This of course is only a poetical myth. But in the _Paradiso_, in three lines the appearance, colour, and approximate position of the Galaxy are described, and allusion is made to the difference of opinions between learned men with regard to the puzzling question of its nature. Dante is in the heaven of Mars. He sees the soldier saints, star-like and fiery red, some larger and some less, thronging thick in two great bands, which, crossing one another in the depths of the planet, form a marvellous Crucifix. The crowded lights make him think of the Galaxy, with its multitudinous points of light, differing in brightness, although that is white, and lies in a great circle between the celestial poles. “Come, distinta da minori e maggi Lumi, biancheggia tra i poli del mondo Galassia sì che fa dubbiar ben saggi, Sì costellati facean nel profondo Marte quei rai il venerabil segno Che fan giunture di quadranti in tondo.”[320] ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [320] “Even as, distinct with less and greater lights, Glimmers between the two poles of the world The Galaxy that maketh wise men doubt, Thus constellated in the depths of Mars Those rays described the venerable sign That quadrants joining in a circle make.” _Par._ xiv. 97-102. (_Longfellow_). ------------------------------------------------------------------------ If we now turn to the fifteenth chapter of Treatise II. of the _Convivio_, we shall find the Phaeton myth and the various theories about the Milky Way set forth in due order, and shall learn which of these Dante considered to be true. He is comparing the two sciences of Metaphysics and Physics with the Heaven of the Fixed Stars, and takes the opportunity to tell us some of the most important facts known about it. Here he calls the Galaxy a circle:—“La Galassia, cioè quello bianco cerchio che il vulgo chiama la Via de Santo Jacopo.”[321] This popular name perhaps arose through a confusion of Galaxy and Galicia, where was a famous shrine of St. James, and hence came the belief in Italy that the _Galassia_ was a sign by night to guide pilgrims on their way to this shrine at Compostella in _Galizia_. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [321] “The Galaxy, that is, the white circle commonly called St. James’s Way.” ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Dante proceeds as follows with his comparison:—