In the _Paradiso_, as the poet mounts with Beatrice from sphere to sphere he mentions the number of each one in its order. The moon is “la prima stella,”[598] Mercury “il secondo regno,”[599] Venus “il terzo ciel,”[600] the spirits met in the sun are “la quarta famiglia,”[601] Mars is “questa quinta soglia,”[602] and “più levato”[603] than the last heaven, Jupiter is the “stella sesta,”[604] Saturn “il settimo splendore.”[605] The starry heaven is alluded to as “la spera ottava.”[606] The Primum Mobile is “il ciel velocissimo,”[607] “il maggior corpo.”[608] The Empyrean, “il ciel ch’ è pura luce,”[609] is called “l’ultima spera,”[610] but this has no limits and no movement, and therefore no poles:— ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [598] “The first star.” _Par._ ii. 30. [599] “The second realm.” _Par._ v. 93. [600] “The third heaven.” _Par._ viii. 37. [601] “The fourth family.” _Par._ x. 49. [602] “The fifth threshold.” _Par._ xviii. 28. [603] “More lofty.” _Par._ xiv. 85. [604] “Sixth star.” _Par._ xviii. 68, 69. [605] “The seventh splendour.” _Par._ xxi. 13. [606] “The eighth sphere.” _Par._ ii. 64. [607] “The swiftest heaven.” _Par._ xxvii. 99. [608] “The greatest body.” _Par._ xxx. 39. Compare _V. N._ xlii. 47. “Oltre la spera che più larga gira,” (“beyond the sphere which has the largest circle).” [609] “The heaven of pure light.” _Par._ xxx. 39. [610] “The last sphere.” _Par._ xxii. 62. “ ... In quella sola E ogni parte là dove sempr’ era; Perchè non è in loco, e non s’impola.”[611] [611] “ ... Within that one alone Is every part where it has always been; For it is not in space, nor turns on poles.” _Par._ xxii. 65-67. (_Longfellow._) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ In _Conv._ II. iv. 35-39 it is thus described:— “Questo è il sovrano edificio del mondo, nel quale tutto il mondo s’inchiude; e di fuori dal quale nulla è; ed esso non è in luogo, ma formato fu solo nella Prima Mente, la quale li Greci dicono Protonoe.”[612] ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [612] “This is the sovereign edifice of the world, in which all the world is enclosed, and beyond which is naught; and it exists not in space, but received form only in the Primal Mind, which the Greeks call Protonoe.” See also _Ep._ x. 442-447. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ We must remember, however, that the spheres are sometimes counted in the other direction, from the outermost to the innermost or lowest, and therefore this “ultima spera”[613] is elsewhere spoken of as “il primo cielo,”[614] “il primo giro,”[615] “cœlum primum.”[616] ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [613] “Last sphere.” [614] “The first heaven.” _Purg._ xxx. 1. [615] “The first circle.” _Par._ iv. 34.