Dante the pilgrim leaves the summit of Purgatory with Beatrice, climbs through the nine heavens and reaches the Empyrean, where the rose of the blessed is. He rises without noticing the movement, and in each heaven the souls appear as lights so that he may understand the degrees; each doubt of his becomes a lesson, and what he sees keeps exceeding what he can say.
Cantos I to IV: The Moon
Dante invokes Apollo and sees Beatrice gaze at the sun; from her gaze comes the change he only names, transhumanize, and she corrects the illusion that he is still on earth and explains the ascent as natural order, from the river that flows down to the fire that rises (canto I). A warning to the reader of the little boat precedes the spots of the Moon, which Beatrice refutes with experience and explains by form (canto II). Piccarda Donati, a nun dragged from the cloister, says that the will of God is the peace of the souls of that rung, and vanishes singing Ave Maria (canto III). Beatrice answers Dante's two doubts, about merit under violence and about the return of souls to the stars (canto IV).
Cantos V to VIII: Mercury and Venus
Beatrice teaches that freedom is the greatest gift and that a vow is not exchanged for free choice; the two rise to Mercury, where the lights draw near like fish in a pond (canto V). Justinian speaks alone for the whole canto: he tells the story of the eagle from Aeneas to Charlemagne, judges Guelphs and Ghibellines, and ends with Romeo, the pilgrim who was poorly paid (canto VI). Beatrice explains why the cross was just and why God was more generous in giving himself than in forgiving (canto VII). In Venus, the spirit that tradition identifies with Charles Martel answers how a good father can have a bad son: providence makes the son different from the father, and the evil comes from the world that twists each one's nature (canto VIII).
Cantos IX to XII: Venus and the Sun
Cunizza forgives herself and predicts punishment for the March; Folquet says that there one does not repent but laughs, shows Rahab, and accuses Florence, the florin and the Decretals (canto IX). In the Sun, a crown of twelve wise men surrounds Dante and Beatrice, and Thomas names and describes them, from the light that tradition reads as Solomon to Siger (canto X). Thomas tells the life of Francis as a marriage to Poverty and ends by denouncing his own flock (canto XI). A second crown responds: Bonaventure praises Dominic and condemns the extremes of the order of Francis (canto XII).
Cantos XIII to XVI: The Sun and Mars
Thomas explains that Solomon is unmatched only in kingly prudence and bids Dante put lead on his feet before affirming or denying (canto XIII). Beatrice asks about the resurrection of bodies, a voice answers with the image of the glowing coal, and in Mars the cross of lights flashes Christ (canto XIV). Cacciaguida, Dante's great-great-grandfather, greets him in Latin and describes ancient Florence through its absences (canto XV). Then he passes through the families of the city, and their fall is from pride (canto XVI).
Cantos XVII to XX: The Prophecy and the Eagle
Cacciaguida announces the exile, the bread of others that tastes of salt, and the first refuge, and tells Dante to say everything, even if the voice is unwelcome (canto XVII). In Jupiter the souls write a sentence, Diligite iustitiam qui iudicatis terram, and turn it into an eagle (canto XVIII). The Eagle speaks in the first person singular for many souls, and answers the doubt about the man of the Indus by asking Dante who he is to judge from afar (canto XIX). In its eyes are Rhipeus and the light that current reading identifies with Trajan, two pagans saved, and the lesson is that mortals must be cautious in judging, because not even those who see God know all the elect (canto XX).
Cantos XXI to XXIV: Saturn and the Fixed Stars
In Saturn, Beatrice does not laugh, and the heaven does not sing so as to spare Dante's hearing; Peter Damian says that the reason for his choice is closed to every created sight (canto XXI). Benedict says that the ladder reaches the Empyrean and that his rule was left for harm, and Dante looks down at the Earth from above, a little plot of ground that makes him smile (canto XXII). Christ triumphs, Mary is crowned, and the poem confesses that it must leap (canto XXIII). Peter examines Dante on faith, and he defines it as substance of things hoped for and argument of things not seen (canto XXIV).
Cantos XXV to XXVIII: The Three Virtues and the Primum Mobile
Dante hopes to return a poet to the baptismal font; James examines him on hope, and John appears, correcting the belief that he went up to heaven in body (canto XXV). Examined on charity, Dante speaks with the soul that tradition reads as Adam, who says that exile came from crossing the sign and that the name of God changed on the lips of men (canto XXVI). Peter changes color and accuses the one who occupies his place; in the Primum Mobile, Beatrice passes from astronomy to greed (canto XXVII). Dante sees a point of light surrounded by nine circles of angels, and Beatrice explains why the nearest to the point is the fastest (canto XXVIII).
Cantos XXIX to XXXIII: The Empyrean
Beatrice speaks of the creation of the angels, the fall of Lucifer, and the fables of the preachers (canto XXIX). In the Empyrean, Dante drinks from the river of light, sees the rose and the empty throne of the high Arrigo, whom tradition reads as Henry VII (canto XXX). Bernard takes Beatrice's place and points her out enthroned; she smiles at him and returns to the fountain (canto XXXI). Bernard explains the seats of the rose and the children who sit in it through the merit of others (canto XXXII). Bernard prays to Mary, and Dante sees the universe gathered into one volume, three circles, and the human image; his desire and will turn, moved by Love (canto XXXIII).