• In this canto Dante, having made confession of his sins, is drawn by Matilda through the river Lethe. ↩
• Hitherto Beatrice has directed her discourse to her attendant handmaidens around the chariot. Now she speaks directly to Dante. ↩
• As in a castle or fortress. ↩
• As one fascinated and enamored with them. ↩
• The sword of justice is dulled by the wheel being turned against its edge. This is the usual interpretation; but a friend suggests that the allusion may be to the wheel of St. Catherine, which is studded with sword-blades. ↩
• The grief which is the cause of your weeping. ↩