Roma Aeterna

In this final sonnet, Longfellow skillfully portrays Dante’s dual vision of salvation. Influenced by Virgil, Dante dreams of a political salvation that comes from Rome and spreads over the world. However, Dante also looks for a spiritual salvation (portrayed in the sestet) that comes from God through the Roman Catholic Church.

In this sonnet, the octave refers primarily to political salvation. Political strife is a dominant theme of the Comedy, running from the disreputable Florentines in Inferno to a prophecy of Dante’s exile in Paradiso. The earliest expression of Dante’s political vision is found in the works of Virgil. In the Aeneid, Aeneas’ mission is to return to the home of his ancestors (Italy) and found a new Troy. This Troy will be greater than the former city, conquering the Greeks, Carthaginians, and all the peoples of the world.

Virgil believed that the might of Rome would usher in a Golden Age, where peace would reign and wars would be no more. He first wrote of this age in his Fourth Eclogue, which speaks of the birth of a child who would bring peace to the world. This theme is continued in Book VI of the Aeneid, where the child is given a name – Marcellus. In the underworld, Aeneas sees the future glory and heroes of Rome.

Virgil is especially fit to be Dante’s guide – not just because he has written about a journey to the underworld before, but because he and Dante share a similar vision of political salvation. Peace will spread from Rome to Italy and then over the whole earth.

This vision of political salvation was particularly poignant in Longfellow’s day. After the fall of Rome in 476 A.D., Italy was divided into several kingdoms. These kingdoms were frequently at war with each other, and although Dante and others dreamed of a unified Italy, this dream did not come to fruition until the middle of the nineteenth century. Longfellow was among the first to see the fulfillment of Dante’s political vision.

Closely tied to Dante’s political salvation is the spiritual salvation shown through the Roman Catholic Church. This comes from the book of Acts, which chronicles the spread of the early church. In Acts 1:8, Christ tells the apostles, “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you; and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth” (KJV). In Acts 2, the Holy Spirit enters the apostles at Pentecost, and they preach to all the peoples gathered at Jerusalem, each in his own tongue. This spiritual salvation is reflected in the sestet, where Longfellow uses images of wind to represent the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. The last three lines of the sestet describe the preaching of God’s word, which brings spiritual salvation to the nations (VI.12-14).

Dante’s vision of salvation is both political and spiritual. In one sense, he is seeking to create heaven on earth, with peace spreading from Rome as the new Jerusalem. He is trying to recreate the Holy Roman Empire of Constantine, where the world is united under one government and one religion. However, Dante’s vision of salvation is not limited to this present life, for he also looks for the spiritual kingdom that will be established in the second coming of Christ (VI.4). Both these kingdoms, Dante believes, will bring peace to the world.