Commentary Par XVIII 115-117

The first of the apostrophes with which this canto concludes is addressed (as will be the second) to the positive forces in God's universal plan, first the tempering planet, just Jupiter.  This tercet offers a clear example of Dante's belief in astral influence on earthly behaviors, with Jupiter conceived as the heavenly shaper of human embodiments of justice.  See [Par VIII 97-99] and [Par VIII 122-126] and C.Par.VIII.97-99, as well as C.Par.VIII.122-126.

Lenkeith's chapter 'Jupiter and Justice' (Lenk.1952.1, pp. 73-131) concludes with a citation of this tercet.  She offers an evaluation of Dante’s debt to Cicero’s Stoic statecraft (with which the poet is in accord except for a total disavowal of its Godless theory of politics) and his total disagreement with Augustine's theologically determined rejection of the state's ability to have anything to do with 'real justice' altogether.