This Sphere is akin to inconstancy, symbolized by the waxing and waning of the moon. Similarly, any person who has averted their vow and has gone astray is found floating in this lowest realm of Heaven, including Piccarda Donati a friend of Dante and Constance of Sicily.
She also reasons the dark spots on the lunar space refuting the arguments of Dante. The Second Sphere of Heaven or the Sphere of Mercury is for those that were right and just but resolved to do so as a part of their ambition.
It is for those people who carved a niche for themselves, received mighty fame and put altruism and philanthropy before themselves just to put on a philanthropic facade. Just as the planet Mercury is obscured behind the Sun, the real reason behind the goodness of the person is said to be hidden under the same philanthropic facade, which is why the name is aptly justified. Here, the protagonist is seen conversing with Emperor Justinian of the Byzantine era who recounts the Roman history, Julius Caesar, Augustus, Crucification of Jesus and Jerusalem, among other things.
The name of the Sphere is also named after the mother of Cupid, Venus the goddess of love. There, Dante wonders about the unfortunate offspring of good people and the young prince of Anjou. Charles Martel tries to satiate him by reasoning that the world thrives in diversity such as lawyers, politicians, etc. He is also confronted with Cunizza da Romano and reminisces the time he had met his brother in the Seventh Circle of Hell which catapults us back to what Martel bespoke about diversity.
The Fourth Sphere of Heaven is for those wise and intellectual people, who sought to educate the hearts and minds of others. Upon reaching this Sphere, Dante and Beatrice were stunned by the spectacle of the enshrouding crown of St.
Fifth Circle: Anger Dante tells us that the wrathful and angry souls of this circle spend eternity waging battle on the River of Styx. Be prepared to hoist the Jolly Roger and go to war against that one guy in line who yelled at your favorite barista, and the road rage-possessed driver who very nearly rear-ended you last week.
Sixth Circle: Heresy Dante wrote that heretics spent eternity entombed in flaming crypts in the sixth circle, but heresy is kind of an obscure sin in modern times. It is composed of three rings. The outer ring is filled with blood and fire and reserved for murderers and thugs. The middle ring is where, according to Dante, suicide victims go. How about we ret-con this one Sorry, residents of the sixth circle… and reserve it for the likes of the Westboro Baptist Church?
Eighth Circle: Fraud The eighth circle is subdivided into ten trenches. Here, the poet and his guide see the Virgin Mary and other Biblical saints including the apostles of Peter, John and James who test Dante on faith, love and hope. Then Dante sees Adam who tells him how old he is, how long he lived in Eden, why God got angry at him and what was his original language. The last of the 9 Spheres of Heaven or the Primum Mobile is also the last stop before the Empyrean and the last of the physical Heavens as the Empyrean is beyond space and time.
As they are slowly ascending to the Empyrean, Beatrice tells Dante the story of creation and history of the angels. In it, the Italian poet describes his journey through Heaven, the things he sees and people he encounters on the way to the so-called Empyrean, the true home of God, saints, angels and the souls of the faithful. By the way, the two circles together obviously add up to 24, a number that has Old Testament resonances and New Testament resonances in the Book of Revelation with the 24 elders.
The first person who speaks is Thomas Aquinas. That might seem obvious to us because today Thomas Aquinas is considered the greatest of all the medieval, or perhaps even all the Christian philosophers, of all time.
He really only becomes the dominant theologian of the Catholic Church much later on, in the 16th century. So, in a sense, Dante, without knowing it perhaps, or without being conscious of it, is being prophetic in having the first speaker in the circle of the Sun, where the wise are, being Thomas Aquinas. Aquinas first introduces Dante to the 11 others who are with him.
There is an interesting character we meet named Gratian who is a great compiler of Church law, just as Justinian was of Roman law.
That does not mean that Church law is not important, it means that it is being misused for the wrong purposes. So, Gratian is here.
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