Dante the pilgrim and Virgil have seemingly moved off even as Hugh Capet was still speaking. They're picking their way among the avaricious when they're stopped by an earthquake that rattles Mount Purgatory.

Dante is afraid. Virgil may even be afraid. But he tells the pilgrim to "fear not," much as those angels tell the shepherds at the birth of Jesus.

Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we work our way through the end of PURGATORIO, Canto XX: a return to the plot with lots of portents for what's ahead.

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

[01:33] My English translation of the passage: PURGATORIO, Canto XX, lines 124 - 151. If you'd like to read along or drop a comment to continue the conversation, please find the entry for this episode on my website, markscarbrough.com.

[04:13] A return to the plot--or to the "now" (which may be what avarice cannot understand).

[09:49] The third earthquake of COMEDY.

[12:11] Two references to birth with this earthquake.

[15:44] Virgil's "fear not" when he doesn't seem fearless.

[16:56] The pilgrim's possibly faulty memory.

[20:29] INFERNO XX vs. PURGATORIO XX.

[24:27] Rereading the passage: PURGATORIO, Canto XX, lines 124 - 151.