Circle+I+-+Limbo+-+The+Virtuous+Pagans

=//__Canto IV: Circe One__// = ="ABANDON ALL HOPE, YOU WHO ENTER HERE."= =// __LIMBO__: // a region on the border of hell or heaven,serving as the abode after deathof unbaptized infants // or righteous souls, //// as t //**// hose of infants or virtuous individuals who lived before the coming of Christ. //**= = =

[[image:http://farm1.static.flickr.com/47/138518371_75e1fd05e1.jpg width="425" height="275" align="left"]]**SUMMARY:**
In Dante's [|Limbo], technically the first circle of Hell, the virtuous pagans reside. By location, Limbo is on the border of Hell, across the [|Acheron River]. Upon their arrival, the poets see a funnel shaped cave, digging deep down into the Earth. The funnel itself is composed of rings, each designated for a specific sin. The virtuous pagans are not actual sinners, but simply deprived of [|God's enlightenment]. Unlike other residents of Hell, the virtuous pagans are not tormented. Instead, they are eternally damned to an existence with [|no hope] of escaping, due to an absense of any transgressions. The greatest poets of all time have been damned here, including Homer, Horace, Ovid, Lucan, and Dante's tourguide, Virgil. At the end of his tour through Limbo, Dante sees the [|Master Souls] of Pagan Antiquity in thew Citadel of Human Reason. These souls have reached the [|highest attainable state that man is able to reach]without being deities themselves. Dante knows that God is [|greater than anything he had seen] thus far, but cannot help being [|in awe] of their [|glory].

** CHARACTERS: ** First and foremost comes __[|Dante]__ : Dante plays two important roles in // Inferno //. Not only is he the writer of the epic, but the principal character as well. However, the two are not necessarily one in the same. As a writer, Dante has the ability to pick and choose the hopeless inhabitants of __[|Hell]__. This makes the book very subjective. Most notably, Dante has placed certain leaders throughout Hell, without ever mentioning people of the same endeavors from __[|Italy]__, Dante's home country. As a character, Dante appears to be rather objective on his journey through Hell.   __[|Virgil]__ is Dante's official tourguide of the underworld: He was a Roman poet, most famous for the // __[|Aeneid]__ // and // __[|Eclogues]__ //. He was influenced by Homer, who inspired him to write the // Aeneid // in epic form. He still has a heavy influence today, with some of his famous quotes such as "Omnia vincit amor", or "Love conquers all" remaining highly __[|recognizable]__. In // Inferno //, [|Virgil] serves to show Dante the ropes of Hell.  The virtuous pagans: These people make up Dante's Limbo, not quite Hell, but certainly far from Heaven. The only thing that these __[|poor, unfortunate souls]__ had done wrong was not accept Christ in their lives, or possibly be __[|unbaptized]__. Interestingly enough, many characters from the __[|Bible]__ and mostly the Old Testament itself were at one point featured in Limbo, according to Virgil. At some point or another, __[|Noah]__, __[|Moses]__ , __[|David]__ , and __[|Abraham]__  were all residents of Limbo, until the death of Jesus when they were released to Heaven. ====In addition to poets, Dante includes famous and prominent philosophers in his classification of Limbo. This would include [|Aristotle], [|Socrates], and [|Plato]. The fact that Dante includes them in his writing may show [|respect]and fellow admiration.==== ====The mathematician [|Euclid] and astronomer [|Ptolemy] are included in this first circle of Hell. They reside with the [|philosophers] inside a large [|castle] with seven walls.====

**SYMBOLISM: ** <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;"><span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left; vertical-align: auto;">Contrasts of [|light]and [|dark] are used throughout Dante's Inferno. One example is when Dante and Virgil approach the Citadel of Human Reason. There, referring to the inhabinants, he says ""There with a solemn and [|majestic poise] stood many people gathered in the light," (112-113). This shows that human reason is a good thing, but upon leaving Limbo and [|venturing] into the deeper circles of hell, Dante says, "I pass from light into the [|kingdom] of eternal night" (154-155), showing the deeper they go, the worse the sin that has been committed. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;"> <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;"> <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">**<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">ALLUSION: ** <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;"><span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">The first major allusion in Canto IV regards the "[|Harrowing of Hell]", or, the descent of [|Christ]after his death. According to the [|Roman Catholic church], Christ first descended into Limbo before gracing Heaven with his [|presence]. The word "harrow" implies that Christ's [|journey] from Hell to Heaven was a rather [|violent] one, even accusing him of freeing certain souls from Hell, including [|Adam and Eve]. Catholics believe that Christ's [|raid]of Hell was astounding, which eventually turned the story into a bit of a [|dogma] in the mid-thirteenth century. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;"> <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;"><span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 95%; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">A second allusion that is worthy of mentioning would be the large reference to the philosopher, Aristotle. Given Dante's background historically and culturally, this allusion should not come as a surprise. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 95%;"> "The [|master]of those who know" (131) is [|quoted] from Dante's writing referring to Aristotle and his works. This shows that Dante views this man with [|honor] and respect. Supporting this idea would be the fact that Dante calls Aristotle "[|The Philosopher]" even though he mentions numerous other philosophers in his novel.