The first falsifier in the tenth of the evil pouches of fraud (those famed "malebolge") steps up to tell his tale: a funny joke about grifting, the stupidity of his mark, and the unexpected whims of damnation in Dante's INFERNO.

Dante is clearly having a good time. And we should, too. Because one of the ways you save your humanity, even in hell, is to laugh at human foibles.

Join me, Mark Scarbrough, for an explication of this short passage toward the end of canto XXIX in INFERNO. We've got a storyteller on hand. And he wants to tell us his tale.

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

[01:23] My English translation of the passage: INFERNO, Canto XXIX, lines 109 - 123. If you'd like to read along, please find this passage on my website, markscarbrough.com. You can even drop a comment about this episode.

[02:56] The first falsifier gives the details of this life but not his name. In fact, he speaks about himself using Dante the poet's favorite technique: periphrasis.

[04:33] Should we trust the commentary tradition on the identity of this character?

[11:01] Why must we historically identify every figure in COMEDY?

[12:53] The rage for (interpretive) order may obscure the low humor of this passage.

[14:41] Your actions in "real" life may not determine your place in the afterlife.

[16:54] Why is alchemy such a great sin in the Middle Ages?

[20:37] Poetry is alchemy--and so this pit is the climax of the narrative of the fiction in the eighth circle of fraud.

[24:41] How do you keep your humanity in hell? You laugh!