Statius finally tells Virgil what we all want to know: the story of his conversion. How did this Latin poet who dedicated his great epic to a Roman emperor become a Christian.

Through a long process and by subterfuge. Statius was a closeted or hidden (or to use the medieval Florentine term, "closed") Christian.

Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we look through this passage in which Dante the poet attempts to justify putting this pagan Roman poet in Purgatory and on his way to Paradise.

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

[01:20] My English translation of the passage: PURGATORIO, Canto XXII, lines 76 - 93. If you'd like to read along or continue the conversation with me, find the entry for this episode on my website, markscarbrough.com.

[03:27] Two minor issues: Who converted Statius? And was Dante the poet rethinking his position toward the neutrals in INFERNO?

[08:08] Statius' journey in the afterlife to the fourth circle of Mount Purgatory . . . and where else?

[08:40] Statius' improvised backstory and the inclusion of a historical figure: Emperor Domitian.

[13:13] Dante's concept of conversion (v. modern conceptions).

[16:36] Statius' words and the problem of the "above" text.

[20:01] Texts in texts and the inevitable overlay of irony.

[24:50] Rereading the passage: PURGATORIO, Canto XXII, lines 76 - 93.