Is This the Best Self-Help Manual Ever Written?

7 Deadly Sins of Dante’s Purgatory

Previously we explored Dante’s Inferno, the first canticle of his three-part Divine Comedy. While Inferno is certainly the most popular of the three, the other two, Purgatorio and Paradiso, are just as insightful.

Purgatorio is particularly fascinating. It begins with Dante emerging from the depths of hell and casting his eyes on the mountain of Purgatory: a mountain composed of 10 terraces, with the middle seven corresponding to each of the seven deadly sins. As Dante undertakes the journey up it, he metaphorically gets purged of each of these sins, and on each terrace learns a lesson about virtue and vice that is essential for spiritual salvation.

These lessons on salvation, however, are just as applicable as archetypes of self-improvement. For example, the climb is most difficult at the lower terraces, but becomes easier as you ascend. This illustrates that personal development, much like climbing a mountain, becomes more manageable as one acquires and practices new habits of virtue.

Whether you approach Purgatorio from a spiritual or secular perspective, the canticle is a rich fount of insight. We’ll discover what it reveals about self-development, and how the archetypes Dante uncovers can help you on your journey…