In Dante's first circle of hell, commonly known as limbo, specific individuals are showered with adoration. Despite their non-Christian backgrounds, they were given a location where they would not be subjected to physical pain.
Dante's inferno (14th-century):
"Let us descend into the sightless world,"
began the poet (his face was deathly pale): "I will go first, and you will follow me."
And I, aware of his changed color, said:
"But how can I go on if you are frightened? You are my constant strength when I lose heart."
And he to me: "The anguish of the souls that are down here paints my face with pity-which you have wrongly taken to be fear.
Let us go, the long road urges us."
He entered then, leading the way for me down to the first circle of the abyss.
Down there, to judge only by what I heard, there were no wails but just the sounds of sighs rising and trembling through the timeless air,
the sounds of sighs of untormented grief burdening these groups, diverse and teeming, made up of men and women and of infants.
Then the good master said, "You do not ask what sort of souls are these you see around you. Now you should know before we go on farther,
they have not sinned. But their great worth alone was not enough, for they did not know Baptism, which is the gateway to the faith you follow,
and if they came before the birth of Christ, they did not worship God the way one should; I myself am a member of this group.
For this defect, and for no other guilt, we here are lost. In this alone we suffer: cut off from hope, we live on in desire."
The words I heard weighed heavy on my heart; to think that souls as virtuous as these were suspended in that limbo, and forever!
"Tell me, my teacher, tell me, O my master," I began (wishing to have confirmed by him the teachings of unerring Christian doctrine),
"did any ever leave here, through his merit or with another's help, and go to bliss?" And he, who understood my hidden question,
answered: "I was a novice in this place when I saw a mighty lord descend to us who wore the sign of victory as his crown.
He took from us the shade of our first parent, of Abel, his good son, of Noah, too, and of obedient Moses, who made the laws;
Abram, the Patriarch, David the King, Israel with his father and his children, with Rachel, whom he worked so hard to win;
and many more he chose for blessedness; and you should know, before these souls were taken, no human soul had ever reached salvation."
We did not stop our journey while he spoke, but continued on our way along the woods-I say the woods, for souls were thick as trees.
We had not gone too far from where I woke when I made out a fire up ahead, a hemisphere of light that lit the dark.
We were still at some distance from that place, but close enough for me vaguely to see that honorable souls possessed that spot.
"O glory of the sciences and arts, who are these souls enjoying special honor, dwelling apart from all the others here?"
And he to me: "The honored name they bear that still resounds above in your own world wins Heaven's favor for them in this place."
And as he spoke I heard a voice announce: "Now let us honor our illustrious poet, his shade that left is now returned to us."
And when the voice was silent and all was quiet I saw four mighty shades approaching us, their faces showing neither joy nor sorrow.
Then my good master started to explain: "Observe the one who comes with sword in hand, leading the three as if he were their master.
It is the shade of Homer, sovereign poet, and coming second, Horace, the satirist; Ovid is the third, and last comes Lucan.
Since they all share one name with me, the name you heard resounding in that single voice, they honor me and do well doing so."
So I saw gathered there the noble school of the master singer of sublimest verse, who soars above all others like the eagle.
And after they had talked awhile together, they turned and with a gesture welcomed me, and at that sign I saw my master smile.
Greater honor still they deigned to grant me: they welcomed me as one of their own group, so that I numbered sixth among such minds.
We walked together toward the shining light, discussing things that here are best kept silent, as there they were most fitting for discussion.
We reached the boundaries of a splendid castle that seven times was circled by high walls defended by a sweetly flowing stream.
We walked right over it as on hard ground; through seven gates I passed with those wise spirits, and then we reached a meadow fresh in bloom.
There people were whose eyes were calm and grave, whose bearing told of great authority; seldom they spoke and always quietly.
Then moving to one side we reached a place spread out and luminous, higher than before, allowing us to view all who were there.
And right before us on the lustrous green the mighty shades were pointed out to me (my heart felt glory when I looked at them).
There was Electra standing with a group, among whom I saw Hector and Aeneas, and Caesar, falcon-eyed and fully armed.
I saw Camilla and Penthesilea; across the way I saw the Latian King, with Lavinia, his daughter, by his side.
I saw the Brutus who drove out the Tarquin; Lucretia, Julia, Marcia, and Cornelia; off, by himself, I noticed Saladin,
and when I raised my eyes a little higher I saw the master sage of those who know, sitting with his philosophic family.
All gaze at him, all pay their homage to him; and there I saw both Socrates and Plato, each closer to his side than any other;
Democritus, who said the world was chance, Diogenes, Thales, Anaxagoras, Empedocles, Zeno, and Heraclitus;
I saw the one who classified our herbs: Dioscorides I mean. And I saw Orpheus, Tully, Linus, Seneca the moralist,
Euclid the geometer, and Ptolemy, Hippocrates, Galen, Avicenna, and Averroës, who made the Commentary.
While much can be said of Dante's Inferno and his choice of characters, I believe a valuable aspect to consider is the concept of "universal appeal". The text reveals persons who were complimented by someone who was from a wholly different culture. How and why does this happen? I believe a large part of the explanation is if a personality is truly worth to be remembered for anything interesting, their legacy and prestige will be known beyond the cult-like structures of their own tribe. They'll be able to break through the barriers of identities and competing opinions. It's always a red flag when someone is only recognized and praised by one's own tribe.
Further reading: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_circle_of_hell
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