
The Flames And Abyss Of Lust: PURGATORIO, Canto XXV, Lines 109 - 139
Dante, Statius, and Virgil arrive on the seventh terrace of Mount Purgatory filled with the flames of lust.The pilgrim must make his precarious way between those burning fires and the abyss just to hi...
17 Aug 202528min

The Corporeal Afterlife Of The Immaterial Soul: PURGATORIO, Canto XXV, Lines 79 - 108
Statius concludes his discourse on embryology by finally answering the pilgrim Dante's question about how souls can take on material attributes in the afterlife . . . and by gently correcting both Vir...
13 Aug 202533min

The Breath Of Life, The Breath Of Poetry: PURGATORIO, Canto XXV, Lines 52 - 78
Statius goes on to the second part of his discussion of human embryology by following the fetus through its developmental phases until it finally has a brain. At this point, the prime mover knows it's...
10 Aug 202529min

The Natural Process Of Life: PURGATORIO, Canto XXV, Lines 34 - 51
Dante the pilgrim has asked the pressing question of how immaterial souls can take on material attributes like leanness.To answer that, Virgil has offered a couple of unsatisfying answers, then turned...
6 Aug 202525min

Virgil's Inadequacy On Full Display: PURGATORIO, Canto XXV, Lines 22 - 33
Our pilgrim, Dante, has asked a very pressing question: How can shades grow thin? How does the immaterial act like the material in the afterlife?Virgil has given the pilgrim the confidence to ask this...
3 Aug 202522min

Hesitancy Is The Deadly Sin Of Art: PURGATORIO, Canto XXV, Lines 1 - 21
Dante the pilgrim, Virgil, and Statius begin the ever-quickening ascent to the final terrace of Mount Purgatory. As he climbs, the pilgrim has a question about the gluttons on the previous terrace . ....
30 Jul 202520min

A Read-Through Of PURGATORIO, Cantos XXV - XXVII
Virgil, Statius, and our pilgrim, Dante, head up to the seventh and final terrace of Mount Purgatory.During the climb, Statius engages in a complicated and fascinating discourse on embryology (at leas...
27 Jul 202530min

The Compensations Of Contemplation: PURGATORIO, Canto XXIV, Lines 130 - 154
Virgil, Statius, and our pilgrim, Dante, walk along in contemplation, together but also alone with their thoughts.They're interrupted by the angel at the stairs who shows them the way up to the final ...
23 Jul 202523min


















