Book Review
Title: The Divine Comedy (Part Two; Purgatorio)
Author: Dante Alighieri
Genre: Classic
Rating: ****
Review: Much like my review of Part One of the Divine Comedy; Inferno I will review the following two sections; Purgatorio and Paradiso in their various cantos.
Purgatorio
Canto 1
Purgatorio or purgatory picks up exactly where Inferno left off as Dante and Virgil leave Hell behind. These cantos contain a lot more information than the ones in Inferno and are more poetic as they contain metaphors. Dante opens Purgatorio with a metaphor as he compares his talent to that of a ship sailing across kinder waters than that of Hell, as they head to a place where people are cleansed of their sins. Dante is pleased to be out of Hell and being under the sky once more and he proceeds to invoke the muses and asks the head muse; Calliope for help so that his poem may rise again. At the entrance to Purgatory, they meet an old man who commands respect and asks Dante who he is as he has escaped Hell along with who his guide is and whether or not he has broken any laws of Hell. Virgil isn’t distracted by the appearance of the man and forces Dante to bow and responds to his questions, in the same manner, he did in Inferno whenever their journey was questioned.
During their conversation, we learn from Virgil that this man is Cato and his true love Marcia resides in Limbo with him and that she still prays for his love. However, Virgil almost blackmails Cato into letting them pass as he says he will carry Cato’s condolences back to his love if he does. Cato isn’t moved by this as Marcia doesn’t hold any power over him as she resides in Hell while he doesn’t. Cato does let them pass as their journey has been ordained by the Virgin Mary and they can pass for her sake if nothing else. Before he lets them go he tells Virgil to make Dante a belt from the rushes and wash his face so that he can be cleaned of Hell’s stains. After giving his instructions Cato vanishes and Virgil proceeds to make Dante a belt of rushes and wash his face with the dew. After this Dante notes that they are walking on sacred ground that has never felt the footstep of living men.
Canto 2
Dante quickly spots something in the water as he takes in the dawn and once again is forced to kneel with his hands in prayer by Virgil after asking what it is. The glowing figure before them is an angel of God, Dante is blinded by the angel and can’t look directly at it but notes that the angel has been guided a boat to the shore. Dante is content with looking at the boat as he himself can’t look upon the angel and notes that a 100 souls lie within the boat. The souls are all singing a psalm. The Latin words, “In exitu Israel de Aegypto,” come from Psalm 114 and translate as “During the departure of Israel from Egypt.” The angel bestows the sign of the cross over the souls who fall to the ground and immediately after the boat leaves.
The new souls ask Virgil and Dante how they can climb the mountain before them, but they are just as lost but when they learn that Dante is still alive they all turn pale in astonishment as he must be very special to be allowed on this journey. The souls have their attention fixed on Dante who compares himself to a messenger of peace, one of the souls steps forward to hug Dante which he tries to return as he recognises the soul but can’t because they no longer have physical bodies. While he tries three times he can’t embrace the person before him and has to be comforted by the soul who asks what his purpose here is. We learnt the soul is Casella and Dante is confused by why it has taken him so long to arrive when he died before Dante’s journey through Hell. Casella doesn’t give a straightforward answer but does reply that the Angel guiding the boat can pick who he wants to take first and it has been three months before he was picked. Casella insists that this was the will of God, so he waited in Rome’s port at the mouth of the river Tiber waiting for his turn. The place he waited was Ostia which is where all souls who aren’t damned to Hell wait to cross to Purgatory.
Dante asks his old friend to sing and Casella agrees as both were artists in life; Dante a poet and Casella a musician. Casella’s voice is so beautiful that he hypnotizes everyone including Virgil as they gather around him. However, this is broken up by Cato who tells them all to get on with their journeys and they all rush to the mountain, quickly followed by Dante and Virgil.
Canto 3
As the soul head to the mountain Dante draws close to Virgil who he sees as his conscience as they themselves turn towards the mountain. As the slow Dante focuses on the mountain before him. Dante is shocked when he sees that he and only he casts a shadow, but it isn’t that shocking when he is the only one who still has a body, Virgil comments that his own body is long-buried in Naples. Virgil goes on to praise the Lord, explaining that a lowly man cannot understand His divine ways. He comments that those who try to understand like Aristotle and Plato always fail and all three reside in Limbo as he hangs his head. As they reach the foot of the mountain Dante notes it is very steep and Virgil remarks it will be hard to find a place where a creature without wings can climb it. However, Dante sees a group of souls approaching from the left and basically orders Virgil to ask for their advice to which Virgil agrees.
They aren’t able to get very close to the souls as they are quite shy and back away from the pair when they realise that Dante has a shadow. Virgil is tired of repeating himself all the time and tells them directly that Dante is alive and is virtuous enough to be here in Purgatory. This convinces the souls and they set forward to help Dante, one of them taps him on the should and asks if Dante recognises him (I am sensing a pattern here) but he doesn’t. He proceeds to introduce himself as Manfred, grandson of Empress Constance. He requests that when Dante gets back to the living world, he visit Manfred’s daughter to give her news that her father is in Purgatory, not Hell.
Here we learn Manfred’s story, he was at the battle of Benevento where he received two fatal wounds and as he lay dying he repents all of his sins and gave himself completely to God. However, his enemy Pope Clement IV excommunicated him and moved his body outside the papal territory. However, Manfred disregards the Pope’s authority claiming that God forgives everyone who repents so the Pope’s sentence doesn’t apply to him. There is a catch as penitent souls aren’t granted entrance into Purgatory straight away as those who died with hearts set against the Church must wait for thirty times the length of their sin to actually start climbing the mountain of Purgatory. They can shorten their wait if they receive prayers from living souls on Earth. Knowing this Manfred asks Dante to take his message to his daughter so that she can pray for him.
Canto 4
As they move on Dante and Virgil reach the first spur of Ante-Purgatory which houses the indolent or lazy. Dante who was so intrigued by Manfred’s story has lost track of time and almost half of the day has passed him by without notice. During this time he muses on Plato’s plurality of souls; the theory that that humans have more than one souls as what he has witnessed has proven it false. Dante believes that is a person had more than one soul, he would still note the passage of time no matter how distracted he might be by something else as not all the souls would be concentrating on the same thing at the same time and as he hasn’t noticed the passage of time then to him it proves that man only has one soul. However, his musing is cut short as a band of souls have found a path that Dante can climb but it narrow and it is so steep that Dante has to move carefully in Virgil’s wake.
As they climb the path Dante asks Virgil which way they should go only to be told to shut up by Virgil and to keep climbing until they find someone who can give them directions. The reader here is under the impression Virgil knows where he is going but this is dispelled. They keep climbing on and on to the top which can’t be seen until Dante reaches the point where he is exhausted and begs Virgil to stop. Virgil agrees and tells Dante to climb to the ridge where he stands, and they rest. Looking back on how far they have climbed Dante is filled with satisfaction until he sees the sun is on his left like the world has been turned upside down. Virgil explains that Dante has spent his whole life seeing the world from the Northern Hemisphere and now he is in the Southern Hemisphere everything is backward. Only noting this for the first time Dante is shocked by can’t bear being outsmarted by Virgil so he shows off his own intellect by calculating the exact distance between them and the equator which does seem a bit childish to me. Dante eager to continue his journey asks Virgil how much further they have to climb, and he replies with the hardest part of the climb is behind them and the rest will be easier but before they can continue they are interrupted by a voice.
The voice tells them to rest a little longer and comes from behind a huge boulder that they hadn’t noticed. Investigating they find a group of naked, exhausted men resting. One converses with Dante about being depressed and Dante makes fun of the man’s laziness to which the man replies that he should climb if he has so much energy. At the point, Dante recognises the man’s voice and sits beside him worried and the man keeps speaking. The man is Belacqua and Dante asks him what he is doing sitting here, was he waiting for a guide or just being lazy. Belacqua is severely depressed and asks what is the point in continuing to climb when the angel won’t let him through until he has done his penance in languishing the length of his life out here in the Ante-Purgatory, all he can do is hope prayer shorten his wait, similar to Manfred’s situation. Before Dante can comfort his friend he is urged on by Virgil and he has to leave Belacqua behind.
Canto 5
As Dante and Virgil leave the first spur behind, a soul gasps and points out to others that Dante is alive. Dante pauses and turns around to either bask in his aliveness or just to see who is speaking and Virgil tells him to ignore them and carry on climbing. Dante shamed follows Virgil’s order and continues climbing the seemingly endless stairs. This Virgil in Purgatorio seems to be a lot less thoughtful and more impatient than the Virgil from Inferno which is very interesting for me to see. They quickly come across another band of souls singing and that are intrigued by Dante being alive and asks him to tell them more of himself, however, they are answered by Virgil who basically tells them that Dante is alive, they are welcome here and to leave them be and the souls quickly disperse. Virgil seems sickened by Dante’s almost celebrity status and tells him to keep moving but keep his ears open as the souls call after them asking them to stop and talk.
The souls announce they all died by violence but repented their sins at the very last second before death sparing them the horrors of Hell. Dante stops announcing that even though he doesn’t recognise them he would be happy to help them. The souls ask for information about the living world but two stand out, one asks for Dante to bring news of him to Fano, his hometown, before proceeding to tell his story. It turns out he was betrayed and killed in Padua and regrets fleeing towards Oriaco instead of Mira, implying that the town of Oriaco was in on the scheme and if he had gone to Mira, he might still be alive. Instead, he ended up in a marsh where his blood soaked into the ground. After he ends his tale Dante identifies him as Jacopo del Cassero. Immediately another soul begins to speak asking for Dante’s help in bringing news to the Montefeltro and he names himself as Buonconte da Montefeltro and this is familiar as the reader will recognise his name from Dante’s encounter with Guido da Montefeltro. Dante immediately reacts asking him how he died since no one had seen him since the battle of Campaldino and his body was never found.
Buonconte gives his story: during the battle, he suffered a throat wound and was running for his life when he fell along the banks of the Archiano, repented, and died. He stops to beg Dante to retell this true story and dispel any rumors about him. After death, he was taken by an angel in Heaven, despite a Hell demon’s argument. Buonconte compares the demon’s ill will to the power of a storm, similar to the one that suddenly broke loose that night, flooded the Archiano, and buried Buonconte’s body in silt and debris. Then a third soul speaking, and this voice belongs to a woman who identifies herself as La Pia and begs Dante to take her story to the living world but only after he’s rested a bit. She implies that her treacherous husband caused her death, despite his wedding vows to her.
Canto 6
Dante loves all the attention while Virgil seems to sulk but soon he finds himself struggling to break free of all the souls asking to be remembered and for prayers. He realises something here and remarks that in one passage of Virgil’s Aeneid, he denies the power of prayer to “bend the rule of Heaven” but the souls here in Purgatory seem to do just what Virgil believes to do untrue. Virgil replies that only Christian prayers are effective and tells Dante to wait until he meets Beatrice and she will defend him. At the slight mention of Beatrice, Dante parks up and is eager to move on but Virgil tells him they will climb as far as they can during the day as it is impossible to climb after the sun sets. At that moment they see a soul seated alone and they rush towards him to get directions. This soul says nothing although he watches them as a lion would, instead of telling them where to go, the souls asks who they are and where they’re from. When Virgil says “Mantua,” the soul’s attitude completely changes. He stands up, identifies himself as Sordello of Mantua, and promptly hugs Virgil.
Dante launches into a rant against Italy, referring to his native country as a whore, but he looks admiringly on Sordello, who at the mere mention of his hometown wishes goodwill upon a fellow citizen. Dante then goes into a long metaphor comparing Italy to a horse. Historical figures like Emperor Justinian have come along to “mend your bridle,” but Dante concludes this is useless since “the saddle’s empty.” In other words, Italy has yet to find a good leader. Dante continues his rant against Italy, scolding the Church for not allowing Caesar to be in control but controlling it themselves. In short, the Church has made Italy its plaything and allowed it to roam free, lawless and wild. Dante is in a rage now and continues reprimanding Albert I of Austria for ignoring Italy during his reign and calls upon him to come and now see the results of his ignorance. Dante uncharacteristically shows pity for the Ghibellines by lamenting both Guelph and Ghibelline nobility together. He states that had a proper emperor ruled Italy, he would’ve reconciled the two parties and brought peace to the country.
Dante then turns his eyes towards God and asks why He is letting this misfortune continue in Italy. Finally, Dante turns upon his own city but exempts Florence from his insults. Dante ends his rant by comparing Florence to a sick woman leaving the reader with a more clear image of how Dante views the world of the living when so far he has only commented briefly on it or focused solely on the realms of the dead.
Canto 7
Following the conclusion of Dante’s rant, Sordello introduces himself properly and asks Virgil who he is. Virgil explains who he is and that he is a sinner not from this realm to which Sordello asks if he is from Hell or elsewhere. Virgil answers that he is from Hell, but that God is allowing him to move beyond Hell and into Purgatory, where he usually could not enter. He also comments that he isn’t suffering too badly as he lives in Limbo, not in real Hell. Virgil stresses that he is a pagan who died before Christ and couldn’t abide by the holy virtues; faith, hope and charity but followed other virtues so he is mostly good even though he isn’t in the eyes of God. Having said enough about himself, Virgil asks Sordello to point them to the path that would take them most easily to the entry to Mount Purgatory. Sordello also offers to guide them but as it is night and they can’t travel due to the evil of darkness they have to wait until morning.
Sordello also invites them to sleep with his people but what he said about not being able to travel at night has piqued Dante’s curiosity. Sordello explains to Dante that the darkness drains people of their will and they cannot physically climb any higher, they can go downwards to rest but not upwards. Sordello leads them to a spot in the valley that’s so bright with the color of grass and flowers that Dante describes nature as a painter. Picnicking on this lovely spot is a bunch of souls. They’re so perfect that they’re singing a hymn, “Salve, Regina.” Which translates to “Hail, Queen.” Sordello asserts that this spot has the best view of the valley and that here Dante and Virgil can do some sight-seeing in case they get bored. Sordello also points out Emperor Rudolph who is the only one not singing and Sordello explains that this monarch could have restored Italy to glory but did not. Beside him is Ottokar II, who Sordello comments is much better than his lazy son, Wenceslaus. Nearby is Philip III, a disgrace to France because he lost a big battle. Dante, in attempting to poetically describe this defeat, calls it “deflowering the lily” which sounds vaguely sexual.
Philip’s friend who is resting his head on his hand is Henry I. Sordello calls Philip the father-in-law of the pest of France, this pest being Philip IV who openly supported Clement V, the pope which resulted in the Pope being abducted from Rome. Then there is the masculine duo of Charles of Anjou and Pedro III of Aragon. Sordello’s point is that they’re singing in harmony while on earth they were bitter rivals over the throne. Seated behind them is Pedro, Pedro III’s youngest son, who might’ve brought virtue to the throne had he succeeded in gaining it. Sordello laments the throne belongs to nasty old James and Frederick. Sordello then like Dante launches into a complaint that few kings have sons worthy of their legacies. He continues in saying that only Henry III of England, “who led the simple life,” had a worthy son. We then come to the final ruler seated lowest in the valley who is William the Marquis, whose son brought on war between Monferrato and Canavese. With these introductions made Sordello concluded his extensive catalogue of the Valley of Rulers.
Canto 8
Dante rather than commenting on these men focus on the beautiful sunset until one soul raises his hand to gain the attention of the others and begins to sing the hymn “Te lucis ante” and everyone follows suit. Dante listens to the beautiful song and calls upon the reader to pay attention as from the sky descend two angels holding flaming swords with broken tips. One angel lands above Dante, the other on the opposite bank. Sordello, who’s familiar with angels, explains that they come from the Virgin Mary herself and serve as guards for the valley against the serpent. Dante who is afraid of snakes because at the mention of “serpent,” he keeps turning around to see if a serpent is approaching and he hides behind Virgil.
Unaware of Dante’s fear, Sordello proceeds to lead them down the bank with the intent of speaking to the souls there. Dante takes three steps before he realizes someone’s watching him, this is a soul trying to recognize Dante. Dante recognises the man as Judge Nino who he is relieved to find here and not in Hell. When Nino asks where Dante has come from, Dante answers that he has just arrived in Purgatory this morning while still alive. This shocks both Nino and Sordello who has gone all this time without realising that Dante has a solid body and the gape-mouthed judge calls a guy named Currado to greet Dante. He then turns to Dante to ask for a favour, Nino requests that when he returns that Dante visit his daughter, Giovanna and ask for her prayers. This seems like a harmless request but suddenly Nino starts babbling about his grudges against his former wife and he prophecies that she’ll regret re-marrying because her new husband will soon experience hard times and not be able to provide for his family.
Dante has stopped listening and has his eyes firmly fixed on the horizon, and Virgil who is also not paying attention asks him what he is looking at. Dante replies that he is watching the three stars on the south pole. Virgil explains that the four stars Dante saw earlier are now setting, which is why only three are visible. Sordello also points out that at the edge of the valley, there is an evil that slithers among all the flowers and then as quickly as it appeared it is gone. Dante explains that the two blond angels have made their move so swiftly in the air that human eyes couldn’t follow it. They’ve swept down on the serpent and scared it away. Now that the venomous threat has been conquered, Dante notices that Currado is staring at him.
After a few moments of awkward silence, Currado wishes Dante luck on his endeavours and then asks for news of his homeland, Val di Magra as he introduces himself as Currado Malaspina II, son of Currado Malaspina. Dante replies courteously, heaping praise on Currado’s homeland. He goes on claiming that although everyone else is affected by Satan’s evil, the Malaspina family alone walks the true path. Currado concurs. He prophecies that in seven years’ time, Dante will experience first-hand the greatness of the Malaspina family.
Canto 9
By this point, night has really fallen and Dante observes that Aurora has abandoned the bed of her lovers and is growing beautifully pale. Meanwhile, opposite her, the constellation Scorpio has jewels lining its tail. While it is difficult to follow the passage of time here roughly two-thirds of the night have now passed. Dante observes that, unlike his comrades, he bears “something of Adam”, meaning his biological body clock and is sleepy, so he lies down on the grass and it is implied that he falls asleep. Near dawn, Dante has a dream and it fun to note that it was believed that dreams experienced close to daybreak where the ones most likely to come true. In his dream, Dante sees a golden eagle poised high in the sky, as if ready to swoop down on him. Dante imagines that the eagle can only hunt for food here and then the inevitable happens, the eagle dives like a lightning bolt and snatches up Dante in its talons and soars upward. They both burn in the flaming sky. Before we can gather any more meaning form the dream Dante awakens. Being the proud man he is, Dante compares his awakening to Achilles’ when he woke up in a new kingdom after being carried there by his mother. Dante is so startled that he turns pale and cold, but Virgil is quickly at his side to comfort him.
Dante quickly notices that the sun has already risen, and he sees the sea which wasn’t there when he went to sleep. Virgil explains to Dante that they’re already at the gate of Purgatory. To placate Dante, Virgil explains that at Dante while Dante was in the middle of his nightmare, a lady called Lucia appeared and asked permission to help Dante on his way. Lucia carried Dante all the way to Purgatory’s gate, with Virgil in tow where she set Dante down, showed Virgil the entrance, and then disappeared. Dante listens quietly but quickly regains his composure. Afterward, he follows Virgil confidently to the entrance. As they get close to the entrance Dante notice that the three stairs leading towards the entrance are all a different colour. He also notes a shining guard sitting on the top step that is so bright that Dante can’t look at him and it does help that the guard holds an unsheathed sword that reflects more light into Dante’s eyes. The guard speaks, asking them where their escort is and warning them to be careful in their approach. Virgil answers that a lady from Heaven just pointed them here. Suddenly, the guard doesn’t seem so menacing anymore. He blesses them and invites them onto the stairs.
Dante being the observant person he notes the colour of each step, the first step is made of white marble, so polished that Dante can see his own reflection in it. The second is made out of cracked rock and is dark purple, and finally the third appears to be made from blood-red porphyry. On the top step stands the guardian angel before the adamant gate. Virgil urges Dante to climb these steps and to beg the guard to let them through. Dante, being a closet thespian, overdoes it, just a little. He beats thrice on his chest then throws himself at the angel’s feet, begging for mercy. The angel’s response is equally strange. He raises his sword and carves seven-letter P’s in blood on Dante’s forehead. The angel says that when Dante enters Purgatory, he’ll slowly be able to wash away those wounds. Dante also makes a note of the angel’s robe which is the colour of ash and from beneath it, the angel produces two keys, one gold and one silver which he uses to unlock the gates.
He then tells Dante that although one key is more expensive, the other requires more skill to use. He informs Dante that he got the keys from Peter, who warned him when in doubt to open the gate rather than turn praying souls away. He allows Virgil and Dante to enter but warns them that they can’t look back or they’ll be ousted. As the gates open they hear from within “Te Deum laudamus,” and Dante compares this music to an organ and vocal song where the words are fleeting. Overall, this canto has been one of the strangest I have read yet.
Canto 10
As the pair cross the threshold to the first terrace where the Prideful are housed, Dante proudly says that few men are privileged to pass and for a moment he fears looking back. The path gets more difficult as they constantly have to double back on themselves meaning it is slow going. They finally come to a stop in an open space where they rest, this mountain ledge is deep and the perfect place to rest although Dante is frustrated when he sees on the opposite ledge is made of white marble and covered in beautiful carvings. Carved on that rock are images of Gabriel the angel, who opened Heaven to men after Adam and Eve had been banished from Eden. Dante observes that the image of Gabriel is so beautiful that it doesn’t seem to be just an image. Virgil interrupts Dante’s gape-mouthed staring to advise him to look at all the images. Dante heeds Virgil’s advice and sees more Biblical stories rendered in the white stone. This one shows a cart drawn by oxen carrying a sacred ark. A crowd of people stands before it, divided into seven choirs.
To Dante, these choirs seem so realistic that he can’t believe his eyes and he swears he can almost hear the singing. Beyond this Dante sees the Roman Emperor Trajan mounted on horseback and surrounded by golden banners emblazoned with the eagle emblem. The representation is so detailed that Dante can hear the conversation being held. The widow begs God to avenge her son’s murder. Emperor Trajan asks her to wait until he returns to fulfil her request. She asks what if he doesn’t return and Trajan responds that his regent will perform the duty for her. Still doubtful, she asks why he is neglecting his duty and he assures her that the act will be done before he leaves because his duty and mercy require it of him. Dante begins to wonder how these pictures can seem so real but is again interrupted by Virgil who draws his attention to a group of approaching souls and he hopes that they will be able to show them the way up the mountain. Dante turns toward them, reluctantly tearing his eyes from the glorious paintings.
Dante prewarns the reader that the punishment these souls are enduring may seem harsh but not to dwell on it as salvation lies just beyond. Dante immediately sees that these people don’t seem like people, he first thinks there is something wrong with his sight and shares this though with Virgil. Virgil assures him that it’s not his vision; these people are punished by bearing heavy weights on their shoulders and are thus bent over. As Dante looks closers he finds the forms almost crushed under the weight of the stones are human and he laments that men could be so proud as to render them blind and force them to walk backward. Dante compares these men to caterpillars or worms that can only morph into butterflies once they have gone through purgation. When Dante looks again, the soul’s forms echo the despair. Everyone is bent over at different heights, according to the weights on their backs and all of them seem on the verge of collapsing.
Canto 11
Dante sees that these souls despite the stones on their backs continue to praise God and this canto opens with them praying from His blessing so that they may come to His kingdom. They then collectively forgive everyone who’s ever wronged God and ask that He set them free from evil, as well as their brothers who are still alive. These prideful souls lug their burdens around the first terrace as they sing this prayer. Dante suddenly steps in to voice his opinion and he expresses his gratitude for these souls praying for those still alive like himself and insists that we, meaning mankind, should pray for them so they can reach Heaven. Virgil voices what Dante is thinking, but puts it in more practical terms. He agrees to pray for the Prideful souls if they will show him and Dante the easiest way up the mountain, adding in a whisper that Dante isn’t quite as athletically gifted in climbing as the bodiless souls.
One soul answers and urges the pair to come with him to the right path where even a live person can climb. He goes adding that he wishes he could raise his head to see Dante’s face and ask for his prayers. We learn that the speaker is Tuscan and that his father is Guiglielmo Aldobrandesco, who was a great man, so great that the speaker takes excessive pride in his family. He names himself as Omberto and laments that his arrogance has not only brought pain to him, and to his whole family. However, Omberto admits that here he bears the burden that he refused to shoulder on earth. Dante reminds the reader that during this whole speech the man has been bent over facing the ground but twists his head around to catch a glimpse of Dante and he recognises the man as Oderisi, the famous illuminator. Oderisi, obviously pleased that he’s so famous, quickly shows how far he’s come as a prideful soul as he insists that his colleague Franco Bolognese was the better painter. Oderisi regrets being so proud during his lifetime because he’s paying the price here. He rants against mankind in general for its pride because those acclaimed at a certain time can never stay great.
Oderisi gives several examples like that of his fellow artist, Cimabue, whose glory gave way to Giotto’s, whose glory gave way to Guido’s. The lesson he is teaching here is that our pride is nothing in comparison to God’s power. Oderisi also points out a man in front of him and tells Dante that this man was in life was the pride of Siena as he won a huge battle against the Ghibellines in Florence, but now all of that glory has gone. Dante is eager to learn the identity of this Ghibelline hater is. He tells Oderisi that his words have inspired great humility in him, and asks for the man’s name. Oderisi answers that the man’s name is Provenzan Salvani and he’s amongst the prideful because he reached too far in trying to conquer all of Siena. The pair continue their conversation about who is housed here and the nature of human pride but Oderisi suddenly throws a prophecy in as he predicts that Dante will understand his words better when he witnesses his neighbours acts which will free him from Ante-Purgatory.
Canto 12
Dante here compares himself to an ox alongside his fellow bovines, but Virgil has had his fill of these souls and tells Dante it is time to move on. He basically tells Dante he can stop bending over and stand straight again but Dante responds by saying even if he is standing straight is thoughts are still bent or humble, and here Dante and Virgil pick up their pace. Virgil then tells Dante to take a look downwards because it will give him some comfort. Looking down Dante sees sculptures protruding from the mountain. On one side, Dante sees a sculpture of Lucifer falling from Heaven. On another side, there’s a sculpture of Briareus the giant impaled on a thunderbolt. He continues to see sculptures of many mythological figures who have suffered for their pride: Thymbraeus, Mars, and Pallas, who contemplate the giants they’ve dismembered; Nimrod at the foot of his Tower of Babel; Niobe amongst her fourteen murdered children; Saul, who died on his own sword; Arachne, who was turned into a spider; Rehoboam, who’s running from a chariot Alcmaeon; the children of Sennacherib as they attack their father Tomyris; the Assyrians; and, finally, the city of Troy.
Dante rages against the arrogant “sons of Eve” (humankind), telling them sarcastically to turn a blind eye on their evil ways. Dante realises that he has spent a long time looking at the sculptures and Virgil quickly tells him to raise his eyes as an angel is approaching. Dante tells the reader that the angel is beautiful, but he wastes no time in opening his arms and welcomes Dante and Virgil to the next terrace and remarks on how few make it this far. He leads them to a crack in the wall. Before they enter, the angel hits Dante on the head with his wing. The move along the path and Dante hears a song and remarks on how nice it is compared to Hell’s song of screams. As they continue climbing the stairs, Dante realizes he doesn’t have to work as hard. He’s not as heavy as he used to be. Virgil corrects him by saying that he isn’t as tired because of the P’s has been erased from his forehead and every time it happens his burden will be reduced and this seems to be a clue as to what the P’s stand for. Dante’s hands fly to his forehead and he feels only six P’s on his forehead now. Meanwhile, Virgil watches Dante poking at his forehead and it amuses him greatly.
Canto 13
Dante and Virgil arrive at the official entrance of the second terrace which is the home of the envious. Dante sees immediately that it looks almost the same as the first terrace only it is smaller and the rock here is a blue/black colour. Just as Dante begins settling down to wait for the next passers-by so they can ask directions, Virgil expresses that they’d be wasting too much time waiting and instead, he does what any good guide would do: he uses a compass, but first Virgil utters a prayer to the sun that it guides them safely. Virgil then begins walking and blindly loyal Dante follows, when they have travelled for a while they are interrupted by the sound of speaking all around them and the voices are speaking greeting but words of love. Dante hears such things as “vinum non habent,” “I am Orestes,” and “Love those by whom you have been hurt” and instead of running away screaming, Dante calmly asks Virgil what’s going on. Virgil explains that this is the terrace in which envy is purged and love is the completely opposite of envy.
However, Virgil does warn Dante that he will get to hear the punished soon enough and directs his attention to the path ahead of them where a crowd of souls sit. Dante opens his eyes and sees people wearing clothes the same color as the stone all around them. As Dante and Virgil approach, the souls cry out to famous Biblical people who were full of love, like the Virgin Mary. As he gets closer, Dante realizes that he’s witnessing the punishment of envious souls, and his eyes immediately fill with tears. Each envious soul rests his hands on his neighbour’s shoulder, like the blind leading the blind. Dante, being a tender-hearted man, cries at the thought of poor, blind beggars. Here the Envious really are blind, their eyelids are sewn shut with iron wires and Dante compares them to hooded hunting hawks, blinded so that they’re easier to handle. Dante turns to Virgil with the comment that it’s rude for them to pass through the midst of the Envious without being seen. Virgil, quite vexed, allows Dante to say what he will to the Envious souls, provided he keeps it short. As he approaches them, Dante becomes highly aware of the cliff edge, but Virgil is to his right, protecting him from falling off the mountain and to his left are the souls with their eyes sewn shut and tears on their cheeks.
Dante praises these souls because they are destined to enter Heaven eventually and regain both their sight and memory. He asks if anyone there is Italian and suggests that he might be able to help his fellow countrymen. One soul answers rather impudently, correcting Dante. She claims that everyone here is a citizen of “one true city” and what Dante meant to say was “one who lived in Italy as a pilgrim.” Not used to being corrected, Dante fixes his eyes on the speaker and asks her who she is. She answers that she’s Sienese and that she’s sorry for her vices in life. She says, “I was not sapient, though I was called Sapia”, she also took more joy in others’ misfortune than in her own good luck. She tells Dante how her fellow Sienese backed the Ghibelline leader Colle di Val d’Elsa, while she was envious of their power. When they were defeated in battle, Sapia rejoiced and dared to turn her face to God to say, “Now I fear you no more!” However, she continues, she repented at the end of her life and thus ended up in Purgatory. She also gives a shout-out to a friend named Pier Pettinaio, whose prayers have already gotten her into Purgatory proper.
Now she turns her attention to Dante and asks who he is, and is curious why he is alive and allowed in Purgatory. Dante answers that he’ll pass through here eventually too and be blinded for a little while, but not for long because he never was really envious in his life. Instead, he’s more afraid of the first terrace. Dante must think he’s proud and most likely to end up among the Prideful. Sapia is not finished with Dante and she asks who guided him up here. Dante avoids her question by saying only that his guide is a soul just like them. He also asks if she wants him to pray for her. This distraction works as she immediately jumps on his offer and tells him that he already has “God’s love”. Greedily, she also asks him to give her a good reputation back on earth. Sapia ends with a prophecy as she claims, there are still envious people. These people can be easily identified because they either invest in or work at the port of Talamone in Genoa. Being a dead person, Sapia can foresee that the venture will end badly. With context, we know that Talamone was doomed from the very beginning as its banks contained a large amount of silt which needed to be dredged so that ships could safely dock and Talamone was infested with malaria. Thus Sapia predicts that the admirals at Talamone “will lose the most” and she doesn’t just mean their money.
Canto 14
Dante sees two unnamed souls speaking, wondering who Dante is as he cannot only see but is alive and one soul urges the other to ask because he is closer to the man and Dante watches the souls argue, amused. One of them finally turns to Dante and asks who he is and where he’s from since he’s such an oddity in this place. Dante answers in a needlessly mysterious way, saying that he’s from the Tuscan land which holds a great river and refuses to give his name because “my name has not yet gained much fame.” The first soul ponders this and correctly identifies Dante’s mysterious river as the Arno. Then his friend asks why Dante hid the name of the river from them. The other soul answers that he doesn’t know, but they shouldn’t speak of that place because there, “virtue is seen as a serpent, and all flee from it.” In fact, it’s so bad that its name has changed.
According to the soul, the Arno starts in a place full of “foul hogs,” that descends to a land of dogs that fight amongst themselves. Apparently these dogs are so disgusting that even the Arno turns away from them and makes a sharp right and as it grows wider. As the river descends further, it comes across wily foxes. If you’re sharp, you’ve rightly guessed that these animals aren’t really animals but are symbolic of the people living near the river. The shade then makes a prophecy out of nowhere and he predicts that his companion’s grandson has become a wolf hunter on the banks of the river. Strangely enough, the wolves are scared of this wolf hunter because he “sells their flesh while they are still alive” and then, like the devil, kills them all. These actions bring dishonour upon him and he triggers such fear in the forest that when he leaves, it’s never the same. The listener who’s also the grandfather of this troubled teen grows increasingly depressed. Dante’s curiosity finally overwhelms him, and he asks the two speakers who they are.
The first soul points out that Dante has asked him for something that he himself refuses to give but reveals his name anyway as Guido del Duca. He confesses that he was so envious in his lifetime that when he saw his neighbours happy, he grew livid with jealousy. He introduces his friend as Rinieri da Calboli, a worthy man who did not pass that quality onto his sons. Seeing how dejected poor Rinieri is, Guido goes on to say that it’s not only the Calboli family that’s lost the truth and laments on many Tuscan souls who’ve either died or been corrupted and lists such people like Bernadin di Fosco, Ugolino d’Azzo, Guido da Prata, Ugolino de’ Fantolini, and the houses of Bagnacaval, Castrocuro, Conio, and Pagani. Guido is then overcome with grief and sends Dante away, and just as Dante and Virgil leave the envious behind and voice speaks; “whoever captures me will slaughter me.” Before our heroes have time to react, another voice thunders, “I am Aglauros, who was turned to stone” and Dante inches nearer Virgil for protection. These are voices calling out examples of punished envy, in order to help the Envious learn their lesson. Virgil scolds Dante for not recognizing good but also for fearing it.
Canto 15
With this canto which have almost reached the halfway point in Purgatorio and I am finding it slightly more entertaining and far less depressing than Inferno, but it is moving at a much slower pace than Inferno. We have also moved from the terrace of the envious to the terrace of the wrathful. As the move on Dante is blinded by the light and Virgil explains that the light is nothing to worry about as it is just another angel coming to welcome them and tells Dante he will delight in all things he sees. The angel tells the pair to enter the terrace, and to keep climbing because the slope has become even less steep. They obey, and as they enter the staircase, they hear a strain of a hymn, “beati misericordes.” Accustomed now to random bursts of song, Dante decides he wants to learn something from Virgil as they walk. He asks what Guido del Duca meant when he said, “sharing cannot have a part.” Virgil explains it in terms of envy, Guido’s sin, when a person desires something that can be divided up, then this inspires envy. However, if the person turns his desire heavenward, envy is not possible because up there the more people there are in Heaven, the more love and happiness there is to go around.
Dante asks Virgil how something shared between more people could make them all richer than if it were shared by only a few. Virgil reminds his naïve pupil that Heaven doesn’t work like earth does, explaining patiently that God is attracted to love and that wherever He finds love in a person’s heart, He adds to it. Thus, the more loving souls there are, the more love there is, which when you think about it actually makes perfect sense despite its seemingly backward explanation. Virgil also tells Dante that if he doesn’t believe him to wait for Beatrice and she will confirm what he has said. Virgil wants to hurry up so that those five remaining P’s on Dante’s forehead can be erased as well, the removal of the sixth P wasn’t shown like it was with the first. Satisfied with Virgil’s answer, Dante hurries to comply with Virgil’s commands, however, he is suddenly stopped in his tracks by an ecstatic vision. In his vision he sees a woman inside a temple lecturing a boy at her feet, she asks the boy what he has done and that he worried his parents and then fades away. This scene is reminiscent of a New Testament story of Mary and the young Jesus. Mary and her husband Joseph had just returned from a Passover feast in Jerusalem to discover their son missing. For three days they search, only to find their son in the temple, debating with scholars.
The vision of the Virgin Mary is followed by another. A woman appears, crying. She begs her husband who is King Pisistratus of Athens to kill the man who has dared to touch their daughter. The good King refuses because how should they treat their enemies if they condemn someone who only wants their love. As this couple fades away another vision appears. An angry mob chants “Kill! Kill! Kill!” while stoning a boy. As the youth dies, his eyes turn towards Heaven, and he prays to God to forgive his persecutors. When he disappears, Dante comes back to himself and Virgil asks him what is wrong as he sleepwalked for quite a while and Dante begs Virgil for answers. Virgil, however, already knows everything almost as if he can read Dante’s mind and tell Dante that he cannot hide his thoughts from him. He explains that Dante’s visions are images of gentleness, the opposite of wrath, in the hopes of rendering Dante free of that vice. Virgil continues urging Dante to along, to take advantage of the daylight and continue his purgation. They continue walking and soon they are swallowed up by black smoke, which appears from nowhere blinding them.
Canto 16
Dante claims that this smoke is darker than the darkness of Hell, it is so bad it forces Dante to close his eyes. Virgil who seems to be in an uncharacteristically helpful mood moves to Dante’s side to help him and he guides him through the darkness and protects him from getting lost in the smoke. Before they leave the darkness countless voice rises competing for dominance and they are all praying much to Dante’s relief because they’re singing in unison, Dante gets the impression that each singer is in perfect harmony with the others. Dante thinks these people are souls and Virgil applauds him but does one better as Virgil knows that the singers are the Wrathful and they are trying to purge themselves of their sin. At that moment a voice calls out to Dante as he is intrigued by Dante being alive. Virgil advises Dante to answer and then ask for directions which he does but not in the way Virgil advised as he asks the soul to follow him.
The soul agrees to follow Dante as far as he is allowed, Dante is worried about losing the soul in the smoke but is comforted when the soul points out they can keep track of each other being of their hearing. Dante acknowledges that he’s alive and has been permitted access not only to Purgatory, but also to Hell and then he puts his privileged status on the offensive, charging the soul to reveal his life story and then direct them to the path because God gives him the right. Appropriately intimidated, the soul tells Dante that he’s a Lombard and that his name is Marco. He claims that he lived in a time when men had better moral values than they do now. Marco also proceeds to answer Dante’s other request and tells the two visitors to go keep going straight and they’ll reach the top of the mountain. Marco does beg Dante to pray for him, but it also seems like an afterthought. Dante agrees even though he still has a question unanswered, but Marco’s speech has reminded Dante of a conversation he had with Guido del Duca. In support of Marco’s words, Dante agrees that the world is now full of sin, but he wants to know why, and Dante begs Marco to answer him so that he can spread the word.
Marco’s wise words are dismissive of Dante but tells the eager pupil that the world is blind and basically says that Dante can’t possibly understand. Marco continues by saying that mortals like Dante believe that Heaven controls and preordains everything, but this is wrong because there would be no free will if Heaven did control everything. If there was no free will the punishment system including Hell and Purgatory would break down, because then man could neither be blamed for his sins or rewarded for his virtue. Marco argues that all Heaven does is awaken your desires and this is where free will comes in. Marco claims that a greater power than Heaven created man’s mind and this power is God, who made man in such a way that he is not completely ruled by the heavens and he can choose how to behave. If everything is as Marco claimed then the world is a worse place than it was, and man only have themselves to blame not God.
Marcon continues his lectures arguing that the soul was created by God and it is a simple thing much like a child and the only thing the child cares about is pleasing himself. Marco states because of the childlike nature of the soul, man needs some force in order to restrain their desire and guide them in a better direction and this force is politics as men need laws to restrain them and a ruler to direct them to the only true city; the city of God. In his tirade, Marco laments that Rome, which “made the world good” by separating and limiting the powers of church and state, now joins the two separate forces under one ruler. Now that “the sword has joined the shepherd’s crook,” neither church nor state balances out the other and they no longer have to fear one another. Marco asserts that the old is morally superior to the new. Dante wisely humbles himself before Marco, complimenting his impressive reasoning power but he does ask who Gherardo is, seemingly too good for this modern age. Marco’s mouth drops wide open when he hears that Dante doesn’t know who Gherardo is, especially since Dante is Tuscan. Marco says Gherardo was also known as “Gaia’s father,” and then decides the conversation is over. He tells Dante that the smoke is starting to clear up and the sunlight is coming through and this is his sign to leave before the angel arrives. Marco leaves, leaving Dante and Virgil alone again.
Canto 17
Dante here asked the reader to step into own shoes and remember the time they were trapped on the mountain and couldn’t see anything and tells us that’s what it feels like for him. When at last Dante and Virgil can see the sky again, they realize the sun is about to set, so they go from one darkness to another. Dante follows Virgil’s trusty footsteps out of the cloud of smoke. Dante then has one of his weird moments in which he starts spouting rhetoric about some subject, this time he discusses fantasy and he speculates that fantasy is made possible by human contemplation of an external object. Having established this, he then asks how fantasy works in the absence of an external object to contemplate but he answers his own question. When there’s no object to contemplate, fantasy is directed by the light from the heavens or is directed by God’s will itself.
Dante has his won fantasy here about wrath where he sees Procne, who was turned into a nightingale for her sin of wrath. Procne’s sister, Philomela was a great beauty so much so that she inspired lust in her own brother-in-law, Tereus. Tereus ends up raping Procne so she goes to her sister to get magical power and they take revenge by murdering Tereus’ son and serve him on a platter to his father who tries to have them killed but the sister’s transform into birds. Procne disappears from Dante’s inner sight, only to be replaced by another image of wrath: the crucified body of Haman. He’s surrounded by King Ahasuerus, Esther, and Mordecai. In the Bible, Haman is the counselor for King Ahasuerus of Persia and when he was in Mordecai, a Jew, refuses to bow down to him, Haman tries to have all the Jews killed. Esther, the King’s wife, comes to the rescue and Haman is hanged for his crime on the same gallows he has prepared for Mordecai.
This continues on for a while like it did before and Dante wakes up just when the sunlight beats upon his closed eyes. He looks around wildly for the source of light, but hears only a voice that says, “Here one can ascend.” Dante continues to look for the source of the light only for Virgil to intervene. He explains yet again that this an angel who has offered to lead the pair to the fourth terrace, but they have to move quickly before night falls. Led by the angel, they climb a stairway. Just as Dante puts his foot on the first step, the angel’s wing flaps, there’s a wind against Dante’s face, and a voice cries out “Beati pacifici, those free of evil anger.” By the time they make it to the top of the stairs night has fallen and Dante’s strength is melting away. Dante perks his ears, straining in the darkness to hear what this new terrace will bring but it is easier for him to ask Virgil who is punished here, and we learn it is the slothful.
Virgil returns to his full lecture mode ordering Dante to pay attention and since they are stuck here for the night he might as well learn something. Virgil talks about love, not to Dante but from a theological standpoint. He explains that all creatures created by God are capable of love and that there are only two types of love: natural and mental. Natural love, Virgil claims, is infallible, but mental love can choose to love the wrong thing or err in loving too much or too little. If mental love is directed toward God first and foremost, it will not succumb to evil. However, if it turns toward evil or does not love God above all other things, then it is turning against its Maker. Virgil’s message is that love is the sole motivation of every action, whether it promotes virtue or vice. By this logic, any being can’t hate themselves because love is always concerned with wellbeing. Virgil, sly fellow that he is, does not tell Dante how distorted love manifests itself in humans. He reveals only that in the three terraces to come, distorted love is punished. Dante will have to discover those vices on his own.
Canto 18
After finishing his lecture Virgil watches to make sure Dante has gotten the message and even if he has more questions Dante remains silent. However, Virgil can read Dante’s mind and basically tells Dante to stop being nice and ask if he has questions. Dante then asks the question on all of our minds; what is this love which Virgil claims causes all good and evil? Rather than answering this question, Virgil launches into another lecture, he has already explained that the soul is made by God to love and is drawn to anything pleasurable and so anything beautiful. When we see something we like, our minds conjure up an image of that thing in an idealized form, so that what we’re seeing and lusting after is not really the real thing in the material world, but some too-good-to-be-true illusion. When our soul has “turned towards it” and does so frequently, it’s called love. Virgil continues, there are some folks out there who say that all love is good. But, Virgil says, that’s simply a load of bull because although God’s love is holy and perfect, man’s love is not always the mirror image of God’s.
Dante, of course, being logical sees a problem with this, Virgil has set out the definition of love but if love is the only force that drives a man to act how can man have free will. Of course, Virgil has an answer ready, but for the first time, we see a glimmer of doubt in him. He replies to Dante’s question, but he will answer only so far as reason can apply, but to get past the utter implausibility of these words and learn faith, Dante should trust to Beatrice. In this same way, human beings are completely unaware that love is their innermost, motivating desire, this Love that God puts in us is pre-ordained and we can’t do anything about it. Thus, man cannot be praised or blamed for that part of him. There is, however, another part of man that judges and distinguishes between right and wrong, and this is the part of man that can be praised or blamed for his actions because it’s his free will. So what Virgil is saying is that even though one’s love may make him desire many things at once, they still have the power to restrain this desire with their free will. This ability to control one’s desires, Virgil says, is what Beatrice means by free will. Virgil ends his lecture and as the night has drawn in Dante is about to fall asleep on his lovely ledge of rock, when a partying crowd interrupts him. Two of the souls run ahead of their main posse, babbling. The words are about Mary rushing to a mountain and Caesar rushing back and forth across the Continent to make war.
The rest of the souls rush after the first two, shouting stuff about making haste because there is so little time. Virgil tries to calm them down by assuring them that Dante will pray for them if they’ll just do a small favour and show them the way up the mountain. One soul answers, telling Virgil and Dante to follow, saying not to be offended by their hurry as it’s their punishment for being lazy on earth. He tells them he was the abbot of St. Zeno in Verona. This triggers a cascade of memories and prophecies which he cannot keep to himself. He tells Dante and Virgil all about the future of St. Zeno. Which is right now under the rule of a man “with one foot in the grave, who soon will weep over that monastery.” This is because he himself handed down the abbacy to the worst possible candidate: his illegitimate son. This is all that Dante’s able to hear from the abbot because at this point the rush of the crowd has carried him far away. Virgil turns his attention to the last two members of that crowd, who are still within earshot and as they run away, Dante hears the Slothful souls giving two last examples of lazy people who have been punished. They chatter on about the Israelites who refused to follow Moses to the Promised Land, and they were left to die in the desert. The Trojans who pled exhaustion to get out of following Aeneas to Italy died also cowardly deaths. As these words of wisdom fade away, Dante has a host of new thoughts, which float randomly from one to the other.
Canto 19
Dante is again experiencing some strange dreams as dawn approaches. In this dream a woman appears, she’s pale and stammers when she talks but Dante decides to turn her into his fantasy woman rather than letting the dream play out as it was intended. This new woman is a siren and talks about seducing men to their deaths and so forth but before she can finish her song another woman appears, this second woman is saintly which silences the siren and she asks Virgil to identify the siren. Virgil appears in the dream as well, toga and all, approaches the siren, and does what Dante wanted to do which is rips her clothes off. This dream isn’t erotica as Dante isn’t inspired by the siren but rather repulsed by the smell coming from her bare stomach which causes him to wake in a cold sweat. Virgil, though, takes no notice, because it’s morning and he’s anxious to get moving up the mountain and he’s already called to Dante three times to get up. Dante practices the unhealthy technique of suppressing his worries and follows Virgil humbly. At some point, they hear a voice announcing their arrival at the passageway onto the fifth terrace. As they walk past in reverence, the angel fans them with his wings, telling them that those “qui lugent” (“who mourn their sinfulness”) will have consolation in their souls. It takes Virgil quite a while to notice Dante’s strange mood and after they pass the angel he finally asks Dante was is wrong and he obviously answers by saying that his dreams troubled him last night. Virgil comforts him by explaining what the dream means and it turns out that the hag whom Dante transformed into a beautiful siren represents a vice which is atoned for in the terraces above. This is Virgil’s way of explaining the dream and getting Dante to hurry up. Immediately, Virgil and Dante see the souls in their punishment. Here on the fifth terrace, they lie face down on the ground, chained down, and weeping. Virgil speaks, praying for their salvation and then asking for the proper path to follow.
A soul answers that if they don’t need to lie down with their fellow souls, they should to take the path to the right. Dante hears something in that voice and looks at Virgil, who wordlessly gives him permission to do as he wishes. Dante asks the soul who he is, why he is lying on the ground, and if he should pray for him. The soul explains that he was a pope on earth and only got his office after converting but found that the mortal life held nothing for him and so he became interested in what came after life. He explains further that in life he was greedy and only wanted material things and so his punishment here in Purgatory is that his eyes are held towards Earth as he never raised them to Heaven in life. In addition to this, their limbs are chained down by justice so that they can’t move. Dante kneels, wanting some more talk, but the soul anticipates him and asks why he’s kneeling. Dante answers that seeing him prostrate on the ground has made Dante feel ashamed of standing up over him. The pope doesn’t want his pity and orders, Dante, to stand up straight. He says they’re all under the power of God and to underscore it means it is worth nothing. Fully perturbed now, the pope tells Dante to leave him alone to his suffering. As an afterthought, he mentions his good niece Alagia who is still alive and pious, and we can assume that he means for Dante to find her and ask for her prayers.
Canto 20
After being ordered to leave by the pope, Virgil leads the way, finding that the path isn’t completely covered in souls. Dante here starts ranting that the wolf in hungry referring back to the she-wolf who barred his passage at the beginning of Inferno where he first met Virgil. Virgil, a smart man, keeps walking and Dante follows suit. As they travel, they notice the souls around them lamenting and crying. One voice calls out, like a woman giving birth, “Sweet Mary!” and she describes how Mary’s act of giving birth to Jesus in a stable demonstrates how poor she was. The souls proceed to call out further examples of poverty and generosity, the cures to their sins of avarice and prodigality. This show of humility pleases Dante so much that he steps forward, trying to find the speaker; now chanting about Saint Nicholas, who donated money to poor girls so they could get married. Dante asks the speaking soul who he is and why it’s only he that talks about such good role models, in return for this information Dante promises him prayers when he returns to the living world. He names himself as Hugh Capet, a king of France, who had lots of sons named Louis and Philip. Surprisingly, Hugh tells us he was not of royal blood but instead, he was the son of a butcher. However, when the current king died without an heir, Hugh somehow took control and unsurprisingly crowned his own son king after that. When a marriage in Provence allowed Hugh to take the throne, all hell broke loose. His family the Capetians started seizing cities, killing people, and poisoning enemies. Out of nowhere, Hugh starts prophesying. He sees a man named Charles coming out of France to seek eternal fame. This Charles doesn’t carry weapons except the “lance that Judas tilted.” This means that he only brings sin upon himself. This refers to Charles of Valois, sent by Boniface VIII to make peace with Florence, except that he ended up throwing that cause out the window in favour of ratcheting up the power of the Black party so much that they exiled the Whites (with Dante) so in many people’s eyes, he’s a backstabber.
Then Hugh foresees another Charles, defeated at war, selling his daughter and this refers to Charles II of Anjou, who was taken prisoner in a naval battle and ended up marrying his youngest daughter off for a large sum of money. Hugh laments that his house has fallen so low to the point of trafficking their children for money. He also talks about how Philip the Fair, one of his sons, kidnapped Pope Boniface VIII and had him tortured. Hugh compares Pope Boniface to Christ, who was equally mocked and tormented, and Philip’s henchmen are so evil that Hugh compares them to the “new Pilate,” the official by whose orders Christ was crucified. Finally, Hugh turns back to Dante and tells him that this is how he and his fellow souls talk all day but at night, he says, they recite contrary examples and here he names a few like Pygmalion, Queen Dido’s husband who tried to murder her for her inheritance. He also mentions Crassus who was a member of the famous Roman triumvirate who ruled Rome along with Julius Caesar and Pompey, his greed was so well known that when he was finally defeated, his enemies poured molten gold down his throat to kill him.
To explain why he is the only voice Dante hears, Hugh tell us that sometimes the souls sing loudly or softly depending on their mood and it just so happens that he’s singing the loudest today. It is here that Dante leaves him but before Virgil and Dante have gone far, the whole mountain shakes and Dante is stunned with fright. To comfort Dante, Virgil tells him not to be afraid. However, the souls don’t seem to be afraid, in fact, they seem quite happy. Happy enough to sing the hymn “Gloria in excelsis Deo.” The song stops Dante in his tracks, and he listens, stunned until they finish. As soon as the quake ends, they start moving again. Curiously, the souls have had a severe mood swing as they are now crying again. Dante feels confused as he can’t understand souls’ behavior and he doesn’t ask Virgil, because he wants to move on, and Dante decides to be quiet and follow him.
Canto 21
Dante is still troubled by the fact he can’t figure out the soul’s behaviour and the pair don’t realise someone is following until he greets them. Virgil is the first to return the greeting and the man recognises that he is from Hell and asks how he came to be here. Virgil explains by pointing to Dante’s forehead with the three remaining Ps. He goes into a discussion about how Dante is meant to “reign with all the righteous,” but has fallen off his path and it’s Virgil’s job to set him straight. Virgil questions the mysterious man asking what the earthquake was and Dante just listens silently. The mysterious man explains that it wasn’t an accident, because Purgatory proper does not have regular weather and the clouds cannot reach any higher than the three steps at the entrance of Purgatory. He goes on to explain further that the shaking was something special as it only happens when a soul is completely cleansed and is ready to ascend to Heaven. The man reveals it was him that the mountain shook for and Virgil congratulates him and then asks who he is. The mysterious man explains how he was a famous person in his own time, but not a Christian. He came from Toulouse but found his glory days in Rome. Finally, he names himself as the poet Statius, who wrote the Thebiad and the Achilleid, but lost his moral compass while writing that latter one.
The man ended up turning to his favourite work of all time, Virgil’s Aeneid which is ironic as he is talking to Virgil and doesn’t know it. Statius continues saying that he would gladly add a year to his sentence in Purgatory to have been alive in Virgil’s time. At these words, Virgil turns to Dante silently with a look that says, “Be still” but as hard as he tries to remain impassive, Dante can’t help but smile a little. Statius notices and looks inquiringly at Dante not understanding what the man is smiling at and Dante feels torn between telling Statius the truth and obeying Virgil’s order to remain silent. Finally, Virgil decides, by letting out a great big sigh and ordering Dante to tell him the truth, which he does. At the big revelation, Statius drops to his knees to kiss Virgil’s feet, but Virgil quickly lifts the man to his feet. He tells him there’s no need to humble himself so, saying, “you are a shade, a shade is what you see.” In other words, they’re of the same rank, exactly the same as they are just souls. Statius answers that his reaction shows just how much respect he has for Virgil and he treats Virgil almost as a human being, instead of a fellow soul.
Canto 22
The duo has now become a trio and in the time between the cantos, they have reached the Angel of Justice, and Dante has had another P erased from his forehead. The angel has also blessed them with a part of Beatitude condemning thirst and hunger. The angel stops at thirst and it is implied the rest will come after they have passed through the terrace of the Gluttonous. Dante follows his two guides, his feet light and his heart happy. Virgil begins to speak here in a manner we haven’t heard from him before as he talks about how Statius’ love for him has reached him in Hell and asks how he became avaricious when he seems so nice. Statius explains that he wasn’t avaricious but prodigal as they are both punished on the fifth terrace. Due to him being a spendthrift he spent many months doing his penance in Purgatory and is thankful because if he hadn’t realised his sin he would still be there pushing weights with the prodigal in Hell. Virgil goes on to ask who converted him to Christianity and Statius replied that Virgil did called him the lantern-bearer who lights the path for those that follow him, and he quotes Virgil and tells him it was by reading his works, he was converted to Christianity. This passage is important when we remember that Virgil is a pagan, not a Christian. Statius goes on to say in his lifetime, Christianity had already spread and was widely practiced. The preachers communicated messages that Statius found in Virgil’s writings so that he often hung out with them, however, Emperor Domitian was stoutly pagan and had all the Christians persecuted. Statius felt sympathetic for the Christians and he converted secretly and was baptized, but he hid his new faith for a long time. For this reluctance to show his faith, he was punished for a long time in Purgatory. Now, Statius wants to ask Virgil some questions. He asks about the location of some poets he knew including Terence, Caecilius, Plautus, and Varius.
Virgil answers that they all reside in Limbo, and he names more poets that reside there but the only one we have to note is Homer. After this, both of them fall silent and content themselves with walking. For most of this Dante has been silent and Virgil, deciding where to go, orders everyone to turn so that the terrace is on their right-hand side. They travel like this for a little while, the two guides ahead, Dante behind, listening in on their talk of poetry. They’re soon interrupted by the sight of a huge tree in front of them, fragrant with the scent of ripe figs but it’s branch point downwards making it impossible to climb and beneath the tree is a pool of bright water. As they approach the tree, a disembodied voice cries out, “This food shall be denied to you.” The voice goes on, citing examples of temperance and it talks about Mary, who noticed at the marriage feast of Cana that there was no wine for her guests and this shows she was more concerned about her guests than her own hunger and thirst. The voice goes on to talk about how Roman women only drank water and never wine, the voice talks about Daniel refusing food and drink in order to gain wisdom and he talks of John the Baptist in the wilderness who only eats honey and locusts.
Canto 23
Dante is tempted by the fruit, but the voice hypnotises him, but Virgil isn’t moved by the voice and again ushers Dante along and he obeys. As they travel, they hear a hymn sung on the wind: “Labi mea, Domine” and Dante asks who is singing this and Virgil answers that it’s probably souls just like in every other terrace they have been to. As if summoned a crowd of souls appears travelling along the same road as our party and each silently examines the other. Dante is struck by how skinny each soul is, they’re so thin he can practically see their skeletons underneath their skins. The shades are so skinny that Dante can clearly see the M of OMO on their faces. A little explanation is needed here so, homo is the Latin word for man, and medieval people saw it, minus the H on everyone’s face. The two O’s are the eyes, while the M consists of the lines from the two cheekbones connected to the nose. So these people’s faces are so emaciated that the M shows more prominently than any of the other letters. As Dante wonders why they’re so thin, one of the souls turns and speaks to him. His face is so emaciated that Dante doesn’t recognize it, identifying the figure only by his voice. He turns out to be Dante’s friend Donati Forese.
He begs Dante not to tell him off for being so thin but instead, he wants to know who Dante’s guides are. Dante answers his question with a question as he asks why Forese is here. Forese points out the tree behind them and replies that all the souls here suffer for their gluttony on earth. Their punishment is to constantly smell the fruit and pure water but to vainly circle the tree, unable to eat or drink. Forese first calls their suffering “pain” but quickly corrects himself saying it is actually “solace” as they are following in Christ’s footsteps to reach God. Dante quickly does the math and realises that Forese should still be in Ante-Purgatory and his friend replies that his wife Nella has been praying for him and that this wins her God’s love as she is now alone. Forese then goes into what I dubbed prophecy-mode and he foresees a time when it will be forbidden for Florentines to walk around so indecently. However, he seems to remember the questions he asked Dante, which remains unanswered, so he begs Dante not to keep the information from him any longer. Finally, Dante answers the Forese’s question by introducing Virgil as the man who guided him from Hell to this point and will continue to guide him until he finds Beatrice. Then he points to Statius and without naming him, Dante simply calls him “the shade for whom, just now, your kingdom caused it’s every slope to tremble as it freed him from itself.”
Canto 24
We are now in the final 10 cantos of Purgatorio so it wouldn’t be long until the pair wrap up their journey here and continue onto Paradiso. Here the Gluttonous souls gather around Dante, awed that he casts a shadow, but Dante continues to talk about Statius and muses that perhaps he wouldn’t have climbed so fast had he not met Virgil. Dante asks Forese about his sister Piccarda and Forese answers that she is already in Heaven, but he remembers his manners and introduces a few of his fellow souls. Then he seems to remember his manners and introduces a few of the Gluttonous souls around him. Dante is only interested in one, Bonagiunta da Lucca, a fellow poet and friend. Dante gets another prophecy from one of these souls, but it is when Bonagiunta asks is he wrote “Ladies who have an intelligence of love” to which Dante replies yes that Bonagiunta begins to humble himself before Dante. It seems like their visit is over because all the souls suddenly turn in unison like a concerted flock of birds and hurry away, all except Forese Donati. Forese then asks Dante when they will see each other again and the poet doesn’t know how to answer this question as he doesn’t know when he is going to die but Forese tries to comfort him by foreseeing a Florentine sinner being punished who turns out to be his own brother, Corso Donati. He prophecies that his brother; a violent Black Guelph will die by being dragged by the tail of a horse and having his body smashed, all the way to Hell. With those words, he tells Dante he must leave because he’s losing too much time by staying.
Dante and his guide set off yet again and they see another free with heavy fruit and beneath are souls vainly reaching for it, but the branches are just out of reach and they ultimately give up. Again, there’s a disembodied voice that warns our heroes not to get close to the tree because it’s related to the one that Eve ate from, the Tree of Knowledge. The voice then goes on to cite an example of gluttony being punished such as the Centaurs who gorged with the food and wine at a wedding feast abducted the bride and were later driven away by Theseus. Dante, Virgil, and Statius listen as they walk and eventually run into the Angel of Temperance, who glows a brilliant red unlike the other angels they have met. He takes them by surprise as they don’t even see him until he speaks, warning them to turn right or else they’ll lose their way. They obey, and as they turn, Dante feels the wind of the angel’s wing against his forehead.
Canto 25
Together the trio climb the narrow stairway to the final Seventh and final terrace, but something has been bothering Dante since they left the last terrace but he’s too hesitant to ask. Virgil once again knows what Dante is thinking and urges again to speak his mind, so Dante asks how the souls could be so thin if they don’t need food to survive. Virgil for the first time looks to Statius and asks him to answer instead. Statius agrees to do it, but only because he will not refuse Virgil and he starts by explaining how a soul is born.
Statius claims that when food goes through its fourth round of digestion and it taken out of the heart not all of it gets transformed into perfect blood. Some context here is that back in Medieval times people thought that food was digested four times and the third round of digestion took place in the heart. Within the heart, those remnants of blood gain a formative power and are transformed again, they flow down into the genital area where the former blood resides as semen. From there, when a man gets intimate and the semen flows into the “natural receptacle,” the blood of the man and woman mix and about two-thirds of it is “passive” and one-third of it “active”. When the active blood reaches the passive, it coagulates and becomes a soul. Within the newborn soul, the active substance works to give it senses and to shape it so that it has limbs. This explains the birth of the soul, but Dante and the reader are wondering how it becomes humans. Statius says for him to be careful as to what he believes as wiser men have been mistaken about this process. Once the foetus is in complete human form, God himself intervenes. He turns to it with joy and breathes into it “new spirit,” which combines with the active substance. Suddenly the soul has self-consciousness and it is now fully human and ready to be born.
After the soul dies and ends up in Hell or Purgatory the formative power that shaped it becomes active again and radiates out from the soul giving it the semblance of a human body which they refer to as a shade. Statius compares this radiating process to the sun sending out its rays to form rainbow colours all around itself. After this transformation, the shade can do everything that a human can even eat and that is how the Gluttonous shades can become thin. As our heroes make a final turn, they confront a wall of flame that’s kept in check only by a strong wind that forms its boundaries. Our trio tries to bypass it, walking with the sheet of flame on their left and the cliff on their right but the way is narrow and hazardous. Virgil warns Dante not to look at the flame or else they could become distracted, take a misstep, and plummet to their death. Again as if summoned voices come from within the fire singing another hymn. Dante disobeys Virgil to look at the flames, only to see souls walking in the flames. As they finish singing their hymn, the voices begin shouting examples of punished lust and Dante introduces this as the punishment for “the final wound of all,” lust.
Canto 26
We are now coming to the end of the second part of Dante’s journey. Here Dante watches the flames despite Virgil’s cautions. Dante still watching the flames doesn’t notice that these souls have become excited by the fact Dante casts a shadow. One of them steps forward, careful not to move beyond the boundaries of the fire, and begs Dante to tell them why he is still alive, for he and his friends desire life more than anything. Dante almost answers when he’s distracted by something in the distance, he sees another group of souls coming the opposite way toward the group in the fire. When the two groups meet, they hug each other briefly before returning to walking on their path through the fire. As soon as they finish hugging, they begin shouting examples of unnatural lust, such as Sodom and Gomorrah, and Pasiphae who slept with a bull. Then the two parties part, traveling in opposite directions, but both within the flames. The first party comes back to Dante to hear his response. He tells them that he is still alive and has a body. A divine lady has sanctioned his visit here so that he may learn to be virtuous in the mortal world. Citing his need to learn, Dante asks them who they are, as well as who those people are moving in the opposite direction.
These souls are stunned into silence by his answer but soon one begins to speak. He explains that the other group of souls are those that have committed acts of unnatural lust which explains these groups shouting. This group of Lustful, he claims, committed normal acts of lust with the opposite sex and with this introduction, he names himself as Guido Guinizzelli, a fellow poet. Dante knows Guinizzelli through his poetry and admires him much like a father and Guinizzelli is considered one of the first proponents of the dolce stil novo style which Dante uses, and Dante offers to serve him. Guinizzelli is flattered but he is genuinely curious why Dante considers him so dear. Dante explains quite simply that he loves Guinizzelli poetry and after their brief conversation, Guinizzelli plunges back into the fire. Saying a prayer for Guinizzelli, Dante approaches the other poet that Guinizzelli has pointed out. He welcomes him and introduces himself as Daniel Arnaut. He narrates how his day is drawing near and beseeches Dante to say a prayer for him and then he, too, draws back into the fire.
Canto 27
It is almost night again and the trio hurry on and they soon meet the Angel of Chasity who sings once again. He then tells them that they can’t move forward until they’ve gone through the fire of the Lustful. He urges them to proceed and to listen for the song in the flames. At this, Dante becomes frozen with fear and he lifts his hands to block the flames from his face. Obviously seeing his fear Virgil and Statius try to calm him, reminding him that there is no possibility of death here. Virgil reminds Dante of their mutual trust, built up by riding on Geryon’s back in Hell and he tells Dante that this close to God, he will be even more faithful. He promises Dante that the flames will not harm him and urges Dante to put his hands in to prove it. Dante for the first time stands his ground and refuses. Perplexed, Virgil tries a different tactic and he coyly tells Dante that Beatrice is waiting on the other side. As Dante opens his eyes Virgil plunges into the fire closely followed by Statius and obviously Dante follows despite his fears. Dante feels the heat of the flame but no pain but Virgil at his side reminds him of his beloved Beatrice and suddenly a song breaks him from his thoughts and like the angel commanded he follows it out of the fire. The angel’s voice tells them to hurry onward as soon as they’re out of the fire because the sun will set soon. They hurriedly climb a staircase of rock, but they’ve only gone a few steps before the sun sets. The travellers drop down to make their beds on the stony steps, unable to climb further. As he’s falling asleep, Dante looks at the stars, which seem so much bigger at this height.
Dante again dreams and he sees a young lady gathering flowers and singing, she sings that her name is Leah and she loves flowers, her sister is Rachel and she likes to sit all day in front of the mirror. Where Rachel takes delight in seeing, Leah loves to labour. Again some context is needed as in the Bible, Jacob loves Rachel and works as her father’s servant for seven years to earn her hand in marriage. On their wedding night, the father substitutes his older daughter Leah for Rachel and forces Jacob to work seven more years before he’ll give him Rachel as well. In the meantime, Leah bears Jacob seven children, whereas Rachel only gives him two. Thus, Leah is often considered an exemplar of the active life, while Rachel is the paragon for the contemplative life. When Dante wakes up, he finds his two guides already awake and Virgil announces that today Dante’s desires will be fulfilled. Dante is so excited that he climb quicker than he has done before and when he reaches the top step Virgil tells him how proud he is of Dante. Virgil tells Dante that so far he has been guided by only intellect and art but now is mental love has been turned to God, so it is safe for him to follow his own pleasure now. He urges Dante to explore the Earthly Paradise until he meets Beatrice but before sending him off, Virgil blesses him with these words: “there I crown and miter you over yourself.”
Canto 28
Dante for the first time leaves his guide to explore the Earthly Paradise and he notices that the wind only gently bends the branches of the trees. By now Dante has wandered so far into the forest that he can’t tell where he entered, and this might be scary if this place weren’t the Earthly Paradise. Again his perception skills are used when he notices a stream of the purest water but notes it is dark untouched by both the moon and sun. Not disturbed in the least by this, Dante gazes at the far bank and is astonished to see a young woman gathering flowers there. Dante gently asks the woman to move closer so he can hear her song better and it reminds him of the song Ceres sang every winter when her daughter Persephone left for the Underworld. The lady coyly to Dante, her eyes lowered but she does inch nearer to the bank and keeps singing. When she reaches the edge of the bank, where the waves can lap at her feet, she lifts her eyes and looks at Dante. Dante is completely taken aback by her breath-taking beauty and he thinks that she is even more beautiful than Venus when she was struck by Cupid’s arrow.
Separated only by the stream the woman speaks, she understands that he might be confused that here she takes such delight in the place where the original sin was committed almost implying that this place is the Garden of Eden. She asks him if he has any more questions because she’s here to satisfy him. She continues, revealing her knowledge, so Dante can know that every type of plant flourishes here, even species not seen on earth. Even the water from the stream does not come from such a mundane source as melted snow or some watery runoff, but from a “pure and changeless fountain.” On one side, she brags, it flows with the power of making one forget all his past sins, and on the other side, it has the power to restore memories of good deeds. The former is called Lethe and the latter called Eunoe, but in order for their powers to work, they must be drunk one right after the other. Just when we think she is done she continues on saying that she realises that Dante’s thirst may be satisfied but she gives him one last piece of information as she informs him that this place is the only place in the world where man was once innocent. Hearing this, Dante turns to his two poet guides and finds them smiling and seeing them happy, Dante turns back to the woman.
Canto 29
Thankfully, the woman is done speaking, but she immediately starts singing and as she turns and begins coyly walking along the riverbank, against the current, like a woodland nymph. Dante follows, shortening his footsteps to match hers. Before they’ve gone more than a hundred paces, the bank curves so that they’re facing east. At this point, she gets Dante’s attention by calling him “brother” and telling him to keep his eyes and ears peeled. Suddenly a light brightens the forest as if lightning has struck before he can sort himself out Dante hears the music that is so beautiful that Dante feels a stab of hate for Eve’s arrogance. He rebukes her for being so disobedient at the dawn of time, forcefully taking all these pleasures away from mankind when had she just listened to God, Dante himself would’ve been able to live here in this place forever. As the song grows stronger, Dante invokes the Muses to help him accurately record the miraculous things to come. The first thing he sees approaching looks like seven golden trees. As they come nearer, however, Dante realizes that the distance made them appear to be something they were not. Now that they are easier to discern, Dante realizes that they form a single candelabra with seven separate candles and these candles burn more brightly than anything Dante has seen.
Astonished Dante turns to Virgil for explanation only to see his guide as awestruck as he is. Dante turns back to see a long line of people approaching but the nameless woman takes this moment to scold Dante for looking at the living lights and ignoring the people following behind. Only at this point does Dante even realize that the people are there. They are dressed in white so brilliant that it is reflected in the stream, like a mirror. Still focused on the candles, Dante realizes that as they move forward, each one leaves a banner of light behind it, and that each is a different color. Ten paces behind the candelabra come, twenty-four elders, all dressed in white and wearing wreaths of lilies on their heads. After the twenty-four elders come four animals, each of them bearing green leaves as a crown on his head and each having six wings full of eyes, like the monster Argus. Dante cannot describe the animals but directs us to read the Biblical book of Ezekiel. After the animals comes a triumphal two-wheeled chariot drawn by a griffin. The chariot is so grand that not even the famed sun chariot of Phaethon can rival it, nor those of such eminent generals as Africanus or Augustus. Then three women dance by, each dressed in a different color then four more women dance by, all dressed in red, following the rhythm set by the first three and then another a group of seven elders follows, divided up into groups of two, then four, then one. Dante identifies the first one as Luke, a follower of the “great Hippocrates,” and the other one carries a naked sword. As the procession passes by Dante, a peal of sudden thunder blocks their path, and they stop with the chariot right in front of Dante.
Canto 30
Calling the candelabra the “Seven-Stars,” Dante turns to the twenty-four elders between the candelabra and the chariot as they sing one hymn three times: “Veni, sponsa, de Libano,” which translates as “Come with me from Lebanon, my spouse.” This is the moment we’ve been waiting for. Out of the cloud of falling flowers which Dante beautifully compares to mist veiling the face of the rising sun a woman appears, wearing a white veil. Her head is crowned by olive branches and at the first sight of her, even veiled, Dante trembles, feeling within himself a familiar sensation, and this is Beatrice. Like a scared little child, Dante turns to Virgil to tell him who this is, but finds again much to his chagrin that Virgil is gone. We feel like crying, but Dante does it for us, mingling the dew on his cheeks with tears. For the first time, we hear Beatrice’s voice. She implores Dante not to cry because he’ll need to keep his tears ready for another wound from another sword and as he turns to look at her as she stands beside the chariot he is overcome with admiration and a little fear. Without mercy, she scolds Dante for crying here in the Earthly Paradise, where men are supposed to be happy. Ashamed, Dante bends his head and catches sight of his reflection in the stream, where he seems so much shame that he diverts his eyes back to the grass and Beatrice is like a mother scolding her child. Suddenly the angels surrounding Beatrice intervene, singing in Latin and then begging their lady to have pity on poor Dante. At this plea for mercy on his behalf, Dante is so moved that his tears burst forth and Beatrice turns to them to reprimand them gently for interrupting and explains to them why she wants Dante to understand and heed her words.
She explains to them that when Dante was young, all godly graces favoured him so much that he could’ve succeeded but Dante neglected to nurture this gift and has been misguided. She goes on: when I was young, I used to lead him down the right path by virtue of his love for me. But as soon as I died, he abandoned me to follow someone else and began going down a crooked path where he “followed counterfeits of goodness.” I tried to come to him in dreams and lead him back, but he never heeded me again. Finally, he strayed so far from the true path that the only way to save his soul was to show him all the horrors of Hell. For that task, I requested Virgil. He is meant to drink of the Lethe and to purge his soul in order to match the “deep design of God” destined for him.
Canto 31
Having now told her story to the angels, Beatrice turns her speech directly to Dante and she commands him to speak and to tell her if her accusations are true. Completely stunned at her words, Dante can’t speak. Seeing him silent, she encourages him a little more gently because the waters of the Lethe haven’t wiped clean his memories yet. Dante wants to say “yes” and to agree to all her accusations, but his voice won’t cooperate with him. Finally, all his pent-up emotion bursts forth and Dante’s voice pours out of him, but it is not strong enough to make its way to Beatrice, mingled with tears. Beatrice is unmerciful here as she continues, asking Dante what troubles he ran across after her death that made him stop moving forward along the true path and what temptations did others lure him with. Finally, Dante manages to whisper bitterly that “mere appearances turned me aside with their false loveliness, as soon as I had lost your countenance.” Beatrice thunders that had Dante failed to confess this, he would’ve still been guilty of it, because God knows all of his faults, but she does soften a little because he has openly admitted to his sins and the blade of justice will come down a little less harshly. It is exciting that Beatrice isn’t done yet and we get to see Dante acting like a little boy for a little longer and she tells Dante that he must feel more shame to keep him from sinning when temptation comes along, telling him that this should have been done after she died. Showing a bit of arrogance herself, Beatrice says that nothing should’ve been as beautiful to Dante as herself, even after her death. When the first false arrow struck you, Dante, she says, you should’ve “lifted up your wings to follow me.” Nothing else should’ve tempted you. As he listens, guilt-ridden, Dante stands like a child, sullen and silent but knowing the truth of his accuser’s words.
When Beatrice sees Dante looking down, she tells him to lift his eyes so that, by looking at her, he can increase the shame he feels just hearing her as he meekly obeys, he sees her facing the griffin. Underneath her veil, she seems even more beautiful than he remembers, and this brings on more tears, because he cannot imagine being lured away from her. The sight of her beauty and his corresponding shame overwhelm him so that he faints. When he awakes, he finds himself being held by the nameless young lady, who plunges him into the Lethe up to his neck, and then draws him up to take him to Beatrice. Near the shore, she dips him in the water again, this time so deeply that he’s forced to drink some of the water but then she gently bathes him and leads him among the four dancing women. They introduce themselves in song as the handmaidens of Beatrice, though they’re really stars in the sky; their task is to help Dante see into her eyes. They lead him over to where Beatrice stands beside the griffin and tell him to gaze into her eyes. He obeys and find himself lost in her brilliant green eyes as her eyes seem full of emerald fires, but the flames make the reflection of the griffin waver and constantly shift shape. As one of the handmaidens stands beside Dante, the other three approach Beatrice and beseech her to look at her lover and ask her to reveal her face to him. At this Dante prays to the Muses again, pleading for the ability to stay sane when confronted with Beatrice’s full beauty.
Canto 32
When she does remove her veil Dante is utterly stunned quenching the thirst that had been burning in him for ten years, so much so that he notices nothing else. Finally, the handmaidens tell Dante to turn away and he obey but is so dazzled by Beatrice that he remains blind for a minute. He obeys, but is so dazzled by Beatrice’s beauty that he remains blind for a little while. When he regains his sight, he realizes that the entire procession has turned to be facing east. Dante, led by the lovely lady and Statius, falls in behind the chariot, on its right-hand side. They march for a while before Beatrice dismounts from the chariot at the foot of a huge tree, this tree unlike many others is completely barren, stripped of all leaves or flowers. All those around Dante murmurs “Adam” as they approach the tree, identifying it as the Tree of Knowledge from which Eve stole the forbidden fruit. In unison, the whole company blesses the griffin for refraining from tasting the fruit that brought about the fall of mankind. The griffin, speaks for the first time saying “Thus is the seed of every righteous man preserved” before he ties the chariot to the tree which suddenly bursts into bloom. While Dante watches this miraculous sight, the others begin chanting a hymn that Dante cannot understand but he feels himself getting sleepy and before he is aware of it he is asleep and when he wakes he finds the nameless woman standing over him and immediately asks where Beatrice is. The lady answers that she’s sitting alone on the root of the tree and all the others have ascended, following the griffin into Heaven.
Dante stops listening when she reveals Beatrice’s location and he finds Beatrice sitting beneath the tree, guarding the chariot, surrounded by her handmaidens. As Dante approaches, she announces that he will stay with her for a little while and his task will be to observe and write down what he sees, with the greatest possible adherence to the truth, so that his work can have some impact on Earth. Having grabbed Dante’s attention, Beatrice proceeds to show him what she wants him to write about. An eagle plummets from the sky, tears through the branches of the tree, and attacks the chariot with all its might, leaving the poor vehicle twisted and after that a ravenous fox leaps deviously into the seat of the chariot, looking like pure mischief. Beatrice herself drives it out of the chariot. As if this isn’t strange enough, the ground beneath the chariot suddenly splits open and a massive dragon surfaces, only to drive its venomous tail through the poor chariot. When it withdraws its tail, it takes part of the chariot with it back into the earth. Dante thinks the eagle feathers look like they’ve been offered with kindness and they cover what is left of the chariot. Out of nowhere, the chariot suddenly begins sprouting heads, then just as suddenly, the chariot turns into a naked whore, who is guarded by a jealous giant and over and over they “embrace” each other. Things are getting so strange here but the whore turns her seductive glance on Dante, the giant flies into a rage and proceeds to beat her thoroughly and finally, he unties the “chariot-made-monster” from the tree, drags it and the whore away into the forest, and disappears.
Canto 33
So we have finally reached the final canto in Purgatorio and Beatrice handmaidens are horrified as they begin to cry and sing. After they complete their Psalm, Beatrice speaks some phrases in Latin and orders all her handmaidens, the lovely, nameless lady, and Statius to fall in behind her while she approaches Dante. She looks into his eyes, and calling him “brother” tells him to ask any questions he might have. Again, Dante is tongue-tied. After several stuttering attempts, he gives up and simply tells Beatrice she knows best what he needs to know and to please teach him. She orders him, “Disentangle yourself from fear and shame, that you no longer speak like one who dreams.” She tells him not to fear for the chariot which the serpent broke because God will punish him soundly. She tells Dante that she knows her words are mysterious and hard to decipher at this point, but that time will clarify them. The next thing she says is important and for Dante to pay attention as whoever robs the tree of its fruit offends God, who created the tree for His sole use. She tells him that his mind is asleep if he can’t see why the tree is built so strangely, made so tall and its branches inverted to make it hard to climb. Dante’s arrogance and vain thoughts are keeping him from seeing this simple truth: God made the tree this way to make it difficult for anyone to trespass against His decrees.
Seeing that his intellect is blind to this, she urges him to copy her words down, so he doesn’t forget them. He answers that there’s no need and that her words are already emblazoned on his mind. At this point, Dante finally works up the courage to say he doesn’t remember her being so cold to him before. She says that he doesn’t remember because his mind has just been washed by the Lethe. To soften her presentation a little she promises that her words from now on will be “naked,” so that Dante with his “still-crude” sight can understand them and Dante notices that the seven handmaidens suddenly stop walking before the banks of a river. To Dante, the twin streams are familiar and that brings him comfort and he asks her what rivers these are, that come from a single source. She tells Dante to ask Matilda, the formerly nameless lady and Matilda explains that he’s already heard of these two rivers. Even the Lethe can’t have wiped that memory from him as they’re the Lethe and Eunoe. Beatrice replies that perhaps some other concern has made Dante forget this important fact, so she orders Matilda to lead Dante into the Eunoe to restore his memory. Matilda leads him forward and asks Statius to come forth as well. At this point, Dante addresses his readers directly, telling us that all the pages allotted for Purgatorio have run out and that now it’s time to stop. However, we get a final glimpse of him, after he’s bathed in the Eunoe and has been returned remade to Beatrice and we learn, he’s finally ready to climb up into the stars of the Heaven.
This concludes Purgatorio and I won’t be jumping to Paradiso straight away as this book has been very heavy and made my brain hurt quite a lot, but I will be reading and reviewing the final section of The Divine Comedy very soon. Overall, I didn’t enjoy Purgatorio as much as Inferno, but I have high hopes for Paradiso and the final conclusion of Dante’s story.
Buy it here:
Paperback/Hardcover: amazon.co.uk amazon.com
Kindle Edition: amazon.co.uk amazon.com
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