I get the point, I laughed at the joke, and yet it's still important to remember: Dante was a highly-educated man who understood the gravitas and depth of Western Christian/Catholic theology and philosophy. He knew "the classics" of his own day thoroughly, which is why his portrayals of Virgil and the other philosophers in Purgatorio are so powerful.

Dante was, and remains, a theological and literary giant from the publishings of his first Cantos.

Only matched, of course, by My Immortal, that is.

To be fair, Dante's Inferno from a different time and thus holds historical value.