Of four infernal rivers that disgorge/ Into the burning Lake their baleful streams;/ Abhorred Styx the flood of deadly hate, / Sad Acheron of sorrow, black and deep;/ Cocytus, nam'd of lamentation loud/ Heard on the rueful stream; fierce Phlegethon/ Whose waves of torrent fire inflame with rage./ Far off from these a slow and silent stream, / Lethe the River of Oblivion rolls/ Her wat'ry Labyrinth whereof who drinks, / Forthwith his former state and being forgets, / Forgets both joy and grief, pleasure and pain. John Milton
About This Quote

Dante Alighieri is famous for his epic poem, The Divine Comedy, a series of three books that express the journey of Dante from hell to paradise. In this quote he is describing four rivers that constitute hell. The first of these rivers is the River Acheron, the stream of sorrow. It was named after Achelous, a son of Niobe who fell into a well and was changed into a river so that he could never get out again.

The second river is the River Styx, also known as Abhorred Styx. It was named by the goddess Phlegyas who saw a flock of beautiful birds on its banks and named it after herself. The third river is the River Cocytus, named after Phlegyas’ wife Ino who turned herself into a river when she found her husband in bed with another woman.

Finally, the last river is Phlegethon, also called Fierce Phlegethon because it has a cold and violent current. When Dante speaks of “the fourth infernal river” he means Lethe, the River of Oblivion. This is one of two rivers where drinking from it causes forgetfulness and oblivion.

Source: Paradise Lost

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