In this final talk of the semester to his Chinese high school students, Jiang Xueqin explains the enduring influence of Dante.
Dante recognized that if he is to succeed in birthing a new European mind he must displace Vergil’s Aeneid. To do this, Dante makes Vergil into his guide, and Vergil reveals that he is an unreliable narrator.
At the beginning of their epic journey, Vergil insists to Dante that only the baptized can enter Heaven. Those who were virtuous and but were not baptized — such as Vergil — must remain in limbo. Once in Purgatory, the two meet Cato, who was never baptized. They also meet Statius, a Roman epic poet, who after five hundreds of self-reflection and penance in Purgatory, is finally about to ascend into Heaven.
Eventually, Vergil and Dante arrive at the top of Purgatory, and await the arrival of Beatrice. When she does descend, Dante thinks that Vergil can now be redeemed.
But Vergil has run away, rather than admit he was wrong. Though Dante cries for his friend, Beatrice tells him they need to move on — Heaven is only open to those who want to enter it.
