Only the introductory treatise and three of the commentaries were actually written: those on the canzoni _Voi cite ’ntendendo_, _Amor che ne la mente mi ragiona_, _Le dolci rime d’amor_. If the whole work had been completed on the same scale as these four treatises, a great part of the field of knowledge open to the fourteenth century would have been traversed in the ardent service of this mystical lady, whom the poet in the second treatise--not without considerable inconsistency--represents as the same as the _donna gentile_ who appeared towards the end of the _Vita Nuova_ (_Conv._ ii. 2). As it is, the movements of the celestial bodies, the ministry of the angelic orders, the nature of the human soul and the grades of psychic life, the mystical significance and universality of love, are among the subjects discussed in the second and third treatises. The fourth treatise is primarily ethical: nobility as inseparable from love and virtue, wealth, the Aristotelian definition of moral virtue and human felicity, the goal of human life, the virtues suitable to each age, are among the themes considered. Under one aspect the _Convivio_ is a vernacular encyclopaedia (like the _Trésor_ of Brunetto Latini), but distinguished from previous mediaeval works of the kind by its peculiar form, its artistic beauty, and its personal note. From the first treatise it is evident that the whole work had been fully planned; but it is not possible to reconstruct it with any plausibility, or to decide upon the question of which of the extant canzoni were to be included, and in what order. From iv. 26, it may be conjectured that the passionate canzone, _Così nel mio parlar voglio esser aspro_ (_Rime_ ciii., O. canz. xii.), was to be allegorised in the seventh treatise; while, from i. 12, ii. 1, iv. 27, it appears fairly certain that the canzone of the three ladies, _Tre donne intorno al cor_ (_Rime_ civ., O. canz. xx.), would have been expounded in the fourteenth, where Justice and Allegory were to have been discussed; and, from i. 8 and iii. 15, that the canzone against the vices, _Doglia mi reca_ (_Rime_ cvi., O. canz. x.), was destined for the poetical basis of the last treatise of all. It is thus clear that the _Convivio_ would have ended with the two canzoni which form the connecting link between the lyrical poems and the _Divina Commedia_. For the rest, it is certain that there would have been no mention of Beatrice in any of the unwritten treatises. In touching upon the immortality of the soul (_Conv._ ii. 9), Dante had seen fit to end what he wished to say of “that living blessed Beatrice, of whom I do not intend to speak more in this book.” There seems also good reason for supposing that the canzone for the beautiful lady of the Casentino (_Rime_ cxvi., O. canz. xi.), which may be of a slightly later date than the others, would not have formed part of the completed work.