A Geocentric Rest Stop: PURGATORIO, Canto IV, Lines 52 - 75
Virgil and Dante the pilgrim have completed their first major, breath-taking climb on Mount Purgatory. They hang out for a bit on a ledge for a little rest. In truth, there's no rest with all these me...
2 Jul 202322min
The Way Up Is Always Hard: PURGATORIO, Canto IV, Lines 19 - 51
Virgil and Dante leave behind the sheeplike souls that include Manfred to begin their hard climb up Mount Purgatory.The initial ascent is rough on the pilgrim, climbing on his hands and knees, constan...
28 Jun 202329min
The First "Scientific" Disquisition Is A Grand Misdirection: PURGATORIO, Canto IV, Lines 1 - 18
Manfred's monologue has ended with some shocking conclusions: the excommunicated can indeed end up in heaven, a person can indeed repent at the last second, and the prayers of the living do have an ef...
25 Jun 202334min
The Sad (And Fictional) Story Of Manfred's Corpse: PURGATORIO, Canto III, Lines 121 - 145
Manfred continues his shocking speech, giving us the details of his body after his death--thereby continuing the theme of the body in PURGATORIO, Canto III; and thereby giving Dante the poet plenty of...
21 Jun 202328min
The First Great Penitent Of Purgatory, Manfred: PURGATORIO, Canto III, Lines 103 - 120
Dante our pilgrim and his guide, Virgil, have come across a flock of sheep-like souls at the very bottom rung of Mount Purgatory. They've fallen in with them, going in front, when one of these humbled...
18 Jun 202328min
Of Flocks, Pilgrims, And Living In The “What Is": PURGATORIO, Canto III, Lines 79 - 102
Dante and Virgil have come across a group of souls who are hanging back against the cliff's steep rise. They're like shepherd-less sheep--which may indeed be the secret to living a life of the "quia,"...
14 Jun 202317min
Virgil, The Flattering, Witty Sage: PURGATORIO, Canto III, Lines 67 - 78
In this episode from Purgatorio, Canto III, we might not see Virgil in his best light. He appears to frighten some souls on the bottom ledge. Then he overplays his hand with flattery. And he ends with...
10 Jun 202330min
The Chaos Of Virgil, The Pilgrim Dante, Reason, And Revelation: PURGATORIO, Canto III, Lines 46 - 66
Virgil loses the way. Dante finds it. Virgil tries to figure it out. Dante uses the language of revelation. All to make sure Virgil can be the guide again, even when he's clueless about Purgatory.Join...
7 Jun 202316min
