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 century often lacked pacifistic tendencies, preaching violent revolution instead. The pacifism that opposed the world wars traced its 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 ... seems to me 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 7.65mm Parabellum and the 9mm Parabellum cartridges). See also Chicken game Instrumentum regni Peace through strength References Further reading . Downloadable Google Books. External links Latin words and phrases Military strategy Peace War Proverbs