Dante has heard Casella's weird story about hanging around back in the land of the living for three months--and not even being able to cross to Purgatory before that.

But Dante the pilgrim wants more. He wants comfort. And he gets it. With his own poetry.

Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we talk about love, about the ways we resist it, and the ways our resistance may show us at our most human.

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

[01:37] My English translation of the passage: PURGATORIO, Canto II, lines 106 - 117. If you'd like to read along, print it off, or drop a comment, please go to my website: markscarbrough.com.

[03:30] The "new law": a possible reference back to Cato's appearance.

[06:23] The "new law": a possible reference to Pope Boniface VIII's Jubilee Year of 1300.

[11:16] Dante, refreshment, and the origins of the doctrine of Purgatory.

[14:36] Casella's song, Dante's poetry, and the sheer relief of being human.

[24:18] A rereading of the passage: PURGATORIO, Canto II, lines 106 - 117.