I have read some of the classical literature but not as much as I probably should. I had no idea of the value of Dante’s classic book, ‘Divine Comedy’, as a possible self-help book. It was written about 700 years ago yet people find value in the trials and tribulations Dante found in his own life. One columnist for the Wall Street Journal found just such a benefit in reading the book when his life seemed to take on depressing challenges of its own. You can read about his experience here.

“Everybody knows that "The Divine Comedy" is one of the greatest literary works of all time. What everybody does not know is that it is also the most astonishing self-help book ever written.

It sounds trite, almost to the point of blasphemy, to call "The Divine Comedy" a self-help book, but that's how Dante himself saw it. In a letter to his patron, Can Grande della Scala, the poet said that the goal of his trilogy—"Inferno," "Purgatory" and "Paradise"—is "to remove those living in this life from the state of misery and lead them to the state of bliss."

The Comedy does this by inviting the reader to reflect on his own failings, showing him how to fix things and regain a sense of direction, and ultimately how to live in love and harmony with God and others.”

Tags: Books, reading