justice here on earth)? Michael charles moyer wrote: > > In Pound's "Spirit of Romance" concerning Dante's "Commedia" he writes; > > "Thus the 'Commedia' is, in the literal sense, a description of Dante's > vision of a journey through the realms inhabited by the spirits of men after > death; in a further sense it is the journey of Dante's intelligence through > the states of mind wherein dwell all sorts and conditions of men before > death; beyond this, Dante or Dante's intelligence may come to mean > 'Everyman' or 'Mankind,' whereat his journey becomes a symbol of mankind's > struggle upward out of ignorance into the clear light of philosophy. In the > second sense I give here, the journey is Dante's own mental and spiritual > development. In a fourth sense, the 'Commedia' is an expression of the laws > of eternal justice; 'il contrapasso,' the counterpass, as Bertran calls > it(5) or the law of Karma, if we are to use an Oriental term." > Pound's footnote (5) reads, "Inferno, XXIV." I have looked at my copy of > Dante , The Carlyle-Wicksteed translation, and I wish someone could tell me > what in Book XXIV can be identified as "il contrapasso" or "the > counterpass". In fact, what IS a counterpass? > I would appreciate any explanation. > Thank you in advancia, > > Charles