Commentary Purg IV 127-135

In what seems surprising length for so laconic a speaker (first three speeches, five lines; final speech, nine lines), Belacqua now reveals his other side, not that of a keen listener waiting for his 'opponent' to fall into the net of his sharp wit, but of a lazy loser who can't quite get himself organized.  It is, the more we reflect upon it, something of a miracle that God chose him to join the elect in Heaven (as the protagonist himself thought -- see [Purg IV 123-124]).