The Pursuit Of Truth In Dante's Inferno '

For first time readers of Dante’s Commedia, Virgil’s disappearance in canto 30 can come as a surprise despite the forewarnings present in the text (Purgatorio 21.32-33). However, there are indications throughout Purgatorio of the fault keeping Virgil from ascending farther in the Heavenly realms. In Purgatory, Virgil’s pursuit of truth inside himself and in the natural world is shown to have kept him from attaining the Highest Truth, limiting his ability to guide Dante on his journey towards perfection and illustrating his identity as a resident of Limbo who must “live in longing” (Inferno 4.42).

In Purgatory, Virgil looks inside of himself for truth (Purgatorio 3.55-56) when, in reality, the fullness of truth lies outside of the human person, originating from the ultimate True thing, God (New American Bible, John 14.6). Dante the Pilgrim, as a Christian thinker, understands truth’s location implicitly, as seen in canto 3 when he looks around for the path he and Virgil must take up the mountain (3.57). Dante’s outward and upward gaze is rewarded near instantaneously with the appearance of a “band of souls” (3.58) whom Virgil, gazing fixedly on the

As Virgil explains to Statius, “I shall lead / him just as far as where I teach can reach” (21.32-33). For the “truth of faith” (18.47), Dante must rely on Beatrice’s guidance. Virgil’s limitations, resulting from his misaligned sight and lack of the theological virtues, are displayed in the Garden of Eden, where Dante has reached “the place past which [Virgil’s] powers cannot see” (27.129). When Dante seeks an explanation of the mysterious gold candelabra, Virgil is unable to provide a response other than awe which mirrors Dante’s own (29.43-57). The search for truth is a great and good thing, but the pursuit of truth without the theological virtues ultimately fails Virgil when confronted with the glory of Heaven in the Earthly