We have come to the climax of Virgil's in COMEDY: the apex of his character, the moment when he is what he should have been all along, a poignant and fitting summit for this most difficult figure in the poem.

Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we stand at the top of the final staircase on Mount Purgatory and take our first steps into the Garden of Eden with the pilgrim who is ready to continue on his own, with crown and miter in hand, thanks all to Virgil, the best guide he could have had.

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

[02:11] My English translation of PURGATORIO, Canto XXVII, lines 124 - 142. If you'd like to read along or continue the conversation with me, please find the entry for this episode on my website, markscarbrough.com.

[04:45] The climax of Virgil's natural talent and learned skill for the soul's journey across the known universe.

[14:19] Our first glimpse at the top of Mount Purgatory beyond the stairs.

[17:50] The entrance to the Garden of Eden--and a theological problem about Satan.

[21:27] The pilgrim, with crown and miter from Virgil.

[30:24] Rereading the passage: PURGATORIO, Canto XXVII, lines 124 - 142.

We come to the climax of Virgil's character in the poem, the end of PURGATORIO, Canto XXVII. Let's take this dramatic and chilling scene in two episodes, starting with the moment our pilgrim, Dante, wakes up from his third dream on the mountain.

Virgil steps forward to offer a grand and perhaps new hope. The journey is not about the need for justice. It's now about the search for peace.

Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we work through this first of two passages where Virgil's character reaches its most accurate and compelling focus.

Please support this work with a one-time donation or a small monthly stipend, using this PayPal link right here.

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

[02:26] My English translation of PURGATORIO, Canto XXVII, lines 109 -123. If you'd like to read along or continue the conversation with me, please find the entry for this episode on my website, markscarbrough.com.

[03:58] Callbacks from previous passages in PURGATORIO as this one begins to wrap up the canticle so far.

[12:14] Omitting the erasure of the final "P" on the pilgrim's forehead.

[13:37] The only calm awakening from a dream in PURGATORIO.

[15:44] Virgil, finally and fully the father-guide the pilgrim has always needed.

[23:51] Rereading the passage: PURGATORIO, Canto XXVII, lines 109 - 123.

Our pilgrim has lain down on a step of the final staircase of Mount Purgatory, positioned between Statius below and Virgil above him.

As he watches the large and bright stars, he suddenly falls asleep to dream of Leah (and her sister Rachel) in an Edenic garden, the hope for self-reflection bound up in the promise of the contemplative life.

This dream may well begin to sum up Dante's notion of how a human finds the divine.

Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we walk through the final dream of PURGATORIO.

Consider donating to keep this work afloat by using this PayPal link right here.

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

[01:29] My English translation of PURGATORIO, Canto XXVII, lines 91 - 108. If you'd like to read along or continue the conversation with me, please find the entry for this episode on my website, markscarbrough.com.

[03:05] The players around and in the dream: Cytherea, Leah, and Rachel.

[10:40] Three interpretations of the dream. One, a pre-fall Even and a post-redemption Eve in the Garden of Eden.

[12:50] Two, a Biblical dream after two classical dreams, but all deeply sexual in nature.

[17:26] Three, two modes for revelation: the active life and the contemplative life.

[19:03] Dantean psychology: finding the divine in the beloved leads to finding the divine in the self.

[23:22] Rereading the passage: PURGATORIO, Canto XXVII, lines 91 - 108.