SR
← The Education of a Christian Prince (Institutio principis Christiani)/Book 1 · Institutio Principis Christiani
Chapter 11Inst.1.11

Caput undecimum: De bello suscipiendo.

The Shipwreck of War

Erasmus warns that war, unlike other setbacks, brings total ruin and spreads like a plague even to those far removed from its origin.

Since a prince should never be rash in his deliberations, he will be nowhere more steady or more cautious than in undertaking a war — because other matters may bring various disadvantages, but war, once begun, gives rise to the shipwreck of all good things, and the sea of all evils overflows — and because no other evil clings more stubbornly.12 War is sown from war: from the smallest thing, the greatest; from a single thing, a twin; from a trivial thing, something serious and bloody is born. And the plague of war, born elsewhere, spreads even to those who are near — indeed, even to those who are far off and scattered.34

The Christian Prince's Reluctance to Fight

A good prince should avoid war entirely if possible, and if forced to fight, must do so with minimal harm to his people, weighing the moral and material costs against even a just cause.

A good prince should never go to war at all unless, after every other option has been tried, it simply cannot be avoided. If we held this attitude, war would scarcely ever break out anywhere. Finally, if something so destructive truly cannot be avoided, then the prince's first concern must be to wage it with as little harm to his own people and at as little cost in Christian blood as possible — and to end it as quickly as possible.5 First, then, a truly Christian prince should weigh how great the difference is between a creature born for peace and goodwill and a wild beast born for plunder and war — and beyond that, how great the difference is between a man and a Christian man.6 Then let him reflect on how desirable, how honorable, and how wholesome peace is. On the other side, consider how calamitous and wicked war is — what a train of every kind of evil it drags along with itself, even if it is the most just war, if any war at all can rightly be called just. Finally, setting aside passion, let him bring reason into council at least for a while, until he has truly reckoned what the war will cost and whether what is ultimately sought by war is worth that much — even if victory is certain, and victory does not always favor the best cause.78 Weigh the cares, the expenses, the dangers, and the troublesome, drawn-out preparations. The dregs of the most wicked men must be summoned from abroad, and while a prince wants to appear more spirited than another, you must also flatter and serve the mercenary soldier with money given — a kind of man more contemptible and detestable than any other.910

War Corrupts What a Prince Should Cherish

Nothing destroys the prince's greatest treasure—his people's virtue and safety—more than war, which in a single hour creates countless orphans, widows, and beggars.

Nothing is dearer to a good prince than to have his own people be the best they can be. But what greater or more immediate destruction of morals is there than war? Nothing is more the prince's prayer than to see his people safe and flourishing in every way. But while he learns to wage war, he's forced to expose his youth to so many dangers, and in a single hour he often makes so many orphans, so many widows, so many bereaved old men, so many beggars, so many wretched people.

Learning War's Cost Without Experience

Princes should learn the foulness of war from books and neighbors' examples rather than through bitter experience, lest they discover its futility only after immense suffering.

The wisdom of princes will cost the world dearly if they insist on learning how foul a thing war is only through experience — so that an old man may one day say, 'I didn't believe war was so pestilential a thing.' But — O immortal God! By how many evils of the whole world did you learn that lesson! He will come to understand that it was useless to have extended the boundaries of his kingdom, and that what seemed at the outset to have been the greatest profit was in fact the greatest loss — but meanwhile so many thousands of people have either been destroyed or afflicted. These things ought to be learned from books, from the recollection of elders, from the dangers of neighbors. For so many years now this prince or that one has been fighting over such a domain — how much more disadvantage has there been than advantage? A good prince will establish things of such a kind that they give lasting pleasure. Things undertaken in passion are approved only so long as we are gripped by that passion; but things undertaken by sound judgment — if they pleased a young man, those same things will please him as an old man too.

The Sedition of Greeks Against Greeks

Erasmus invokes Plato to show that even Greeks called civil strife among Greeks sedition, and asks what name Christians should give to wars between brothers in faith driven by hatred and ambition.

But this is the point that must be observed above all else: nowhere more carefully than in the undertaking of war. Plato calls it sedition, not war, whenever Greeks wage war against Greeks — and if it should ever happen, he orders it to be conducted with the utmost restraint. By what name, then, do we think it should be called whenever Christians clash with Christians, bound together among themselves by so many ties?11 What then, when this is carried out — for some cause or other I can't name — out of private hatred, out of foolish or youthful ambition, and conducted with the most savage cruelty, and dragged out over many years?

The Pretext of Just Cause

Princes claim just causes for war, yet amid shifting treaties and alliances, anyone can find a pretext if any pretext suffices.

This is how certain princes reason with themselves: war is altogether just, and I have a just cause for undertaking it. First, whether war is altogether just — we'll leave that question open for anyone who doesn't think his own cause is just.12 And amid so many changes and reversals in human affairs, amid so many agreements and treaties now made, now broken, who could lack a pretext — if any pretext at all is enough to set war in motion?13

Christ's Philosophy Against War

While some patristic writers seem to approve war, Christ, Peter, and Paul consistently teach peace, and we selectively embrace only what feeds our vices.

But papal laws don't condemn every war. And Augustine gives his approval somewhere. Saint Bernard too praises certain soldiers. But Christ himself, and Peter, and Paul teach something quite different everywhere. Why does the authority of these figures carry less weight among us than that of Augustine or Bernard? Augustine didn't condemn war in one passage or another, but the whole philosophy of Christ teaches us to unlearn war.14 The apostles never fail to condemn it. And those same holy Doctors who claim war is approved in one passage or another—how many passages do they condemn and abhor the very same thing in?15 Why, when all these are ignored, do we seize on the one thing that feeds our vices?

No War Is Truly Approved

If anyone examines carefully, he will find that the kind of war now commonly waged has been approved by no one.

Finally, if anyone examines the matter more carefully, he'll find that this kind of war, which we're now commonly engaged in, has been approved by no one.

The Passions Behind Every War

Just as arts bordering on deception are condemned, wars today—born of ambition, anger, greed, and lust—can never be truly just, and a Christian prince must suspect every war.

Certain practices have been outlawed precisely because they bordered on deception and were mostly carried out through fraud — things like astrology and what's called alchemy — even though it's possible to use them rightly. This applies even more to wars — wars for which, even if some just cause could exist, I honestly don't know whether any such war can be found, given the way things stand among mortals today: that is, one not rooted in ambition, anger, ferocity, lust, or greed. Quite often, nobles whose spending outstrips their income deliberately stir up war so they can grow their estates at home — even by plundering their own people. Sometimes princes collude with one another, conducting affairs under false pretexts so they can more thoroughly weaken the people's strength and, through public calamity, shore up their own power. For this reason, a good and Christian prince ought to regard every war — however just — with suspicion.

Private Right, Public Harm

The prince's private rights—such as marriage alliances—should never justify war, for the public good is the prince's proper measure, and disputes between rulers should be settled by arbitration.

But they insist that the right must not be abandoned. First, this right pertains in large part to the prince's private interest — if anything has accrued to him through a marriage alliance. So it is unjust to pursue this with such immense harm to the people — and while you chase after some unknown expansion of power, you end up plundering the whole kingdom and bringing it to the brink of ruin.16 One prince offends another in a trifling matter — and a private one at that, namely a marriage alliance or some similar affair — what has this to do with the whole people? A good prince measures everything by the public good — otherwise he wouldn't truly be a prince at all. The same standard of justice doesn't apply to human beings and to cattle. A good part of ruling well is the consent of the governed — that's what first gave rise to kings.17 But if some dispute has arisen between princes, why not go before arbitrators instead?18

Arbitration Over Massacre

There are bishops, abbots, learned men, and magistrates whose judgment should settle disputes rather than massacres and plunder.

There are so many bishops, so many abbots and learned men, so many grave magistrates, by whose judgment the matter should have been settled rather than by so many massacres, so many acts of plunder, so many calamities of the world.

Forbearance Over Futile Right

A Christian prince should be suspicious of his own right, prefer to lose his claim rather than pursue it at great cost, and recognize that relentless pursuit of right produces endless war.

First, a Christian prince ought to be suspicious of his own right; then, even if it is clearly established, he must weigh whether the evils of the whole world are so great as to be worth avenging. Those who are wise would rather lose the thing several times over than pursue it, because they see there is less loss in doing so. Caesar, I think, would prefer to yield on his own right rather than pursue that ancient monarchy, and the right that the writings of the jurists confer upon him. But what will be safe, they say, if no one pursues his own right? Let him pursue it, certainly, if it serves the commonwealth — provided the prince's right does not cost the citizens too dearly. But now what is safe anywhere, when each person pursues his own right so relentlessly to the quick? We see wars born from wars, wars succeeding wars, and no measure or end to the tumult. It is therefore clear enough from these reasons that nothing is being accomplished.

Remedies Before War

Just as friendship and marriage require mutual forbearance, so disputes between princes should be resolved through concession and courtesy rather than war.

So various remedies must be tried. Even among close friends, the bond of obligation won't hold unless each one sometimes yields to the other.19 A husband often pardons certain things in his wife so as not to tear their harmony apart.20 What does war beget except war? But courtesy invites courtesy, and fairness calls forth fairness.

The Prince's Conscience Before God

The pious prince must reckon the full cost of war—bloodshed, widows, orphans, moral destruction—and ask himself whether he alone will answer for it all before Christ.

And this will move a pious and merciful prince: that he perceives from how immense are the evils which every war brings with itself, the greatest part of them falls back upon those to whom the war matters nothing at all, and who are by these calamities the most undeserving. Once the prince has reckoned the full sum of all evils by counting up every stone — if indeed it can ever be reckoned at all — let him then reflect with himself: 'Am I alone the author of so many evils?' So much human blood — so many widows, so many households made desolate by grief, so many old men bereft of their children, so many reduced to undeserved poverty — so great a destruction of morals, of laws, and of piety: all this will be charged to me alone? And these things — am I the one who must atone for them before Christ?

War Devours a Prince's Own People

A prince cannot wage war without first harming his own citizens—plundering them, enlisting soldiers, destroying cities—when peace could be bought for a fraction of war's cost.

A prince can't take vengeance on an enemy unless he's first committed hostile acts against his own people. The people must be plundered, soldiers must be enlisted — not without reason was it said of Vergil, "Impious."21 Citizens must be shut out of the very territories they once enjoyed for their own benefit. Citizens must be shut in, so that you may shut in the enemy. And it very often happens that we commit cruelties against our own people against the enemy. As it is more difficult, so it is more glorious to build up a splendid city than to tear one down. Yet we see the most flourishing cities founded by ordinary private citizens — cities that the wrath of princes tears down. And very often we tear down a town with greater trouble and expense than it would have cost to found a new one, and we wage war at such great cost, such great waste, such great effort and care, that peace could have been bought for a tenth of what those things amount to.

Bloodless Glory and Christian Witness

True glory is bloodless; even the victor weeps at great cost; and the scandal of Christian disunity before Turks and Saracens should move princes to peace.

A good ruler should always pursue a glory that is bloodless and free from anyone's wrongdoing. In war, even when things go as well as they possibly can, one side's success is the other side's ruin. And often even the victor weeps over a victory bought at too high a price. If devotion doesn't move us, if the world's calamity doesn't, then let the honor of the Christian name move us. What do we think the Turks and Saracens say about us, when they see that for so many centuries now Christian rulers have been unable to agree among themselves in any way? That peace should hold together by no treaties? That there should be no limit to the shedding of blood? And that there should be less turmoil among pagans than among those who profess the highest harmony from Christ's teaching?

The Fragility of Life and the Madness of War

Human life is already fragile enough without summoning the additional evils of war, yet regional and national hatreds tear apart those whom Christ's name should unite.

How fleeting, how brief, how fragile is human life — and how exposed to calamities, since so many diseases, so many accidents press upon us constantly: ruins, shipwrecks, earthquakes, lightning bolts.22 There is no need, therefore, to summon evils by means of wars — and yet from wars come more evils than from all those other things combined. It was the preachers' role to tear out the passions of dissension thoroughly from the minds of the crowd.23 Nowadays, generally speaking, the Englishman hates the Frenchman and the Frenchman hates the Englishman — for no other reason than that the other is what he is. The Scot hates the Briton, only because he is a Briton; the Italian hates the German; the Swabian hates the Swiss — and so on with the rest. Region is set against region, city against city. Why do these most foolish names tear us apart more than the shared name of Christ binds us all together?

The Clergy as Torches of War

Instead of preaching peace, clergy now actively join the camps, profaning the sacraments by bringing Christ's body into the hellish chaos of battle.

Even if we grant that some war is just, still, since we see all mortals plunging into this plague, it was the prudence of priests to turn the minds of the people and of princes in a different direction. Now we see that these men are sometimes the torches of war. It does not shame bishops to be active in the camps: there the cross, there the body of Christ, and when they mix heavenly Sacraments with a thing more than hellish, and in such bloody discord they apply the symbols of highest love. And what is more absurd, Christ is present in both camps, as if he were fighting against himself. It was not enough for war to be tolerated among Christians, unless it was also held in highest honor.

Solomon, Not David: Building Peace

While the Hebrews fought by God's permission, Christ's Gospel deters from war; David the warrior was forbidden to build the temple, but peaceful Solomon was chosen—prefiguring Christ, who spread His kingdom without violence.

If Christ's teaching doesn't conflict with war in every respect, if those people can point to even a single thing commended in the name of war, then let us Christians wage war. The Hebrews were permitted to fight in war, but only by God's deliberate counsel. But our oracle, which constantly resounds in the Gospel writings, deters us from war — and yet we wage war more madly than they did. David was most pleasing to God for his other virtues, and yet he forbade a temple to be built for himself — for no other reason than that he was a man of blood, that is, a warrior. Solomon, a man of peace, was chosen for this task. If these things were done among the Jews, what will become of us Christians? They had a shadow of Solomon; we have the true Solomon — that peaceful Christ, who reconciles all things that are in heaven and all things that are on earth. Nor do I think war against the Turks should be rashly undertaken — first considering this within myself: that Christ's dominion was born, spread, and established by a far different way.

The Turkish Question and True Christian Reform

War against the Turks should not be rashly undertaken, for Christ's dominion was established by suffering, not force; we must first become genuine Christians before we attack others.

And perhaps it's not right to be avenged on grounds other than those on which it was begun and carried forward. And we see that under pretexts of this kind, the common Christian people have already been plundered so many times, and nothing else has been accomplished. Now if the business of faith is at stake, it has been strengthened and made illustrious by the endurance of martyrs, not by the forces of soldiers. But if the fight is about empire, about wealth, about possessions, we must be on our guard again and again, lest that cause have too little of Christianity in it. Indeed, as things stand now, those through whom wars of this kind are waged are such that it would sooner come about that we degenerate into Turks than that they are made Christians through us. First, let us pursue this: that we ourselves may be genuinely Christians; then, if it seems right, let us attack the Turks.

A Call to End the Madness of War

Erasmus urges Christian princes to set aside false pretexts and wholeheartedly pursue peace, which would be a greater achievement than conquering Africa by force.

But we have written elsewhere at greater length about the evils of war, and it's not the place here to go over the same ground again. This much I will urge on the princes of the Christian name: set aside the fabricated titles and the painted-on pretexts, and with all seriousness and your whole heart, work toward this — that the long-running, hideous madness of waging war among Christians be brought to an end, and that peace and harmony take hold among those whom so many bonds of goodwill already unite. In this, let them show their ability; in this, let them marshal their strength; in this, let them pool their plans; in this, let them direct every ounce of energy. Those who are eager to be seen as great — let them prove themselves great in this way. If anyone accomplishes this, he will have achieved something far more splendid than if he had conquered the whole of Africa by force of arms. And it wouldn't be terribly difficult to accomplish, if each of us would stop flattering his own cause, if we would set aside our private passions and pursue the common good, if Christ — not the world — were at the center of our deliberation.

Common Counsel Over Private Ambition

While popes, bishops, and princes pursue private interests, the common good is destroyed; yet shared counsel would even advance individual concerns.

Right now, everyone is chasing his own interests — popes and bishops worry about their power and resources, princes are swept headlong by ambition or anger, and everyone caters to these men for personal gain. And it's into these very storms that we rush, led by nothing but folly.2425 But if we conducted our common business by common counsel, even the private concerns that belong to each person individually would flourish all the more.26 And now this is being destroyed — the very thing we ought to be fighting over alone.27

A Prayer for the Prince of Peace

Erasmus commends his prince to Christ, praying that his bloodless rule may endure and that the Prince of Peace may at last grant rest from insane wars.

I have no doubt, most illustrious of princes, that this is your mind: you were born for this, and trained by the best and most upright of men. As for what remains, I pray that Christ, the best and greatest, may continue to prosper your outstanding efforts.28 He gave a bloodless rule: may He will that it always remain bloodless.29 That Prince of Peace rejoices to be called by that name: may He bring it about that through your goodness and your wisdom, we may at last be allowed to rest from the most insane wars.✦3031 He will commend peace to us; even the recollection of past evils, and the gratitude for your kindness, will double the calamities of former times.32

Read the original Latin

Cum numquam oporteat Principem praecipiti esse consilio, tum haud alibi constantior erit aut circumspectior, quam in suscipiendo bello, quod aliis ex rebus alia nascantur incommoda, ex bello semel omnium bonarum rerum naufragium oriatur, omnium malarum rerum pelagus exundet: deinde quod non aliud malum haereat tenacius. Bellum e bello seritur, e minimo maximum, ex unico geminum, ex ludicro serium et cruentum nascitur: et alibi nata belli pestis in proximos etiam, immo in procul etiam dissitos propagatur.

Bonus Princeps numquam omnino bellum suscipiet, nisi cum tentatis omnibus, nulla ratione uitari potuit. Hoc animo si fuerimus, uix umquam exsistet inter ullos bellum. Denique si uitari non potest res tam pestilens, tum proxima cura fuerit Principis, ut quam minimo suorum malo, quam minimo Christiani sanguinis impendio geratur, et quam potest ocyssime finiatur. Primum illud expendat Princeps uere Christianus, quantum intersit inter hominem paci ac beneuolentiae natum animal, et inter feras ac belluas praedationi, belloque natas: ad haec quantum intersit inter hominem, et hominem Christianum. Deinde contempletur, quam expetenda, quam honesta, quamque salutifera res sit pax. E diuerso, quam calamitosa simul et scelerata res bellum, quantumque malorum omnium agmen secum trahat, etiam si iustissimum sit, si quod omnino bellum iustum uocari debet: postremo sepositis affectibus, uel tantisper rationem in consilium adhibeat, dum uere supputarit, quanti constaturum sit bellum, et num id quod bello denique petitur, tanti sit, etiam si certa sit uictoria, quae non semper optimae causae fauere solet. Expende curas, sumptus, pericula, molestum et longum apparatum. Accersenda bar- barica fex sceleratissimorum hominum, et dum Princeps erga Principem animosior uideri uis, etiam data pecunia blandiendum ac seruiendum militi mercenario, quo quidem hominum genere non est aliud uel abiectius, uel exsecrabi- lius.

Nihil bono Principi carius, quam ut suos habeat quam optimos. At quae maior aut praesentior morum pernicies, quam bellum? Nihil Principi magis in uotis, quam ut suos incolumes, ac rebus omnibus florenteis uideat. At dum bel- lare discit, iuuentutem tot periculis obiicere cogitur, et una saepe hora tot orphanos, tot uiduas, tot orbos senes, tot mendicos, tot infelices reddit.

Nimio constabit orbi Principum sapientia, si quam tetra res sit bellum, pergant experimento discere, ut senex aliquando dicat, non credebam bellum esse rem adeo pestilentem. Sed, o Deum immortalem! quam innumeris totius mundi malis istam didicisti sententiam. Intelliget aliquando inutile fuisse, regni propagasse fines: et quod initio lucrum uidebatur, summum fuisse detrimentum, sed interim tot hominum millia uel exstincta sunt, uel afflicta. Haec e libris potius discenda sunt, e commemoratione seniorum, e finitimorum periculis. Tot iam annos ille aut ille Princeps pro tali ditione digladiatur: quanto plus incommodi fuit illic quam commodi? Eiusmodi res instituet bonus Princeps, quae perpetuo placeant. Quae affectu sumuntur, tantisper probantur, donec eo tenemur affectu: at quae iudicio suscipiuntur, et iuueni placuerunt, eadem placebunt et seni.

Verum id nusquam magis obseruandum, quam in suscipiendo bello.

Plato seditionem uocat, non bellum, quoties Graeci cum Graecis belligerarentur: idque si quando incidisset, modestissime iubet geri. Quonam igitur nomme uocandum censemus, quoties Christiani cum Christianis digladiantur, tot uinculis inter sese connexi? Quid cum id ob titulum, nescio quem, ob priuatum odium, ob stultam aut iuuenilem ambitionem et crudelissime geritur, et in multos prorogatur annos?

Sic Principes quidam imponunt sibi: est omnino bellum aliquod iustum, et mihi causa iusta est suscipiendi. Primum an omnino iustum sit bellum, in medio relinquemus, cui non uidetur sua causa iusta? Et inter tantas rerum humanarum mutationes ac uicissitudines, inter tot pacta foederaque nunc inita, nunc rescissa, cui possit deesse titulus, si qualiscumque titulus satis est ad mouendum bellum?

At Pontificiae leges non improbant omne bellum. Et Augustinus alicubi probat. Laudat et diuus Bernardus milites quosdam. At Christus ipse, at Petrus, at Paulus ubique diuersa docent. Cur horum auctoritas minus apud nos ualet quam Augustini aut Bernardi? Augustinus uno aut altero in loco bellum non improbauit: at tota Christi Philosophia dedocet bellum. Apostoli nusquam non improbant: atque illi ipsi sancti Doctores, a quibus uolunt uno aut altero loco probatum bellum, quot locis idem improbant ac detestantur? Cur his omnibus dissimulatis captamus quod alat nostra uitia?

Postremo si quis rem excutiat dili- gentius, is reperirt a nemine probatum hoc bellorum genus, quo nunc uulgo conflictamur.

Quaedam artes ob hoc reiectae sunt a legibus, quod nimium affines essent imposturae, et plerumque dolo tractarentur, uelut Astrologia et Alchimistica, quam uocant, etiam si fieri potest, ut aliquis hisce rebus recte utatur. Id longe iustius fiet in bellis, quorum etiam si possit aliquod esse iustum, tamen ut nunc sunt res mortalium, haud scio an ullum eiusmodi reperire liceat, hoc est, cuius auctor non sit ambitio, aut ira, aut ferocitas, aut libido, aut auaritia. Saepenumero fit ut Proceres profusiores quam pro re familiari, data opera, bellum suscitent, quo suorum etiam expilationibus rem augeant domi. Fit aliquoties, ut Principes inter se colludant, et fictis titulis rem gerant, quo magis attenuent populi uires, et publicis malis parteis suas stabiliant. Quapropter bonus et Christianus Princeps omne bellum quantumuis iustum, suspectum habere debet.

At inculcant non esse ius deserendum. Primum istud ius magna ex parte ad priuatum Principis negotium pertinet, si quid illi accreuit ex affinitate. Ut iniquum sit hoc tam immensis populi malis persequi, et dum nescio quam ditionis accessionem persequeris regnum uniuersum expilare, et in extremum discrimen adducere. Offendit Princeps Principem in re leuicula, eaque priuata, nempe in affinitate aut alia simili, quid hoc ad uniuersum populum? Omnia bonus Princeps publicis metitur commoditatibus, alioqui ne Princeps quidem fuerit. Non idem est ius in homines et in pecudes. Bona pars imperii, consensus est populi, ea res primo Reges peperit. Quod si quod dissidium ortum fuerit inter Principes, cur non potius ad arbitros itur?

Sunt tot Episcopi, tot Abbates et eruditi uiri, tot graues Magistratus, quorum sententia rem confici decebat potius, quam tot stragibus, tot expilationibus, tot orbis calamitatibus.

Primum suspectum esse debet Christiano Principi suum ius, deinde si maxime constet, expendere oportet, an tantis totius orbis malis sit uindicandum. Qui sapiunt, malunt aliquoties rem perdere quam persequi, quod hic perspiciant minus esse dispendii. Mallet (opinor) Caesar concedere de iure suo, quam Monarchiam illam ueterem persequi, et ius illud quod illi deferunt Iureconsultorum litterae. At quid erit tutum (inquiunt) si nemo ius suum persequatur? Persequatur sane, si id expediat Reipublicae, modo ne nimio constet ciuibus ius Principis. At nunc quid usquam tutum est, dum suum quisque ius tam ad uiuum persequitur? Videmus bella ex bellis nasci, bella bellis succedere, nec ullum tumultuandi modum aut finem. Satis igitur constat hisce rationibus nihil agi.

Proinde diuersa tentanda remedia. Ne inter amiculos quidem constabit necessitudo, nisi alter alteri nonnumquam concesserit. Maritus saepe quaedam condonat uxori, ne scinde concordiam. Bellum quid gignat nisi bellum? At ciuilitas ciuilitatem inuitat, aequitas aequitatem.

Mouebit et hoc Principem pium et clementem, quod perspiciat ex tam immensis malis, quae bellum omne secum inuehit, maximam partem ad eos redire, ad quos bellum nihil attinet, quique his calamitatibus sunt indignissimi. Posteaquam Princeps uniuersorum malorum subductis calculis summam collegerit (si tamen umquam colligi possit) tum ita secum cogitet, unus ego tot malorum auctor fuero? Tantum humani sanguinis, tot uiduae, tot luctu funestae domus, tot orbi senes, tot indigne egentes, tanta morum, legum, ac pietatis pernicies mihi uni imputabitur? haec mihi luenda Christo?

Non potest Princeps ulcisci hostem, nisi prius hostilia fecerit in suos. Expilandus populus, accipiendus miles, non sine causa Maroni dictus, impius. Excludendi ciues ab hisce regionibus, quibus antea suo bono fruebantur. Includendi ciues, ut includas hostem. Et saepenumero fit, ut atrociora committamus in nostros, quam in hostem. Ut difficilius ita pulcrius est, exstruere praeclaram ciuitatem, quam demoliri. Videmus autem ab idiotis et priuatis condi florentissimas urbes, quas Principum irae demoliuntur. Et saepenumero maiore negotio et impensa demolimur oppidum, quam aliud nouum condi poterat, ac bellum tanto sumptu, tanto dispendio, tanto studio curaque molimur, ut decima earum rerum portione pax constare potuerit.

Eam gloriam semper affecte bonus Princeps, quae sit incruenta, et cum nullius coniuncta malo. In bello ut optime res eueniat, tamen alterius partis felicitas, alterius est perni- cies. Saepenumero flet et uictor nimio emptam uictoriam. Si non mouet nos pietas, si non orbis calamitas, certe moueat honos Christiani nominis. Quid censemus loqui de nobis Turcas et Saracenos, cum uideant tot iam seculis adeo nihil conuenire inter ullos Principes Christianos? Nul- lis foederibus cohaerere pacem? Fundendi sanguinis nullum esse modum? et minus esse tumultus inter Ethnicos, quam inter eos qui ex Christi doctrina summam profiteantur con- cordiam?

Quam fugax, quam breuis, quam fragilis est hominum uita, et quot obnoxia calamitatibus, quippe quam tot morbi, tot casus impetunt assidue, ruinae, naufragia, terme motus, fulmina? Nihil igitur opus bellis accersere mala, et tamen hinc plus malorum quam ex omnibus illis. Concionatorum partes erant, dissidiorum affectus ex animis uulgi penitus reuellere. Nunc fere Gallum odit Anglus, Anglum Gallus, non ob aliud, nisi quod Anglus est. Britannum odit Scotus, tantum quia Scotus est, Germanum Italus, Heluetium Sueuus, atque item de caeteris; Regio regioni inuisa, ciuitas ciuitati. Cur haec stultissima nomina magis nos distrahunt, quam conglutinat omnibus commune Christi uocabulum?

Ut donemus aliquod bellum esse iustum, tamen quoniam uidemus in hanc pestem insanire mortales omnes, Sacerdotum prudentiae fuit, in diuersam partem auocare plebis ac Principum animos. Nunc uidemus hos nonnumquam esse belli faces. Non pudet Episcopos uersari in castris: Illic crux, illic Christi corpus, et cum re plus quam Tartarea miscent coelestia Sacramenta, et in tam cruento dissidio adhibent summae caritatis symbola. Quodque magis est absurdum, in utrisque castris adest Christus, uelut ipse secum pugnans. Non sat erat inter Christianos tolerari bellum, nisi summus etiam haberetur honos.

Si non tota undique Christi doctrina cum bello pugnat, si unum proferre possint illi, belli nomine commendatum, bellemus Christiani. Permissum erat Hebraeis bello conflictari, sed consulto Deo. At nostrum oraculum, quod assidue nobis in Euangelicis litteris resonat, a bello deterret, et tamen belligeramur insanius quam illi. Dauid aliis uirtutibus Deo fuit gratissimus, et tamen uetuit ab hoc sibi condi templum non ob aliud, nisi quod sanguinarius, hoc est, bellator esset. Solomonem pacificum in hoc delegit. Si haec acta sunt inter Iudaeos, quid de nobis fiet Christianis? Illi Solomonis umbram habebant, nos uerum Solomonem, pacificum illum Christum omnia conciliantem, quae in coelis sunt, et quae in terra. Ego nec in Turcas bellum temere suscipiendum esse censeo, primum illud mecum reputans, Christi ditionem longe diuersa uia natam, propagatam, et constabilitam.

Neque fortasse conuenit aliis rationibus uindicari, quam quibus orta propagataque est. Et uidemus huiusmodi bellorum praetextibus iam toties expilatam plebem Christianam, nec aliud quidquam actum. Iam si fidei negotium agitur, ea martyrum tolerantia, non militum copiis aucta illustrataque est: sin de imperio, de opibus, de possessionibus pugna est, etiam atque etiam uidendum est nobis, ne res ea parum sapiat Christianismum. Quin ut nunc sunt fere, per quos huiusmodi bella geruntur, citius fiat, ut nos degeneremus in Turcas, quam illi per nos reddantur Christiani. Primum hoc agamus ut ipsi simus germane Christiani, deinde si uisum erit, Turcas adoriamur.

Verum de belli malis alias plura conscripsimus, quae non est huius loci repetere. Tantum illud hortabor Principes Christiani nominis, ut omissis fictis titulis et fucatis praetextibus, serio totoque pectore hoc agant, ut tam diutina tamque foeda bellandi rabies inter Christianos finiatur, et inter eos quos tot copulant pignora, pax et concordia coeat. In hoc ingenium explicent suum, in hoc uires expediant, in hoc consilia conferant, in hoc neruos omnes intendant. Qui magni uideri student, sic se magnos probent. Id si quis praestiterit, is rem longe splendidiorem confecerit, quam si totam Africam armis subegerit. Nec admodum difficile factu fuerit, si suae quisque causae blandiri desinat, si sepositis affectibus priuatis, rei communis negotium agamus, si Christus nobis sit in consilio, non mundus.

Nunc dum suum quisque negotium agit, dum Pontifices et Episcopi de ditione et opibus anxii sunt, dum Principes ambitione aut ira feruntur praecipites, dum his obsequuntur sui compendii gratia omnes, in has nimirum rerum procellas incurrimus stultitiae ductu. Quod si communi consilio, commune negotium ageremus, etiam ea quae cuique priuata sunt, magis florerent. Nunc et hoc perit, pro quo solo digladiamur.

Neque mihi dubium est, Principum Illustrissime, quin hoc sis animo: sic natus es, sic ab optimis et integerrimis uiris institutus. Quod superest, precor, ut Christus optimus maximus tuos egregios conatus bene fortunare pergat. Dedit ille incruentum imperium: Idem uelit semper esse incruentum. Ille Princeps pacis dici gaudet: Faxit idem, ut tua bonitate tuaque sapientia tandem ab insanissimis bellis liceat feriari. Pacem nobis commendabit, etiam praeteritorum malorum recordatio, et tui beneficii gratiam, superiorum temporum calamitates conduplicabunt.

Scripture echoes

  1. ↩Isa.9.6 — For the increase of his government and for peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.

Notes

  1. 1 ↩The naufragium/orpelagus pairing is a deliberate rhetorical intensification: war destroys every good and unleashes every evil. The translation preserves both images rather than collapsing them.
  2. 2 ↩The two quod-clauses (tokens 18 and 39) are both causal; rendering them as 'because' and 'and because' preserves the logical force without over-coordinating.
  3. 3 ↩The tricolon e minimo maximum / ex unico geminum / ex ludicio serium et cruentum is a rhetorical escalation. The translation preserves the parallel structure and the progression from small to great, single to double, playful to deadly.
  4. 4 ↩ludicrus rendered as 'trivial' rather than 'playful' to capture the sense of something seemingly light or jesting that turns grave; the contrast with serium/cruentum is the point.
  5. 5 ↩proxima cura rendered 'nearest concern' to keep the sense of immediate, overriding responsibility.
  6. 6 ↩ac and et rendered 'and' within paired inter phrases; 'animal' rendered 'creature' to avoid modern biological sense.
  7. 7 ↩etiam si iustissimum sit, si quod omnino bellum iustum uocari debet rendered with concessive force and the rhetorical hesitation preserved.
  8. 8 ↩uel tantisper rendered 'at least for a while' to capture the minimal concession of rational deliberation.
  9. 9 ↩Line-break hyphenation barbarica / exsecrabilius normalized to barbarica / exsecrabilius.
  10. 10 ↩barbarica fex rendered 'dregs' (of the most wicked men) to capture the contemptuous sense.
  11. 11 ↩nomme is a variant spelling of nomen; rendered as 'name'.
  12. 12 ↩in medio relinquemus: Erasmus uses a rhetorical move — setting aside the larger theoretical question to focus on the practical abuse. The translation preserves this concessive tone.
  13. 13 ↩titulus: rendered as 'pretext' rather than 'title' to capture Erasmus's skeptical tone — princes don't need legitimate claims, only any excuse whatsoever.
  14. 14 ↩Philosophia Christi is rendered as 'philosophy of Christ' to capture Erasmus's distinctive phrase for the whole teaching and way of life Christ embodies; it is not academic philosophy but the wisdom and pattern of Christian discipleship.
  15. 15 ↩The double negative 'nusquam non improbant' is rendered as 'nowhere fail to condemn' to preserve the emphatic force: the apostles consistently condemn war.
  16. 16 ↩Ut rendered as 'so' (result), not 'in order that' (purpose), based on the context of listing consequences.
  17. 17 ↩consensus populi rendered as 'consent of the governed' to capture the political sense of popular agreement rather than mere 'agreement of the people.'
  18. 18 ↩Quod si rendered as 'But if' — Quod functioning as a connective introducing the conditional clause.
  19. 19 ↩amiculos (diminutive of amicus) rendered as 'close friends' to capture the diminutive's warmth.
  20. 20 ↩The imperative scinde is rendered as an infinitive within the purpose clause ('so as not to tear'), which is the natural English equivalent of ne + imperative in this context.
  21. 21 ↩Maroni = Vergil (the poet). The epithet impius is applied ironically: the war-making prince, not the poet, is the impious one. The tag is a compressed allusion to the Vergilian phrase 'impious soldier' or similar wartime language.
  22. 22 ↩'terme' in the source is likely a corruption of 'terrae' (earthquakes); the translation follows the most plausible intended sense.
  23. 23 ↩'Concionatorum partes erant' — the construction is compressed; rendered as 'It was the preachers' role' to capture the sense of 'partes erant' (their duty/part).
  24. 24 ↩aut between ambitione and ira is disjunctive ('or') but could be read as corrective ('or rather'); the translation preserves the straightforward disjunction.
  25. 25 ↩stultitiae ductu ('under the leadership of folly') personifies folly as a guiding force; the rendering preserves that personification.
  26. 26 ↩etiam ('even') is rendered with additive force, suggesting that private interests would benefit alongside — not in spite of — the common good.
  27. 27 ↩pro quo solo digladiamur ('for which alone we should be fighting') carries an ironic force: the one thing worth contending for (peace, the common good) is precisely what is perishing. The subjunctive digladiamur is rendered as an ought-statement to capture that irony.
  28. 28 ↩Quod superest is a transitional formula ('as for what remains / what is left to say'), common in epistolary conclusions. Rendered to capture the forward-moving, valedictory sense.
  29. 29 ↩incruentum imperium ('bloodless rule/command') is a striking phrase — likely referring to peaceful, non-violent governance. The repetition of incruentum at the end reinforces the wish that the prince's authority never be stained by bloodshed.
  30. 30 ↩Princeps pacis echoes Isaiah 9:6 (Vulgate: Princeps pacis). The phrase is a well-known Christological title. Candidate allusion flagged for Moses resolution.
  31. 31 ↩Faxit is an archaic/formal volitive subjunctive of facio ('may he bring it about'). Rendered with optative force.
  32. 32 ↩The sentence is compressed and somewhat paradoxical: the memory of past evils and gratitude for the prince's beneficence together 'double' (conduplicabunt) the calamities of earlier times — likely meaning that present peace, set against the backdrop of past suffering, makes the contrast feel doubly sharp, or that the recollection intensifies both the sense of past misery and present gratitude. The syntax is ambiguous as to whether conduplicabunt governs both an explicit and an implied object.

The Education of a Christian Prince (Institutio principis Christiani) companion

Erasmus said the prince's day should begin with sacred reading. Yours can too.

Chosen Portion delivers a short historic devotional reading every morning — the same discipline Erasmus prescribed, sized for a working day.

Erasmus prescribed daily sacred reading as the antidote to flattery and self-deception; Chosen Portion turns that prescription into a scheduled daily portion on your phone.

  • A structured 5-minute reading each morning instead of an improvised scroll
  • Daily portions drawn from texts that formed rulers for 500 years
  • Finish your first complete historic devotional work within 60 days of installing
Chosen Portion — Daily Prayer (free iOS app) →