Commentary Inf IV 52-54

Virgil tells Dante what he witnessed in 34 A.D., when he was 'new' to his condition, some fifty-three years after his death in 19 B.C. He saw a 'mighty one' (Christ recognized by Virgil only for his power, an anonymous harrower to the pagan observer). He is either crowned with the sign of victory or crowned and holding the sign of victory, a sceptre representing the Cross. Mazzoni (Mazz.1965.1), pp. 105-112, patiently reviews the many differing responses to this verse and gives strong support to the latter view, thus necessitating the presence of a comma in the verse: 'con segno di vittoria, coronato.' He is willing to have Christ crowned with the cruciform nimbus, as some would like, or simply by an aureole, but insists on the insignia of the Cross as being carried in Christ's hand.