Avicenna

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Avicenna is recalled by Dante in Inferno IV, 143, where his name appears alongside that of Hippocrates and Galen in the catalogue of the great spirits who dwell in Limbo. The critical note to the canto (Source 4272) specifies that the tercet 142-144 gathers together scientists, mathematicians, and physicians, and that Avicenna is presented as one of the two representatives of the medieval Islamic world, together with Averroes, called upon to figure in the ranks of the wise men of the Christian age who lacked revealed faith. An earlier note (Source 4268) additionally places the name of Avicenna among the philosophers and sages of the contemplative life who, gathered around Aristotle, participated in some way in the preparation for the coming of revealed truth.