Si vis pacem, para bellum

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources.
Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. (help, get involved!)
This article has been tagged since January 2007.

Si vis pacem, para bellum is a Latin quotation meaning, "If you seek peace, prepare for war". It was spoken by Roman military writer Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus. The saying is one of many from his work, Epitoma rei militaris, believed to have been written around the year 390 AD.

This phrase has been 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. It has also been used as a phrase of importance to The Punisher and the English translation is the title of a Children of Bodom song.