Dante Alighieri, The Divine Comedy, Paradiso, Canto V, 73-81 (Translated by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow).

Christians, be ye more serious in your movements; Be ye not like a feather at each wind, And think not every water washes you. Ye have the Old and the New Testament, And the Pastor of the Church who guideth you Let this suffice you unto your salvation. If evil appetite cry aught else to you, Be ye as men, and not as silly sheep, So that the Jew among you may not mock you.

— Dante Alighieri on Christianity

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "Christians, be ye more serious in your movements; Be ye not like a feather at each wind, And think not every water washes you. Ye have the Old and the New Testament, And the Pastor of the Church who guideth you Let this suffice you unto your salvation. If evil appetite cry aught else to you, Be ye as men, and not as silly sheep, So that the Jew among you may not mock you." in the context of "Dante Alighieri, The Divine Comedy, Paradiso, Canto V, 73-81 (Translated by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow)." to mean that wisdom is timeless.

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Source: Wikiquote: "Christianity" (High Middle Ages) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Dante Alighieri

About Dante Alighieri

Dante Alighieri (c. 30 May 1265 – 13 September 1321), most likely baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri, was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His Divine Comedy, originally called Comedìa (modern Italian: Commedia) and later christened Divina by Giovanni Boccaccio, is widely considered one of the most important poems of the Middle Ages and the greatest literary work in the Italian language.