INFERNO, Episode 20. Here Come The Great Poets Of Limbo: Inferno, Canto IV, Lines 85 - 114

We are deep into Limbo in Canto IV of Inferno. And here, Dante-the-pilgrim sees the four great shades coming toward him and Virgil in Limbo: Homer, Horace, Ovid, and Lucan. They welcome Virgil back and then do something shocking: They admit Dante into their company. Dante even gets a smile from Virgil out of it.

Join me, Mark Scarbrough, on this episode of the podcast WALKING WITH DANTE as I explore Dante’s relationship to the great poets—and one he didn’t even know.

Then it all gets weirder still as the six poets walk on to a beautiful castle, green grass, fresh water--all in hell!

Here’s my English translation of the passage, Inferno, Canto IV: 85 – 114.

My good master started to speak:

“Check out the one with the sword in his hand.

Leading the other three as their sire.

“That is Homer, the sovereign poet.

Next comes Horace, the satirist;

Ovid is third; and Lucan is last.

Because each of them shares with me

The title the lone voice called out,

They honor me and thus do well.”

And so I saw gathered the beautiful school

Of that lord of the highest song

That soars above all the others like an eagle.

After they had chatted among themselves for a bit,

They turned to me with welcoming gestures

And my master smiled at all this.

Then they gave me even more honor

In that they made me one of their company,

So that I was the sixth in this wise counsel.

This is how we went on toward the light,

Talking of things that should be left in silence now

Although it was good to speak of them when I was there.

We came to the pediment of a noble castle

Wrapped seven times by towering walls,

Which were themselves defended all around by a beautiful brook.

We crossed over this as on solid ground,

And I passed through the seven gates with these sages.

We even got to a meadow with fresh green grass

Where there were people with slow, grave eyes

And great authority in their appearance.

They didn’t speak much, only with soft voices.