INFERNO, Episode 167. Guido da Montefeltro's Take On His Own Life ("I Didn't Do Anything Wrong"): Inferno, Canto XXVII, Lines 58 - 111

Let's take apart the first chunk of the speech from Guida da Montefeltro in the eighth of the evil pouches (the malebolge) that make up the giant, eighth circle of INFERNO--that is, the sins of fraud.

Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as I give you my English translation of Inferno, Canto XXVII, lines 58 - 111. I'll walk you through Guido's attempt at self-justification, the ironies inherent in his speech, and the history behind it. I'll also give you three implications we can draw from Guido's speech so far.

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

[01:20] My English translation of Inferno, Canto XXVII, Lines 58 - 111. If you'd like to read along or (better yet!) drop a comment about this episode, please scroll down this page.

[05:36] Guido's reaction to Dante's reply about war and peace in Romagna.

[07:15] Some of the most famous lines in INFERNO.

[08:28] A couple of problems with the opening lines of Guido's big monologue.

[10:46] The transactional nature of fraud.

[13:40] Some parallels between Dante the pilgrim and Guido.

[15:44] Wishing others damned while absolving yourself (and maybe tweaking Virgil's nose, too).

[16:59] Guido's residual humanity.

[19:04] The irony of Guido's fame (including his fame with Dante the poet).

[22:16] Dante quotes Dante--or Guido quotes Dante!

[23:07] The gaping hole in the theology of repentance.

[24:10] Pope Boniface VIII's war in the Lateran.

[26:02] A rare moment of anti-Semitism in INFERNO.

[27:05] Pope Boniface VIII's "crusade" against other Christians.

[29:14] Another parallel between Dante the pilgrim and Guido.

[29:43] A little opacity in Guido's monologue.

[30:25] The difficult reference to Constantine and Pope Sylvester I.

[33:05] Guido's ultimate self-justification.

[33:54] Pope Boniface VIII's offer: a preemptive pardon.

[35:11] The pope's two keys.

[36:19] Guido's false counsel.

[37:15] Ultimate poetic justice and earthly misunderstandings.

[38:33] Three implications from Guido's monologue so far. 1) He's a terrible storyteller (but also a bit like Dante).

[40:57] 2) Guido's story is built on the "confessio topos."

[43:18] 3) Did Dante the poet invent Guido's story?

And here is my English translation of Inferno, Canto XXVII, Lines 58 – 111

After the flame had raised a ruckus in its own way

For a bit, the sharp point moved

Back and forth, then gave its breath to this:

“If I were to believe that my answer was crafted

For someone who might go back to the world above,

This flame would stand here without even a sputter.

“But because none ever gets out of this pit

And makes it back to life—at least, if what I hear is true—

Then I can reply without any fear of getting shamed.

“I was a military guy, but then got corded as a Franciscan,

Believing, cinched up like that, that I could make amends.

And I’m sure my beliefs would have worked out on my behalf,

“Had it not been for the Great Priest. I hope he gets it bad!

He sent me right back to my old tricks—

I want you to hear the how and the why.

“While I was still formed from the bones and flesh

My mother gave me, my work wasn’t like

A lion, but more like a fox.

“All the underhanded ways and the subterfuges—

Well, I knew them, was even skilled in their art,

So much so that my fame rang out all over my home turf.

“When I saw that I had come to that part

Of my life when a guy should pull in

The ropes of his sails and wind up his rigging,

“What had pleased me in the past began to bug me.

So having repented and confessed, I did an about-face

And—oh wretch that I am!—it should have done the trick!

“But the Prince of the new Pharisees

Had a war on hand in the Lateran.

Not against the Saracens or the Jews, mind you.

“Oh, no: this one’s enemies were other Christians—

Not even some guy who’d gone off to vanquish Acre,

Nor one who’d wanted to traffic in the Sultan’s holdings;

“He didn’t even hold his office sacred, or other church orders,

Or even my own holy cord

(The sort that used to make the ones who wore it emaciated).

“But as Constantine once sought out Sylvester

Up on Monte Soratte to cure him of leprosy,

So this one called me in as his physician

“To heal his feverish pride.

He asked my counsel and I kept quiet

Because his speech sounded like rank drunkenness.

“Then he went on: ‘Don’t let your heart be troubled.

I grant you absolution before anything happens. Now you can let me know

How to raze Palestrina to the ground.

“‘As you know, I can lock and unlock heaven itself

Because of this pair of keys

That my predecessor didn’t value properly.’

“I thought his weighty arguments so pushed me on

That my silence seemed the worst way to go.

So I said, ‘Father, since you wash me clean

“‘Of the sin into which I’m going to fall,

Promise a lot but deliver far less—

That’s how to triumph from your exalted throne.’