Canto XXVIII. Dante walks into the earthly paradise, where he meets a lady, Matilda, who is separated from him by a stream. She tells him that the place is the first home of humankind, and singularly blessed. It is kept from irregularities of weather and seasons by its height; and is in a perpetual spring. The soil is full of seeds of plants as yet unknown. Through the forest flow two streams: Lethe (which obliterates memories of sin) and Eunoe (which restores memory of the good).

Matilda is seen gathering flowers, which links her to Leah in Dante’s previous dream. Leah was a type of the active life, and it is suggested that Matilda represents the perfection of earthly life in the earthly paradise. The earthly paradise, Eden, is a place where man enjoyed God’s friendship and ‘original beatitude’, the enjoyment of a life beyond his natural capacities. This was lost through sin, and man was then even unable fully to achieve natural goodness. Dante has returned to Eden, but this is not the end of his journey. Salvation is not simply restoration of a primal state, but rather a journey beyond it to share in the life of God through the vision of the Trinity. This gift is possible through our being joined to Christ, a result of his incarnation, sacrifice and resurrection, in which we now share sacramentally, in anticipation of that final vision. In short, our destination, by mercy and grace, is even more wonderful than the Eden that Dante portrays in this Canto.

George Dunlop Leslie's Matilda

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