The Dante Library
The Prose Works of Dante Alighieri
Volume II: The Latin Works
With introductions and annotations by Joe Carlson
Collected here for the first time in English are all of Dante’s prose works, with new introductions and annotations by Dante scholar Joe Carlson, translator of the Divine Comedy and author of the Dante Curriculum.
Both volumes are $49.95 in paperback. Volume I, The Italian Works, has a page just like this one.
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Language, empire, letters and the earth
Book 1 of the De vulgari eloquentia defends the use of the vernacular languages (mainly French, Spanish, and Italian) to discuss the noble themes of love and war, while Book 2 leaves us with an unfinished lecture on poetry, its forms, styles, and its unique power to communicate.
De monarchia is a political treatise in which he argues for world empire as the best (and most Christian!) form of government. Contrary to prevailing Catholic thought at the time, he argued that the political leader received his authority directly from Christ, not mediated through the pope.
His epistles give us rare and intimate insight into the mind of the man, his hopes and desires for Florence and Italy, as well as a concrete explanation of the Divine Comedy. Finally, the Questio de aqua et terra dives into medieval cosmological issues.
The Latin works
- 01De vulgari eloquentia (On the Eloquence of the Vernacular) · Wicksteed
- 02De monarchia (On the Monarchy) · Reinhardt
- 03Epistolae, Dante’s thirteen surviving epistles · Toynbee
- 04Questio de aqua et terra · Wicksteed
Dr. Joe Carlson
Joe Carlson holds a BA in Liberal Arts and Culture from New Saint Andrews College, and an MA in Humanities and a PhD in Literature from the University of Dallas. He is a Senior Editor with Roman Roads Press and a Literature professor at New Saint Andrews College.
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