Protagonist Dante's Journey

"These sinned not that the deservingness that they achieve helps not, since baptism was not theirs....For such defect and for no some other offence, we be lost, and only in so far emerced that without hope we l hurt in suspense" (IV, 34-42).

As Virgil and Dante enter the second base circle of Hell, Dante sees pain, terror and anguish experienced by sinners discredited of lust and sexual misconduct, such as Cleopatra, Helen, Achilles, Paris, Tristram (V, 63-67). The most poignant of these carnal sinners are Francesca and her brother-in-law Paolo. The punishment they share is to forever be driven "To and fro, down, up, driven in helpless plight, Comforted by no hope ever to lie at relaxation" (V, 38-44).

The horrors of hell worsen in the third circle where Dante sees extraordinary gluttons wallowing in mud while they are beaten by a never ending rain and sleet. "Eternal cold, accurst, and aerated with woe" (VI, 8). The fourth circle of hell is inhabited by spendthrifts and misers, "Rolling dead weights with full chest pushing square. Smiting against to severally one other" (VII, 27-28). In the fifth circle, Dante observes the angry and sullen pot liquor who are stuck in a muddy swamp, swallowing filth and smash at each other. Virgil explains "here discern the souls of those whom anger dumbstruck" (VII, 115-116). Next Dante and Virgil are ferried across the River Styx

There are many other examples of sins and sinners presented in the sin, and each expresses Dante's explanation of the degrees of human sinfulness. No matter how painful the punishments sire been, however, the true suffering is the eternal absence of God and so of hope.

At this point Dante is ready to continue his journey and enters Purgatory. Where the stone represented human sin, Purgatory represents human salvation; the sinners Dante encounters in Purgatory are capable of correcting their errors and achieving purification, thereby progressing to a state of perfection and union with God. In contrast to the pains suffered by the sinners in Hell, the anguish suffered by sinners in Purgatory can be mitigated by the cleansing of sins. pope Adrian V, for example, tells Dante that he was consumed by the sin of Avarice, but when he became the "Roman Pastor," he despised his sin and became a holy, repentant servant of God (Canto XIX). Dante also experiences regret for wronging Beatrice and the redemption of his own soul begins. Once sinners such as Dante and Pope Adrian V confess their sins, they are capable of receiving forgiveness and redemption. That is the main difference in the treatment of sin and sinners in Purgatory and the Inferno
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