This lecture covers Purgatory V, VI, IX and X. The purgatorial
theme of freedom introduced in the previous lecture is revisited
in the context of Canto V, where Buonconte da Montefeltro's
appearance among the last minute penitents is read as a critique
of the genealogical bonds of natural necessity. The poet passes
from natural to civic ancestry in Purgatory VI, where the mutual
affection of Virgil and Sordello, a former citizen of the
classical poet's native Mantua, sparks an invective against the
mutual enmity that enslaves contemporary Italy. The transition
from ante-Purgatory to Purgatory proper in Canto IX leads to an
elaboration on the moral and poetic structure of Purgatory,
exemplified on the terrace of pride in Canto X. As one of the
world's great universities, Yale traces its roots back to the
early 1640s when colonial clergyman sought to establish a school
in order to continue the tradition of European education within
the Americas. Yale has now grown to educate over 11,000 students
from over 100 c