“You will look at this gloomy opening as travelers on foot face a steep and rugged mountain: beyond lies an enchanting plain, which they appreciate all the more for having toiled and first come down from the mountain ” (Boccaccio, page 7). Giovanni Boccaccio's Decameron embodies this verse. Until this time, religion guided society like an invisible hand pulling everyone forward. Over many generations the religion has evolved. From polytheism to monotheism, from idols to churches, people leaned on the virtues presented by religion and led their lives accordingly. Everyone learned to submit to the Church because they were too scared to blaze their own virtuous path. Instead of using the Church as a guide, they completely surrendered and became monkeys before the emperors. The Pope was no longer a messenger of God, but was himself similar to God because he too held dozens of lives in his hands. The power that the holy rulers had grasped deceived them of their true abilities; they now acted as if they were gods despite their limited human abilities. Popes now used “virtues” to gain supremacy, instead of using authority as a tool to spread morality. Giovanni Boccaccio wishes to lift the veil and expose the church for what it has become. Using satire he exposes the true actions of those in charge. While the road to revealing the Church's corruption is jagged and rocky, it allows for a new beginning. It allows everyone to discover "an enchanting plain". Although many praise Boccaccio for his popularization of the Church, there are still threatening effects of such action. It knocks the Church off its pedestal leaving a place open for the next ruler. While the church may have been crooked, Bo... in the center of the card... life towards a better world was twisted and crooked. Boccaccio set forth many examples and effects that the Church had on civilization in the hope of overcoming the fraudulent society on which everyone depended. Life is living. Human expertise has the ability to merge the physical world and the spiritual world into one avenue. Life is about experiencing freedom. Freedom to control one's actions, freedom to choose one's leader, and freedom to overcome difficulties. In the Decameron Boccaccio tries to restore freedom to everyone. Bibliography Alchin, Linda. "Middle Ages." Middle Ages. Online. September 20, 2006 December 16, 2010."Avatar." Avatars; The journey continues. Online. 201016 December 2010.Boccaccio, Giovanni. The Decameron. New York: Oxford, 1998.