Questions about dante's divine comedy???

Question:

Questions about dante's divine comedy???

why does dante have terraces of purgatory for gluttony and lust, yet he already has circles of hell for gluttony and lust. what actions make you go to hell or to purgatory for these sins? I am reading these books (the divine comedy trilogy) just for fun and wondering about this...

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: In a nutshell:

Although they are sinners of gluttony/lust, the difference is:

Sinners in Hell (Circles 2 & 3):
*Justify their sin and are unrepentant.
*Have knowledge of the past and future, but not of the present.
* Each circle's sin is punished in a fashion fitting their crime: the sinner is afflicted by the chief sin he committed for all of eternity.

Sinners in Pugatory (Terraces 6 & 7):
*Have genuine repentance
*Must wait outside for an amount of time equal to their lives on earth.

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Sinners in Hell

The circles are concentric, each new one representing further and further evil, culminating in the center of the earth, where Satan is held, bound. Each circle's sin is punished in a fashion fitting their crime: the sinner is afflicted by the chief sin he committed for all of eternity.

Sinners such as these are found in Purgatory, but those in hell justify their sin and are unrepentant. Furthermore, those in hell have knowledge of the past and future, but not of the present. This is a joke on them in Dante's mind because after the Final Judgment, time ends; those in hell would then know nothing.

* Second Circle (LUST)
Those overcome by lust are punished in this circle. These souls are blown about to and fro by a violent storm, without hope of rest. This symbolizes the power of lust to blow one about needlessly and aimlessly. Francesca da Rimini tells Dante how she and her husband's brother Paolo committed adultery and died a violent death at the hands of her husband. (Canto V)

* Third Circle (GLUTTONY)
Cerberus guards the gluttons, forced to lie in the mud under continual cold rain and hail whilst being forced to consume their own excrement. Dante converses with a Florentine contemporary identified as Ciacco ("Hog" — probably a nickname) regarding strife in Florence and the fate of prominent Florentines. (Canto VI)

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Sinners in Pugatory

The souls are admitted to Purgatory thanks to their genuine repentance, but must wait outside for an amount of time equal to their lives on earth.

Virgil guides the pilgrim Dante through the seven terraces of Purgatory. These correspond to the seven deadly sins, each terrace purging a particular sin in an appropriate manner. Those in purgatory can leave their circle whenever they like, but essentially there is an honors system where no one leaves until they have corrected the nature within themselves that caused them to commit that sin. Souls can only move upwards and never backwards, since the intent of Purgatory is for souls to ascend towards God in Heaven, and can ascend only during daylight hours, since the light of God is the only true guidance.

# Sixth Terrace (GLUTTONY)
The gluttonous are purged by abstaining from any food or drink (Cantos XXII through XXIV). Here, the soul's desire to eat a forbidden fruit causes its shade to starve. To sharpen the pains of hunger, the former gluttons on this terrace are forced to pass by cascades of cool water without stopping to drink.

# Seventh Terrace (LUST)
The lustful are purged by burning in an immense wall of flames (Cantos XXV through XXVII). All of those who committed sexual sins, both heterosexual and homosexual, are purified by the fire. Excessive sexual desire misdirects one's love from God and this terrace is meant to correct that. In addition, perhaps because all sin has its roots in love, every soul who has completed his penance on the lower six cornices must pass through the wall of flame before ascending to the Earthly Paradise. Here Dante, too, must share the penance of the redeemed as the last "P" is removed from his forehead.