In this book, the author studies Dante's perception of knowledge and its relationship with the moral and spiritual perfection of humankind. Behind this perception is the assumption that knowledge (the key to perfection) is actualized by love, and that behind all love and desire there is a need for self-identification with God: purest essence of perfection from which the soul originates and to which it would ideally like to return.The study attempts to examine the kinds of knowledge that, in Dante's view, would either facilitate or preclude the search for truth.Previous scholars have all dealt, in one way or another, with Dante's vision of knowledge, rather than with his perception of the need for perfection, which instead constitutes the main focus here.