In Dante's classic, The Divine Comedy, there are three parts to the entire work: Inferno, Purgatory and Paradise.

The question at hand is answered in Inferno, Canto 3. As Dante and Virgil, his guide on this fearfully wonderful quest, arrive at Hell they discover a gate on which is written -

"To enter through the lost city, go through me. Through me you go to meet a suffering unceasing and eternal. You will be with people who, through me, lost everything. My maker, moved by justice, lives above. Through Him, The Holy Power, I was made - made by the height of wisdom and of first love, whose laws all those in here once disobeyed. From now on every day feels like your last forever, let that be your greatest fear. Your future now is to forget the past. Forget your hopes, they were what brought you here."

These lines introduce several ideas, such as the fact that this place was not created by the Devil but by God, not for the purposes of evil but because He was "moved by justice" and "the height of wisdom." Regrets and sorrows, which are perhaps our greatest fears in life, are revealed to be what haunts us after death.

As they prepare to enter through the gate so that their quest may continue, Virgil does indeed have advice for his companion:

"Here you must renounce your slightest doubt and kill your every weakness. Leave behind all thoughts of safety first or be shut out..."

In pursuing the journey on which Dante finds himself, he must believe. He must be willing to put first and foremost a trust in God that what he is about to see is right, and he must overcome the natural tendency to put yourself first: a task that few are able to accomplish.

What advice does Virgil give Dante at the gate of hell?

In canto 3, Dante and Virgil read the inscription written on the gates of hell: "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here." These words unnerve Dante, who says to Virgil that the words are "hard" for him. Virgil then tells him,

Here you must give up all irresolution.

Virgil warns him he must be very brave and put all cowardice to "death," because he is about to see very unpleasant things. The people in hell will be "sorrow laden," because they gave up goodness.

Dante goes forward toward hell in order to see "things hidden from the world."

When Charon does not want to take Dante across the river, not seeing him as one of the damned, Virgil tells him that this is a good sign that he will not end up in hell after death.

All in all, the entry into hell is a frightening prospect that Dante recoils from in dread. Virgil advises him that it is not for the faint of heart. By warning Dante to be courageous because he will see terrible things, Virgil also warns the reader of what is to come. However, for Dante, knowledge is more important than fear.

What advice does Virgil give Dante at the Gate of Hell?

Virgil tells Dante that he has to stop being scared and put aside any lack of belief. He has to accept that what he sees inside Hell is what is meant to happen by the will of God.

Dante is frightened when he sees the sign on the gates of Hell that ends with, "Abandon All Hope Ye Who Enter Here." The sign indicates that Hell was created by God; the people suffering inside are getting their earned reward for their behavior. Dante tells Virgil that he has difficulty understanding it.

Virgil says:

Here all suspicion needs must be abandoned,
All cowardice must needs be here extinct.
We to the place have come, where I have told thee
Thou shalt behold the people dolorous
Who have foregone the good of intellect.

He is explaining to Dante that he must be brave and accept what he sees within. The people will be miserable and suffering, but that is what is supposed to happen. Virgil then takes Dante's hand and comforts him as they go in.