• Purple and black. See note 83 . ↩
• The gate of Paradise is thus described by Milton, Paradise Lost , III 501:⁠— “Far distant he descries, Ascending by degrees magnificent Up to the wall of heaven, a structure high; At top whereof, but far more rich, appeared The work as of a kingly palace gate, With frontispiece of diamond and gold Imbellished; thick with sparkling orient gems The portal shone, inimitable on earth By model or by shading pencil drawn. The stairs where such as whereon Jacob saw Angels ascending and descending, bands Of guardians briglit, when he from Esau fled To Padan-Aram in the field of Luz, Dreaming by night under the open sky, And waking cried, ‘This is the gate of heaven.’ Each stair mysteriously was meant, nor stood There always, but drawn up to heaven sometimes Viewless; and underneath a bright sea flowed Of jasper, or of liquid pearl, whereon Who after came from earth sailing arrived, Wafted by angels; or flew o’er the lake, Rapt in a chariot drawn by fiery steeds.” ↩
• The Seven Sins, which are punished in the seven circles of Purgatory; Pride, Envy, Anger, Sloth, Avarice, Gluttony, Lust. ↩
• The golden key is the authority of the confessor; the silver, his knowledge. ↩