SOURCE: Bisson, Lillian M. “Brunetto Latini as a Failed Mentor.” Medievalia et Humanistica n.s. 18 (1992): 1-15.

In the following essay, Bisson underscores the intellectual rather than physical nature of the sin ascribed to Brunetto in Dante's Inferno XV, suggesting that the scene demonstrates Dante's artistic rejection, rather than moral denunciation, of his former mentor.

Dante's educational development took place in the context of the Florentine revival of classical ideals concerning the importance of participating in civic and communal life. No one played a greater role in the initial stages of this movement than Brunetto Latini, who argued that through skillful use of language and wise teachings the rhetor/orator should move others to responsible and just behavior. True nobility, he argued, comes from virtuous action—not from noble blood or wealth; fame is the reward for such virtue (Davis, Dante's Italy, 180). Though Dante was deeply influenced by Brunetto's...