Commentary Par XV 130-132

This terzina repeats a theme that we have encountered before (the 'good old days'), but does so with such emphasis and fluidity (both lines are enjambed, so that the entire tercet has the feeling of a single line of thought, with four iterations of the adverb così upping the emotional effect), as to leave us in suspense, wondering about the subject and predicate that it introduces.

Dante's radical notion of the responsibility of the citizen, based on ethics more than on politics, may have been shaped by the 'radical corporationalism' of Remigio dei Girolami; the characterization is that of Ernst Kantorowicz (Kant.1957.1), p. 478, cited by Claire Honess (Hone.1997.2), p. 104.  For an overview of the still under-investigated question of Remigio's possible influence on Dante, with bibliography (including three important essays in English by Charles Till Davis), see Ovidio Capitani, 'Girolami, Remigio dei' (ED.1971.3).