Walking With Dante17 Jul 2022

Of The Roman Civil War, Idealism, And Its Child, Ambivalence: Inferno, Canto XXVIII, Lines 91 - 102

We're down in the crowded pit of the schismatics, the ninth of the evil pouches (or "malebolge") that make up the giant eighth circle of fraud in Dante's INFERNO.

We've already seen two figures, heard about at least four others, and are about to meet yet another guy. Except he can't speak. His tongue's been cut out. Because he fomented the Roman civil war--and helps us see Dante the poet's ambivalence as an idealist.

Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we explore this short passage from INFERNO about Curio, the one who (maybe?) goaded Julius to cross the Rubicon and destroy the Republic to found the Roman Empire.

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

[02:00] My English translation of the passage: INFERNO, Canto XXVIII, lines 91 - 102. If you'd like to read along or drop a comment about this passage, go to my website, markscarbrough.com.

[03:24] Who is this Curio?

[09:20] Dante fulfills his promises--in the most meta-literary way!

[11:53] Dante the pilgrim's lines are fractured, the way the other schismatics' lines are fractured. Is that intentional?

[15:57] My long-standing interpretive error from this passage.

[19:04] A important warning about the horizons of interpretation.

[22:03] Dante has used the line about delay from Lucan's PHARSALIA before.

[24:16] From fearless to forlorn: the narrative journey of most of the damned.

[25:57] Three implications from this passage. 1) Is the distinction between schismatics and scandalmongers easy or complex?

[28:21] 2) These figures seem to still delight in tribalism, even in hell.

[32:04] 3) Dante is an idealist---which inevitably leads to ambivalence--which inevitably leads to rage.

Denne episoden er hentet fra en åpen RSS-feed og er ikke publisert av Podme. Den kan derfor inneholde annonser.

Episoder(509)

The Expanding Community of Women in the Moon: PARADISO, Canto III, Lines 109 - 130

Piccarda Donati doesn’t stop her monologue with the cryptic line about her life after the convent. She turns to another figure in the lunar landscape: Constance I of Sicily, the Holy Roman Empress and...

23 Sep 23min

The Violent yet Elliptical End to Piccarda Donati's Story: PARADISO, Canto III, Lines 88 - 108

Piccarda Donati finally answers the question about who she is. She's given her name but not much else about her. In twelve lines (or four tercets) she brings her personal story to its violent yet elli...

20 Sep 27min

Piccarda Donati's Apotheosis of the Will: PARADISO, Canto III, Lines 58 - 87

Piccarda has confessed to her more humble place in the heavens. Our pilgrim Dante then wants to know if she wants more.Her answer leads her to an apotheosis of the will. Everything in the universe is ...

16 Sep 30min

The First Soul in Paradise, Piccarda Donati: PARADISO, Canto III, Lines 34 - 57

At long last, the first soul--or "shade"--steps forward in Paradise. She's Piccarda Donati, a figure we've already encountered once (maybe even twice) in COMEDY.Dante flatters her to speak and she beg...

13 Sep 29min

Catching Feelings in the Sensual Sphere of the Moon: PARADISO, Canto III, Lines 1 - 33

Dante is about to meet the first souls in Paradise, emerging from the liquid light of the moon.The poetry is lush and sensuous. The metaphors are complex and compounded. And Beatrice is a bit chilly, ...

9 Sep 28min

The Souls of the Universe: PARADISO, Canto II, Lines 127 - 148

Beatrice concludes her explanation for moon spots by veering away from them specifically to talk about the nature of the universe.Blessed movers turn the spheres. Or perhaps inhabit them. Or are bound...

6 Sep 27min

The Diversity of Being in a Universe of Light: PARADISO, Canto II, Lines 106 - 126

Beatrice now launches into the true explanation for moon spots, found not in folklore, not in natural philosophy, but in metaphysics.Her explanation pushes her to disclose the parts of the universe we...

2 Sep 28min

Testing Theology With Optics: PARADISO, Canto II, Lines 85 - 105

Beatrice continues in her scientific and Scholastic explanation for moon spots by taking apart a secondary argument . . . and proposing an optical experiment.She voices an objection Dante might have: ...

30 Aug 26min