Armatam mUitiam ad rdigicmem ex necessitate
The Vocation of the Soldier
True military service is a sacred vocation defined by obedience and divine calling rather than personal ambition.
It must be treated the same as that which is consecrated to divine service in the clergy; and just as the title of soldier implies honor, it also implies labor. But look back at the words of the oath itself, and you'll find that armed service, no less than spiritual service, is bound by the necessity of its office to religion and the worship of God, since faithful obedience is owed to the prince and vigilant service to the state, in accordance with God. Therefore, as I said before, those who haven't been chosen or sworn in—even if they are called soldiers—are no more soldiers in truth than the priests and clerics whom the Church hasn't called to holy orders. For the name of a soldier implies honor just as much as it implies labor. No one takes this honor upon himself; rather, he who is called by the Lord glories in the honor bestowed upon him. Moses and the faithful leaders of the people, whenever it was necessary to fight the enemy, would choose men who were strong and highly skilled in warfare. These things must come before the act of choosing. But whoever is not chosen and forces himself into military service brings upon himself the sword that he usurps through his own recklessness.
The False Soldier and the True
Those who take up the sword without legal authority are mere bandits, whereas the true soldier exists to protect the Church and serve the common good.
They fall, therefore, into a permanent state of condemnation, because whoever takes up the sword will perish by the sword. But if we accept Cicero's authority on this, such a person is rightly called not a soldier, but a cutthroat. For in the writings of the ancients, anyone who takes up arms without the law’s command is called a cutthroat or a bandit. Indeed, weapons that the law does not use are weapons that attack the law. The sacred history of the Gospel testifies that two swords are enough for the Christian empire; all others are those who come with swords and clubs to capture Christ, desiring to erase His name. What claim to being a soldier do they have, then, if they are called by their oath but do not obey the law, instead believing their glory consists in making the priesthood contemptible, letting the Church’s authority wither, expanding the kingdom of man so that Christ’s empire is diminished, and praising themselves with false claims while they exalt themselves to the mockery of those who hear them, all while imitating a glorious soldier? Their virtue shines most brightly when they strike at the clergy and the unarmed militia, whether with weapons or with their tongues. But what is the purpose of an ordered militia? It is to protect the Church, to fight against faithlessness, to honor the priesthood, to repel injuries from the poor, to bring peace to the province, to pour out their blood for their brothers (as their oath teaches), and, if necessary, to lay down their lives.
Executing the Judgment of God
The soldier's ultimate glory is found in executing divine justice and seeking God's honor rather than personal gain.
The exultations of God are in their throats, and two-edged swords are in their hands to execute vengeance on the nations, to bring rebuke upon the peoples, to bind their kings in chains and their nobles in iron shackles. But to what end? Is it so they might serve fury, vanity, and greed, or their own will? Certainly not. Rather, it is so they might execute the written judgment; in this, each person follows not so much his own will as the judgment of God, the angels, and humanity, based on equity and the public good. They do this, I say, because just as it is the judge's role to dictate the judgment, so it is the role of these others to carry out the office by doing it. Indeed, this is the glory of all His saints. For those soldiers who do these things are holy; they are more faithful to their prince the more diligently they keep faith with God, and they promote the glory of their own virtue more effectively the more faithfully they seek the glory of their God in all things.
Read the original Latin
teneri, sicut illam quae in clero diuinis ohequiis consecratur; et quod miles sicut honoris ita et laboris nomen est. Sed ipsius iuramenti uerba reuolue, et inuenies armatam militiam non minus quam spiritualem ex necessitate officii ad religionem et Dei cultum artari, cum fideliter et secundum Deum principi debeatur obsequium et rei publicae peruigil famulatus. Vnde, quod praedixi, qui nec electi sunt nec iurati, etsi militum nomine censeantur, non magis in ueritate milites sunt quam sacerdotes et clerici quos ad ordines Ecclesia non uocauit. Miles namque sicut laboris ita honoris nomen est. Nemo uero sibi honorem sumit sed qui uocatur a Domino de collato honore gloriatur. Moyses et fidelis populi duces, cum hostes oportuerat impugnari, eligebant uiros fortes et ad bella doctissimos. Electionem namque ista praeueniunt. Qui uero non electus seipsum militiae ingerit, in se gladium prouocat quem propria temeritate usurpat.
In constitutionem ergo perpetuam incidit quia qui gladium accipit, gladio peribit. Si uero in eo Ciceronis auctoritas recipitur, is non miles sed sicarius recte nominatur. Nam in ueterum scriptis sicarii dicuntur et latrones quicumque lege non praecipiente arma tractant. Arma namque, quibus lex non utitur, legem impugnant. Duos gladios sufficere imperio Christiano Euangelii sacra testatur historia; omnes aHi eorum sunt qui cum gladiis et fustibus accedunt ut captiuum capiant Christum, nomen eius delere cupientes. Illi ergo quid habent militis, qui uocati ex sacramento non obtemperant legi sed in eo militiae suae gloriam constare credunt, si contemptibile sit sacerdotium, si Ecclesiae uilescat auctoritas, si ita dilatauerint regnum hominis ut Christi imperium contrahatur, si laudes suas praedicent et seipsos falsis praeconiis mulceant et extollant cum irrisione audientium imitantes militem gloriosum? Horum uirtus in eo maxime elucescit, si clerum et inermem militiam aut telis aut linguis conf odiant. Sed quis est usus militiae ordinatae Tueri Ecclesiam, perfidiam impugnare, sacerdotium uenerari, paupenim propulsare iniurias, pacare prouinciam, pro fratribus (ut sacramenti docet conceptio) fundere sanguinem et, si opus est, animam ponere.
Exultationes Dei in gutture eorum et gladii ancipites in manibus eorum ad faciendam uindictam in nationibus, increpationes in populis, ad alligandos reges eorum in compedibus et nobiles eorum in manicis ferreis. Sed quo fine? An ut furori uanitati auaritiae seruiant, an propriae uoluntati? Nequaquam. Sed: Vt faciant in eis iudicium conscriptum; in quo quisque non tam suum quam Dei angelorum et hominum sequitur ex aequitate et publica utilitate arbitrium. Vt faciant, inquam; quia, sicut iudicum dictare iudicium, ita a et istorum faciendo exercere ofEcium est. Vtique: Gloria haec est omnibus sanctis eius. Nam et haec agentes milites sancti sunt et in eo fideliores principi quo seruant studiosius fidem Dei; et uirtutis suae utilius gloriam promouent, quo fidelius Dei sui in omnibus gloriam quaerunt.
Policraticus companion
Study the argument weekly; pray the tradition daily
Pair the outline with the Chosen Portion app, which serves short daily portions from the same royal devotional tradition — free on iOS.
John of Salisbury argued that rulers must keep the law of God before their eyes daily; Chosen Portion gives modern readers that same daily discipline in five minutes a morning.
- 8 weeks, one book per week, with the 3-4 key chapters flagged in each
- Discussion questions usable for a reading group from week one
- A daily 5-minute companion portion in the app alongside your weekly study