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TEXTURED READING:
DANTE: DIVINE COMEDY - PURGATORIO

Purgatorio (Italian for "Purgatory") is the second part of Dante's

Divine Comedy, following the Inferno, and preceding the Paradiso. The
poem was written in the early 14th century. It is an allegory telling of the
climb of Dante up the Mount of Purgatory, guided by the Roman poet
Virgil, except for the last four cantos at which point Beatrice takes over as
Dante's guide. In the poem, Purgatory is depicted as a mountain in the
Southern Hemisphere, consisting of a bottom section (Ante-Purgatory),
seven levels of suffering and spiritual growth (associated with the seven
deadly sins), and finally the Earthly Paradise at the top. Allegorically, the
poem represents the Christian life, and in describing the climb Dante
discusses the nature of sin, examples of vice and virtue, as well as moral
issues in politics and in the Church. The poem outlines a theory that all sin
arises from love either perverted love directed towards others' harm, or
deficient love, or the disordered love of good things.
In Purgatory, we find the Poet, with his guide Virgil, ascending the
terraces of the Mount of Purgatory inhabited by those doing penance to
expiate their sins on Earth. There are the proud - forced to circle their
terrace for aeons bent double in humility; the slothful - running around
crying out examples of zeal and sloth; while the lustful are purged by fire.
On these terraces the seven deadly sins are purged by penance from
the souls that have been beset by them. On the summit of the mountain is
the Garden of Eden, or Earthly Paradise, from which the purged souls
ascend to Heaven.
THE EXCOMMUNICATE
However, also upon the beach are the souls of those who have died in outside
the Church. Those who died repentant but un-reconciled with the Church must wait
outside of Purgatory proper for thirty times longer than they were outside the
Church, though the prayers of those on Earth can reduce this time somewhat.
Those who have come to Purgatory by means other than an angel's boat will
have a hard time finding a way further up the mountain from here - its lower slopes
seem simply too steep. However, souls here can, with persuasion, reveal the path
upwards, a steep and narrow cleft, so small that both shoulders brush its walls as
one climbs.
THE LETHARGIC

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After quite a hard climb, one emerges from the cleft in the rocks onto a
terrace, the first level of Ante-Purgatory. From here Mount Purgatory can be seen
looming above, and the shore can be seen below.
This ledge holds the negligent, those who postponed their repentance to the
last hour, but who did repent before death. There is a band of them waiting on this
ledge. The Lethargic must wait, and pray, for a time equivalent to the time they
spent drifting through unrepentant days before they can be admitted upwards, into
Purgatory proper. Again, the prayers of those on Earth can reduce this time
somewhat. All of those here are lethargic in behaviour, as well as in religious
observance.
The narrow cleft continues upwards from here to the next ledge.
THE UN-ABSOLVED
This ledge holds the spirits of those who had delayed repentance, and met
with death by violence, but died repentant, pardoning and pardoned. Nonetheless,
they must wait, and pray upon this ledge until they are allowed upwards into
Purgatory proper. Mortal visitors will attract large numbers of those here, who wish
to be heard, and absolved.
Again, the cleft continues upwards, but this time also leads around Mount
Purgatory to the right.
ANTE PURGATORY
At the shores of Purgatory, Dante and Virgil meet Cato, a pagan who has been
placed by God as the general guardian of the approach to the mountain (his
symbolic significance has been much debated). On the lower slopes (designated as
"Ante-Purgatory" by commentators), they also meet two main categories of souls
whose penitent Christian life was delayed or deficient: the excommunicate and the
late repentant. The former are detained here for a period thirty times as long as
their period of contumacy. The latter includes those too lazy or too preoccupied to
repent, and those who repented at the last minute without formally receiving last
rites, as a result of violent deaths. These souls will be admitted to Purgatory thanks
to their genuine repentance, but must wait outside for an amount of time equal to
their lives on earth.
THE SEVEN TERRACES OF PURGATORY
From the gate of Purgatory, Virgil guides the pilgrim Dante through its seven
terraces. These correspond to the seven deadly sins or "seven roots of sinfulness."
The classification of sin here is more psychological than that of the Inferno, being
based on motives, rather than actions. It is also drawn primarily from Christian
theology, rather than from classical sources. The core of the classification is based

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on love: the first three terraces of Purgatory relate to perverted love directed
towards actual harm of others, the fourth terrace relates to deficient love (i.e. sloth
or acedia), and the last three terraces relate to excessive or disordered love of good
things.
Each terrace purges a particular sin in an appropriate manner. Those in Purgatory
can leave their circle voluntarily, but will only do so when they have corrected the
flaw within themselves that led to committing that sin.
The structure of the poetic description of these terraces is more systematic than
that of the Inferno, and associated with each terrace are an appropriate prayer, a
beatitude, and historical and mythological examples of the relevant deadly sin and
of its opposite virtue.
First terrace (the proud)
Dante's first example of humility is taken from the Annunciation. Relief in
Auch Cathedral, Canto 10. Building the Tower of Babel was, for Dante, an example
of pride. Painting by Pieter Brueghel the Elder, Canto 12. The first three terraces of
Purgatory relate to sins caused by a perverted love directed towards actual harm of
others.
The first of the sins is pride. On the terrace where proud souls purge their sin,
Dante and Virgil see beautiful sculptures expressing humility, the opposite virtue.
The first example is of the Annunciation to the Virgin Mary, where she responds to
the angel Gabriel with the words Ecce ancilla Dei ("Behold the handmaid of the
Lord," Luke 1:38[20]). An example of humility from classical history is the Emperor
Trajan, who, according to a medieval legend, once stopped his journey to render
justice to a poor widow.
After being introduced to humility, Dante and Virgil meet the souls of the proud, who
are bent over by the weight of huge stones on their backs. As they walk around the
terrace, they are able to profit from the sculpted examples of humility. As the poets
ascend to the next terrace, an angel brushes Dante's forehead with his wings,
erasing the letter "P" (peccatum) corresponding to the sin of pride, and Dante hears
the beatitude Beati pauperes spiritu ("Blessed are the poor in spirit," Matthew 5:3
Second terrace (the envious)
Envy is the sin that "looks with grudging hatred upon other men's gifts and
good fortune, taking every opportunity to run them down or deprive them of their
happiness".[28] (This in contrast to covetousness, the excessive desire to have
things like money

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On entering the terrace of the envious, Dante and Virgil first hear voices on
the air telling stories of generosity, the opposite virtue. There is, as in all the other
terraces, an episode from the life of the Virgin Mary; this time, the scene from the
Life of the Virgin is the Wedding at Cana, in which she expresses her joy for the
newly married couple and encourages Christ to perform his first miracle. There is
also Jesus' saying "Love your enemies."[30] A classical story shows the friendship
between Orestes and Pylades.[28]
The souls of the envious wear penitential grey cloaks,[28] and their eyes are
sewn shut, resembling the way a falconer sews shut the eyes of a falcon in order to
train it. The voices on the air also include examples of envy. The classical example is
Aglauros, who (according to Ovid) was turned to stone because she was jealous of
Hermes's love for her sister Herse.
Third terrace (the wrathful)
On the terrace of the wrathful, examples of meekness, the opposite virtue,
are given to Dante as visions in his mind. The scene from the Life of the Virgin in
this terrace of purgation is the Finding in the Temple. Whereas most parents would
be angry at their child for worrying them, Mary is loving and understanding of
Christ's motives behind his three day disappearance. The souls of the wrathful walk
around in acrid smoke, which symbolizes the blinding effect of anger. The prayer for
this terrace is the Agnus Dei: "Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis...
dona nobis pacem" ("Lamb of God, you who take away the sins of the world, have
mercy upon us... grant us peace")
Fourth terrace (the slothful)
On the fourth terrace we find souls whose sin was that of deficient love that
is, sloth or acedia. Since they had failed in life to act in pursuit of love, here they are
engaged in ceaseless activity. The examples of sloth and of zeal, its opposite virtue,
are called out by these souls as they run around the terrace. A scene from the life of
the Virgin outlined in this terrace is the Visitation, with Mary going "in haste" to visit
her cousin Elizabeth. These examples also include episodes from the lives Julius
Caesar and Aeneas. This activity also replaces a verbal prayer for this terrace. Since
the formerly slothful are now too busy to converse at length, this section of the
poem is a short one. Allegorically, spiritual laziness and lack of caring lead to
sadness,

and so the beatitude for this terrace is Beati qui lugent ("Blessed are

those who mourn, for they will be comforted," Matthew 5:4

Fifth terrace (the Avaricious)
On the last three terraces are those who sinned by loving good things, but
loving them in an excessive or disordered way.
On the fifth terrace, excessive concern for earthly goods whether in the
form of greed, ambition or extravagance is punished and purified. The avaricious

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and prodigal lie face-down on the ground, unable to move. Their prayer is Adhaesit
pavimento anima mea, taken from Psalm 119:25 ("My soul cleaveth unto the dust:
quicken thou me according to thy word,", which is a prayer expressing the desire to
follow God's law (Canto XIX). Dante meets the shade of Pope Adrian V, an exemplar
of desire for ecclesiastical power and prestige, who directs the poets on their way.
Further down the terrace, Hugh the Great personifies greed for worldly wealth and
possessions. The scene from the life of the Virgin, used here to counter the sin of
avarice, is the humble birth of Christ.
Sixth terrace (the gluttonous)
On the sixth terrace are purged the gluttonous, and more generally, those
who over-emphasized food, drink, and bodily comforts.[50] In a scene reminiscent
of the punishment of Tantalus, they are starved in the presence of trees whose fruit
is forever out of reach.[50] The examples here are given by voices in the trees.
Seventh terrace (the lustful)
The terrace of the lustful has an immense wall of flame through which
everyone

must

pass.

Souls

repenting

of

misdirected

sexual

desire

(both

heterosexual and homosexual) run through the flames calling out examples of lust
(Sodom and Gomorrah and Pasipha) and of chastity and marital fidelity (the Virgin
Mary's chastity). Among the flames, which he dare not enter, are the poets of love
Guido Guinizelli and Arnaut Daniel, with whom Dante speaks.
The Earthly Paradise
Beatrice Addressing Dante, by William Blake, showing the "chariot triumphal"
bearing Beatrice and drawn by the Griffin, as well as four of the ladies representing
virtues, Canto 29.
At the summit of Mount Purgatory is the Earthly Paradise or Garden of Eden.
[60] Allegorically, it represents the state of innocence that existed before Adam and
Eve fell from grace the state which Dante's journey up Mount Purgatory has been
recapturing.
STRUCTURE OF PURGATORIO:

GUIDE QUESTIONS:
1. Using the Lesson on Purgatory, fill out the table using the following ( words/
phrase only)
Terraces in

Penance

Opposite Virtue

Purgatory

B. Discuss the following

1. What is the purpose of Purgatory? Why is it so important?
2. What do people get ready for in Purgatory? How do they get ready for it?
3. What is pride, and why is it a sin?
4. Practicing control and balance is stressed throughout Purgatorio. Explain
your view on this idea.
C. Reflection Essay
1. Do you believe on the concept of Purgatory? Explain your answer using
concrete evidence if you believe; three concrete proofs why you refute the
idea of Purgatory.