The Lament of Peace

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The Lamentation of Peace ( Latin Querela Pacis ) is considered to be the main pacifist text of Erasmus of Rotterdam , which he wrote in 1517 on the occasion of a planned peace conference in Cambrai in northern France , to which all rulers of Europe were invited to a 'summit'. At that time Erasmus was councilor at the court of the Burgundians in Leuven (Leuven) and advisor or 'educator' to the later Emperor Charles V. However, the conference did not take place. In the text, Erasmus calls for a strong separation of the church from all military matters and the greatest possible effort by secular rulers to avoid violent conflict. It is better for the powerful to forego property and land or even their power than to start a war. This definitely means guilty of guilt before God. It is also important for Erasmus to refute a possible initial situation of a bellum iustum according to Cicero , since there is no impartial, judging authority in interstate disputes and each side concludes that their cause is the just one.

Even if the 'Peace Appeal' of that time was widely read and praised, the power struggles for supremacy in Europe between England, France and Germany escalated a little later, especially the struggles over northern Italy, and finally culminated in 'religious struggles'. An excerpt from the final passage of the peace treatise illustrates Erasmus' intentions:

I appeal to you, you rulers, on whose command mainly human fate depends, which you symbolize the rule of Christ among men, remember your king's call to peace, for which reason the whole world, exhausted by long calamities, begs you for it . If someone still bears grudges against whom, it is right to forgive them for the common happiness of all. The matter is too big to be delayed for minor reasons. I appeal to you, you consecrated priests, give back with all your zeal what you know is most welcome to God, ward off what he hates most.
I appeal to you, you ruling classes and magistrates, that your disposition be a support for the wisdom of the regent and the loyalty of the priests. I appeal to you as a whole, who profess your Christian name, and you unanimously conspire to do so. Let us now see how much the unity of the crowd can do against tyrannical power. To this end, everyone should make their suggestions in the same way. Through joint efforts, may all drive forward what serves as a blessing for all [...]
The war is cursed by most of the people, they pray for peace. Only a few, whose godless happiness depends on general misfortune, want war. Judge for yourself whether it is right and fair or not that their dishonesty counts more than the will of all good people. You see, so far nothing has been brought about by alliances, nothing promoted by marriage, nothing by force, nothing by taking revenge. Now, on the other hand, put to the test what forgiveness and benevolence can do. War is sown from war, revenge causes revenge again [...]
It will be a venerable rule for the princes when they rule over pious and happy people, as soon as they rule more by law than by arms, the aristocrats will enjoy a greater and legitimate reputation, the priests more quiet time of leisure, the people will be more prosperous Rest assured and abundance in peace: the Christian name will instill more awe in the enemies of the cross. Finally, the individual will be dear to the individual and everyone will be dear to and worthy of all at the same time and, above all, Christ will be welcomed, to whom it is the highest happiness to please .

Erasmus had already made several public statements (in letters and writings) on the subject of war and violence, for example in his work Dulce bellum inexpertis ( war seems sweet to the inexperienced ), which he later included in his collection of quotations as Adagia No. 3001 would have. He wrote on the subject of war:

It has already come to the point that one generally considers war to be an acceptable thing and one is amazed that there are people who do not like it [...] How much more justified it would be to wonder which war is bad Genius, what plague, what madness, what fury this hitherto bestial thing may have brought to man's mind first, that that gentle living being, which nature created for peace and benevolence, with such wild frenzy, such mad turmoil for mutual annihilation hurried. So if you only look at the appearance and shape of the human body first, you don't immediately notice that nature, or rather God, such a being is not for war, but for friendship, not for destruction, but for salvation, not for acts of violence but created for charity? Each of the other beings equipped them with their own weapons, the bull with horns, the lion with paws, the boar with tusks, others with poison, still others with speed. But the human being is naked, tender, defenseless and weak, nothing can be seen in the limbs that is intended for a fight or violence. He comes into the world and is dependent on outside help for a long time, can only call for help by whimpering and crying. Nature gave him friendly eyes as a mirror of the soul, flexible arms to embrace, gave him the sensation of a kiss, laughter as an expression of happiness, tears as a symbol of gentleness and compassion.
War is created out of war, out of a sham war an open one, out of a tiny one the mightiest [...] Where is the kingdom of the devil if it is not at war? Why are we dragging Christ here, to whom war is even less suitable than a whore house? So let us compare war and peace, the most wretched and criminal thing at the same time, and it will become completely clear how great madness it is, with so much turmoil, so much hardship, so great expense, with great danger and so many losses To wage war, although unity could be bought for a much lesser amount.

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  1. ↑ Friedemann Stengel: Reformation and War, in: Friedemann Stengel, Jörg Ullrich (Ed.), Church and War. Ambivalences in Theology, Leipzig 2015
  2. ^ Bainton, Roland H .: Erasmus. Reformer between the fronts 1972 Göttingen
  3. ^ The lament of peace in the translation by Brigitte Hannemann, Zurich 1998.
  4. ↑ Brigitte Hannemann: War seems sweet to the inexperienced. Munich 1987