Minos, The Connoisseur Of Sin: INFERNO, Canto V, Lines 1 - 24

We've walked to the second circle of hell, where the winds of lust howl. But not yet. First, we must meet a connoisseur of sin: Minos. He determines your circle of hell. Not Jesus. Not Satan. But a figure from classical mythology.

Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we push farther into hell but also further into irony, opacity, and puzzlement. Or to put it another way, is Virgil a sure guide for our pilgrim, Dante?

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

[00:54] My English translation of INFERNO, Canto V, Lines 1 - 24. If you'd like to read along, find a study guide for a deeper understanding of the passage, or even start a conversation with me by dropping a comment to this episode, look for this passage on my website: markscarbrough.com.

[02:47] The descent from the first circle to the second--and thoughts on the increasingly clear geography of hell.

[04:48] Minos, a figure out mythology and into Virgil's AENEID.

[07:32] Minos is a sure judge but he's not a traditional demon from Christian tradition. He's our second mythic figure in INFERNO.

[11:26] Questions about determinism--but more importantly, answers about grace (or at least confession).

[16:19] The judgment itself, as Minos wraps his tail around himself--except this brings up further questions of Limbo and we're reminded again of its strangeness.

[19:48] Hell has a traveler's hostel in its geography! And lots about Virgil: Minos' warning, Virgil's spell that works again, and the strangeness of Virgil himself, the embodiment of the ambivalence of Limbo, leading the pilgrim across the universe.