Purgatorio: Ante-Purgatory and the Terrace on Pride (Cantos 6-12) with Mr. Luke Heintschel

Today on Ascend: The Great Books Podcast, Deacon Garlick and Mr. Luke Heintschel, headmaster of Coeur du Christ Academy, discuss the rest of ante-purgatory and then the first terrace–the purging of pride.

Check out our GUIDE: 51 QUESTIONS ON THE PURGATORIO.

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The conversation explores the transition from Ante-Purgatory into the proper mountain of Purgatory and the first terrace dedicated to purging the sin of pride. Garlick describes this section as one of his favorites in the entire Purgatorio, praising Dante’s ability to provide a rich “liturgy” and spiritual library of resources for reshaping the soul into the beautiful image of Christ. The episode emphasizes Purgatorio as a positive map for sanctification and theosis, contrasting sharply with the Inferno’s exposure of sin’s ugliness.Guest Introduction and Classical Education Insights

Luke Heintschel shares his personal journey from evangelization and biblical theology into classical education, explaining how he came to see the liberal arts tradition—long cultivated by the Church—as the most effective means of making Catholicism relevant to contemporary young people. He describes his school’s mission of forming saints, scholars, and servants through the historic Catholic educational model. Deacon and Heintschel discuss the harmony of faith and reason, noting how reading great books alongside Scripture and theology reveals that the God who grants intellect is the same God who died on the cross. They highlight the value of using Dante’s Purgatorio in moral theology classes, where it serves not as a list of rules but as a vivid portrayal of transforming the heart’s disordered loves toward their divine end.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Ascend and Dante’s Purgatorio

09:02 Understanding Purgatorio: A Map for Spiritual Growth

15:17 Dante’s Intercessory Prayer and Its Significance

24:13 The Role of Beatrice and the Nature of Beauty

34:53 Dante’s Political Critique and the State of Italy

43:05 The Call to Higher Patriotism

53:44 Understanding Virtue: Natural vs. Theological

59:35 The Valley of the Kings: Political Failures and Redemption

01:15:02 Dante’s Heroism and Divine Grace

01:19:41 The Three Steps to Purification

01:28:10 The Role of Humility in Purgatory

01:51:27 The Purpose of Purification

01:59:24 Contrappasso: The Nature of Punishment in Purgatory

02:04:44 Examples of Pride: Lessons from the Past

02:16:26 The Beatitudes and the Path to Humility

02:23:47 Eagerness to Ascend: The Transformation of the Soul

Moral Theology and the Purpose of Purgatorio

The hosts stress that moral theology is not merely about avoiding sin but about becoming beautiful like Christ through active configuration to His image. Purgatorio offers a lifelong guide for this ascent, presenting prayers, hymns, scriptural examples, and artistic visions tailored to remedy each vice. They critique modern reductions of ethics to a “negative list” of prohibitions, arguing that Dante invites readers to pursue positive virtue and interior change.

In Canto 6, the souls in Ante-Purgatory eagerly seek Dante’s prayers, illustrating the Catholic doctrine of intercession for the dead as a participation in Christ’s merits. Virgil explains that purgation is possible through the resurrection, and the episode includes a brief catechesis on the communion of saints across the Church Militant, Penitent, and Triumphant. Beatrice is presented as an icon of divine beauty and grace, with the pilgrim’s desire for her serving as a ladder of ascent from earthly eros to divine charity. Dante’s political lament critiques Italy’s fractured state and absent emperor, yearning for the proper balance of temporal and spiritual powers (duo sunt).

Canto 7 introduces the Valley of the Princes—failed rulers delayed for neglecting their Christian vocation—while the night rule underscores that ascent requires God’s grace (symbolized by the sun). The princes sing Salve Regina, submitting to the true Queen, Mary.

Cantos 8–9: Nighttime Vigil, Dream, and Entry into Purgatory

Canto 8 features angels driving off the serpent of temptation in a repeated catechetical drama, while the souls sing Te lucis ante terminum to entrust the night to God.

In Canto 9, St. Lucy (meaning “light”) carries the sleeping Dante upward, emphasizing that grace, not human effort, enables ascent. The three steps to the Gate of Purgatory symbolize self-knowledge (polished white marble), contrition (cracked dark stone), and penance (fiery red porphyry). An angel inscribes seven P’s (peccata, sins) on Dante’s forehead and uses the keys of Peter—commanded to err on the side of mercy—to open the gate, accompanied by the Te Deum.

Cantos 10–12: The First Terrace – Purging Pride

The first terrace features marble reliefs of humility: the Annunciation (Mary’s fiat), David dancing before the Ark, and Emperor Trajan aiding a widow. These Christian and pagan examples of the contrary virtue counter pride. The proud souls carry massive boulders that force them to bow low, habituating humility through a purifying contrapasso. The ground displays carved examples of pride’s fall—Lucifer, the Tower of Babel, Niobe, Saul, Arachne, Rehoboam, and others—often alternating biblical and classical stories to show pride’s universal danger. The souls recite an expanded Our Father, praying intercessorily for those on earth, and the Beatitude “Blessed are the poor in spirit” is sung sweetly. As pride is purged, an angel removes one P, the soul grows eager and light-footed, and Virgil laughs—a rare moment of joy signaling progress in the ascent.Closing and Next Steps

Deacon thanks Heintschel for his insights and reminds listeners that Purgatorio functions as both literary masterpiece and practical spiritual guide.

The next episode will cover Cantos 13–17 (envy and wrath) with Dr. Jessica Hooten Wilson of Pepperdine University.

Keywords

Dante’s Purgatorio, Christian Virtues, Intercessory Prayer, Classical Education, Theology, Morality, Politics, Dante’s Guide, Beatrice, Virgil Dante’s Purgatorio, humility, pride, spiritual journey, classical analogies, biblical themes, liturgical imagery, virtue, contrapasso, purgation