Commentary Purg III 93

If we had not sensed the importance of humble acts committed by those 'not knowing why' in [Purg III 84], the fact that the souls, now described directly, repeat what had been done within the simile reinforces the importance of the point.  Heilbronn (Heil.1972.1), p. 45, typifies the spirit of the portrayals of the souls in ante-purgatory as follows: 'These souls are suspended in a limbo different from Virgil's.  Not quite detached from the place they have left, they are on the right road yet cannot move; not quite sure where they are headed, they are poised between memory and anticipation.'