Throughout Purgatorio, Dante expresses several of his ideas about love: love of other humans and love from God. For example, the meeting with the spirit of Casella conveys a feeling of human warmth and love. This is the first of a series of encounters in Purgatorio displaying the everlasting power of friendship and human compassion. Another example of Dante's expression of love manifests on the second terrace, the terrace of envy. He displays love in the goads of envy - caritas, or love of fellow men: And my good

My sins were ghastly, but the Infinite

Dante ends Purgatorio with this prophecy for the Catholic Church as he enters Paradiso.

master said: "The sin of envy/ Is scourged within this circle; thus the cords/ That form the scourging lash are plied by love. (XIII 37-39) Another example of Dante's expression of love exists in Canto XXX and XXXI. It is the character of Beatrice that inspires Dante throughout his journey. When Dante finally meets the spirit of Beatrice, the beauty of Beatrice overwhelms Dante. In the confrontation, Dante reveals his true love for Beatrice in confessing his infidelity to the love for Beatrice and how he suffers greatly by witnessing the immense beauty of her. In like manner, Dante expresses the importance of love in the actual structure of Purgatory. The four terraces before Paradise repent sins extending from love: the fourth terrace repents sloth, or insufficient love; the fifth, sixth, and final terraces atone for excessive love for material goods - greed and prodigality, gluttony, and lust, respectively.

Although Purgatorio is based on a Catholic belief, Dante refers to several classical influences. The foremost influence exists in the character of Virgil, whom Dante refers to as his most profound influence on his writing. Dante acknowledges Virgil as "my true master" and places him in a position of teacher and guide. Another prevalent reference to classical tradition manifests in the more than hundred references to Greco-Roman history, literature and mythology. For example, Canto XXVIII alone contains several references: the mention of Aeo

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