E ’n Source la sua volontade è nostra pace. > > In His will is our peace.
This single line, spoken by the soul of Piccarda Donati in the third canto of Dante Alighieri‘s Paradiso, is one of the most profound and memorable in the entire Divine Comedy. It encapsulates a theological and philosophical truth that resonates across centuries. However, Dante did not create this idea in a vacuum. This powerful statement is the culmination of a long intellectual tradition. It draws from the streams of classical philosophy, Roman thought, and Christian theology. By exploring these roots, we can fully appreciate the depth of Dante’s vision.
Dante Alighieri (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
The Quote in Context: A Soul’s Contentment
To understand the quote’s power, we must first meet the speaker. Dante encounters Piccarda in the Sphere of the Moon, the lowest rank in Heaven. This sphere is for souls who, through no fault of their own, were unable to fulfill their sacred vows on Earth. Piccarda was a nun forcibly removed from her convent and compelled to marry. One might expect her to feel sorrow or resentment for her lower place in Paradise.
Instead, she radiates perfect joy. When Dante asks if she desires a higher, more glorious place, she delivers her timeless reply. Her peace comes not from achieving a certain status but from completely aligning her own will with God’s. Every soul in Heaven, she explains, finds its bliss in conforming to the divine plan. Consequently, what God wills for her is what she wills for herself. This perfect harmony between the individual will and the divine will is the very essence of heavenly peace. This scene powerfully dramatizes a complex theological concept, making it deeply personal and emotionally resonant.
Classical Philosophy: Seeds of Acceptance
The foundation for Dante’s idea began long before the Christian era. Ancient Greek and Roman philosophers grappled with how to find tranquility in a chaotic world. The Stoics, in particular, offered a compelling answer. Philosophers like Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius taught that true peace, or apatheia, comes from accepting what we cannot change. They believed a divine and rational principle, the Logos, governs the universe.
Therefore, a wise person aligns their will with this cosmic order. They understand that external events are beyond their control; only their inner response is their own. This acceptance of a universal, providential order is a clear precursor to Piccarda’s statement. The Stoic seeks peace by conforming to the Logos, just as Dante’s blessed soul finds peace by conforming to God’s will.
The Consolation of Boethius
A pivotal figure connecting the classical and medieval worlds was Boethius. He wrote his masterpiece, The Consolation of Philosophy, in the 6th century while imprisoned and awaiting execution. In this work, the allegorical Lady Philosophy teaches Boethius that true happiness cannot depend on fortune’s whims. Wealth, power, and fame are fleeting. Instead, ultimate good and happiness reside in God.
Lady Philosophy argues that divine providence orders all things for the good, even if humans cannot perceive it. Finding peace requires shifting one’s perspective from earthly misfortunes to this eternal, divine plan. Dante deeply admired Boethius, and this theme of finding solace in divine order, even amidst profound suffering, directly shaped the intellectual world of the Divine Comedy. Boethius provided a powerful model for understanding how acceptance of a higher will leads to inner peace.
Christian Theology: The Restless Heart
While classical philosophy provided a framework, Christian theology gave it a deeply personal and relational dimension. St. Augustine of Hippo, writing in the 4th and 5th centuries, was a monumental influence. In his Confessions, Augustine famously wrote, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.” This single sentence captures the core of the human condition from a Christian perspective.
Augustine argued that human desire is infinite. We constantly seek fulfillment in worldly things, yet they never fully satisfy us. This creates a perpetual state of restlessness. True peace, he concluded, is only found when the human will, with all its longings, finds its ultimate purpose and home in God. This concept of the “restless heart” finding its rest in God is the theological soil from which Dante’s line grows. Peace is not just passive acceptance; it is the active fulfillment of our deepest desire.
The Scholastic Synthesis of Aquinas
Centuries later, St. Source Thomas Aquinas became the preeminent theologian of the High Middle Ages, and his influence on Dante was immense. . Aquinas masterfully synthesized Aristotelian philosophy with Christian doctrine. He argued that God is the ultimate good and the final end toward which all creation moves.
For Aquinas, human freedom finds its highest expression not in arbitrary choice, but in choosing the good. Since God is the ultimate good, aligning our will with His is the most rational and fulfilling act possible. This is not a loss of self but the perfection of self. This scholastic reasoning provides the intellectual architecture for Piccarda’s statement. Her peace is the logical and spiritual result of her will perfectly aligning with the ultimate good, which is God himself. Consequently, her joy is absolute, even in the lowest sphere of Heaven.
Dante’s Poetic Genius
Dante’s brilliance was not simply in repeating these ideas. His unique contribution was to synthesize these dense philosophical and theological concepts into a single, elegant line of poetry and to embed it within a powerful human story. He transformed an abstract principle into a lived reality. Through Piccarda’s gentle voice, the reader doesn’t just understand the idea; they feel its profound truth.
Furthermore, the quote carried political weight for Dante, an exile who witnessed the destructive consequences of selfish ambition and clashing wills in Italy. The line reflects a deep yearning for a divine order that could bring peace to his fractured world. In conclusion, “In His will is our peace” is more than a beautiful phrase. It is a convergence of centuries of thought—from the Stoic acceptance of fate to Augustine’s restless heart and Aquinas’s rational theology. Dante took this rich inheritance and forged it into an unforgettable vision of heavenly bliss, one that continues to offer solace and wisdom to readers today.