hBjcDQfnMguRXVnjTNgM Mark Scarbrough's WALKING WITH DANTE: How Can You Justify The Ways Of God (Or At Least, The Stars) In PURGATORIO, Canto XVI, Lines 52 - 63 - Walking With Dante

Episode 125

How Can You Justify The Ways Of God (Or At Least, The Stars): PURGATORIO, Canto XVI, Lines 52 - 63

Published on: 18th August, 2024

Dante's on the verge of exploding with doubt. Marco of Lombardy's snark about the loss of valor in the bows of this world has done little more than leave the pilgrim in a theological puzzle: How did the world get so bad?

Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we explore Dante's question to Marco before we turn to Marco's central discourse, the very middle of the great masterwork COMEDY.

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

[01:48] My English translation of the passage: PURGATORIO, Canto XVI, lines 52 - 63. If you'd like to read along or continue the conversation with me, please find this specific episode on my website, markscarbrough.com.

[03:21] Dante's question assumes the values of chivalry.

[08:34] Can the redeemed instigate doubt?

[10:36] Dante ties Marco's snark back to Guido del Duca's nostalgia.

[13:19] COMEDY's new motivation is to bring back the answers.

[14:36] Dante's quandary is astrological, not truly theological (per se).

[17:00] Rereading the passage: PURGATORIO, Canto XVI, lines 52 -63.

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About the Podcast

Walking With Dante
A passage-by-passage stroll through Dante’s DIVINE COMEDY with Mark Scarbrough
Ever wanted to read Dante's Divine Comedy? Come along with us! We're not lost in the scholarly weeds. (Mostly.) We're strolling through the greatest work (to date) of Western literature. Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as I take on this masterpiece passage by passage. I'll give you my rough English translation, show you some of the interpretive knots in the lines, let you in on the 700 years of commentary, and connect Dante's work to our modern world. The pilgrim comes awake in a dark wood, then walks across the known universe. New episodes every Sunday and Wednesday.
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Mark Scarbrough

Former lit professor, current cookbook writer, creator of two podcasts, writer of thirty-five (and counting) cookbooks, author of one memoir (coming soon!), married to a chef (my cookbook co-writer, Bruce Weinstein), and with him, the owner of two collies, all in a very rural spot in New England. My life's full and I'm up for more challenges!