Posts tagged Purgatorio XVIII
PURGATORIO, Episode 145. Speaking Truth To Power: PURGATORIO, Canto XVIII, Lines 97 - 129

At last, the slothful penitents arrive . . . in a frenzied rush. The horde passes by the pilgrim and Virgil as one soul calls out his story. It speaks a brave truth about the family of a very powerful warlord . . . in fact, the very warlord who has hosted and guarded Dante on the run for years.

Read More
PURGATORIO, Episode 143. Virgil, Reason, Love, And The Roots Of Modern Ethics: PURGATORIO, Canto XVIII, Lines 49 - 75

Virgil offers a third discourse on love to show his work and to get close to an understanding of ethics. In doing so, he reaches into Aristotle’s logic of causality and attempts to come to terms with why humans behave they do. But even as he reaches back, he looks forward to our modern understanding of ethics.

Read More
PURGATORIO, Episode 141. The Cognitive, Rational Basis Of Love: PURGATORIO, Canto XVIII, Lines 19 - 39

After the pilgrim’s request that Virgil show his work, the old poet condenses and recasts the basis of thinking in Western culture from its roots in Aristotle. But Virgil’s claims run into specific problems, which Dante the poet tries to solve in the way he knows best: with metaphor.

Read More
PURGATORIO, Episode 140. Excuse Me, Virgil, I Didn't Quite Get That: PURGATORIO, Canto XVIII, Lines 1 - 18

Virgil seems to have reached a conclusion to his discourse on love in PURGATORIO, Canto XVII. But not for the pilgrim. And maybe not for Dante the poet. As Canto XVIII opens, we find the pilgrim asking Virgil to show his work to explain his seemingly air-tight syllogisms about human ethics.

Read More
PURGATORIO, Episode 134. The Fourth Terrace Of Purgatory Proper: A Read-Through Of PURGATORIO, Canto XVII, Line 73, to Canto XVIII, Line 145

Dante and Virgil have reached the fourth terrace of Purgatory proper, the spot where the slothful race around to purge their sin. But before we see the runners, Virgil treats the pilgrim (and us) to the central discourse of COMEDY: all human actions are rooted in love. Here’s a read-through of PURGATORIO, Canto XVII, Line 73, to Canto XVIII, Line 145.

Read More