This work is daunting! Its poetry stymies me; it's populated with unknown old Romans and Florentines from places I don't know; and Dante sprinkles it with words I'm sure he made up. It's like trying to find my way in a dark wood!
Luckily there is more interest in Dante than Milton and Boethius.
Wikipedia has four articles for his best work:
A list of English translations of the Divine Comedy with links to available online version is in Wikipedia's main article. I include links to an audio version and a YouTube version.
Columbia has a website devoted to Dante and generously offers 54 lectures on the Divine Comedy taught by a true advocate of Dante's work, Professor Teodolinda Barolini. A contact on Reddit suggested the St Andrews Dante Lecture Series which gives access to lectures by various scholars reading and explaining the 100 cantos.
As a first step toward understanding the Divine Comedy I've constructed a 'worksheet' by copying Henry Wadsworth Logfellow's Canto notes and transcribing items from the three wikipedia articles.
The Divine Comedy - resources
| Dante Alighieri | Divine Comedy |
- Standford Encyclopedia of Philosophy - Dante Alighieri documentary | - St Andrews Dante Lecture Series, readings and explanations of the 100 cantos of the Divine Comedy - The Dante Course by Prof. Teodolinda Barolini at Columbia University - Divine Comedy translated by H. F. Cary (1892) - The Divine Comedy translated by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (AUDIO) - The Divine Comedy (Dramatic Reading) [13:04:22] - The Divine Comedy: How Dante Provided A New World Theory - Dante's Divine Comedy: by William R Cook, Ph.D. (Great Courses) |
| PART | OVERVIEW/OUTLINE |
| OVERVIEW | Dante is lost inside a dark wood. Virgil finds him and guides him from the dark wood through the nine circles of the pit of Hell where he meets many historical and political Italian sinners, Greek and Roman mythological entities and Biblical wrongdoers.Passing Lucifer at the bottom of Hell, he is guided to seven terraces of Purgatory located on an island mountain. At th summit of Purgatory, Virgil is replaced by Beatrice who leads him through the nine ascending spheres of Paradise to the Empyrean where he is allowed to glimpse the glory of God SUMMARIES: - Divine Comedy (Wikipedia article) - The Divine Comedy (Brittanica article) - Why should you read Dante's "Divine Comedy"? - Dante's Inferno, Purgatorio & Paradisio - A Summary of the Divine Comedy CHARACTERS: - Dante - Virgil - Beatrice - and many more met along the journey |
| Inferno | The Inferno is the first person narrative of the journey of Dante through Hell, guided by the ancient Roman poet Virgil. Hell is described as nine concentric circles of torment located within Earth. The Divine Comedy is an allegory of the soul's journey to God. |
| Canto 1 | The Dark Forest.—The Hill of Difficulty.—The Panther, the Lion, and the Wolf.—Virgil The poem begins on the night of April 7, 1300. It is Maundy Thursday, shortly before dawn on Good Friday. The narrator, Dante, is 35 years old, halfway through life and lost in a dark wood. On the dawn of Good Friday, April 8, Dante is rescued by a figure who says he was born in the time of Julius Ceasar and lived under Augustus: it is the shade of Virgil. |
| Canto 2 | Dante's Protest and Virgil's Appeal.—The Intercession of the Three Ladies Benedight On the evening of Good Friday, Dante hesitates as he follows Virgil. Virgil reccounts how he has been sent by Beatrice who in turn had been moved by the Virgin Mary and Saint Lucia. Rachel, a symbol of the contemplative life was also in that heavenly conference. Dante, pacified, begins his journey with Virgil to the underworld. |
| Canto 3 | The Gate of Hell.—The Inefficient or Indifferent.—Pope Celestine V.—The Shores of Acheron.—Charon.—The Earthquake and the Swoon Dante passes through the gate of HELL which bears the inscription '. . . abandon all hope, ye who enter here'. They hear the anguished screams of the Uncommitted, the souls who took no sides, who were neither good nor evil (Pope Celestine V, the no-siders in the Rebellion of Angels. They are neither in Hell nor out of it, but reside on the shores of the Acheron. To cross the Acheron, they board a ferry piloted by Charon. Dante faints and can't describe the passage. |
| Canto 4 | The First Circle.—Limbo, or the Border Land of the Unbaptized.—The Four Poets, Homer, Horace, Ovid, and Lucan.—The Noble Castle of Philosophy |
| Canto 5 | The Second Circle.—Minos.—The Wanton.—The Infernal Hurricane.—Francesca da Rimini |
| Canto 6 | The Third Circle.—Cerberus.—The Gluttonous.—The Eternal Rain.—Ciacco |
| Canto 7 | The Fourth Circle.—Plutus.—The Avaricious and the Prodigal.—Fortune and her Wheel.—The Fifth Circle.—Styx.—The Irascible and the Sullen |
| Canto 8 | Phlegyas.—Philippe Argenti.—The Gate of the City of Dis Fifth Circle (Wrath) the swampy, stinking waters of the river Styx. Phlegyas transports Dante and Virgil across the Styx to the City of Dis |
| Canto 9 | The Furies.—The Angel.—The City of Dis.—The Sixth Circle.—Heresiarchs Dante is threatened by the Furies and Medusa. An angel rescues Dante and allows the poets to enter Lower Hell. Sixth Circle (Heresy) in which heretics are trapped in flamming tombs. He learns that what the souls in Hell know of life on earth comes from seeing the future; they are blind to the present. |
| Canto 10 | Farinata and Cavalcante de' Cavalcanti |
| Canto 11 | Pope Anastasius.—General Description of the Inferno and its Divisions An inscription on one of the tombs indicates that it belongs to a Pope. Virgil stops him to explain the geography of Lower Hell and notes the time to be 4 AM on Holy Saturday. |
| Canto 12 | The Minotaur.—The Seventh Circle.—The Violent.—Phlegethon.—The Violent against their Neighbors.—The Centaurs.—Tyrants Seventh Circle (Violence) is divided into three rings. As they descend a jumble of rocks, they encounter the Minotaur. In the first ring of the seventh circle are the murderers, war-makers, plunderers, and tyrans immersed in Phegethon, a river of boiling bood and fire. |
| Canto 13 | The Wood of Thorns.—The Harpies.—The Violent against themselves.—Suicides.—Pier della Vigna.—Lano and Jacopo da Sant' Andrea The second ring of the seventh circle is the Wood of Suicides in which people who attempted or died by their own hand are transformed into gnarled, thorny trees and fed upon by Harpes. |
| Canto 14 | The Sand Waste.—The Violent against God.—Capaneus.—The Statue of Time, and the Four Infernal Rivers The third ring of the seventh circle is the Plain of Burrning Sand scorched by flakes of falling flame. Blasphemers (the vilent against God) are stretched on the burning sand; the Sodomites (the Violent against Nature) run in circles; the Uurers (the violent against Art) crouch huddled and weeping. |
| Canto 15 | The Violent against Nature.—Brunetto Latini Dante and Virgil cross the burning plain and Dante recognizes a friend . |
| Canto 16 | Guidoguerra, Aldobrandi, and Rusticucci.—Cataract of the River of Blood The Poets can hear the waterfall that pluges over the Great Cliff of the Eighth Circle when three shades greet them, They are three Florentines that Dante admired. |
| Canto 17 | Geryon.—The Violent against Art.—Usurers.—Descent into the Abyss of Malebolge They must get on the back of Geryon, the Monster of Fraud, to fly down to the eighth circle (Fraud and Maliciousness) |
| Canto 18 | The Eighth Circle: Malebolge.—The Fraudulent.—The First Bolgia: Seducers and Panders.—Venedico Caccianimico.—Jason.—The Second Bolgia: Flatterers.—Allessio Interminelli.—Thaïs Eighth Circle (Fraud) called Maleboige ("Evil ditches"). It is a large funnel of stone shaped like an amphitheatre arounf which run a series of ten deep, narrow, concentric ditches called bolge. Those guilty of Simple Fraud are inside the ditches Bolgia 1 - panderers and seducers Bolgia 2 - flatterers |
| Canto 19 | The Third Bolgia: the Simoniacs.—Pope Nicholas III |
| Canto 20 | The Fourth Bolgia: Soothsayers.—Amphiaraüs, Tiresias, Aruns, Manto, Eryphylus, Michael Scott, Guido Bonatti, and Asdente |
| Canto 21 | The Fifth Bolgia: Peculators.—The Elder of Santa Zita.—Malebranche |
| Canto 22 | Ciampolo, Friar Gomita, and Michael Zanche |
| Canto 23 | The Sixth Bolgia: Hypocrites.—Catalano and Loderingo.—Caiaphas |
| Canto 24 | The Seventh Bolgia: Thieves.—Vanni Fucci |
| Canto 25 | Agnello Brunelleschi, Buoso degli Abati, Puccio Sciancato, Cianfa de' Donati, and Guercio Cavalcanti |
| Canto 26 | The Eighth Bolgia: Evil Counsellors.—Ulysses and Diomed |
| Canto 27 | Guido da Montefeltro |
| Canto 28 | The Ninth Bolgia: Schismatics.—Mahomet and Ali.—Pier da Medicina, Curio, Mosca, and Bertrand de Born |
| Canto 29 | The Tenth Bolgia: Alchemists.—Griffolino d' Arezzo and Capocchio |
| Canto 30 | Other Falsifiers or Forgers.—Gianni Schicchi, Myrrha, Adam of Brescia, Potiphar's Wife, and Sinon of Troy |
| Canto 31 | The Giants, Nimrod, Ephialtes, and Antaeus |
| Canto 32 | The Ninth Circle: the Frozen Lake of Cocytus.—First Division, Caïna: Traitors to their Kindred.—Camicion de' Pazzi.—Second Division, Antenora: Traitors to their Country.—Bocca degli Abati and Buoso da Duera Trapped in the ice of Cocytus are sinners who were treacherous against those they had special relationships with. The lake of ise is divided into four concentric rings of traitors who betrayed a family tie, a community tie, a guest, or a lord. Ciardi writes: "The treacheries of these sould were denial od love and all huan warmth. Only the remorseless dead center of the ice will serve to express their natures." - Round 1 - Caina: named after the first murderer, cain, who killed his brother. Traitors to their Kindred. - Round 2 - Antenora: named after Antenor, the Trojan soldier who betrayed his city. Traitors to their Country. |
| Canto 33 | Count Ugolino and the Archbishop Ruggieri.—Third Division of the Ninth Circle, Ptolomæa: Traitors to their Friends.—Friar Alberigo, Branco d' Oria - Round 3 - Ptolomaea: named after Pyolemy who invited his father-in-law, Simon Maccabaeus, and his sons to a banquet and killed them. Traitors to their Guests. |
| Canto 34 | Fourth Division of the Ninth Circle, the Judecca: Traitors to their Lords and Benefactors.—Lucifer, Judas Iscariot, Brutus and Cassius - Round 4 - Judecca: named after Judas Iscariot. Traitors to their Lords Centre of Hell: condemned for committing the ultimate sin, personal treachery against God, is the Devil. |
| Purgatorio | Allegoically represeting the penitent Christian's life. Dante discusses the nature of sin and proposes that all sins arise from love: perverted love directed towards others' harm, deficient love, disordered love, or excessive love of good things |
| Canto 1 | The Shores of Purgatory.—Cato of Utica At the shores of Purgatory at 6 AM Easter Sunday, Dante and Virgil meet the general guardian, Cato, |
| Canto 2 | The Celestial Pilot.—Casella Ante- Purgatory is a region below the entrance into Purgatory proper and houses two categories of souls whose penitent Christian life as delayed or deficient: - excomminicants - late repentant |
| Canto 3 | The Foot of the Mountain.—Those who have died in Contumacy of Holy Church.—Manfredi Late-Repentant: - too lazy or preoccupied to repent (the Indolent) - repented at the last minute without formally receiving last rites - Negligent Rulers |
| Canto 4 | Farther Ascent of the Mountain.—The Negligent, who postponed Repentance till the last Hour.—Belacqua Dante meets Belacqua among the lazy and leaves him by noon. |
| Canto 5 | Those who died by Violence, but repentant.—Buonconte di Montefeltro.—La Pia Those not receiving the last rites include: - Pia de' Tolomei of Siena, who was murdered by her husband. Nello della Pietra of the Maremma. - the troubadour Sordello |
| Canto 6 | Sordello Sordello explains the Rule of the Mountain |
| Canto 7 | The Valley of the Princes After subset souls are incapable of climbing any further. The sun is an allegory for God. Penitent progress can only be made through Divine Grace. At sunset, the three stop for the night in the Valley of the Princes, where the souls of the Negligent Rulers are: - Rudolph - Ottokar - Philip the Bold - Henry III - Currado Malaspina - Nino Viscontii, a personal friend The souls sing the Compline hymns Salve Regina and Te lucis ante terminum. |
| Canto 8 | The Guardian Angels and the Serpent.—Nino di Gallura.—Currado Malaspina |
| Canto 9 | Dante's Dream of the Eagle.—The Gate of Purgatory Just before dawn on Easter Monday, a goldn eagle takes Dante into the sky. At 8 AM Dante wakes and finds himself at the gate of purgatory. There are three steps representing the Sacramnet of Penance: - white marble polished to reflection: a candid, self-reflective confession and a pure heart - dark and cracked: truse sorrow and broken- hearted contrition - blood red: the blood of Christ, the burning Love that ends a good confession The gate of Purgatory, Peter's Gate is guarded by an bright, shining angel with a bear sword. Virgil replies to the angel's challenge that Lucia sent them. Dante pleads humbly for admission and the angle draws the letter 'P' seven times on his forehead with the tip of his sword Virgil the guides the pilgrim Dante through the mountain's seven terraces. Each terrace corresponds to one of the seven deadly sins: - Pride - Envy - Wrath - Sloth - Avarice (and Prodigality) - Gluttony - Lust Associated with each terrace are a prayer and a beatitude |
| Canto 10 | The First Circle.—The Proud.—The Sculptures on the Wall First terrace (Pride): The first three terraces relate to sins caused by a perverted love directed towards harming others. Dante and Virgil ascend this terrace a little after 9 AM. They see sculpture depicting humility: - the Annunciation to the Virgin Mary where she responds to the angel Gabriel - the Emperor Trajan who stopped to render justice to a poor widow |
| Canto 11 | Omberto di Santafiore.—Oderisi d' Agobbio.—Provenzan Salvani |
| Canto 12 | The Sculptures on the Pavement.—Ascent to the Second Circle |
| Canto 13 | The Second Circle.—The Envious.—Sapia of Siena |
| Canto 14 | Guido del Duca and Renier da Calboli Biblical example of envy is Cain being jealous of his younger brother. |
| Canto 15 | The Third Circle.—The Irascible The Angel of Charity invites Dante to the third terrace (Wrath). Dante has visons of wrath's opposite, meekness: Finding in the Temple and Saint Stephen. |
| Canto 16 | Marco Lombardo The prayer for this terrace is the Agnus Dei. Marco Lombatdo and Dante discuss free will. Dante has visons of wrath examples: Procne, Haman, Lavina |
| Canto 17 | Dante's Dream of Anger.—The Fourth Circle.—The Slothful Fourth terrace (Sloth) - deficient love. The beatitude for this terrace is "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted." The Angel of Peace escorts the two poets to the next terrace. |
| Canto 18 | Virgil's Discourse of Love.—The Abbot of San Zeno Virgil explains the organiztion of Purgatory and its relationship to perverted, deficient, and misdirected love. |
| Canto 19 | Dante's Dream of the Siren.—The Fifth Circle.—The Avaricious and Prodigal.—Pope Adrian V. After Dante's second night's sleep, the Angel of Zeal guides the poets to the fifth terrace (Avarice: excessive concern for earthly goods - greed, ambition, extravagance). They meet the shade of Pope Adrian V, an examplar of ambition for ecclecisiastical power and prestige; |
| Canto 20 | Hugh Capet.—The Earthquake . . . and further along Hugh Capet, an examplar of greed. Dante encounters Charles II of Naples, Philip IV of France, Pygmalion, Midas, Achan, Ananias, Sapphira, Heliodorus, Polymestor, and Crassus on the terrace of avarice. There is an earthquake which Dante does not ask about. |
| Canto 21 | The Poet Statius Dante links him and Virgil being overtaken by the shade o the Roman poet Statius to the episode of two disciples meeting Jesus on the road to Emmaus. Statius explains that the earthquake is the tremor that occurs when a soul knows that is is ready to ascend to heaven. |
| Canto 22 | The Sixth Circle.—The Gluttonous.—The Mystic Tree The Angel of Moderation directs the poets to the next terrace. Sixthe terrace (Gluttony: overemphasis on food, drink, bodily comforts. The sinners are starved in the presence of trees whose fruit is forever out of reach ( similiar to Tantalus). |
| Canto 23 | Forese Voices in the trees give examples of temperance (The Virgin Mary at the Wedding at Cana; John the Baptis living on honey and locust) An example of gluttony is the drunkeness of the Centaurs that led to the Battle of Centaurs and Lapiths. |
| Canto 24 | Buonagiunta da Lucca.—Pope Martin IV., and others The Angel of Temperanceshows Dante the passage to the next terrace and paraphrases the beatitude: "Blessed are they who are so illumined by grace that the love of food does not kiindle their dreams beyon what is fitting." It is 2:00 PM. |
| Canto 25 | Discourse of Statius on Generation.—The Seventh Circle.—The Wanton Dante wonders how bodiless souls can have gaunt appearances. Statius talks about the nature of the soul and its relationship with the body. Seventh terrace (Lust) has an immense wll of flames through which every soul must pass. |
| Canto 26 | Guido Guinicelli and Arnaldo Daniello Dante has his thir dream, a vison of Leah and Rachel, symbols of active (non-monastic) and contemplative (monastic) Christian lives. |
| Canto 27 | Dante's Sleep upon the Stairway, and his Dream of Leah.—Arrival at the Terrestrial Paradise Dante awakens with the dawn and the poets continue their climb until they can see the Earthly Paradise. |
| Canto 28 | The Terrestrial Paradise.—The River Lethe.—Matilda The summit of Mount Purgatory is the Garden od Eden. Here Dante meets Matilda who prepares him to meet Beatrice, the woman who allegorically symbolizes the path to God. |
| Canto 29 | The Triumph of the Church Dante witnesses a procession of - twenty-four elders (the 24 books of the Jerome's Hebrew Bible) - four animals (the four Evangelists) - a chariot triumphal on two wheels with Beatrice drawn by - a griffin (the conjoined two nature of Christ - three circling women (Love, Hope, Faith) - four other women (Prudence, Justice, Temperance, Fortitude) - two elders, different in their dress (Acts of the Apostles, the epistles of St Paul - four of humble aspect (the other epistles) - finally, a lone old man (Book of Revelation) |
| Canto 30 | Beatrice Beatrice arrives, Virgil departs because he (as human reason) cannot understand divine grace. After Beatrice's admonishment and Dante's confession, Dante is washed of memory of past sin in the River Lethe. |
| Canto 31 | Reproaches of Beatrice and Confession of Dante.—The Passage of Lethe |
| Canto 32 | The Tree of Knowledge It is noon as events in the Earthly Paradise come to a close. |
| Canto 33 | The River Eunoe Dante drinks from the River Eunoë which restores good memory and prepares him for ascent to Heaven. |
| Paradiso | Guided by theology (Beatrice), Dante journeys through the celectial spheres of Heaven (Moon, Mercury, Venus, the Sun, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, the Fixed Stars, the primum Mobile, and the Empyrean towards his glimpse of God. |
| Canto 1 | The Ascent to the First Heaven The paradiso begins on the top of Mount Purgatory in the Earthly Paradise at noon on Wednesday following easter Sunday. Dante's journey through Paradise takes 24 hours. The entire journey of the Divine Comedy has taken one week. After ascending through the sphere of fire, Beatrice guides Dante throgh the nine celestial spheres of Heaven to the Empyrean. |
| Canto 2 | The First Heaven, or that of the Moon, in which are seen the Spirits of those who, having taken Monastic Vows, were forced to violate them First Sphere (The Moon: The Inconstant) Beatrice describes a simple scientific experiment in optics and praises the experimental method. |
| Canto 3 | Piccarda and Constance The waxing and waniing of the moon is associated with incontancy and contains souls who abandoned their vows and were deficient in fortitude. They meet Piccarda and Constance of Sicily. |
| Canto 4 | Questionings of the Soul and of Broken Vows Beatrice waxes and wanes on the freedom of the will, the sacredness of vows, and the the importance of not collaborating with force. |
| Canto 5 | Compensations. Ascent to the Second Heaven, or that of Mercury, where are seen the Spirits of those who for the Love of Fame achieved great Deeds Vows should be kept once given unless the vow would ge a greater evil, as with Jephthah's adn Argamemnon's sacrifice of their daughters. |
| Canto 6 | Justinian.—The Roman Eagle.—Romeo Second Sphere (Mercury: The Ambitious) includes those who did good out of a desire for fame but, being ambitious, were deficient in Justice. Just as Mercury pales into insignificance beside the sun, their glory pales besides the glory of God. They meet Justinian who recounts Julius Ceasar and Cleopatra and laments the Guelph and Ghibeline conflict. |
| Canto 7 | Beatrice's Discourse of the Incarnation, the Immortality of the Soul, and the Resurrection of the Body Beatrice talks about the Incarnation and Crucifixion of Christ which occurred in Roman times. |
| Canto 8 | Ascent to the Third Heaven, or that of Venus, where are seen the Spirits of Lovers.—Charles Martel Third Sphere (Venus: The Lovers) associated with the Goddess of Love, includes lovers deficient in temperance. Dante meets Charls Martel of Anjou who tells the story of Cuniza da Romano and her brother Ezzelino Ill da Romano. |
| Canto 9 | Cunizza, Folco of Marseilles, and Rahab Troubadour Folquet de Marseilles criticises the clergy for their focus on money rather than on Scipture and the writings of the Church Fathers |
| Canto 10 | The Fourth Heaven, or that of the Sun, where are seen the Spirits of Theologians and Fathers of the Church.—St. Thomas Aquinas Fourth Sphere (The Sun: The Wise) positive examples of Prudence, Justice, Temperance, Fortitude. Twelve bright lights dance around them: - Thomas Aquinas - Albertus Magnus - Gratian - Peter Lombard - King Solomon - Dionysius the Areopagite - Orosius - Boethius - Isodoe of Seville - Bede - Richard od Saint Victor - Siger of Brabant |
| Canto 11 | St. Thomas Aquinas recounts the Life of St. Francis |
| Canto 12 | St. Buonaventura recounts the Life of St. Dominic Twelve new bright lights appear, one of which is St Bonaventure, a Franciscan, who tells the life of St Dominic |
| Canto 13 | Of the Wisdom of Solomon The 24 lights surrond Dante and Beatrice and sing the Trinity |
| Canto 14 | The Fifth Heaven, or that of Mars, where are seen the Spirits of Martyrs, and of Crusaders who died fighting for the true Faith.—The Celestial Cross Aquinas explains the surprising presence of King Soloman who is here for his humbl kingship. Fifth Sphere (Mars: The Warriors of the Faith, whose many fortitudinal souls form a greek cross which Dante compares to the Milky Way) |
| Canto 15 | Cacciaguida.—Florence in the Olden Time Dante meets his ancestor Cacciaguida, who served in the Second Crusade. Cacciagida praises the 12th century Repulic of Florence and bemoans its decline. |
| Canto 16 | Cacciaguida's Discourse of the Great Florentines |
| Canto 17 | Cacciaguida's Prophecy of Dante's Banishment Cacciaguida 'foretells' Dante's exile. |
| Canto 18 | The Sixth Heaven, or that of Jupiter, where are seen the Spirits of Righteous Kings and Rulers.—The Celestial Eagle Dante sees other warrios of the Faith: - Joshua - Judas Maccabeus - Chalemagne - Roland - Godfrey of Boullon Sixth Sphere (Jupiter: The Just Rulers, their souls spell out 'Love justicee, ye that judge the earth': |
| Canto 19 | The Eagle discourses of Salvation by Faith - David - Hezekiah - Constatine - William II of Sicily - Trajan (pagan) - Ripheus the Trojan (pagan) Dante asks about the accessibility of Heaven who were born before Christ or lived in areas devoid of Christianity |
| Canto 20 | The Eagle praises the Righteous Kings of old The souls form the imperial eagle of dividne justice, speaking with one voice of God's justice |
| Canto 21 | The Seventh Heaven, or that of Saturn, where are seen the Spirits of the Contemplative.—The Celestial Stairway.—St. Peter Damiano.—His Invectives against the Luxury of the Prelates Seventh Sphere (Saturn: The Contemplatives, who embody temperance) Dante meets Peter Damian who discusses monasticism, predestination, and the state of the Church. |
| Canto 22 | St. Benedict.—His Lamentation over the Corruption of the Monks.—The Eighth Heaven, or that of the Fixed Stars He also meets Saint Benedict Eighth Sphere (The Fixed Stars: Faith, Hope, and Love) the church triumphant. |
| Canto 23 | The Triumph of Christ Dante sees the Virgin Mary and other saints. |
| Canto 24 | St. Peter examines Dante upon Faith St Peter tests Dante on Faith: what is it? do you have it? how do you know the Bible is true? Dante says that it's a great miracle if the world was turned to Christianity without miracles: for you found the field and sowed the good plant that was once a vine and now a thorn. |
| Canto 25 | St. James examines Dante upon Hope |
| Canto 26 | St. John examines Dante upon Charity Dante also speaks with Adam |
| Canto 27 | St. Peter's reproof of bad Popes.—The Ascent to the Ninth Heaven, or the Primum Mobile St Peter denounces Pope Boniface VII and says the Papl See stands empty. |
| Canto 28 | God and the Celestial Hierarchies Ninth Sphere (The Primum Mobile -'first moved': The Angels) the abode of the angles where Dante sees God as an intensely bright point of light surrounded by nine rings of angels |
| Canto 29 | Beatrice's Discourse of the Creation of the Angels, and of the Fall of Lucifer.—Her Reproof of the Ignorance and Avarice of Preachers, and the Sale of Indulgences Beatrice explains the creation of the universe, the role of the angels, and ends with a criticism of the preachers of the day. |
| Canto 30 | The Tenth Heaven, or Empyrean.—The River of Light.—The Two Courts of Heaven.—The White Rose of Paradise Dante ascends to a place beyond the physical, the Empyrean, God's abode. After being purified, Dante sees the enormous rose of divine love, He is in the process of passing beyond theology into contemplation. |
| Canto 31 | The Glory of Paradise.—St. Bernard The mystical contemplative St Bernard now guides Dante describing the heavenly rose and its occupants. |
| Canto 32 | St. Bernard points out the Saints in the White Rose St Bernard further explains predestination and prays to the Virgin Mary on Dante's behalf. Dante comes face to face with God. |
| Canto 33 | Prayer to the Virgin.—The Threefold Circle of the Trinity.—Mystery of the Divine and Human Nature God appears as three equally large circlesocuupyying the same space, representing the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Within these circles Dante can discern the human form of Christ. The Divine Comedy ends with him trying to understand what he was seeing and how the humanity of Christ relates to the divinity of the Son. |
