Q0391
“There is no greater pain than to recall happy times in misery.” — Dante Alighieri (Inferno V.121–123)
Verified English quotation. Primary source: Inferno V.121–123. Theme: fate.
English
There is no greater pain than to recall happy times in misery.
Source and attribution
The archive attributes this English wording to Inferno V.121–123 and files it under Scholasticism. That locator distinguishes the passage from loose internet attributions: readers can return to the named work or section to check translation, surrounding argument, and edition-specific wording.
About Dante Alighieri
Dante Alighieri (1265–1321) was the Florentine poet-philosopher of the Divine Comedy, exiled in the Guelf–Ghibelline conflicts. He wrote vernacular epic that synthesizes Aristotelian ethics, scholastic theology, and civic passion.
Interpretation
Dante gives this to Francesca in the circle of the lustful, and it describes the specific structure of her punishment: she is not suffering a new loss but remembering a good she still knows as good. The pain comes from the contrast, which is why memory rather than fire is the instrument. In the Commedia this marks a departure from the usual economy of Hell, since the suffering depends on the person's own attachment remaining intact.
Why it matters
It identifies why some losses intensify rather than fade: what hurts is not the absence but the continued clarity of what was there.
Concepts in this quote
- Fate
- Fate appears in this archive as a live philosophical concern—not a slogan. These verified English passages show how thinkers treat fate as a problem of judgment, practice, or explanation.
How to cite this quotation
APA: Dante Alighieri. (n.d.). There is no greater pain than to recall happy times in misery. In Philosophy Blind Box. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0391
MLA: Dante Alighieri. “There is no greater pain than to recall….” Philosophy Blind Box, https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0391.
Chicago: Dante Alighieri. “There is no greater pain than to recall….” Philosophy Blind Box. Accessed 2026. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0391.
Frequently asked questions
What is the source of the quotation “There is no greater pain than to recall…”?
The passage is attributed to Dante Alighieri, Inferno V.121–123. The archive attributes this English wording to Inferno V.121–123 and files it under Scholasticism. That locator distinguishes the passage from loose internet attributions: readers can return to the named work or section to check translation, surrounding argument, and edition-specific wording.
What does Dante Alighieri mean by fate?
Across 4 recurring voices here (notably Epictetus and Seneca), fate is framed through Stoicism and Philosophy of Will. Some passages define fate; others warn how it fails; still others relocate it inside habit, community, or language. This passage enters that discussion through fate.