Inferno Respect and Reputation Quotes Page 1

Virgil’s renown as the consummate poet gifted with the "persuasive word" makes him the prime candidate to appeal to for Dante’s sake. It is to Virgil’s "courteous spirit," which has endured countless ages with an unblemished name, that Beatrice entrusts her beloved Dante, not to any real knowledge or experience with the poet.

Because cowardice has kept the neutrals from making any indelible mark on the world, they have no claim to fame. Thus, "the world will let no fame of theirs endure," and even Virgil has no patience to spend time identifying any of these sinners. They simply have no reputation to speak of.

Ciacco is the first of many sinners who crave fame and a good name in the world above. Relegated to an existence which can hardly be called a life (suffering eternally in Hell), the only life these sinners can pretend to have is in men’s memory. Should they be forgotten, they would truly die, having been lost in body, soul, and memory to the living. Since these sinners have lost everything in their damnation, their only chance at being remembered in any good light is in the mortal world, where the living have no knowledge of Hell’s inhabitants.