XII/4 The three arrows stand for the threefold journey of the poet. Dante-the-Pilgrim learns from Farinata what Dante-the-Poet already knows, i. e. that he is heading into exile, indicated here by the arrow pointing forwards towards the cancelled lilies. He is reminded by Virgil that he will eventually travel upwards towards his beloved Beatrice who will help him to understand his quest for life (the arrow which points above leads to Beatrice's name and her identification from 'Donne ch'avete. . .). The third direction indicated is of course the Pilgrim's continuing journey downwards through Hell. Thus the lowest arrow points towards the Seventh Circle where the lilies are transformed into flames. The idea of a multiple life-journey is universally applicable: here Dante seems to divide it into travel in time recollected, a journey in time imagined, and the moral continuum of life. -- Source of annotation: Marvin or Ruth Sackner.