About this episode

Dcn. Harrison Garlick and Dr. Donald Prudlo discuss the Ante-Purgatory section of Dante's Purgatorio, focusing on Cantos 1-5 and the themes of hope and redemption.

Today on Ascend: The Great Books Podcast, Dcn. Harrison Garlick and Dr. Donald Prudlo, the Warren Chair of Catholic Studies at the University of Tulsa, discuss the Ante-Purgatory, the foot of Mount Purgatory (Cantos 1-5). Check out our guide on Dante's Purgatorio (out soon!) Visit Dr. Jason Baxter's website and use "Ascend" in the promo code for 20% off his Purgatorio audiobook. Thanks for the Center for Beauty and Culture at Benedictine College for their support! The conversation with Dr. Prudlo and Deacon Garlick on Cantos 1–5 of Purgatorio opens with the dramatic shift from the despair of Inferno to the hope and refreshment of Purgatory. In Canto 1, Dante and Virgil emerge from Hell onto the shores of Mount Purgatory at Easter dawn, where Dante humbly invokes Calliope, the Muse of epic poetry, signaling his project as “the Christian epic” (Dr. Donald Prudlo). They meet Cato the Younger, a pagan suicide saved by special grace, who embodies the four cardinal virtues and serves as Purgatory’s guardian. Prudlo emphasizes the shock: “Cato the pagan, the suicide is going to heaven. And we have got to confront that or we're going to miss so much of what Dante has to tell us here”…

People in this episode

Host: Dcn. Harrison Garlick

Guest: Dr. Donald Prudlo

Topics covered

• Dante
• Purgatory
• Catholic Studies
• epic poetry
• redemption
• literary analysis

Keywords

• Dante
• Purgatorio
• Cantos 1-5
• Cato the Younger
• redemption
• Catholic Studies
• epic poetry
• humility
• literary analysis

Sponsors

Center for Beauty and Culture at Benedictine College

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: University of Tulsa

Books & works: Purgatorio, Inferno

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• Purgatorio: Beatrice (Cantos 32-33) with Joshua Charles and Dr. Frank Grabowski · March 31, 2026 · 1h 30m
• Purgatorio: The Earthly Paradise (Cantos 28-31) with Dr. Michael West · March 24, 2026 · 1h 38m
• Purgatorio: Gluttony and Lust (Cantos 23-27) with Fr. Patrick Briscoe, OP · March 17, 2026 · 1h 36m

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