Commentary Purg XXI 88

Dante had already referred to Statius as 'lo dolce poeta' (the sweet poet) at Conv.IV.xxv.6, as Tommaseo (DDP Tommaseo.Purg.XXI.88-90) pointed out.  Pietro di Dante (DDP Pietro1.Purg.XXI.82-90) was the first to suggest that the source for the phrase lay in Juvenal's Satires (VII.82-87).  For strong support of this notion, see Ronconi (Ronc.1965.1), pp. 568-69; see also Tandoi (Tand.1969.1).  Ettore Paratore, 'Giovenale' (ED.1971.3), pp. 197-202, offers probably the most balanced and useful introduction to the problem of Dante's knowledge of Juvenal.