Commentary Par III 85

Piccarda's last tercet makes her point with two differing linguistic gestures, this first a summarizing citation, the second a powerful metaphor.  Exactly which text she is citing is a matter for consideration, but a list of suggested candidates includes Luke 2:14 ('Et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis' [And on earth peace to men of good will]); Ephesians 2:15 ('Ipse enim est pax noster' [For he (Christ Jesus) is our peace]); Augustine's Confessions (XIII.9: 'In bona voluntate pax nobis est' [Our peace lies in willing the good]).  The greater closeness of the last ('E 'n la la sua voluntade è nostra pace' [And in His will we find our peace]) makes it the most likely to have been on Dante's mind as he created his Piccarda.  (Grandgent [DDP Grandgent.Par.III.85], followed by Singleton [DDP Singleton.Par.III.85], in his commentary to this line, cites the passage from Ephesians.  John Sinclair [Sinc.1946.1], p. 59, cites the passage from Augustine.)  Readers of these notes may remark upon the parallel then found between Francesca and Piccarda, each quoting a crucial text of St. Augustine as the climactic gesture of her speech; see [Inf V 138] and the note thereto (C.Inf.V.138).