Quod qui bella tractant, et sub armis militant, Deo non displicent
Holy Warriors of Old
Scripture shows that those who wage war can be pleasing to God, as witnessed by David, many righteous men, and the centurion commended by Christ for his great faith.
Because those who wage war and serve in arms are not displeasing to God — as Augustine likewise says in his letter to Boniface (ep. Don't think that no one who serves in arms can please God. Among them was holy David, to whom the Lord bore such great witness. Among them too were very many righteous men of that time. Among them was also that centurion who said to the Lord: I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I too am a man set under authority, having soldiers under me, and I say to this one, 'Go,' and he goes, and to another, 'Come,' and he comes, and to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it. About whom also the Lord said: Amen I say to you, I have not found such great faith in Israel (Matt. VIII, 8-10).
Saints in Arms
Further biblical examples — Cornelius the centurion, soldiers who sought John the Baptist's counsel, and the mutual support of praying contemplatives and fighting soldiers — confirm the legitimacy of holy military service.
Among them was also that Cornelius, to whom the angel was sent and said, 'Cornelius, your alms have been accepted, and your prayers have been heard' (Act.✦ X, 5). There he urged him to send for blessed Peter the apostle, and to hear from him what he ought to do; and to this apostle he even sent a devout soldier to come to him. Among them were also those who, when they came to be baptized, went to John, the holy forerunner of the Lord and friend of the bridegroom, about whom the Lord himself said: 'Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist' (Matth.✦1 XI, 11), and they had asked him what they should do, he said to them: 'Don't shake anyone down, don't make false charges against anyone, and be content with your pay' (Luc.✦2 III, 14): he certainly did not forbid them to serve as soldiers, since he commanded them to be content with their own pay.✦3 So then, others fight for you by praying against invisible enemies, while you labor by fighting against visible barbarians on their behalf. If only there were one faith among all, because then there would be less struggle, and the devil with his angels would be more easily defeated.
The Right Intention of War
The soldier must recognize strength as God's gift, keep faith even with enemies, and wage war only as a necessary means to peace, fulfilling the beatitude of the peacemakers.
So when you arm yourself for battle, the first thing to consider is that even your physical strength is itself a gift from God. For this is how you should think: that what comes as a gift from God cannot be turned against God. For faith, once it is pledged, must be kept even toward the enemy against whom war is waged — how much more, then, toward the friend for whom you fight? The will should seek peace; war should be a matter of necessity — so that God may free you from that necessity and keep you in peace. Peace isn't sought so that war may be stirred up, but war is waged so that peace may be gained. So be peaceful even as you fight, so that by conquering those you overcome, you may lead them to the good of peace. Blessed are the peacemakers, the Lord says, for they shall be called children of God (Matt.✦ 5:9).
Necessity, Mercy, and Divine Peace
War must spring from necessity, not personal will; mercy is owed to the defeated; and the peace of God surpasses all earthly peace, as Jerome attests from the example of Israel.
But if human peace is so sweet for the temporary safety of mortals, how much sweeter is divine peace for the eternal salvation of angels? And so it is necessity that destroys the enemy who fights, not your own will. Just as violence is repaid to the rebel and the resister, so mercy is now owed to the conquered or captured — especially when there's no fear of disturbing the peace.4 And Jerome writes: 'We read in the book of Chronicles that the sons of Israel went to battle with a peaceful mind, because they fought not out of a desire to conquer but to obtain peace.'5 »
Read the original Latin
Quod qui bella tractant, et sub armis militant, Deo non displiceant, item Augustinus ad Bonifacium (epist. 205): « Noli existimare neminem Deo placere posse, qui in armis bellicis militat. In his erat sanctus David, cui Dominus tam magnum perhibuit testimonium. In his etiam plurimi illius temporis justi. In his erat et ille centurio, qui Domino dixit: Non sum dignus ut intres sub tectum meum, sed tantum dic verbo, et sanabitur puer meus. Nam et ego homo sum sub potestate constitutus, habens sub me milites, et dico huic: Vade, et vadit; et alii: Veni, et venit; et servo meo: Fac hoc, et facit. De quo et Dominus: Amen dico vobis, non inveni tantam fidem in Israel (Matth. VIII, 8-10).
In his erat et ille Cornelius, ad quem missus angelus dixit: Corneli, acceptae sunt eleemosynae tuae, et exauditae sunt orationes tuae (Act. X, 5). Ubi eum admonuit, ut ad beatum Petrum apostolum mitteret, et ab illo audiret quae facere deberet: ad quem apostolum, ut ad eum veniret, etiam religiosum militem misit. In his erant et illi, qui baptizandi cum venissent ad Joannem sanctum Domini praecursorem, et amicum sponsi, de quo ipse Dominus ait: In natis mulierum non surrexit major Joanne Baptista (Matth. XI, 11), et quaesissent ab eo quid facerent, ait eis: Neminem concusseritis, nulli calumniam feceritis, sufficiat vobis stipendium vestrum (Luc. III, 14): non eos utique sub armis militare prohibuit, quibus suum stipendium sufficere debere praecepit. Alii ergo pro vobis orando pugnant contra invisibiles inimicos: vos pro eis pugnando laboratis contra visibiles barbaros. Utinam una fides esset in omnibus, quia et minus laboraretur, et facilius diabolus cum suis angelis vinceretur.
Hoc ergo primum cogita, quando armaris ad pugnam, quia virtus tua etiam ipsa corporalis donum Dei est. Sic enim cogitabis de dono Dei non facere contra Deum. Fides enim quando promittitur, etiam hosti servanda est contra quem bellum geritur, quanto magis amico pro quo pugnatur? Pacem habere debet voluntas, bellum necessitas, ut liberet Deus a necessitate, et conservet in pace. Non enim pax quaeritur ut bellum excitetur, sed bellum geritur ut pax acquiratur. Esto ergo etiam bellando pacificus, ut eos quos expugnas ad pacis utilitatem vincendo perducas. Beati enim pacifici, ait Dominus, quoniam filii Dei vocabuntur (Matth. V, 9).
Si autem pax humana tam dulcis est pro temporali salute mortalium, quanto est dulcior pax divina pro aeterna salute angelorum? Itaque hostem pugnantem necessitas perimat, non voluntas. Sicut rebellanti et resistenti violentia redditur, ita victo vel capto misericordia jam debetur, maxime in quo pacis perturbatio non timetur. » Et Hieronymus: « Legimus in libro Paralipomenon filios Israel ad pugnam isse mente pacifica, quia non pro vincendi libidine sed pro acquirenda pace pugnabant. »
Scripture echoes
- ↩Acts.10.4-Acts.10.5 — He looked intently at him, and becoming terrified, he said, 'What is it, Lord?' And he said to him, 'Your prayers and your acts of mercy have ascended as a memorial before God.' Acts.10.5 — And now, send men to Joppa, and summon Simon, who is called Peter.
- ↩Matt.11.11 — Truly I tell you, among those born of women no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
- ↩Luke.3.14 — Soldiers also asked him, 'What should we do?' And he said to them, 'Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be content with your wages.'
- ↩Luke.3.14 — Soldiers also asked him, 'What should we do?' And he said to them, 'Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be content with your wages.'
- ↩Matt.5.9 — Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
Notes
- 1 ↩The Latin 'baptizandi cum venissent' is rendered as 'when they came to be baptized' to capture the cumulative force of the participle with cum.
- 2 ↩The Latin 'Neminem concusseritis' carries the sense of shaking someone down for money or extortion; rendered here as 'shake anyone down' to capture the force of concutere in this context.
- 3 ↩The Latin 'utique' here conveys the sense of 'certainly' or 'surely,' reinforcing that John's command to be content with pay presupposes the legitimacy of military service.
- 4 ↩The Latin frames mercy as a debt (debetur) owed to the defeated, especially where peace is secure — a significant claim about the moral obligation of the victor.
- 5 ↩Jerome citation referencing 1 Paralipomenon (1 Chronicles) — candidate allusion; specific chapter reference unresolved at this stage.
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