Ascend - The Great Books Podcast

Purgatorio: Ante-Purgatory Cantos 1-5 with Dr. Donald Prudlo

Host: Deacon Harrison Garlick & Adam Minihan
Guest: Dr. Donald Prudlo
Date: February 17, 2026
Coverage: Purgatorio Cantos 1-5 (Ante-Purgatory – the "waiting area" before Mt. Purgatory proper)

Episode Overview

This episode marks the beginning of Ascend's Lenten journey into Dante's Purgatorio, focusing on Cantos 1-5: the realm known as Ante-Purgatory. Harrison Garlick, Adam Minihan, and special guest Dr. Donald Prudlo (medievalist and Dante scholar) explore why Purgatorio is essential reading, its spiritual architecture, the unique choice of Cato the Younger as the gatekeeper of Purgatory, and Dante’s vision of grace, freedom, and salvation. The conversation is a deep dive for both first-timers and repeat readers, offering historical, theological, literary, and personal insight.

Why Read Purgatorio?

[05:08] Dr. Prudlo:

• Stopping at Inferno distorts Dante’s (and Christianity’s) bigger story; the Comedy must be read as a unity (“It’s like reading the Heptateuch and stopping there.”)
• Purgatorio is not tragedy, but the place where the soul is straightened and prepared for the heights of Paradise.
• The structure of Purgatorio offers a spiritual map for ascent toward God, beneficial for prayer and meditation.
• As readers mature, so does their appreciation: what seems “boring” compared to Inferno becomes a guidebook.
• “Our passions are being purified along with Dante the pilgrim, as we climb the mountain…” [08:02, Dr. Prudlo]
• The journey is toward greater humanity and individual freedom as passions are reordered and the soul is “regreened” (restored).

Major Themes to Watch For

Freedom, Emancipation, Community [10:00–14:46]

• The purgative journey is about becoming more profoundly oneself—divine grace makes us “more Dante,” not less.
• True freedom is not “freedom from” but “freedom for”—the liberty to choose the good.
• Purgatorio is suffused with biblical references to liberation (Exodus, psalms).
• Re-integration into communion/friendship is shown in the souls’ interactions: “The individual good and the political good are inseparable for Dante in this book, and that will lead us into Cato very certainly.” [13:38, Dr. Prudlo]

Notable Quote:

“What did the Greeks want? What did the Romans want? They wanted liberty. They saw how precious and valuable it was. And now here, the Judeo-Christian tradition, and you can see the biblical texts…woven together in this great Western story of liberty…”
— Dr. Prudlo [12:34]

Canto 1: The New Epic, Invoking the Muses, and the Figure of Cato

Opening Imagery & Poetic Framing

[17:56–26:58]

• Dante’s invocation of Calliope (muse of epic poetry) marks Purgatorio as the Christian epic.
• Unlike Inferno, everything here is brighter, hopeful, and pedagogical.
• The journey enters a “temporal” realm—Purgatory is not eternal; it will one day cease.
• Time, geography, and orientation are reestablished (after the “chaos” of Inferno).

Dante vs. Odysseus

• Dr. Prudlo draws a comparison between Dante as a “new Odysseus” (one led by grace) and the classical hero (Odysseus’s failed journey toward knowledge—killed at sea before reaching Purgatory).

Quote:

“Pilgrims have a telos beyond themselves. Ulysses’ telos was himself. Dante is going towards a good that’s outside himself.”
— Dr. Prudlo [25:07]

Cato the Younger: The Pagan Gatekeeper

[29:15–48:36] (KEY SEGMENT)

• Cato, a pagan suicide, is the first figure encountered—a shock to medieval expectations.
• Cato symbolizes the heights of pagan virtue and love of liberty; serves as a “secular precursor to Christ.”
  • Associated with the four stars (cardinal virtues), echoing the Greek philosophical path.
  • Allusions to Lucan’s Pharsalia: “Let my blood redeem the peoples.”
• Dante proposes that Cato was saved by a special grace—an anticipation of Christ’s redemption even in the pagan world.
  • Virgil’s Eclogue 4 is invoked, as an example of pagan prophecy foretelling Christ.
  • Cato’s suicide is reinterpreted as a Christ-like self-sacrifice (“Christ as suicide”), deeply provocative but grounded in the notion of willing, redemptive self-offering.
  • Notable quote: “No one has the power to take [Christ’s] life from him unless he permits it…” [48:36, Dr. Prudlo]
• Cato’s wife, Marcia—a touching aside about the nature of love in the afterlife, and the acceptance of moving toward greater goods.
• Ritual of the Reed: A new, humble “Aeneas” is prepared, not with a golden bough but a simple reed: humility as the key to ascent.

Canto 2: Arrival by Angel-Boat and the Role of Community

[61:32–69:14]

• Angelic boat ferries new souls over the sea—imagery alluding to baptism, Exodus, and resurrection.
• Souls sing “In exitu Israel de Aegypto,” merging OT liberation with their own journey.
• Dante’s reunion with his friend Casella: the first smile in Purgatorio, the return of song and friendship.
• Cato reappears as the curmudgeonly but loving “good shepherd,” goading souls up the mountain.

On Intercessory Prayer & the Role of the Living:

“They see his body…he casts a shadow…that means Dante the pilgrim still has the capacity to pray for all the souls that he meets.”
— Harrison Garlick [90:54]

On Virgil as Guide:

• Virgil, though a “foreigner” to grace, continues to guide Dante by special privilege—a companionship that both upholds and exceeds classical paganism.
• His presence signals the close bond of poetry, learning, and spiritual humility.

Canto 3: The Excommunicated and the Hard Saying about Salvation

[75:31–84:13]

• First group: those excommunicated from the Church, late-pentitent but still bound for heaven (after a delay).
• Manfred, King of Sicily, the unexpected “scandal” of the saved excommunicate.
• Dante’s soteriology: even the gravest sinner is never beyond God’s mercy if they repent at the last.
• Intercessory prayer: the prayers of the living can shorten time in Ante-Purgatory.
• The chiasm of Mary and Plato: humility and faith (“Mary’s yes”) vs. the limit of reason alone (“Plato’s why”).
  • Only humble acceptance of divine revelation brings ascent; even Plato’s restless seeking must yield.
  • “This is the hard sayings. I mean, we’re forced to confront this…” [81:37, Dr. Prudlo]

Canto 4: The Indolent – The Laziest Souls and the Structure of the Climb

[95:03–105:55]

• Opening with a Thomistic point about the unity of the soul: Dante as a theological pioneer.
• Mount Purgatory’s geography: rises in the southern hemisphere, opposite Jerusalem, sprung up from Satan’s fall.
• Introduction to Belaqua (“the laziest man who ever lived”) – a comic but moral lesson in the dangers of spiritual sloth and the importance of late repentance.
  • Dante’s friendships, banter, and relief (“Even Bellaqua is going to get there”).
  • An invitation to self-examination: how are we like the slow, lazy souls?
• “The climb is harder at the outset, and as one ascends, it becomes less toilsome.”
  • The habituation of virtue lessens the burden.

Canto 5: The Violently Killed Who Repented in Extremis

[107:10–123:42]

• The third class of late repentants: those who died a violent death but called on divine mercy with their last breath.
• Touching story of the soul who, while dying and nearly blind from bleeding out, manages only to cry “Maria”—God’s grace still saves him.
  • A poignant illustration of Mary’s role as intercessor at the hour of death; biblical foundation for Marian theology is explored.
  • Reversal of Inferno: here, the demon and angel contend again for a soul—but mercy wins.
• The paradox and promise of late conversion: God’s mercy always available, but the degree of configuration to Christ in this life determines our experience of the next.

Quote:

“The point of Christianity is not to avoid sin. That's not the point. The point is actually to configure ourselves to Christ… [and] the degree to which you configure yourself to Christ in this life affects your eternal relationship with God.”
— Harrison Garlick [117:04–119:27]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Here you see Cato the Younger, a pagan suicide, is the first person Dante meets in Purgatory...This knocks for a loop both Dante the pilgrim and the reader.” — Dr. Prudlo [29:15]
• “God wants children, not slaves…He gives us the opportunity to be that. But in order to be human…we need to be free. We need to be free and masters of ourselves.” — Dr. Prudlo [12:34]
• “Even the laziest man alive is going to get there. And why is he there for so long? It’s because he was a late repentant. He didn’t, he put off penance until the end, and he wants prayers too.” — Dr. Prudlo on Belaqua [101:11]
• “No one’s ever so lost that eternal love cannot come back, as long as hope has any sprouts of green.” — Dante (via Harrison Garlick quoting) [90:41]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 05:08 – Why Purgatorio is essential; unity of the Comedy
• 10:00–14:46 – Major themes: liberty, maturation, and healing
• 17:56–26:58 – Opening image and epic framing; Dante as the new Odysseus
• 29:15–48:36 – The Cato deep-dive: pagan prophecy, grace, and Christological echoes
• 61:32–69:14 – The boat of souls: biblical/communal imagery; Virgil’s role
• 75:31–84:13 – Manfred; excommunication; soteriology
• 95:03–105:55 – Unity of the soul; geography; Belaqua and the challenge of spiritual laziness
• 107:10–123:42 – Violently slain late repentants; God’s mercy; configuring to Christ

Final Reflections & Takeaways

• Purgatorio is a spiritual journey not only for Dante but for the modern reader; Ante-Purgatory is full of surprises, grace, and moral challenge.
• Dante’s theological imagination is expansive: offering unexpected images of salvation, community, and the transformative power of divine mercy.
• The importance of humility, community, and intercession emerges anew in every canto.
• The climb is hard at first, but the way is made easier by the right ordering of soul to God.

Dr. Prudlo’s Parting Words:

“Here we are. The birth of the Vita Nuova, Dante’s new life…It’s Purgatory that we see the rebirth, the resurrection of Dante here. And that's always been very striking to me.” [127:26]

Next Week: Cantos 6–12 — The Gate of Purgatory & the First Terrace.
Guest: A classical school headmaster.

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