Commentary Purg VI 148-151

The obvious sarcasm of the preceding seven tercets in 'praise' of Florence now yields to a devastating image of the city as wealthy invalid wife, which is perhaps derived from Augustine's Confessions VI.16, as was first noted by Grandgent (DDP Grandgent.Purg.VI.151).  As Augustine nears conversion, at the very end of the sixth book, his soul still struggles to escape from God, to be free for 'better' things; he describes its inner state as follows: 'Whichever way it turned, on front or back or sides, it lay on a bed that was hard, for in you alone the soul can rest.'