Editing Divine Comedy (section)

=== ''Paradiso'' ===
{{Main|Paradiso (Dante)}}
[[File:Philipp Veit 004.jpg|thumb|''Paradiso'', Canto III: Dante and Beatrice speak to [[Piccarda]] and [[Constance I of Sicily|Constance of Sicily]], in a fresco by [[Philipp Veit]].]]

After an initial ascension, Beatrice guides Dante through the nine [[celestial spheres]] of [[Heaven]]. These are concentric and spherical, as in [[Aristotle|Aristotelian]] and [[Ptolemy|Ptolemaic]] cosmology. While the structures of the ''Inferno'' and ''Purgatorio'' were based on different classifications of sin, the structure of the ''Paradiso'' is based on the [[four cardinal virtues]] and the [[three theological virtues]].

The seven lowest spheres of Heaven deal solely with the cardinal virtues of [[Prudence]], [[Courage|Fortitude]], [[Justice]] and [[Temperance (virtue)|Temperance]]. The first three spheres involve a deficiency of one of the cardinal virtues&nbsp;– the [[Moon]], containing the inconstant, whose vows to God waned as the moon and thus lack fortitude; [[Mercury (planet)|Mercury]], containing the ambitious, who were virtuous for glory and thus lacked justice; and [[Venus]], containing the lovers, whose love was directed towards another than God and thus lacked temperance. The final four incidentally are positive examples of the cardinal virtues, all led on by the [[Sun]], containing the prudent, whose wisdom lighted the way for the other virtues, to which the others are bound (constituting a category on its own). [[Mars]] contains the men of fortitude who died in the cause of Christianity; [[Jupiter]] contains the kings of justice; and [[Saturn]] contains the temperate, the monks. The seven subdivided into three are raised further by two more categories: the eighth sphere of the fixed stars that contain those who achieved the theological virtues of [[faith]], [[hope]], and [[love]], and represent the [[Church Triumphant]]&nbsp;– the total perfection of humanity, cleansed of all the sins and carrying all the virtues of heaven; and the ninth circle, or [[Primum Mobile]] (corresponding to the geocentricism of medieval astronomy), which contains the angels, creatures never poisoned by original sin. Topping them all is the [[Empyrean]], which contains the essence of God, completing the nine-fold division to ten.

Dante meets and converses with several great saints of the Church, including [[Thomas Aquinas]], [[Bonaventure]], [[Saint Peter]], and [[John the Apostle|St. John]]. Near the end, Beatrice departs and Bernard of Clairvaux takes over as the guide.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Botterill |first=Steven |date=1990 |title=Life after Beatrice: Bernard of Clairvaux in Paradiso XXXI |journal=Texas Studies in Literature and Language |volume=32 |issue=1 |pages=123}}</ref> The ''Paradiso'' is more theological in nature than the ''Inferno'' and the ''[[Purgatorio]]''. However, Dante admits that the vision of heaven he receives is merely the one his human eyes permit him to see, and thus Dante's personal vision.

The ''Divine Comedy'' finishes with Dante seeing the [[Trinity|Triune God]]. In a flash of understanding that he cannot express, Dante finally understands the mystery of [[Christ]]'s divinity and humanity, and his soul becomes aligned with God's love:<ref name="DLS33">[[Dorothy L. Sayers]], ''Paradise'', notes on Canto&nbsp;XXXIII.</ref>

{{poemquote|But already my desire and my will
were being turned like a wheel, all at one speed,
by the Love which moves the sun and the other stars.<ref>''Paradiso'', Canto&nbsp;XXXIII, lines 142–145, [[C. H. Sisson]] translation.</ref>}}