Compared to the souls in Hell, the souls in Purgatory have not only realized their wrongs, but also accepted them, and their only goal is to achieve the love of God. However, to what extent do the souls in Purgatory understand their sin? The characters who exemplify this understanding are the negligent rulers and Statius. Negligent leaders of the fourth circle mourn their lack of spiritual duty to God. Among the negligent rulers that Dante and Virgil encounter in the Fourth Circle are Rudolph of Habsburg, Ottocar of Bohemia, and Marquis William Longsword. When Sordello, Dante and Virgil's guide, appoints the rulers, they are unhappy and miserable. However, what is the cause of their unhappiness and misery and were these leaders truly seeking God's love? Sordello describes Rudolph of Habsburg as ashamed to sing the praises of God; in the background, a hymn, Salve Regina, was sung, because Rudolph had done something he regretted in his previous life (Purg. VII. 90-93). However, what did Rudolph of Habsburg regret, was it his inability to unite Italy under his leadership (Purg.VII. 94-96), or his spiritual duty to God? However, Rudolph of Habsburg is placed in the fourth circle of Purgatory, why not at a lower level? The same questions can apply to Marquis William Longsword in his attempt to put down a rebellion between Monferrato and Canavese (Purg. VII. 135-137), unfortunately he was captured and died a terrible death. Unlike other rulers, Ottocar of Bohemia was also a negligent ruler but also a tyrant who hated Rudolph of Habsburg. Ironic or not, when Ottocar is introduced into the Negligent Rulers story, he comforts Rudolph (Purg. VII. 97-101). Two things can be concluded in the middle of a paper......having freely shared one's faith with others, even if it meant dying for one's faith. This is important because the Greeks were a paganistic culture. To some extent, it makes sense that Statius hid his faith, but he didn't know Virgil was a pagan until Virgil changed it. This means that if Statius had shared his faith with others and they had come to believe in God's love, they would have been saved. However, Statius had such fear within himself; this must mean that even though he wanted to pursue God's love, he was held back by his fear. In other words, he valued his human form a little more than he trusted his faith, another form of greed that Statius displays toward God. This is so because the sole purpose of the soul is to disconnect itself from all material things and prepare itself for the glory of God's love, and Statius still has a long journey before fully understanding this..