The Paradise of Dante consists of nine heavens, each a revolving
crystalline sphere, enclosed in another; without them, the boundless
Empyrean. The first or innermost heaven, of the Moon, revolved by the
angels, is the habitat of wills imperfect through instability. The second,
of Mercury, revolved by the Archangels, is the abode of wills imperfect
through love of fame. The third, of Venus, revolved by the Principalities,
is the abode of wills imperfect through excess of human love. The fourth,
of the Sun, revolved by the Powers, is the abode of the great intellectual
lights, the doctors of the Church. The fifth heaven, of Mars, revolved by
the Virtues, is the abode of the martyrs, warriors, and confessors, and is
sacred to the Faith. The sixth, of Jupiter, revolved by the Dominations,
is inhabited by just rulers. The seventh, of Saturn, revolved by the
Thrones, is inhabited by monks and hermits. The eighth, of the Fixed
Stars, revolved by the Cherubim, is inhabited by the apostles and saints.
The ninth, or Primum Mobile, revolved by the Seraphim, is the abode of the
moral philosophers. These abodes, however, are not real, but
representative, to illustrate the differences in glory of the inhabitants
of Paradise, for the real seat of each is in the Rose of the Blessed. In
the heavens, the saints appear swathed in cocoons of light; in the Rose
they are seen in their own forms. They know all because they behold God
continually. In the Empyrean is the Rose of the Blessed, whose myriad
leaves form the thrones of the spirits, and whose centre of light is the
Father himself. Dividing the Rose horizontally, the lower thrones are held
by those who died in infancy; among them are varying degrees of glory.
Above it, are those who died adults. Supposing a vertical division, the
thrones to the left are for those who looked forward to Christ's coming;
those to the right, not yet all occupied, by those who died after Christ's
coming. Along the division lines are the holy women, the Virgin, Eve,
Rachel, Beatrice, Sarah, Rebecca, Judith, and Ruth, Saint Anne and Saint
Lucia, and the saints, John the Baptist, John the Evangelist, Adam, Moses,
Saint Francis, Saint Benedict, Saint Augustine, Saint Peter, and in the
midst, the Everlasting Glory of the Universe, whose light so fills the
Rose that "naught can form an obstacle against it."