Dante Alighiere is considered one of the great Italian writers and poets of all time. A philosopher who lived in the thirteenth century, he is most well known for his seminal work La Comedia. While one of his lesser known works, Il Convito: The Banquet of Dante Alighieri remains an important piece of writing from one of the Middle Age's most prominent philosophers. Originally written in the early fourteenth century, this work was never fully completed by Dante. Dante wrote in Italian, the language of the common man, which was highly unusual for writers in the Middle Ages. His book was thus accessible to the masses, and as such was focused on many areas of interest to the commoner. The Banquet is divided into four books which mix poetry and prose. The book opens with Dante's explanation of the need for Il Convito and why he opted to write in the vernacular as opposed to Latin. Books two and three are about the loss of his love Beatrice, and his new love for Lady Philosophy. Book three consists of a lengthy poem praising philosophy, while book four, which makes up the majority of this work, is a discussion of true nobility, and includes the longest hymn to appear in all of Il Convito. The Banquet of Dante Alighieri is truly a wonderful read and the work of a master. Even in its translation to English, the power of Dante's ideas transcends the language used to convey them. This book provides a portrait of the man himself, and is an important contextual piece to Dante's entire body of writing. If one is looking for a companion piece to read alongside La Comedia, Il Convito is perhaps the most illuminating of all Dante's work. As a work of philosophy from one of the great thinkers of the Middle Ages, Il Convito: The Banquet of Dante Alighieri is of tremendous importance. This is a must read for anybody remotely interested in philosophy, and is thus highly recommended. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works. This text has been digitally restored from a historical edition. Some errors may persist, however we consider it worth publishing due to the work's historical value. The digital edition of all books may be viewed on our website before purchase.