Regis studium in procinctu belli, et exhortatio ad milites
Scripture's Charge to the King
Augustine cites Deuteronomy to show that a king who obeys God's law without turning aside will enjoy lasting peace and security in his kingdom.
The pattern of the king and his exhortation to his soldiers on the eve of battle, the Lord — Augustine says — designates through Moses in Deuteronomy, saying: "Let him not turn aside, he says, to the right hand or to the left (Deut.✦ 17:20). Whoever has directed his ways well and his pursuits before the One who is the King of kings will necessarily possess the peaceful borders of his own kingdom. And so it is added there shortly after: "That he may reign over Israel for a long time."✦ Furthermore, if he has kept the precept so as not to turn to the right or to the left, he will joyfully obtain the covenant of security and peace as a victory.
Do Not Fear the Enemy
The Lord commands His people not to fear overwhelming enemy forces because God is with them in battle.
"When you go out," says the Lord, "to war against your enemies, and you see cavalry and chariots and an army greater than your own, do not fear them, because the Lord your God is with you (Deut.✦ 20:1).
War as Necessity, Not Desire
War must be undertaken only out of necessity so that peace may be restored, and this is the proper zeal with which a king should fight.
Let war be the work of necessity, so that once discord is laid to rest, peace may be recovered. And so this is the zeal with which the king must wage battle.
The King's Exhortation to His Army
As battle approaches, the king should recall Judas Maccabeus's warning that the army must not covet spoils, for the war belongs to the Lord.
As battle draws near, the king ought to bring the words of Judas into the midst of his army, words by which he says: Don't desire the spoils, because the war is against us (2 Maccabees 49:17).1 49:17). »
Read the original Latin
« Formam regis, et exhortationem ejusdem erga milites in procinctu belli, Dominus, inquit Augustinus, per Moysen in Deuteronomio designat, dicens: Non declinet, inquit, ad dexteram, nec ad sinistram (Deut. XVII, 20). Qui si bene direxerit vias suas, et studia sua coram eo qui est Rex regum, necessario pacatos regni sui fines possidebit. Unde et illic mox subditur: Ut longo regnet tempore super Israel. Porro, si praeceptum custodierit, ut non declinet ad dexteram neque ad sinistram, foedus securitatis et pacis de victoria laetus promerebitur. Si exieris, inquit Dominus, ad bellum contra hostes tuos, et videris equitatum et currus, et majorem quam tu habes adversarii exercitus multitudinem, non timebis eos, quia Dominus Deus tuus tecum est (Deut. XX, 1). Bellum necessitas faciat, ut, sopita discordia, pax recuperari possit.
Hoc ergo studio regi praelium gerendum est. Rex, appropinquante praelio, exercitui suo verba Judae ad medium deducere debet, quibus ait: Non concupiscatis spolia, quia bellum contra nos est (II Mac. XLIX, 17). »
Scripture echoes
- ↩Deut.17.20 — so that his heart may not be lifted up above his brothers, and so that he may not turn aside from the commandment, either to the right or to the left, in order that he may prolong his days over his kingdom, he and his sons, in the midst of Israel.
- ↩Deut.17.20 — so that his heart may not be lifted up above his brothers, and so that he may not turn aside from the commandment, either to the right or to the left, in order that he may prolong his days over his kingdom, he and his sons, in the midst of Israel.
- ↩Deut.20.1 — When you go out to war against your enemies, and you see horse and chariot, a people more numerous than you, do not be afraid of them, for the LORD your God is with you, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.
Notes
- 1 ↩Source anchor 'verba Judae' and quotation attributed to 2 Maccabees 49:17; the reference is deuterocanonical and absent from the Hebrew Bible. Candidate scripture allusion unresolved pending Moses resolution.
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