The souls of the damned must each await judgment by Minos, who is tasked with revealing to them their final destination in Hell. This monstrous infernal judge pronounces his verdict by wrapping his long tail around himself the number of times corresponding to the circle of Hell in which the sinner will serve their eternal punishment.

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Dante and Virgil encounter the lustful (foreground) while Minos judges the souls of the damned (background). - Jan van der Straet, Dante, Illustrazioni alla Divina Commedia, Florence, Fratelli Alinari, 1893. McGill Rare Books and Special Collections, elfPQ4329S71893.


Reaching the second circle of Hell, Dante and Virgil walk past Minos toward the furious whirlwind that perpetually buffets the souls of the lustful. Amidst the swirling storm, one particular pair draws Dante’s attention: Paolo Malatesta and Francesca da Rimini.

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Dante and Virgil encounter Paolo, Francesca, and the lustful. - Florence, Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, Plut. 40.15, f. 5v.

'Love, quick to kindle in the gentle heart,
seized this man with the fair form taken from me.
The way of it afflicts me still.
Love, which absolves no one beloved from loving,
seized me so strongly with his charm that,
as you see, it has not left me yet.
Love brought us to one death.
Caïna waits for him who quenched our lives.'
These words were borne from them to us.

EXCERPT OF THE COMEDY: Inf. 5, 100-108

Dante questions the pair about their past. Francesca recounts her overpowering love for Paolo and the couple’s tragic demise when their tryst was discovered by her husband and the two were murdered; she also recalls their very first kiss, shared in imitation of Lancelot and Guinevere whose story the two were reading. Paolo remains silent, listening to his beloved and weeping while Dante, moved by the depth of their affection, faints once more.

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Excerpt of Inferno 5 presented by Alessandro Cariero to demonstrate Dante’s compassion for Paolo and Francesca’s fate. - Apologia di Mons. Alessandro Cariero padovano contra le imputationi del Sig. Belissario Bulgarini sanese. Palinodia del medesimo Cariero, nella quale si dimostra l'eccellenza del poema di Dante, Padua, Paolo Meietto, 1584, p. 24v-25r. Université de Montréal, Bibliothèque des livres rares et collections spéciales, Collection générale, PQ 4382 C37 1584.

'One day, to pass the time in pleasure,
we read of Lancelot, how love enthralled him.
We were alone, without the least misgiving.
More than once that reading made our eyes meet
and drained the color from our faces.
Still, it was a single instant overcame us:
When we read how the longed-for smile
was kissed by so renowned a lover, this man,
who never shall be parted from me,
all trembling, kissed me on my mouth.
A Galeotto was the book and he that wrote it.
That day we read in it no further.'

EXCERPT OF THE COMEDY: Inf. 5, 127-138

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Excerpt of Inferno 5 with marginal annotations added over the course of the sixteenth century. - Florence, Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale, Fondo nazionale II I 34, f. 22v-23r.

Third Circle
Descend into the third circle