Commentary Par XXXI 118-123

The first simile pairs Mary with the brightness of the Sun at its rising, as compared with the entire rim of the sky.  We are asked to imagine a 360° view: The east and the parts of the horizon nearest it are brightest, the west, where the Sun lit up the horizon the evening before, the darkest.  As we will see, this arrangement is perfectly mirrored in the varying brightness of parts of the Rose.