Civic Unity, Truth-Telling, And (Not) Making A Difference In Hell: Inferno, Canto XVI, Lines 79 - 90

We've come to the last passage on our three Guelph heroes, circling each other on the burning sands of the seventh circle of hell, the violent--and specifically, those violent against God. That is, the homosexuals.This short passage ends on a strange note. Dante the pilgrim/prophet is able to unify the three Guelph heroes. But he's not able to change them. And maybe that's the best that prophetic speech can do in hell.Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we slow-walk through COMEDY in this episode with these segments:[01:04] My English translation of Inferno, Canto XVI, lines 79 - 90. If you'd like to follow along, you can find this passage on my website, markscarbrough.com, under the header "Walking With Dante."[02:03] Our three Guelph heroes speak in unison. Surely this is thematic in the passage.[06:20] But even unified, these guys haven't changed. They're still in hell. They're still damned. In other words, the truth-filled words of a prophet don't make any difference in inferno.[10:27] What's Virgil's role in all of this?

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Ever wanted to read Dante's Divine Comedy? Come along with us! We're not lost in the scholarly weeds. (Mostly.) We're strolling through the greatest work (to date) of Western literature. Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as I take on this masterpiece passage by passage. I'll give you my rough English translation, show you some of the interpretive knots in the lines, let you in on the 700 years of commentary, and connect Dante's work to our modern world. The pilgrim comes awake in a dark wood, then walks across the known universe. New episodes every Sunday and Wednesday.