Purgatorio and Paradiso
“Abandon all hope you who enter here…”1 Many of us are familiar with these words, and with the first part of the epic poem from which they come: The Comedy of Dante Alighieri written in 1306 by the Italian poet Dante Alighieri.1 Shortly before I began my career as an advisor, I had the opportunity to study this poem. As my career has progressed, I have been struck by what we can learn about investing from Dante and his poem. The poem is divided into three parts, each of which represents a stage of the afterlife: Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. The reader follows Dante as he is guided, in a dream, through each stage.
As Dante reaches the gates of Inferno, he reads the inscription which ends where I began: “Abandon all hope you who enter here.” How many of us can imagine the stock market as a physical place with a gate that bears a similar inscription? Dante is passionate about many things in life including love, politics, and the “intellectual life.” As Dante is guided through Inferno, which is depicted as a pit, he meets several souls, each of who suffer an ironic1 fate in relation to one of Dante’s passions. Two, in particular, cry out “amor… amor… amor…!” or “love… love… love…!”2 as if to say: “love did this to us!” How many of us, when reflecting on particular investing decisions, have felt like crying out “the market… the market… the market…!” As if to say, “the market did this to me!”
As Dante and his guide progress through Inferno and end up on the shores of Purgatorio, Dante concludes that the problem is love… the problem is passion... the problem is desire… and these are why those who are in Inferno are suffering. How many of us have reached a similar conclusion at one time or another? “The problem is stocks… the problem is bonds… the problem in investing… these are why I am suffering in this Inferno!”
As Inferno is a pit, Purgatorio - a place for those who don’t end up in Inferno, but who are not yet fit for Paradiso, is a mountain. While guided up Mount Purgatorio, Dante learns that love, passion, and desire are necessary, even required, in order to reach the top and to enter Paradiso. As he is guided to the top, Dante learns to order and to moderate love, desire, and passion in a way that will allow him to enter Paradiso. How many of us have concluded, after experiencing a little “investing Inferno,” and a little “investing Purgatorio,” that investing is actually necessary, and that by ordering and moderating our investment approach, with the help of a trusted guide, we can reach our Paradiso?
Now, what of Paradiso? Well, it’s a long poem. Dante started writing in 1306 but finished shortly before his death in 1321!1 So, Paradiso is going to be up to you! What does Paradiso look like to you? Who will be your guide? What are your next steps? How will you get there, well?
-Preston Rhoades
1. Smith, Stephen. “At the Gates of Hell: The Journey Begins.” Hillsdale College Online Courses, https://online.hillsdale.edu/courses/dantes-divine-comedy.
2. Smith, Stephen. “Confronting Disordered Loves.” Hillsdale College Online Courses, https://online.hillsdale.edu/courses/dantes-divine-comedy.