The expression you face pacem para bellum, that is, “if you want peace prepares the war”, often used in military strategies but also in the political field, emphasizes the concept of deterrencethat is, on the idea according to which to have powerful armed forces should make it more unlikely to be attacked and, consequently, should reduce the risk that war burst. Among the ancient authors who supported a similar principle they appear Plato and Cicero. The formulation of the phrase most similar to what we know appears in a work of Vegetableauthor of the 4th century AD in his treatise “Epitoma Rei Militaris”; form Si VIS Pacem Para Bellum Instead, it is attested in modern era. This Latin expression was recently used by the Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to justify the increase in military spending. The leader of the opposition, Elly Schleinreplied that the sentence is no longer current.
What does it mean Si VIS Pacem Para Bellum Recently used by Meloni
The Latin expression Si VIS Pacem Para Bellum It literally means “if you want peace prepares the war”. It is therefore a invitation to arm yourself and to invest large resources in the military area, for the principle of deterrence: If you have a strong army, it is more difficult for someone to decide to attack. Consequently, according to the expression Si VIS Pacem Para Bellummilitary investments would serve to guarantee peace.
The origins of Si VIS Pacem Para Bellum
The phrase Si VIS Pacem Para BellumUnlike what you think, it was not pronounced by any Latin author. Some ancient writers, however, expressed the concept contained in the sentenceusing different words. One of the first authors to argue that if you want peace, you have to prepare for the war it was Platothe Greek philosopher of the 4th century BC. C., in the work “The laws“.
Some Latin authors also used expressions with the same meaning as Si VIS Pacem Para Bellum. In the first century BC Guidein the “seventh Philippine” he said: sthe peace use volumus, bellum gerendum estthat is, “if we want to enjoy peace, we have to make war”. In the same century, the historian Cornelio Nepote he used the expression Pariur pax beautifulThat is, “peace is obtained with war”, in the biography of Epaminonda.
The formulation most similar to ours, however, dates back to the 4th century AD, appears in the “epitoma rei militaris“ (Note in Italian with the title The art of war), a treaty written by the author Publio Vegezio Renato. Reads the work: Igitur HERE DESIT PACEM, PRAEPARET BELLUM“So, those who want peace, prepare for the war”.
Use in the mass culture of Si VIS Pacem Para Bellum
We do not know who used first sentence in the form we know. The concept of deterrence through military force was expressed by medieval and modern age authors, including Machiavelli.
We know for sure that the sentence Si VIS Pacem Para Bellum era already known at the beginning of the nineteenth century And it was used in a memories book by Napoleon’s secretary, Louis Antoine Fauvelet de Bourrienne, according to which, if the emperor had known him, he would have reversed the words: “If you want war, prepare peace”.
Also, at the end of the nineteenth century one German weapon factorythe Deutsche Waffen und plady, used the second part of the sentence, para bellumas a telegraphic address of one of its branches. As a consequence, the word parabellumwritten without spaces, was used to identify their product, the gun Luger parabellumwidespread until the Second World War.
The sentence was also used in many countries in the twentieth century To justify the militarization of the company and the increase in expenses intended for the armed forces. It is also the motto of some military unitslike the 96th Communications Squadron of the American Air Force, active in the EGLIN base in Florida.
But is it true that if you want peace do you have to prepare the war?
The thesis according to which, if you want peace, you have to prepare the war, that is, that you have to arm yourself up to the teeth, it is not always founded. In some cases, the principle of deterrence has actually worked. For example, during the Cold War, the availability of huge atomic arsenals was one of the factors thanks to which the direct confrontation Between the two superpowers, the United States and the Soviet Union, did not take place. In many other cases, however, the availability of weapons was a Incentive to war And he favored the outbreak, because he meant that the states felt strong and ready for combat. Many historians have observed that the abundant presence of weapons and military factories, due to technological progress and the second industrial revolution, was one (but not the only one) of the causes of the outbreak of the First World War, because it has prompted the European countries to fight instead of resolving disputes by diplomatic way. Moreover, often the increase in military expenditure and militarization is due not to the desire to protect and avoid attacks, but to will to dominate others. Not surprisingly, in the political debate sometimes the sentence is overturned: Si VIS Pacem, Para PacemThat is, if you want peace, prepare peace.
