ice used to him when visiting Virgil in hell. She says that she had no fear of hell for "a man must stand in fear of just those things that truly have the power to do us harm, of nothing else for nothing else is fearsome" (82). Convinced by these arguments, Dante follows Virgil through the gate which leads to hell. The inscription on the gate cites the "justice" that moved its "great creator" and orders those who approach to "abandon every hope, all you who enter" (89). This idea of divine justice as the removal of hope is, in the long run, even more important than the variety of hideous punishments that are inflicted on the souls Dante sees.
As they progress toward the first circle Dante and Virgil encounter the first of the many figures from classical mythology who will appear as attendants in hell. This is Charon the boatman who ferries the souls to hell and his challenge to them is the first of several they will receive. Yet it is not the anger of Charon, or any of the later demons and mythological creatures they meet, that Dante finds most frightening. What really strikes fear in him is the huddled mass of souls who "packed themselves along the wicked shore that waits for every man who fears not God" (92).
Section 2: Limbo, the first circle of hell, is primarily described in Canto IV. Here Virgil shows Dante the souls of unbaptized children and pagans who were sinless and had other merits but, since "they came before the birth of Christ [and] did not worship God the way one should," could not be allowed into paradise (98). Dante, needing to reconcile this harsh idea with the importance assigned by Christians to the Old Testament is reassured by Virgil, who guesses what he is thinking. Virgil explains that such important Jewish figures as Abraham, Moses, David and Rachel were taken into heaven at some point--despite the fact that they could never have been baptized. The subsequent mention of various illustrious pa...