As Dante traverses the terraces of Purgatory, he learns lessons along the way. There are seven terraces in Purgatory, each corresponding with a deadly sin. Dante learns a lesson in each terrace and is purified as he prepares to enter heaven or the paradiso. Some of these lessons include: humility and to lose his pride, he also learned the importance of prayer, and that the inferno is completely different from Purgatory. As Dante progresses through Purgatory, he learns of vices and virtues, and the seven deadly sins. One of the sins he learns about is pride. Dante learns that pride is the excessive love of one’s own excellence. Humility is a modest or low view of one’s own self, or humbleness. It is the whip of pride and is the correcting virtue. …show more content…
As Dante meets souls in the Purgatory and they reveal to him their lives and what they left behind on earth, there is a common theme of them requesting for Dante to pray for them or their children or connections on Earth. One example of this is Manfred, son of emperor Frederick II, was a great sinner in his life but repented just previous to death. His last request to Dante is to tell his daughter, Constance, to pray for him. Another example of this is Buonconte de Montefeltro, was not catholic but at his death in battle he uttered “Maria” and at this moment he was taken to Purgatory. Buonconte begs Dante to pray for him, as nobody on earth, not even his wife, will pray for him. The reason these souls plead and cry for prayer is because when living souls pray for the dead, it shortens their time in Purgatory, away from God. This is called the communion of saints and with prayers from a person in a state of grace, one’s soul can be accelerated through the purging process. At one point Virgil seems to contradict this teaching, as he had written that the prayers of the living do no good for the dead. Dante challenges this idea and Virgil responds that the prayers of the living do no good for the dead who are in mortal