Saint Thomas Aquinas teaches that the end for which man is made is to be reunited with the divine goodness of God through virtuous behavior as well as the use of rational human intellect in order to know and love God above all. Dante Alighieri composed The Inferno based upon Aquinas' theological teachings - teachings which were most significantly influenced by Aristotelian philosophy but had an overall theological theme. Instead of Alighieri exemplifying man's expected end of reuniting with God at the end of one's journey, he rather illustrates how man can pervert that end by loving evil things, which seem to bring happiness, above loving the actual, infinite source of happiness - God. Forever condemned to moving towards the evil things they sought on earth, the sinners in Dante's work are condemned to a hectic afterlife spent in hell instead of sharing in eternal peace and happiness with God. Therefore, those who sin destroy their humanity by not using their uniquely human gift of intellect and free will to reason against evil desires. Dante symbolically portrays their self-destruction by hopelessly entrapping the sinners in a specific ring of hell where they receive their punishment depending on the evil they sought on earth. Such punishment is appropriate because God grants the sinners their wish of choosing against God and so they suitably pay for their sin based on its cause and severity. Due to Aquinas' view of the end of man, which was collectively shared by middle age society, Dante composed a guide through hell illustrating how those who turn from God will suffer greatly at the end of life's journey.
Aquinas joined the Dominican Friars at the ag ...