After Forese Donati has pointed out five of the gluttons on the sixth terrace of Mount Purgatory, one of them, the first mentioned and a poet of the previous generation, keeps muttering something almost unintelligible under his breath.

Our pilgrim asks him for more information. He then offers the pilgrim an oblique prophecy that has troubled Dante scholars for hundreds of years. He also asks if this pilgrim is the same guy who wrote a poem found in the VITA NUOVA.

Dante replies that he is indeed that poet . . . and goes on to claim that his poetry is inspired by love itself.

Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we take on the first half of the single most annotated passage in all of Dante's COMEDY. We are getting to the heart of what Dante thinks he's doing with his poetry . . . but what exactly that is remains something of a mystery, or at least a scholarly debate.

Here are the segments for this episode of WALKING WITH DANTE:

[02:00] My English translation of the passage: PURGATORIO, Canto XXIV, Lines 34 - 54. If you'd like to read along or continue the conversation with me, please find the entry for this episode on my website, markscarbrough.com.

[05:08] The value of paying attention: the pilgrim to Bonagiunta and Bonagiunta to Dante's poetry.

[08:54] Bonagiunta's shifty murmurs of "gentucca."

[11:51] An opaque prophecy about Lucca from an older poet who should know how to be clear.

[17:13] Bonagiunta's refernce to a canzone (or long poetic song) from Dante's VITA NUOVA.

[20:37] The pilgrim's wild claims for direct inspiration from . . . love (or maybe God).

[27:02] Rereading the passage: PURGATORIO, Canto XXIV, lines 34 - 54.

PURGATORIO, Canto XXIV, is set as a direct continuation from Canto XXIII. The poet Dante cues us to the continuation but there nevertheless are a couple of subtle disruptions.

For one thing, Virgil has been silence for most of Canto XXIII and will indeed remain silent throughout Canto XXIV, his longest silence yet in COMEDY. We won’t hear anything from him until well into Canto XXV.

And in this on-going conversation with Forese Donati, we get our first glimpse of Paradise, after curiously understanding that the human will is strong enough to slow down its progress even to that place, its ultimate goal.

Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we work through the opening lines of our on-going time among the gluttons on the sixth terrace of Mount Purgatory.

Here are the segments for this episode of WALKING WITH DANTE:

[01:49] My English translation of the passage: PURGATORIO, Canto XXIV, lines 1 - 15. If you'd like to read along or continue the conversation with me, please find the entry for this episode on my website, markscarbrough.com.

[03:12] Canto XXIV is a continuation of Canto XXIII--and Virgil remains silent.

[06:33] The "redead" is a reference to Jude 12 in the New Testament.

[10:49] Does Ulysses enter into this passage?

[11:50] The human will can even slow down its ultimate desire, the central motivation of the universe.

[14:15] Mentioning Piccarda Donati gives us a fuller glimpse of Paradise ahead . . . and a classical glimpse.

[16:48] Pain and solace are the core of the prophetic voice.

[21:39] Rereading the passage: PURGATORIO, Canto XXIV, lines 1 - 15.