Dante and The Neutrals

As Dante, the pilgrim is on his journey, he reaches the Gates of Hell which have but one sentence written on it.

"Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch'intrate." Abandon hope, ye who come here.

This in fact, is a representation of the Neutrals and their sins. The Neutrals were the people who refused to decide when they became free. As, they were scared of the freedom they would receive but did not want to face the torment of Hell.

Virgil explains that these people have lived their lives without making conscious moral choices; therefore both Heaven and Hell have denied them and they have been punished to live in the centre, in the scorching heat.

In Christian belief, Hell is a passage to freedom. The people who suffer are not those that are in Hell, they are the ones who refuse to make the choice between Heaven and Hell.

The Neutrals are described by Dante as the "first identifiable sinners". As cowardice, malign and making conscious moral decisions are sins according to God.

The Neutrals make this conscious choice because they have lost all hope in Death. They do not believe Death gives them Freedom. As said in the inscription "Abandon Hope, ye who come here."