The Revelation Of Beatrice's Hidden, Second Beauty: PURGATORIO, Canto XXXI, Lines 127 - 145

We finally come to the face-to-face meeting of Beatrice and Dante. We've waited for this moment since INFERNO, Canto II, when Beatrice first stepped into COMEDY.

Neither Dante nor Beatrice speak at their close meeting. Instead, the women around the chariot beg Beatrice to reveal her second, hidden beauty: her mouth.

Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we explore the complex symbolism in this passage. We'll also take on its textual difficulties: a Biblical allusion that has been muddled in commentary, a lost word that's hard to translate, and a question of quotation marks in a medieval manuscript.

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

[01:26] My English translation of PURGATORIO, Canto XXXI, lines 127 - 145. 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.

[03:11] Textual problems in the first six lines (XXXI: 127 - 132)--a muddled Biblical reference, a moral question of virtues, and a word that's hard to translate.

[07:49] Beatrice's turning and the coming revelation of her mouth.

[10:57] A difficult conclusion to Canto XXXI: Who says these complicated lines that use the informal "you"?

[16:59] Forgetting and remembering your former works to create something new.

[23:10] Rereading the passage: PURGATORIO, Canto XXXI, lines 127 - 145.