Justice Permits No Excuses: PARADISO, Canto IV, Lines 64 - 90

About this episode

Beatrice now takes on the pilgrim's second . . . doubt? It had been questions. Now it sounds as if it's more. Doubts. Here, she launches into a discussion of free will that ultimately implicates Piccarda and Constance in their own failures, even though they were forced against their wills out of the convents. Beatrice offers a hard, troubling rationale for their lower status in the pursuit of what she sees as the higher good: the sanctity of free will. Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we explore this provocative passage, one of the few moments in which Dante refuses to move his fences. If you'd like to help underwrite the many fees associated with this podcast, please consider a donation or a small monthly stipend using this PayPal link right here. Here are the segments for this episode of WALKING WITH DANTE: [01:01] My English translation of PARADISO, Canto IV, Lines 64 - 90. If you'd like to read along or continue the discussion with me, please find the entry for this episode on my website, markscarbrough.com. [03:31] The less venomous doubt, perhaps because it takes place fully inside Christian theology. [08:59] Laying the blame on Piccarda and Constance. [13:04] Aristotle'