Who wins such honor?
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« O tu ch’ onori scïenzïa e arte, questi chi son c’ hanno cotanta onranza, che dal modo de li altri li diparte?».
‘O you who honor knowledge and art, who are these that hold such honor, which sets them apart from the manner of the rest?’
Dante asks Virgil, who honors knowledge and art, who these are that keep such honor, set apart from the rest.
Dante addresses Virgil by what he loves — <i>tu ch’onori scïenzïa e arte</i>, you who honor knowledge and art. It is the perfect appeal to a poet, and it signals that the souls ahead are honored for exactly those things.
The question fastens on distinction: what raises these few above the rest of Limbo's throng? Their honor <i>li diparte</i>, parts them from the others. Merit, even here where merit cannot save, still creates a visible order — the great are set a little apart even among the lost.
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