In Inferno, Dante teaches readers the role of reason and emotion in the Christian life. In his journey through Hell, Dante Pellegrino shows unruly human emotions through the different reactions he has towards sinners. Virgil guides him through Hell and teaches Dante that compassion must be within the limits of reason, but during the journey there are moments when reason is not always superior to emotion. Reason was not enough to get Virgil through the gate of Dis and the same dependence on reason, rather than emotion, later caused 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 emotions, the Christian soul would stray from the path to God, but if emotions 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 Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay In his journey through Hell, Dante the Pilgrim expresses an unregulated form of human emotion based on personal beliefs and experiences. This can be seen in the different levels of compassion he shows towards different sinners. As Dante the Pilgrim descends further and further into the Underworld, the number of times he shows mercy to punished sinners decreases. Yet Dante is not entirely without mercy in these lower levels of Hell. In the song immediately after having thanked the “Summary Wisdom” for the justness of the punishment for the simoniacs (Dante 293), he mourns the fate of the soothsayers (Dante 305). This rapid change in emotions, both in reaction to punishment and in the context of simple fraud, shows the randomness of human emotions. Dante harshly rebukes Nicholas II, which seems unusual 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 simonics in a negative light is what leads to Dante's outburst of anger. When Dante has had a positive experience with someone, however, he shows compassion towards them. In his meeting with Ser Brunetto, Dante addresses him with respect and shows pity when he says: “for in my memory there is fixed, and now weighs upon my heart, the kind, dear paternal image of [Brunetto]” (Dante 235) . It is Dante's memory of respect and affection for Brunetto that makes him feel sorry for his punishment in Hell. He sees Brunetto as a father and it pains him to see someone he admires in such a bad situation. Even though Nicholas II and Ser Brunetto are both sinners, Dante displays very different emotions towards them due to his personal beliefs and experiences. Virgil is a representation of reason and allows Dante to understand this, since the punishments in Hell come from God, showing mercy to sinners would mean going against God. Before meeting Virgil, Dante Pellegrino was lost in a dark forest and met several obstacles that prevented him from reaching the top of the hill, where he saw the light that represented the way to God (Dante 27-28). The character of Virgil was necessary for Dante the Pilgrim to overcome his journey through Hell and, ultimately, to Paradise. Virgil represents the missing link Dante needs to reach God. He often has strong reactions to Dante's compassion towards sinners. Dante's expression of pity towards the soothsayers leads Virgil to rebuke Dante, and asks him: "who is more wicked thanwho 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 the regulation of emotions, the Christian soul would stray from the right path towards God. As Dante demonstrates through the pity of sinners, emotion can easily lead someone to go against God, and reason is necessary to keep this emotion under control. As for divine justice, not it is okay to show compassion towards 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 he takes pity on sinners, as when Dante shows compassion to Ser Brunetto, for the most part, he does. Dante's human emotions are still governed by Virgil's reason in his journey through Hell. These “norms” include Virgil's positive reactions, not just the negative ones he displays when Dante expresses compassion towards sinners. Immediately after rebuking Nicholas II, Dante is happy because he “firmly believe[d] that my leader liked it, with such a happy smile he still listened to the sound of the true words I spoke” (Dante 295). Dante displays different emotions towards different sinners in Hell, but is learning that being harsh towards sinners gets a positive reaction from Virgil. His reference to Virgil as a leader shows that Dante admires him and is pleased to know that he is reacting correctly by harshly rebuking 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 reason 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 one's ability to reason in some 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 as he offers sinners , who almost immediately “close the door, these adversaries of ours, in the face of my lord” (Dante 133). Dante the Pilgrim relies on Virgil to guide him through Hell, but this is one example where Virgil lets him down. It is interesting that Dante refers to him as his lord in this situation because Virgil did not have the ability to pass through the door, despite being on a divine mission. Only when an angel sent from Heaven harshly rebukes sinners are Virgil and Dante admitted (Dante 145). Both Virgil and the angel were divinely authorized to help Dante on his journey, but the angel has something that Virgil lacks, namely faith in Christ. Unlike the angel, who is on God's side, Virgil is a pagan. Furthermore, Dante contrasts Virgil's attempt to reason with sinners, which leads to the door being closed in their faces, and the angel's emotionally charged rebuke, which leads to the sinners opening the door. In this case, it is the combination of the angel's harsh words and his relationship with God that proves more powerful than reason. Like the angel, Dante Pellegrino also shows that emotion plays an important role in the Christian life. When Evil Tail tricks Dante and Virgil into escorting the devils, Dante tries to convince Virgil not to go with them, seeing the way they "gnashed their teeth and how their eyebrows threatened treachery" (Dante 325). Virgil ignores these warning signs, and this turns out to be a mistake because the devils had actually deceived them. Similar to when they were trying to pass the Gate of Dis, Virgil fails.