“For to lose time irks him most who most knows.”
Dante Alighieri book Purgatorio
Canto III, line 78 (tr. Longfellow).
The Divine Comedy (c. 1308–1321), Purgatorio

Purgatorio is the second part of Dante's Divine Comedy, following the Inferno, and preceding the Paradiso. The poem was written in the early 14th century. It is an allegory telling of the climb of Dante up the Mount of Purgatory, guided by the Roman poet Virgil, except for the last four cantos at which point Beatrice takes over as Dante's guide.
“For to lose time irks him most who most knows.”
Dante Alighieri book Purgatorio
Canto III, line 78 (tr. Longfellow).
The Divine Comedy (c. 1308–1321), Purgatorio
“Time moves and yet we do not notice it.”
Dante Alighieri book Purgatorio
Canto IV, line 9 (tr. Mandelbaum).
The Divine Comedy (c. 1308–1321), Purgatorio
“How long in woman lasts the fire of love,
If eye or touch do not relight it often.”
Dante Alighieri book Purgatorio
Canto VIII, lines 77–78 (tr. Longfellow).
The Divine Comedy (c. 1308–1321), Purgatorio
“Virtue with poverty didst thou prefer
To the possession of great wealth with vice.”
Dante Alighieri book Purgatorio
Canto XX, lines 26–27 (tr. Longfellow).
The Divine Comedy (c. 1308–1321), Purgatorio
“O conscience, upright and stainless, how bitter a sting to thee is little fault!”
Dante Alighieri book Purgatorio
Canto III, lines 8–9 (tr. C. E. Norton).
The Divine Comedy (c. 1308–1321), Purgatorio
Dante Alighieri book Purgatorio
Canto XXX, lines 46–48.
Compare: Agnosco veteris vestigia flammae ("I feel once more the scars of the old flame", tr. C. Day Lewis), Virgil, Aeneid, Book IV, line 23.
The Divine Comedy (c. 1308–1321), Purgatorio
Dante Alighieri book Purgatorio
Canto XI, lines 13–15 (tr. C. E. Norton).
The Divine Comedy (c. 1308–1321), Purgatorio
Dante Alighieri book Purgatorio
Canto XVII, lines 127–129 (tr. Longfellow).
The Divine Comedy (c. 1308–1321), Purgatorio
“By its seed each herb is recognized.”
Dante Alighieri book Purgatorio
Canto XVI, line 114 (tr. Longfellow).
Compare: "Ye shall know them by their fruits." Matthew 7:16 KJV.
The Divine Comedy (c. 1308–1321), Purgatorio
Dante Alighieri book Purgatorio
Canto IV, lines 133–135 (tr. C. E. Norton).
The Divine Comedy (c. 1308–1321), Purgatorio
Dante Alighieri book Purgatorio
Canto VIII, lines 1–6 (tr. Sinclair).
The Divine Comedy (c. 1308–1321), Purgatorio
Dante Alighieri book Purgatorio
Canto XIV, lines 109–111 (tr. Longfellow).
The Divine Comedy (c. 1308–1321), Purgatorio
Dante Alighieri book Purgatorio
Canto V, lines 16–18 (tr. Sinclair).
The Divine Comedy (c. 1308–1321), Purgatorio
“Pure and disposed to mount unto the stars.”
Dante Alighieri book Purgatorio
Canto XXXIII, line 145 (tr. C. E. Norton).
The Divine Comedy (c. 1308–1321), Purgatorio
Dante Alighieri book Purgatorio
Canto I, lines 22–24 (tr. Longfellow).
The Divine Comedy (c. 1308–1321), Purgatorio
“Behold the grass, the flowerets, and the shrubs
Which of itself alone this land produces.”
Dante Alighieri book Purgatorio
Canto XXVII, lines 134–135 (tr. Longfellow).
The Divine Comedy (c. 1308–1321), Purgatorio
“Against a better will the will fights ill,…”
Dante Alighieri book Purgatorio
Canto XX, line 1 (tr. C. E. Norton).
The Divine Comedy (c. 1308–1321), Purgatorio
Dante Alighieri book Purgatorio
Canto III, lines 79–84 (tr. Longfellow).
The Divine Comedy (c. 1308–1321), Purgatorio
Dante Alighieri book Purgatorio
Canto I, lines 1–3 (tr. C. E. Norton).
The Divine Comedy (c. 1308–1321), Purgatorio
Dante Alighieri book Purgatorio
Canto VI, lines 43–46 (tr. Carlyle-Wicksteed).
The Divine Comedy (c. 1308–1321), Purgatorio