PURGATORIO, Episode 161. The Depths Of The French Monarchy's Evil: PURGATORIO, Canto XX, Lines 82 - 96

As Hugh Capet winds up to the heights of his monologue, he comes to a most shocking climax: that moment when the French monarchy is so bad that it makes even the corrupt papacy look good.

We've come to the very center of Dante's beef with the French crown, voiced by this legendary monarch about his own descendants, particularly Philip IV (or Philip the Fair). It's a tale so dire that even papal corruption is forgotten!

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

[01:14] My English translation of the passage: PURGATORIO, Canto XX, lines 82 - 96. If you'd like to read along or continue the conversation with me about this episode, please scroll down this page.

[03:06] Identifying the players in the passage: Philip IV (or the Fair) of France and Pope Boniface VIII.

[07:48] Tracing the political history behind this passage.

[15:41] Admitting the shock of Dante's defending Pope Boniface VIII.

[18:42] Talking in code as a survival strategy.

[22:54] Querying whether evil actions can be inherited (since virtuous ones can't be).

[25:11] Rereading the passage: PURGATORIO, Canto XX, lines 82 - 96.

And here’s my English translation of PURGATORIO, Canto XX, Lines 82 – 96

“O avarice, what else can you do to us,

Since you’ve dragged my blood to you

And it no longer cares even for its rightful flesh.

“To seemingly lessen its future crimes and those already committed,

I see the fleur-de-lys set foot in Anagni

And with its vicar capture Christ as a prisoner.

“I see him derided once again;

I see the renewal of the vinegar and wormwood;

I see him murdered between living thieves.

“I see a new Pilate so cruel

That he’s even not satisfied with this. Without a legal basis,

He sets his greedy sails toward the Temple.

“O my Lord, when will I be happy

To see the vendetta, hidden right now,

That makes your anger in your secret councils sweet?”