"The Great Refusal"

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And I, who looked again, beheld a banner,
Which, whirling round, ran on so rapidly,
That of all pause it seemed to me indignant;
And after it there came so long a train
Of people, that I ne'er would have believed
That ever Death so many had undone.
When some among them I had recognised,
I looked, and I beheld the shade of him
Who made through cowardice the great refusal.
Forthwith I comprehended, and was certain,
That this the sect was of the caitifi wretches
Hateful to God and to his enemies.
These miscreants, who never were alive,
Were naked, and were stung exceedingly
By gadflies and by hornets that were there.

In these lines, Dante confronts souls who in life remained neutral in moral battles, neither siding with good nor evil. These "caitifi wretches" are condemned for their moral vacuity, symbolized by their endless pursuit of a whirling banner—a futile and directionless existence. The "great refusal" refers to an act of cowardice, widely attributed to Celestine V, who abdicated the papacy. His resignation is portrayed here as a failure of duty and courage, casting him among those who, through inaction, find themselves equally despised by heaven and hell. The biting presence of gadflies and hornets further emphasizes their torment, underscoring the eternal consequences of indifference and the disdain for those who choose apathy over action. Dante's vision thus serves as a stark warning against the perils of neutrality and the moral imperative to choose a definitive path.

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