Beatrice continues her discourse at the end of PURGATORIO by offering Dante classical examples of her own obscurity, Christian resonances for the very hope of writing, and a challenge for him to become her scribe, to take notes on her lectures.

This passage falls in the middle of her long monologue in the last canto of PURGATORIO and it forms the fulcrum that turns us from the apocalyptic vision to something much closer to Dante's own concerns: the craft of writing.

Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we tease out the difficulties in this notoriously challenging passage at the end of PURGATORIO.

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

[01:59] My English translation of PURGATORIO, Canto XXXIII, Lines 46 - 60. If you'd like to read along or continue the conversation with me, please find the entry for this episode on my website, markscarbrough.com.

[03:24] The obscurity as the point.

[07:02] Themis and the Sphinx, early human riddles.

[10:02] Dante's well-intended mistake about the Naiads.

[13:41] Beatrice's theory of Dante's craft.

[15:59] The classical to the Christian: the dominant move in INFERNO and PURGATORIO.

[17:35] A twice-robbed tree--but how?

[19:50] The tree for God's sole use.

[21:58] Rereading the passage: PURGATORIO, Canto XXXIII, lines 46 - 60.