The Gate of Hell and the Neutrals

Dante and Virgil arrive at the Gate of Hell, bearing the dread inscription: 'Through me the way is to the city dolent; through me the way is to eternal dole; through me the way among the people lost. All hope abandon, ye who enter in.' Virgil urges Dante to cast out all fear and cowardice, and leads him inside. They hear sighs, complaints, and ululations resounding through the starless air. Virgil explains that these are the souls of those who lived without infamy or praise—the neutrals, who were neither faithful nor rebellious to God, and are now stung by gadflies and hornets, chasing a whirling banner forever. Among them Dante recognizes the shade of him who made the great refusal, likely Pope Celestine V. This first encounter with the damned establishes the principle of contrapasso: the neutrals, who never chose a side in life, are now forever denied a fixed place, chasing a banner that never stops.