War and Peace
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2.The justice of war
Confucius, The Sayings of ConfuciusVol. 44
- p. 55Punitive wars rightly proceed from the Son of Heaven.read · scan
2a.Defensive war as the only just war
See also: Citizen 5c · Justice 9d
BeowulfVol. 49
- p. 8–10The coast warden challenges armed strangers lest foes with a harrying fleet harm the land.read · scan
Niccolò Machiavelli, The PrinceVol. 36
- p. 84That war is just which is necessary; Italian armies always lose due to poor leaders, though Italians excel in single combat.read · scan
Sir Thomas More, UtopiaVol. 36
- p. 213–215Utopians hate war as beastly, deem no glory so poor as war-glory, and fight only to defend, aid friends or free the oppressed.read · scan
- p. 215Utopians make war for injuries to friends or citizens, dislike bloodshed and prize victory by wit and craft.read · scan
Francis Bacon, Essays, Civil and MoralVol. 3
- p. 49Balance of power among neighbors; a just fear of imminent danger is a lawful cause of war, against Schoolmen.read · scan
William Shakespeare, The Tragedy of King LearVol. 46
- p. 286–289French forces prepare against the marching British powers, in a war undertaken for filial cause.read · scan
- p. 303–304Armies gather; Goneril urges uniting against the French invader, as domestic broils are not the question.read · scan
William Shakespeare, The Tragedy of MacbethVol. 46
- p. 373Malcolm reveals Siward's ten thousand men setting forth; they will join in a warranted quarrel.read · scan
Nathaniel Ward, The Body of LibertiesVol. 43
- p. 67–68No man compelled to offensive wars; only defensive or vindictive wars by Court consent.read · scan
First Charter of VirginiaVol. 43
- p. 54Colonists may repel by sea and land any who intrude or harm the plantations.read · scan
John Milton, Samson AgonistesVol. 4
- p. 415Samson defends hostility as force answering conquest; force with force is well ejected.read · scan
Edmund Burke, Reflections on the Revolution in FranceVol. 24
- p. 168–169Cashiering kings needs force and becomes war, not constitution; the 1688 Revolution was a just war of necessity.read · scan
Edmund Burke, A Letter to a Noble LordVol. 24
- p. 403–404Defends the war against France as just and necessary, against a dishonourable peace that surrendered Boulogne.read · scan
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Hermann and DorotheaVol. 19
- p. 360Hermann declares he will join the army to resist the advancing enemy at the frontier rather than await disaster.read · scan
- p. 408–410He says if every man were so minded, might would meet might and peace would return.read · scan
Robert Burns, Poems and SongsVol. 6
- p. 530–532Patriotic song against a French invasion: wooden walls at sea, volunteers ashore, no foreign foe on British ground.read · scan
Friedrich Schiller, William TellVol. 26
- p. 406–411Blood must be shed in their own cause rather than in Austria's wars; shepherds proved themselves at Favenz.read · scan
- p. 423Reding: force is fearful even in a righteous cause; Fürst aims to drive out tyrants without bloodshed.read · scan
- p. 477Furst warns the king will avenge his viceroy; Swiss resolve to block the passes.read · scan
Alfred, Lord Tennyson, PoemsVol. 42
- p. 1054–1055Killing a public foe is public merit, unlike the red life spilt for a private blow; he hopes for a defensive war against iron tyranny.read · scan
Abraham Lincoln, Lincoln's First Inaugural AddressVol. 43
- p. 316Promises no bloodshed or invasion unless forced on the national authority.read · scan
- p. 321Civil war rests in the hands of the dissatisfied; the government will not assail them.read · scan
2b.War against barbarians, heretics and infidels
The Book of PsalmsVol. 44
- p. 330–332Saints are to execute vengeance on the nations, binding their kings in chains.read · scan
Chapters from the KoranVol. 45
- p. 943–944Battle account: spoils belong to God and the Apostle; victory comes from God; believers are to strike the enemy.read · scan
- p. 944–945Believers must not flee the battle; God Himself slays the enemy and is with the believers though outnumbered.read · scan
- p. 946–947Fight until sedition ceases and religion is wholly God's; stand firm, be patient, and share spoils by fifths.read · scan
- p. 948–949Prophet urges believers to fight; patient twenty conquer two hundred; discusses taking captives and ransom after Bedr.read · scan
- p. 949Aid for religion is due, except against a people with whom there is an alliance.read · scan
- p. 950–951The two parties who met in battle are a sign that God aids whom He pleases.read · scan
- p. 959–960Recalls the battles of Bedr and Ohod; God gives victory with thousands of angels to the patient.read · scan
- p. 960–961Believers are urged to steadfastness after reverses in battle; they are tested to reveal the patient and those who fought well.read · scan
- p. 961Account of the defeat and rout of believers in battle and God's pardon.read · scan
- p. 963–964Recollection of the day the two armies met and those who stayed home while comrades fought.read · scan
- p. 966–967God loves those who fight in His cause in close ranks; believers must fight with property and persons for victory.read · scan
- p. 974–975Believers told to take precautions and sally out; a laggard who avoids martyrdom is mocked.read · scan
- p. 975–976Believers must fight in God's way for the oppressed; killed or victorious, they are rewarded; faint-hearted fear men over God.read · scan
- p. 976–977Believers to fight in God's way and kill hypocrites who flee, but spare those allied or who offer peace.read · scan
- p. 977–978Those who strive in God's way with wealth and persons are preferred over those who sit still; care in discerning believers when fighting.read · scan
- p. 978–979Believers must keep arms and precautions against enemies and not flag in pursuit.read · scan
- p. 996–997People refuse to fight the giants and tell Moses to fight with his Lord.read · scan
Stories from the Thousand and One NightsVol. 16
- p. 299Musa is a warrior for the faith near the enemy, so the province needs a governor in his absence.read · scan
The Song of RolandVol. 49
- p. 104–106Karl's ultimatum: Marsil must accept Christ or be besieged, bound and executed.read · scan
- p. 109–110Karl's threats and demands for Marsil's submission, recalling slain envoys Basan and Basil.read · scan
Dante Alighieri, ParadiseVol. 20
- p. 350–352Cacciaguida follows Emperor Conrad on crusade and dies a martyr against the infidelread · scan
- p. 361Souls of warriors and crusaders like Joshua, Charlemagne, Godfrey seen on cross of Marsread · scan
Geoffrey Chaucer, The Prologue to the Canterbury Tales; The Nun's Priest's TaleVol. 40
- p. 11–12The Knight's long record of campaigns and mortal battles, fought for the faith against heathens across Europe and Africa.read · scan
Sir Thomas Malory, The Holy GrailVol. 35
- p. 118King Evelake's battle with the Saracen Tolleme is decided by the shield's image of the Cross.read · scan
Martin Luther, Address to the Christian Nobility of the German NationVol. 36
- p. 286–287Collections for war on the Turk are pretexts; the fight should begin at Rome.read · scan
Miguel de Cervantes, The History of Don Quixote of the Mancha, Part IVol. 14
- p. 58–60He calls the fight against giants a good war and service to God.read · scan
- p. 447Sancho justifies the taking of goods as spoils of a good war.read · scan
Sir Walter Raleigh, The Discovery of GuianaVol. 33
- p. 335Natives would flee and burn their towns; Christians intend to conquer and dispossess them.read · scan
Francis Bacon, Essays, Civil and MoralVol. 3
- p. 12–13Religion should not be propagated by wars or sanguinary persecutions; Mahomet's sword is condemned.read · scan
- p. 13–14The temporal sword is to be drawn with great circumspection in religious cases; massacres and plots are denounced.read · scan
John Milton, Poems Written at School and at College, 1624-1632Vol. 4
- p. 16–18God overthrows Pharaoh, Seon and Og in battle on Israel's behalf.read · scan
Blaise Pascal, ThoughtsVol. 48
- p. 195Mahomet succeeded by slaying, Christ by dying.read · scan
- p. 200When the Jews fought, it was for God alone and their hope was in Him.read · scan
- p. 266Their sole argument is that he did not subdue the heathen sword in hand.read · scan
Ralph Waldo Emerson, Man the ReformerVol. 5
- p. 55–56Arab conquests triumphed through enthusiasm and frugality, a faith Emerson says love will surpass.read · scan
John Stuart Mill, On LibertyVol. 25
- p. 287Proposed crusade or 'civilizade' against the Mormons is rejected; no community has a right to force another to be civilized.read · scan
Charles Darwin, The Voyage of the BeagleVol. 29
- p. 109Called a just war against barbarians, its atrocities in a Christian country appall Darwin; prisoners are shot for information.read · scan
- p. 125–126Enthusiasm for Rosas's campaign as 'most just of all wars, because against barbarians'; Indian attacks had endangered everyone.read · scan
2c.The condemnation of conquest and conquerors
Confucius, The Sayings of ConfuciusVol. 44
- p. 54Confucius opposes the Chi attacking Chuan-yii, a vassal state within the realm.read · scan
- p. 54–55Win far tribes by worth and learning, not spear and shield; peace prevents a fall.read · scan
Marcus Aurelius, The Meditations of Marcus AureliusVol. 2
- p. 278Conquerors of Sarmatians are likened to spiders and robbers.read · scan
Sir Thomas Malory, The Holy GrailVol. 35
- p. 150Wrong wars waged for vain glory are condemned; Launcelot unhorses a knight.read · scan
Niccolò Machiavelli, The PrinceVol. 36
- p. 16–17Conquests of Alexander and the Romans, success due to character of states rather than conqueror's merit.read · scan
Sir Thomas More, UtopiaVol. 36
- p. 157The Achoriens' conquest brought endless fighting, impoverishment, and corrupted manners; even peace was no better than war.read · scan
Sir Walter Raleigh, Preface to the History of the WorldVol. 39
- p. 77Henry's causeless, cruel wars on nephew King James and wasteful foreign enterprises.read · scan
- p. 85–86Charles V's vain enterprises consumed multitudes of soldiers and left him only disgrace.read · scan
John Milton, Poems Written During the Civil War and the Protectorate, 1642-1658Vol. 4
- p. 81–82Praise of Fairfax and Cromwell's victories, yet war breeds war and Peace has victories no less renowned.read · scan
John Milton, Paradise LostVol. 4
- p. 341–342Nimrod's hunting of men with war contrasts with long peace before.read · scan
John Milton, Paradise RegainedVol. 4
- p. 384Satan cites Alexander, Scipio, Pompey and Caesar as youthful conquerorsread · scan
- p. 384Conquerors merely rob, slaughter and enslave peaceable nations; glory is better won by deeds of peaceread · scan
Andrew Marvell, PoemsVol. 40
- p. 372–374Cromwell abandons the inglorious arts of peace and books for armour and adventurous war, conquering Ireland and the civil war's fields.read · scan
Blaise Pascal, ThoughtsVol. 48
- p. 247Kingdoms divide and a conqueror destroys many by craft before perishing by violence.read · scan
John Locke, Some Thoughts Concerning EducationVol. 37
- p. 102History's celebration of conquerors as heroes misleads youth into thinking slaughter laudable.read · scan
Sir Richard Steele, The Spectator ClubVol. 27
- p. 85He argues it is barbarous to extend dominion by arms; diligence makes more lasting acquisitions than valor.read · scan
Alexander Pope, Solitude; On a Certain Lady at Court; Essay on ManVol. 40
- p. 430Heroes such as Alexander and Charles XII make an enemy of all mankind.read · scan
Voltaire, Letters on the EnglishVol. 34
- p. 86Rome conquered because of domestic discord; the English want only to prevent conquest, not make it.read · scan
- p. 98Conquerors like Caesar and Alexander are condemned for enslaving fellow creatures.read · scan
Benjamin Franklin, His AutobiographyVol. 1
- p. 69–70Contrasts cruel statesmen and warriors with pacific, domestic greatness.read · scan
Edmund Burke, Reflections on the Revolution in FranceVol. 24
- p. 274–275Inexpiable war on a whole nation for old wrongs would be unjustified, as with England and France.read · scan
- p. 315The Assembly treats France as conquered territory, imitating barbarous conquerors.read · scan
William Blake, PoemsVol. 41
- p. 587–588Training the horse to war and the soldier's arms deform mankind; peaceful arts overcome envy.read · scan
Robert Burns, Poems and SongsVol. 6
- p. 377–379Hates murder in battle though glory screens it; prefers social Peace and Plenty and making life to taking it.read · scan
William Hazlitt, Of Persons One Would Wish to Have SeenVol. 27
- p. 280Conquerors like Alexander, Caesar, Tamerlane dismissed as plotters and disturbers of the world.read · scan
William Ellery Channing, On the Elevation of the Laboring ClassesVol. 28
- p. 357Inventors have benefited humanity more than the bloody race of conquerors.read · scan
Percy Bysshe Shelley, A Defence of PoetryVol. 27
- p. 342Civil war and Macedonian and Roman conquest symbolized the suspension of Greek creative power.read · scan
Ralph Waldo Emerson, WorshipVol. 5
- p. 286Real and lasting victories are those of peace; beat the foreign artisan by better work, not by force or war.read · scan
Andrew Johnson, Proclamation Declaring the Insurrection at an EndVol. 43
- p. 427–428Congressional resolutions state the civil war is fought not for conquest or subjugation but to preserve the Union, and should cease once that is achieved.read · scan
Abraham Lincoln, Lincoln's First Inaugural AddressVol. 43
- p. 313–314Platform denounces armed invasion of any state as among the gravest crimes.read · scan
Henry David Thoreau, WalkingVol. 28
- p. 412–413Our important victories were won with the bush-whack and spade, not the sword and lance.read · scan
John Ruskin, Sesame and LiliesVol. 28
- p. 127–128Enlarging a king's dominion is likened to increasing a private estate.read · scan
2d.The pacifist testimony against all war
See also: Duty 5e · Taxation 4c
Luke, The Gospel According to LukeVol. 44
- p. 411–412Disciple strikes with sword; Jesus stops violence and heals the servant's ear.read · scan
Voltaire, Letters on the EnglishVol. 34
- p. 68Quakers refuse all fighting, loving enemies, and mourn rather than celebrate military victories.read · scan
- p. 71Fox exclaimed against war amid England's sectarian civil wars.read · scan
- p. 75–76Penn's treaty with the Americans, unsworn, was never infringed.read · scan
- p. 76–77Natives befriend peaceable Quakers, unlike the conquering Christians.read · scan
John Woolman, The Journal of John WoolmanVol. 1
- p. 189–190Trouble from England-France disagreement prompts an epistle to Friends.read · scan
- p. 190–191Friends cease from national contests bringing bloodshed; peaceable kingdom to spread, nation not lifting sword against nation.read · scan
- p. 204–205Young Friends imprisoned for testimony against fighting.read · scan
- p. 213A Friend scruples paying war taxes and suffers distraint; Woolman shares the scruple.read · scan
- p. 217Scruple over paying taxes levied to carry on war against the Indians.read · scan
- p. 218Friends' testimony against outward wars and the worry that paying war taxes brings them near to fighting.read · scan
- p. 219–220Ceasing from fighting even when wrongly invaded requires self-denial; frontier killings by Indians rouse the city to war.read · scan
- p. 220Militia drafted for the relief of Fort William Henry, and Quakers' difficulty with military service.read · scan
- p. 221Young men drafted for the army; some flee, some enlist, some refuse to bear arms.read · scan
- p. 221–222Quartering soldiers and war judged inconsistent with the purity of the Christian religion.read · scan
- p. 261He inquires whether he keeps clear of things connected with wars in America or Africa.read · scan
- p. 294–295Many ships used for war employ so many people at sea.read · scan
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, PoemsVol. 42
- p. 1305–1306English ships threaten; the farmer argues unarmed peaceful folk are safer than fathers in forts besieged by cannon.read · scan
John Greenleaf Whittier, PoemsVol. 42
- p. 1346–1347We wage no war, fling no torch, leaving the slaveholders to their bondmen.read · scan
- p. 1347–1349He refuses his comrade's sword, answering wrong not with wrong; peace principle over battle.read · scan
2e.Quaker defensive war and the compromise of principle
Benjamin Franklin, His AutobiographyVol. 1
- p. 106–107Disputes over military preparations between the Quaker Assembly and the governors.read · scan
- p. 107–108Many Quakers, though against offensive war, favor defensive war; pamphlets among them support defense.read · scan
- p. 108–109Quakers such as Logan defend defensive war; William Penn rebukes his secretary for helping man a gun against a supposed enemy ship.read · scan
- p. 109–110Quaker Assembly evades granting war funds, voting money for grain that governor knows means gunpowder; a fire-engine jest for a great gun.read · scan
- p. 110–111Quakers embarrassed by published principle that no war is lawful, quit office rather than principle.read · scan
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