Although the first part of the Divine Comedy, Inferno, begins at canto one, the journey to Hell itself starts in earnest in the third canto with Dante and Virgil arriving at Hell’s gate. Arguably the most famous lines from the poem is the inscription on the gate:

I AM THE WAY INTO THE DOLEFUL CITY,

I AM THE WAY INTO ETERNAL GRIEF,

I AM THE WAY TO A FORSAKEN RACE

JUSTICE IT WAS THAT MOVED MY GREAT CREATOR;

DIVINE OMNIPOTENCE CREATED ME,

AND HIGHEST WISDOM JOINED WITH PRIMAL LOVE.

BEFORE ME NOTHING BUT ETERNAL THINGS

WERE MADE, AND I SHALL LAST ETERNALLY.

ABANDON EVERY HOPE, ALL YOU WHO ENTER.

In addition to being a chilling passage, Dante the poet gives us his first hint of the inversion of all Christian values in Hell. It’s not an accident that the first three lines of the inscription bear a striking resemblance to Jesus’ words in the Gospel of John (”I am the Way, and the Truth, and the light”). We will see throughout Inferno how Dante has mocked and twisted God’s creation and virtues in Satan’s world.

Upon reading the inscription, Dante (the character) remarks how cruel he feels these words are. This is another preview of what we’ll see in later cantos, the moral growth of Dante. He will eventually learn that those souls in Hell are there because they want to be, it is Divine Justice, not Divine cruelty. Virgil’s role is that of a moral guide and teacher, not just a tourguide, and a lot of his time will be spent educating Dante.

They now pass through the gate and begin to hear shrieks, cries, and sighs. continue the journey… or …go back…