We've come to one of the most difficult cruxes in all of INFERNO: a passage that's loaded with Christian symbolism but that also includes a bit of biographical detail on Dante, the historical figure.
That biographical detail remains the subject of much curiosity! Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we explore this difficult but ultimately rewarding passage: a condemnation of churchly corruption and a revelation of Dante's personal life, all bound up in the eighth circle of hell with the sins of fraud until the whole thing becomes a tour de force of meta-reality.
Here are the segments for this episode:
[01:00] My English translation of this passage. If you'd like to read along, you can find it under the header for this podcast on my website, markscarbrough.com.
[03:38] What's up with the "livid stones"? For one thing, Jesus. He founded his church on the rock of Peter's faith: "Upon this rock will I build my church." But these rocks aren't as firm, to say the least.
[05:47] A curious bit of Dante's biography, inserted into this passage. What's going on here? Let's look back at the commentary's answer and also explore a relatively new interpretation of this strange passage.
[11:38] Is the guy Dante saves drowning or suffocating? It all comes down to translation problems in this passage which only muddy it further.
[15:30] Why is this biographical detail here?
[17:21] What exactly is the poet's "seal"?
[21:07] The emotional center of this curious passage: "my beautiful San Giovanni."
[22:58] The feet and thighs of these sinners are visible, but not their buttocks. That may be an important detail.
[25:38] A fusion of Christian images: Pentecost and the anointing with oil that happens at ordination.
[28:08] Inversion is a crucial motif for Inferno, Canto XIX as a whole.