In Inferno, Dante teaches readers the role of reason and emotion in the Christian life. During his journey through Hell, Dante the Pilgrim displays unregulated human emotion through the different reactions he has towards sinners. Virgil serves as his guide through Hell and teaches Dante that compassion must be within the bounds of reason, but along the journey there are times when reason is not always superior to emotion . Reason was not enough to get Virgil through the gate of Dis and the same reliance on reason, rather than emotion, later led him to be deceived by the devils. By using Dante the pilgrim to show human emotion and Virgil as reason, Dante the poet demonstrates an inconsistency between the need for reason and emotion. Without the regulation of emotion, the Christian soul would stray from the path that leads to God, but if emotion were always subject to reason, it would also be impossible to reach God. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay During his journey through Hell, Dante the Pilgrim expresses an unregulated form of human emotion based on beliefs and personal experiences. This is seen in the different levels of compassion he shows toward different sinners. As Dante the Pilgrim descends deeper into Hell, the number of times he shows pity for punished sinners decreases. Yet Dante is not entirely without mercy in these lower levels of Hell. In the song, immediately after thanking the “highest Wisdom” for the justice of the punishment of the simoniacs (Dante 293), he cries over the fate of the soothsayers (Dante 305). This rapid change in emotion, both in response to punishment and in cases of simple fraud, shows the random nature of human emotion. Dante harshly reprimands Nicholas II, which seems uncharacteristic of him after showing compassion to many sinners in hell. Since Dante has a negative view of simony, due to his personal beliefs, he is unable to show compassion towards simoniacs (Dante 293). Seeing the simoniacs in a negative light is what leads to Dante's angry outburst. However, when Dante has had a positive experience with someone, he shows compassion towards them. During his meeting with Ser Brunetto, Dante addresses him with respect and shows pity when he says: "for in my memory is fixed, and now it weighs on my heart, the kind and dear fatherly image of [Brunetto]” (Dante 235). It is Dante's respect and his good memory of Brunetto that makes him regret his punishment in hell. He considers Brunetto a father and it pains him to see someone he admires in such a bad place. Even though Nicholas II and Ser Brunetto are both sinners, Dante shows very different emotions towards them due to his personal beliefs and experiences. Virgil is a representation of reason and allows Dante to understand that because the punishments in Hell come from God, he shows mercy. for sinners would go against God. Before meeting Virgil, Dante the Pilgrim was lost in a dark forest and encountered several obstacles that prevented him from reaching the top of the hill, where he saw the light representing the path to God (Dante 27-28). The character of Virgil was necessary for Dante the Pilgrim to go through his journey through Hell and ultimately to Heaven. Virgil represents the missing link that Dante needs to reach God. He often has strong reactions to Dante's compassion towardssinners. Dante's expression of pity toward the soothsayers causes Virgil to reprimand Dante and he asks him, "Who is more wicked than he who brings passion to the judgment of God?" (Dante 305). Virgil separates emotion from the divine punishment that sinners face because he knows that their punishments come from God and are therefore just. Without regulation of its emotions, the Christian soul would deviate from the straight path that leads to God. As Dante demonstrates through the pity of sinners, emotion can easily lead to going against God, and reason is necessary to keep that emotion in check. When it comes to divine justice, it is not acceptable to show compassion to those who sin against God because God has chosen for them to receive these punishments. Although it is not always true that Virgil rebukes Dante when pitying sinners, such as when Dante shows compassion toward Ser Brunetto, for the most part, Dante's human emotions are still regulated by Virgil's reason when of his journey through hell. These “rules” include positive reactions from Virgil, not just the negative reactions he shows when Dante expresses compassion for sinners. Right after reprimanding Nicholas II, Dante is happy because he “firmly believed that it pleased my leader, with a smile so satisfied that he always listened to the sound of the true words I spoke” (Dante 295). Dante shows varied emotions towards the different sinners of Hell, but he learns that being harsh towards sinners elicits a positive reaction from Virgil. His reference to Virgil as a leader shows that Dante admires him and is happy to know that he reacts correctly by harshly reprimanding Nicholas II. Just as Dante looks to Virgil for approval, Christians should allow their feelings of compassion to be regulated by reason. They must be able to determine whether showing compassion is appropriate in certain situations. The point of this poem, however, is not to say that all compassion is bad. Compassion and other human emotions are natural and can even override the ability to reason in certain circumstances, depending on one's relationship with God. An example of this is when Virgil tries to enter the gate of Dis and Dante watches him introduce the sinners, who almost immediately "shut the gate, our adversaries, in the face of my lord" (Dante 133). Dante the pilgrim relies on Virgil to lead him through hell, but this is an example where Virgil fails him. Interestingly, Dante considers him his lord in this situation, as Virgil did not have the ability to pass through the gate, despite being on a divine mission. Only when an angel sent from heaven harshly rebukes the sinners are Virgil and Dante allowed to pass (Dante 145). Both Virgil and the angel were divinely sanctioned to help Dante on his journey, but the angel has something that Virgil lacks, namely belief in Christ. Unlike the angel who is on God's side, Virgil is a pagan. Furthermore, Dante contrasts Virgil's attempt to reason with the sinners, which leads to the door being shut in his face, and the angel's emotionally charged rebuke, which leads the sinners to open the door. In this case, it is a combination of the angel's harsh words and his relationship with God that proves more powerful than reason. Like the angel, Dante the Pilgrim also shows that emotion plays an important role in the Christian life. When Evil Tail tricks Dante and Virgil into being escorted by the devils, Dante tries to convince Virgil not to accompany them, seeing the way they were "gnashing their teeth and..