Si vis pacem, para bellum

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Relief at the entrance of the Cultural Center of the Armies in Madrid, showing the Latin phrase "Si vis pacem, para bellum."

Si vis pacem, para bellum (

Dē Rē Mīlitārī (fourth or fifth century AD), in which the actual phrasing is Igitur quī dēsīderat pācem, præparet bellum ("Therefore let him who desires peace prepare for war").[1][2] The idea which it conveys also appears in earlier works such as Plato's Nomoi (Laws).[3][4]
The phrase presents the insight that the conditions of peace are often preserved by a readiness to make war when necessary.

Derived uses

Apotheosis of Napoleon, Andrea Appiani, 1807.

Whatever the source, the adage has become a living vocabulary item itself, used in the production of different ideas in a number of languages. For example, in 1790 during his first annual address to a joint session of Congress, George Washington stated "To be prepared for war is one of the most effectual means of preserving peace."[5]

Si vis bellum para pacem

For example, historian

Napoleon Bonaparte:[6]

Everyone knows the adage... Had Bonaparte been a Latin scholar he would probably have reversed it and said, Si vis bellum para pacem.

Si vis pacem para pactum

In the United States, the National Arbitration and Peace Congress of 1907, presided over by Andrew Carnegie said:

These vast armaments on land and water are being defended as a means, not to wage war, but to prevent war... there is a safer way ... it requires only the consent and the good-will of the governments. Today they say ... If you want peace, prepare for war. This Congress says in behalf of the people: Si vis pacem, para pactum, if you want peace, agree to keep the peace.[7]

Si vis pacem fac bellum

"If you want peace, make war." The solution does not cover the case of the nation that does not desire peace. Imperial Germany went to war in 1914 and was castigated by

Congress on April 2, 1917, Grelling says:[8]

When all other means fail, ... the liberation of the world from military domination can in the extreme case only take place by battle. ... in place of si vis pacem para bellum a similarly sounding principle ... may become a necessity: Si vis pacem, fac bellum.

Si vis pacem para pacem

"If you want peace, prepare for peace." The great wars of the 19th and 20th centuries were opposed by the philosophy of

Saint-Simonianism. As early as April 2, 1841, he had said in a letter to General Saint-Cyr Nugues:[9]

Le fameux dicton ... me semble beaucoup moins vrai, pour le XIXe siècle, que Si vis pacem, para pacem.
The famous dictum ... seems to me much less true, for the 19th century, than Si vis pacem, para pacem.

with reference to Algeria. By way of elucidation Enfantin goes on to say that war could have been avoided if a proper study of Algeria had been made.

The parabellum

Luger model P08 (1908) chambered in 9mm Parabellum

The main clause of the adage was used as a motto by German arms maker

9mm Parabellum
cartridges).

See also

References

  1. ^ Vegetius Renatus, Flavius. "Epitoma Rei Militaris [Book 3]" (in Latin). The Latin Library.
  2. . Retrieved 2011-03-13.
  3. ^ Plato, Laws, 1.628c9–e1.
  4. ^ Martin Ostwald, Language and History in Ancient Greek Culture (2009), p. 87.
  5. ^ Washington, George. "To the United States Senate and House of Representatives, 8 January 1790". The Papers of George Washington Digital Edition. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, Rotunda,2008. Retrieved 2022-11-04.
  6. ^ De Bourrienne, p. 418.
  7. ^ Bartholdt, p. 333
  8. ^ Grelling, p. 208.
  9. ^ de Saint-Simon, Enfantin, p. 34.
  10. OCLC 774392892. Retrieved 2013-06-27.[permanent dead link
    ]
  11. . Retrieved 2013-06-27.

Further reading

External links