Commentary Purg I 78-84

Virgil's attempt at captatio benevolentiae (the winning of an audience's goodwill) probably sounds reasonable enough to most readers (for instance, Muresu [Mure.2001.1], p. 395).  Since he dwells in Limbo with Marcia, Cato's wife, he seeks to sway him with reference to her.  Virgil has learned, we might reflect, how captatio functions in a Christian context from Beatrice, who practiced it upon him ([Inf II 58-60], [Inf II 73-74]).  If such rhetoric worked on him, he would seem to have surmised, perhaps it will now be effective with Cato.  However, and as Di Benedetto (Dibe.1985.1), p. 175, has noted, 'the mention of Marcia was something of a gaffe.'