Commentary Par XIII 52-87

This portion of Thomas's speech is one of the most 'philosophical' in the entire poem.  It may serve as a pretext for answering the protagonist's concern about Solomon's relative perfection as knower; at the same time, we sense that the poet simply wanted to posit his view of primary and secondary creation.  Does the passage reveal Dante's notion of creation to be neoplatonizing or 'orthodox'?  In Simpson's view (Simp.1989.1) it is orthodox.  See Cahill's discussion (Cahi.1996.1, p. 251), citing Simpson's argument to that effect (pp. 339-40).

For a straightforward explanation, in simplified terms, of the passage, see Tozer (DDP Tozer.Par.XIII.52-87): 'What is created directly by God is perfect, whereas that which is created indirectly by Him through intermediate agencies and materials is imperfect; and therefore Dante is right in thinking that Adam, and Christ in His human nature, who belong to the former class, must have been superior in wisdom to all men, and therefore to Solomon.'