Commentary Inf I 88-89

If the hidden identities of the three beasts have caused lengthy discussion, the she-wolf, as she is presented here, has been greeted by a nearly unanimous response: she represents cupidity. This sin, associated with Incontinence, is discovered in much of humankind, including Dante. It is probably most often identified with avarice, but is related to all wrongful appetites. It is thus the most common of sins and, because of its ready ability to infect all, the most dangerous. See St. Paul's saying, 'Radix malorum est cupiditas' (For the love of money is the root of all evil [I Tim. 6:10]).