Commentary Purg XX 136-141

The passage in Luke (2:13-14) presenting angelic praise of God at the birth of Jesus ('Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men of good will') is cited first by Pietro di Dante (DDP Pietro1.Purg.XX.136-141).  By comparing himself and Virgil to the shepherds that first heard the angelic Gloria (Luke 3:15), Dante has underlined the connection between Jesus and Statius, which will be evident in the next canto as well.  The birth of Jesus stands as a sign for the rebirth of this soul, who has finished his purgation and is prepared to ascend to the Father.  All on the mountain apparently cease their own penitential activity to celebrate the event in this song, and do so until the quaking stops; we are led to imagine that this is true each time a soul arrives at this joyful moment of freedom from even the memory of sin, a condition that is formally completed with the passage through the waters of Lethe in the earthly paradise.

      Scott (Scot.1996.1), pp. 174-75, citing the previous remark in Pézard's commentary (Peza.1965.1), p. 1266, rightly points out that the earthquake at Statius's 'resurrection' remembers that which occurred at the crucifixion of Jesus, so that Christ's conquest of death is now literally played out before our eyes in a single modern Christian life.  See also Gmelin (Gmel.1955.1), p. 328, Hollander (Holl.1969.1), pp. 67-68, and a later version of Scott's remarks (Scot.1996.2).