While the inscription is over the gates of Hell, they first enter the vestibule, that place reserved for those who did not use their intellect to choose God.
The inscription over the gate of Hell has a powerful impact: "Abandon every hope, all ye who enter here." Dante naturally thinks this applies also to him, and in the first of many passages that cause Dante anguish, Virgil smiles and reassures him.
The inscription above the gates of Hell implies the horror of total despair. It suggests that anyone may enter into Hell at any time, and then all hope is lost. Dante cries out that this sentence is difficult for him to bear. However, this condemnation does not apply to Dante, because, allegorically, he can still achieve salvation, and realistically, he is not yet dead so it does not (necessarily) apply to him.
Dante, in this early canto, is moved to tears and terror at his first sight of Hell. He continues to be moved until he learns, later, to be unsympathetic towards sin in any form. This is part of his learning process and his character development throughout the poem. Dante learns that sin is not to be pitied; however, this lesson takes him many circles of Hell to learn.
In Canto III, Dante sets up the intellectual structure of Hell. Hell is the place for those who deliberately, intellectually, and consciously chose an evil way of life, whereas Paradise is a place of reward for those who consciously chose a righteous way of life. Therefore, if Hell is the place for people who made deliberate and intentional wrong choices, there must be a place for those people who refused to choose either evil or good. The entrance of Hell is the proper place for those people who refused to make a choice. People who reside in Hell's vestibule are the uncommitted of the world, and having been indecisive in life — that is, never making a choice for themselves — they are constantly stung into movement.
