In the beginning when God created humanity, it was said that He created all humans in His image of goodness (Genesis 1:27). Dante then adds in his Divine Comedy that God has instilled a certain predetermined capacity of goodness in each human being as He wills, which should be utilized fully during life (Paradise 3:84). It would then be assumed, in Dantean thought, that all humans have the choice to live fully to this capacity and assume a place in heaven upon death, to fail to utilize this capacity and suffer in Hell for eternity, or to sin and seek repentance at some point in their lives, allowing them to enter Purgatory. Yet, this statement seems to have certain restrictions when we first look at Dante’s Divine Comedy. Dante’s Inferno shows virtuous pagans in the first circle of Hell and has the reader believe that one must be a Christian to enter Heaven, or Purgatory. As the reader continues into Paradise, he discovers that there are indeed some pagans who have risen to Heaven, but only because they were allowed the mercy to be baptized after death. This idea seems unjust to those who have lived sinless lives without being given the choice to embrace Christ. It is understood that direct refusal of Christianity would result in an eternity in Hell, but for those sinless and virtuous people who lived before Christ or beyond the reaches of Christian teachings, it seems absurd to deny them entrance into Heaven. With careful examination of the Divine Comedy, it can be understood that the actual act of baptism and the embracing of Jesus Christ symbolize the ideas and significance each act represents and are not intended for the reader to take these acts for their literal meanings. The presence of virtuous pagans in Heaven, therefore, can be explained by assuming they were able to embrace the idea of Christ without the knowledge of him and received the cleansing of baptism without being baptized. The obtaining of these ideals, then, along with the possession of certain moral qualities which are found in the virtuous pagans who reached Heaven, become the prerequisites of entrance to heaven and what determine a virtuous pagan’s destiny.

The first issue to address when determining a virtuous pagan’s fate after death in Dante’s Divine Comedy is the justification of Dante’s separation of certain pagans into Limbo, instead of joining other pagans in the other circles of Hell. What makes these people virtuous? The most important requirement Dante has imposed on these people is sinlessness (Inferno 4:34). In addition to refraining from sin, many of those present in Limbo were great minds. They are people Dante obviously held in high respect, which he expressed in such descriptions as "wise spirits" and "mighty shades" (Inferno 4:110, 119). He has grouped together the greatest pagan intellects known to him in this circle of untormented grief. Illustrious poets and men who were honored for their genius and pursuit of knowledge were spared from Hell’s fury. Forever they will remain in this majestic realm of hopeless desire, whose brilliance and luminous nature reflects the enlightened minds who preside there.

After determining why these pagans were spared the intense torture of the other circles of Hell, an important question is confronted: If these pagans were so virtuous, why then have they not been allowed entrance into Heaven? This question is not a case of determining what they have done wrong during their lives, because they abstained from sin; but instead, it is a question of what they never did right. Dante’s pagan guide Virgil is the first to tell us of the deficiencies of these people. He says, "their great worth alone/ was not enough, for they did not know Baptism,/ which is the gateway to the faith you follow,/ and if they came before the birth of Christ,/ they did not worship God the way one should" (Inferno 4:34-39). Upon observing this, the reader assumes Dante’s opinion is that only Christians may enter Heaven and although one may feel this to be unjust, it is recognized that it is his opinion, one which he has the right to hold and express. But upon further reading, it is evident that there are pagans in Dante’s Paradise. The two examples of virtuous pagans in Heaven are Emperor Trajan of Rome and Ripheus of Troy. Ripheus was said to have been baptized after his death while in Purgatory, a thousand years before baptism existed. Emperor Trajan was supposedly brought back to life by "God’s sanctifying grace" and was baptized in his second life (Paradise 20:106-108). Unless you believe another human being besides Jesus Christ was resurrected, this explanation of why Trajan is found in Heaven is invalid. In addition, a reason must exist why God would show so much concern for Ripheus of Troy to allow him baptism in Purgatory. Therefore, from a different angle, one must analyze what the virtuous pagans in Limbo are lacking to explain the presence of Trajan and Ripheus in Paradise.

When Dante encounters these two pagans in Paradise, he immediately questions their presence. He asks the eagle of the pagans’ presence there and the bird replies, "And to this realm none ever rose who had not faith in Christ, before or after he was crucified" (Paradise 19:104-106). From this statement we are told that every soul in Heaven had faith in Christ, whether or not they had knowledge of Him. But how can you have faith in a person whom you do not know? Since it seems impossible for a human to have faith in someone they have never heard of, it can be assumed that in this case, the word Christ does not represent the individual, but the ideals He represents.

Once one has established this symbolic meaning of Christ, he can begin to understand what the two pagans in Paradise have done or embraced that allowed them to ascend to Heaven. When it is said that all those in heaven had faith in Christ, it most likely means that they all realized they needed to be saved: "believed in Him Who had the power to save," but not necessarily in Jesus specifically (Paradise 20:114). By recognizing that they were flawed and accepting the truth that they needed redemption, they put hope in someone or something to come and redeem them, which Jesus provided: "the reward for the living hope that fortified prayer" (Paradise 20:108-109). This definition of the embracing of Christ places great importance on humility. Emperor Trajan is shown as one of the ideal examples of the virtue of humility through the marble engraving of him in Purgatory. His humble act of placing the widow’s request before his own desires is not why he has risen to Heaven, but it does reflect the type of humility one needs to express towards Christ to theoretically have "faith" in him. Those who wish to reach Paradise need to understand the importance and greatness of redemption and accordingly place them above their own wants. When the virtuous pagans in Limbo placed their pursuit of knowledge and self-worth above the idea that they were, in essence, flawed, they rejected "Christ" and sealed their fate.

Along with this approach, one can include the mentioning of baptism in Dante’s Divine Comedy as representing its purpose and not the actual act. The idea of baptism is one which could not be accomplished until "Christ" was embraced. Therefore, by rejecting the first idea, they could never even begin ascending. According to these terms, baptism would be the beginning of a cleansing process that every human needs to enter Heaven. After realizing they were flawed, these pagans, or anyone else, must try to identify what corrupted them and purge themselves of such filth. These individuals now began to "devote all (their) love to righteousness, and God" without even knowing of God or Christ (Paradise 20:121-122). Both Trajan and Ripheus, in some manner, accomplished these prerequisites and were granted eternal salvation.

Throughout the entire work of Dante’s Divine Comedy, pagans play an integral role. Pagans are present in each of the three parts of Dante’s afterlife and a pagan is even chosen to be Dante’s guide. The prevalence of these individuals suggests the idea that God loves all people and rewards those who have embraced the ideas and morals of the Christian religion and lived virtuously and without sin. Dante’s Divine Comedy provides enough basis to form the argument that one does not necessarily have to be Christian to enter Heaven, but only needs to embrace the ideals that Christ and baptism represent. Also, through using Emperor Trajan as an example of a virtuous pagan’s successful entrance to Heaven, it is seen that possession of these ideals along with the virtue of humility is what allowed certain pagans into Paradise and excluded others for eternity.