Our pilgrim leaves Farinata's and Cavalcante's tomb hesitantly. Something about his encounter with the heretics is so profound, it stops the forward momentum of COMEDY for a time.

What's ahead is the tomb of a heretic pope, as well as a glimpse of Beatrice and the foul smell of the lowest pits of hell.

We're about to enter the abyss, what could be called "Tartarus," the place the poet Vergil and his hero Aeneas couldn't go, the place our poet dares to go.

Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we get a first whiff of the worst parts of hell and take refuge under a tomb that contains the second piece of writing in hell but that causes more problems than it solves.

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

[01:00] More about Dante-the-pilgrim and Farinata.

[03:17] My English language translation of INFERNO: Canto X, Line 121b, through Canto XI, Line 15. If you'd like to read along, drop a comment about this passage, or find a deeper study guide, look for this episode's entry on my website, markscarbrough.com.

[05:38] The first knotty problem in this passage: Dante's (well) disobedience. Virgil has signaled him to move on. He hasn't. In fact, he asked more questions of Farinata.

[14:50] Virgil makes Dante a promise about a beautiful woman's eyes. Who is this woman? And why is this promise never fulfilled in COMEDY?

[19:48] A bit of the plot: the stench of lower hell and our first glimpse of the abyss.

[22:00] A tomb with an inscription--to a pope! With maybe a bishop in tow! Who are these people? Might there be a writerly answer to this garbled passage?