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Si vis pacem, para bellum ([siː wɪs ˈpaːkẽː ˈpara ˈbɛllũː]) is a Latin adage translated as, "If you want peace, prepare for war". The adage was adapted from a statement found in Book 3 of Latin author Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus's tract De Re Militari (4th or 5th century), though the idea it conveys also appears in earlier works, such as Plato's Nomoi (Laws).
Contents
- The punisher si vis pacem para bellum
- Notable uses
- Si vis bellum para pacem
- Si vis pacem para pactum
- Si vis pacem fac bellum
- Si vis pacem para pacem
- The parabellum
- Mottos
- References
The punisher si vis pacem para bellum
Notable uses
Whatever the source, the adage has become a living vocabulary item itself, used in the production of different ideas in a number of languages.
Si vis bellum para pacem
For example, with reference to the foreign policy of Napoleon Bonaparte, the historian de Bourrienne said:
Meaning that if you are planning a war, you should put other nations off guard by cultivating peace. Conversely, another interpretation could be that preparing for peace may lead another party to wage war on you.
Si vis pacem para pactum
The idea of ensuring peace by deterring warlike powers through armaments took an ominous turn in the 20th century with the increased militarism of Nazi Germany and other Axis Powers. Suggesting that perhaps merely being prepared for war is not enough and that it is necessary to wage war in order to deter war. The National Arbitration and Peace Congress of 1907, presided over by Andrew Carnegie, had addressed this issue years earlier:
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 Richard Grelling, a German-Jewish pacifist, in J'Accuse (1915). In 1918 Grelling wrote again, this time as an ex-patriate in Switzerland. Citing the "The world must be safe for democracy." speech of Woodrow Wilson before Congress on April 2, 1917, Grelling says:
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 pacifism, which in the 19th century was associated with early socialism, even though the socialism of the 20th often lacked pacifistic tendencies, preaching violent revolution instead. The pacifism that opposed the world wars traced a lineage to Barthélemy Prosper Enfantin, an early French socialist and one of the founders of Saint-Simonianism. As early as April 2, 1841, he had said in a letter to General Saint-Cyr Nugues:
Le fameux dicton ... me semble beaucoup moins vrai, pour le XIXe siècle, que Si vis pacem, para pacem.The famous dictum ... to me seems 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
The main clause of the adage was used as a motto by German arms maker Deutsche Waffen und Munitionsfabriken (DWM), and is the source of the term Parabellum as applied to firearms and ammunition (especially the 9mm Parabellum cartridge). The term is an opposed parallel to the English use of "peacemaker" to mean the Colt Single Action Army handgun.
Mottos
Various military organizations use or used this phrase as a motto:
Other uses include: