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WRITER DOROTHY L. SAYERS DISCUSSES DANTE AND SCHOLARSHIP DOROTHY L. SAYERS (1893-1957). Sayers, a British author, studied modern languages and medieval literature at Somerville College in Oxford, graduating in 1916. That same year, she also published her first book of poetry, Op. 1, before embarking upon a teaching career and then becoming a successful copywriter for an advertising agency in London. She is probably best remembered for her detective mysteries, the first of which, Whose Body?, was published in 1923. Other works include Strong Poison, The Nine Tailors and Gaudy Night. She personally considered her best work to be her translation of Dante’s Divine Comedy. TLS. 5pg. 8†x 10â€. January 31, 1949. Witham, Essex, England. A very lengthy typed letter signed “Dorothy L. Sayers†to Dr. S.J. Curtis of the University of Leeds, discussing her views on Dante, scholarship, and philosophy. In part: “By the way, some people might fall on you for saying that Dante was ‘usually so well-informed.’ There are gaps in his information, on which certain critics (Mandonnet is one) are apt to lay stress. But he is generally pretty accurate about anything to do with theology. He mixes up Hugh Capet with his son, and mistakes a character in Terence for a real person, and that sort of thing; but I cannot believe that he just didn’t know that Siger was condemned for Averroism. Because he is clearly interested in Averroism, or he wouldn’t be at such pains to make his own orthodoxy evident on the crucial points. I’m glad you think that quotation an illuminating one. The really operative clause is, perhaps, qui ejus libros suscipiunt exponendos. I mean, those are the words which seem to define the responsibility of the scholar to his text. If you undertake to expound a text, it is your duty to expound that text, whatever you may think in your private capacity. To save you the trouble of hunting through Mandonnet for it, you will find it in Chapter IX. I haven’t noted the page ref., but it is just before the passage on Boethius of Dacia – on the right-hand page, I think, with the Latin text in a footnote. I don’t think you really need to make acknowledgments to me for pointing out something in the book you lent me yourself! But I am happy to be associated with the inquiry in any way. Would you be an angel and insert into my name the ‘L’ which distinguishes me from the Miss Dorothy Sayers who gives light entertainment with the balalaika? I always use that form of signature on title-pages, etc.†Sayers was infamous for making people utilize her middle initial, as she believed it helped with the proper pronunciation of her last name. As mentioned in the letter, Siger of Brabant was a thirteenth century philosopher of whom Dante wrote about in the Divine Comedy. He was a contemporary of St. Thomas Aquinas, and both are believed to have heavily influenced western thought. Pierre Mandonnet (1858-1936), as mentioned in the letter, was a Belgian Dominican historian who became famous for his work on Siger of Brabant. Averroism was a controversial philosophical trend in the 13th century, whose main proponent was Siger. As indicated by the letter, Sayers also wrote heavily on Christianity and religion, her most notable book being The Mind of the Maker. Also of note, Sayers considered her best work to be her translation of Dante’s Divine Comedy, with the first part, Hell, being published in 1949, and the second part, Purgatory, published in 1955. The third installment, Paradise, was only partially completed by her death, but was finished and published later by English scholar and translator Barbara Reynolds in 1962. The document is in fine condition, with few spots of staining and toning. TERMS AND CONDITIONS My name is Stuart Lutz and I am a full time dealer of autographs, letters, documents and historic manuscripts. I am a member of the Manuscript Society, the Professional Autograph Dealers Association, the Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association of America, the Universal Autograph Collectors Club (Registered Dealer #166) and the Ephemera Society. I am also a Contributing Editor of Autograph Collector magazine. If you have any questions, you can call me toll free at 1 (877) 428-9362. I guarantee the authenticity of this piece forever, and will gladly refund your money if it is ever proven not to be authentic (not many Ebay autograph dealers boast of that!). All items are issued with an invoice that states in writing at the bottom “All autographs and historical papers are guaranteed authentic for life by me. 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