Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter i
2. Contents ix
3. Chapter 1. Politics, Poetry, and Philosophy in Purgatorio 1
4. Chapter 2. “What Good Would Climbing Do?”: The Rationale and Impetus for the Pursuit of Self- Knowledge (Cantos I–IX) 20
5. Chapter 3. “To a Better Nature You Lie Subject”: The Political Character of Humanity and Nature (Cantos X–XVII) 81
6. Chapter 4. Disrobing the Siren: The Zealous Pursuit of Clarity (Cantos XVII–XIX) 138
7. Chapter 5. “When Love Breathes Within Me”: The Desirability of Desire (Cantos XIX–XXVII) 160
8. Chapter 6. “The Nest for Human Nature”: Earthly Paradise and the “Happiness in This Life” (Cantos XXVIII–XXXIII) 214
9. Chapter 7. Dante’s Human Wisdom 244
10. Notes 251
11. Index 283
12. Acknowledgments 291