Commentary Purg XXIII 42-48

The penitent's quick and gentle recognition of Dante, whose visage is in its normal human condition, plays off the gradual recognition on the part of the protagonist of his interlocutor.  This is his old friend, Forese Donati.  He was the brother of two other personages referred to in his remarks, Piccarda, encountered by Dante in the heaven of the Moon ([Par III 49]) and praised generously in the next canto ([Purg XXIV 13-15]); Corso, denounced savagely ([Purg XXIV 82-87]).  The interplay between these fellow Florentines develops as one of the most tender scenes in the entire poem.

      It is perhaps worth noting that the words that Forese and the others have been singing ([Purg XXIII 11]) happen to come from the very fiftieth Psalm (50:1 [51:1]) that opens with what serves as the protagonist's first spoken word in the Comedy, Miserere ([Inf I 65]).  The stories of Forese and of Dante are certainly meant to show God's great mercy.