The Circle of the Sun and the Life of St. Francis (by Thomas Aquinas)

Dante and Beatrice ascend to the sphere of the Sun, where the souls of the wise and learned appear as a radiant circle. St. Thomas Aquinas, a Dominican, speaks and identifies the souls in the circle: Albertus Magnus, Gratian, Peter Lombard, Solomon, Dionysius the Areopagite, Orosius, Boethius, Isidore, Bede, Richard of St. Victor, and Siger of Brabant. Thomas then recounts the life of St. Francis of Assisi, praising his poverty and his union with Lady Poverty. He laments the corruption of the Dominican Order, which has strayed from its founder's ideals. This episode celebrates the ideal of evangelical poverty and the founding of the Franciscan Order.