Open thy mind; take in what I explain and keep it there; because to understand is not to know, if thou dost not retain... - Dante Alighieri

The resulting effect to the ear, which must be the supreme judge in these matters,

Farinata and Tegghiaio, men of good blood, Jacopo Rusticucci, Arrigo, Mosca, and the others who set their hearts on doing good — where are they now whose high deeds might be-gem the crown of kings? I long to know their fate. Does Heaven soothe or Hell envenom them?

Midway along the journey of our life
I woke to find myself in a dark wood,
for I had wandered off from the straight path.

How hard it is to tell what it was like,
this wood of wilderness, savage and stubborn
(the thought of it brings back all my old fears),

a bitter place! Death could scarce be bitterer.
But if I would show the good that came of it
I must talk about things other than the good.” — Dante Alighieri